LA PORTE, Ind. — Detectives in northwestern Indiana have reopened a cold case from 1988 involving the deaths of two Florida teenagers. 

As stated in a release from the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched on March 11, 1989, to State Road 8, roughly a mile west of State Road 39 in La Porte County, after receiving a report of a body in a water-filled ditch.

The body was identified as that of 16-year-old Tamara Gifford of Florida. Police say Gifford had relatives living in Starke County, Indiana. 

Two days later, detectives found the body of 17-year-old Christina Hillis, also from Florida, in the “general area” where Gifford’s body was found.

Detectives believe their deaths happened in December 1988. 

Detectives, after interviewing people in Starke and La Porte counties, along with residents from Florida, discovered that the two girls were reported missing as runaways on December 7, 1988. Investigators think the girls were in Starke County before they died.

The case grew cold after no additional information was discovered. 

Recently, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office announced that detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division started to re-examine the case file, focusing specifically on the manner and cause of the girls’ deaths.

This prompted detectives to revisit the scene where Gifford and Hillis’ bodies were located. Additionally, police have reached out to the girls’ family members for further information.

Those who might have information regarding the girls or the ongoing investigation are urged to contact Chief of Detectives Andy Hynek at 219-326-7700 ext. 2401 or send an email to ahynek@lcso.in.gov.