Overview

Full name: Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs

Age at disappearance: 19 years old

Date last seen: January 12, 1980

Last known location: Apartment near Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard

City: Sacramento

County: Sacramento County

State: California

Case classification: Endangered missing person; suspected foul play

Current case status: Unsolved; remains listed as missing

Investigating agency: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff’s case number: 1980-003830 (also listed as 80-3830)

NamUs reference: MP6984, reported in secondary case records

Circumstances: Khymbrly disappeared while apparently alone in her apartment. Her personal belongings were left behind, and she failed to report for her scheduled work shift. Investigators suspect that another person was involved in her disappearance.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs: The Unsolved 1980 Disappearance of a Sacramento, California College Student

On January 12, 1980, 19-year-old Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs disappeared from her apartment in Sacramento, California. The college student had spoken with a friend that evening and was expected at work the following day. When her roommate returned home, Khymbrly was gone, but her purse, identification, clothing, and other personal belongings remained behind.

More than four decades later, her disappearance remains an unsolved cold case. Investigators suspect foul play, and historical accounts describe a neighbor who came under suspicion. However, no one has been charged in connection with Khymbrly’s disappearance, and her remains have not been publicly reported as recovered.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office cold-case investigations page continues to identify her as a missing person whose disappearance is suspected to involve foul play.

Case Summary

Full name: Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs

Age at disappearance: 19 years old

Date last seen: January 12, 1980

Last known location: Apartment near Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard

City: Sacramento

County: Sacramento County

State: California

Case classification: Endangered missing person; suspected foul play

Current case status: Unsolved; remains listed as missing

Investigating agency: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff’s case number: 1980-003830 (also listed as 80-3830)

NamUs reference: MP6984, reported in secondary case records

Circumstances: Khymbrly disappeared while apparently alone in her apartment. Her personal belongings were left behind, and she failed to report for her scheduled work shift. Investigators suspect that another person was involved in her disappearance.

Sources: California Department of Justice; Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; The Charley Project.

Khymbrly Scruggs: Her Life Before the Disappearance

Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs was born on August 13, 1960. Originally from Pismo Beach, California, she had moved to Sacramento to pursue higher education and begin building an independent life.

In January 1980, Khymbrly was attending California State University, Sacramento, where she studied political science and international affairs. Alongside her education, she worked as a sales clerk at Weinstock’s, a department store.

She shared an apartment near the intersection of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Howe Avenue, not far from the university.

According to The Charley Project’s case profile, Khymbrly maintained connections with friends from her hometown. One of those friendships would become particularly significant because of a telephone conversation on the evening she disappeared.

Her physical description at the time was recorded as approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and 115 pounds, with sandy blonde or brown hair and brown eyes.

Investigators also documented several identifying characteristics: a chipped front tooth and a glass-related cut on her right shin. Her reported clothing included a burgundy wool coat with camel-colored stripes.

Khymbrly was also known by variations of her name, including Khym Scruggs, Kim Scruggs, and Kimberly Scruggs.

These details remain important for anyone reviewing historical sightings, unidentified-person records, or information that may have been overlooked during the original investigation.

January 12, 1980: The Night Khymbrly Disappeared

The last known evening of Khymbrly’s life before her disappearance began without any publicly documented indication that she intended to leave permanently.

According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Khymbrly was alone in her apartment on the evening of January 12, 1980. Investigators believe she was doing laundry and writing a letter to her mother.

At approximately 6:30 p.m., she spoke by telephone with a friend from Pismo Beach. During that conversation, she reportedly indicated that she had no plans for the evening and was scheduled to work the following day.

The telephone call is one of the last publicly documented contacts with Khymbrly before she vanished.

Her roommate was spending the night elsewhere, leaving Khymbrly alone in the apartment.

What happened after the conversation remains unknown.

The following day, January 13, 1980, Khymbrly’s roommate returned and discovered that she was missing.

Her purse, identification, clothing, and other belongings remained inside the residence. There was no indication in the published accounts that she had packed for an extended trip.

Concern increased when her workplace was contacted. Khymbrly had not reported for her scheduled shift and had not called to explain her absence.

On January 14, 1980, her parents filed a missing-person report, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s official case synopsis.

The circumstances raised immediate questions. Why would Khymbrly leave without her belongings? Why had she missed work without notifying anyone? And what happened inside or around the apartment after her last known telephone conversation?

Those questions remain central to the case.

Investigation History and Evidence

The apartment and missing personal belongings

The apartment was the central location in the investigation because it was where Khymbrly was last known to have been.

The fact that her purse, identification, and clothing remained behind was particularly significant. These circumstances made an unexplained voluntary departure appear less consistent with her reported plans.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office officially states that foul play is suspected.

However, the publicly accessible sheriff’s summary does not provide a detailed inventory of evidence collected from the apartment. It does not describe confirmed blood evidence, fingerprints, signs of forced entry, or a documented struggle.

Those possibilities should not be treated as established facts.

A neighbor investigated in connection with the disappearance

One of the most troubling aspects of Khymbrly’s case involves a neighbor who reportedly attracted investigators’ attention.

According to The Charley Project, authorities believed a neighbor may have killed Khymbrly and concealed her body.

The account states that the man had cuts and scratches on his body after her disappearance.

It further reports that he avoided police for approximately three months before being located and questioned for about 12 hours.

During questioning, the man denied involvement in Khymbrly’s disappearance.

He was subsequently imprisoned for an unrelated rape conviction and was reportedly released on parole in 1989.

Importantly, he was never charged in connection with Khymbrly Scruggs’s disappearance.

These allegations are described in a secondary missing-person case summary. The publicly available sheriff’s synopsis does not independently detail the neighbor investigation, identify the individual, or provide the underlying investigative records.

Consequently, the neighbor’s suspected involvement remains an investigative theory rather than a proven conclusion.

Searches and investigative activity

The case has remained associated with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office for decades.

The sheriff’s public cold-case listing identifies the occurrence date as January 12, 1980, and provides the location as Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard.

Its official synopsis confirms that Khymbrly disappeared from her apartment, that her belongings were left behind, and that her parents reported her missing on January 14.

However, the available official case summary does not document specific searches, search warrants, excavation efforts, or the locations investigators may have examined.

It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that particular properties, vehicles, or burial sites were searched without supporting records.

DNA evidence and forensic testing

Modern forensic technology has helped resolve numerous decades-old disappearances and unidentified-remains cases, but there is no publicly verified announcement that genetic genealogy has produced a breakthrough in Khymbrly’s investigation.

Some historical online case discussions indicate that DNA information may be available in connection with her missing-person record. That does not establish that a particular biological sample was collected at the apartment, that a suspect’s DNA was recovered, or that a forensic match has been made.

No publicly confirmed forensic DNA match, genetic-genealogy identification, or newly identified set of remains was located in the reviewed case-specific sources.

The distinction is important: the potential availability of identification records is not evidence that a criminal suspect has been identified.

Sources: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; The Charley Project.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Was Khymbrly the victim of foul play?

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and California Department of Justice both identify suspected foul play as a central concern in Khymbrly’s disappearance.

The circumstances supporting that concern include her unexplained absence, the belongings left in the apartment, and her failure to attend work.

Nevertheless, the suspicion of foul play does not establish precisely what happened or who was responsible.

There has been no publicly verified recovery of Khymbrly’s remains or criminal conviction in her case.

Could the neighbor have been responsible?

The historical suspicion surrounding the neighbor remains one of the most prominent theories associated with the investigation.

The reported injuries, subsequent questioning, and investigators’ suspicions are noteworthy, but none establishes guilt.

No publicly verified criminal charge connects that individual to Khymbrly’s disappearance.

Without access to the complete investigative file, it is also impossible to determine what evidence authorities considered sufficient or insufficient to pursue charges.

What happened after the final telephone call?

Khymbrly’s reported 6:30 p.m. telephone conversation provides a reference point for reconstructing her final known activities.

However, the precise time of her disappearance is unknown.

It is not publicly established whether someone visited the apartment later that evening, whether she left voluntarily for a short period, or whether another person forced her to leave.

There is also no verified public account establishing how she may have been transported away from the residence.

These are unresolved questions, not confirmed events.

Where is Khymbrly?

Khymbrly’s whereabouts remain unknown.

No confirmed public record establishes that her remains have been found, and the official California missing-person listing continues to identify her as missing.

The continued absence of answers has left a significant gap in the historical record and in the understanding of what happened that January weekend.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

Research reviewed through October 19, 2026

Khymbrly Scruggs’s disappearance continues to appear in official California missing-person records and on the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office cold-case investigations page.

The sheriff’s public listing identifies her by name, documents her disappearance on January 12, 1980, and retains the case reference 1980-003830.

The California Department of Justice also maintains an individual missing-person profile containing her physical description, identifying characteristics, and the investigating agency’s contact information.

These records demonstrate that her disappearance remains publicly documented. They do not, by themselves, establish that a new investigative action has occurred.

Have investigators announced a breakthrough?

No publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located in the sources reviewed through October 19, 2026.

Specifically, the reviewed records did not establish any recent arrest, criminal charge, identification of remains, DNA breakthrough, publicly announced genetic-genealogy result, or new search connected to Khymbrly’s case.

No recent official announcement identifying a new suspect or person of interest was verified.

The Charley Project’s profile records a last substantive update of May 1, 2010. A community case page on Uncovered displays a March 1, 2021 update date, but this should not be interpreted as evidence of a new investigative development.

The absence of a public announcement does not necessarily mean investigators have stopped working on the case. Some cold-case investigative activities are not disclosed publicly.

Sources: Sheriff’s Cold Cases; California Missing Persons; Uncovered Case Profile.

Conclusion: A Sacramento Disappearance Still Awaiting Answers

Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs was only 19 years old when she disappeared from her Sacramento apartment in January 1980.

She was a university student with academic interests, employment, friendships, and family connections. Her sudden disappearance left behind unanswered questions that have persisted for more than 46 years.

Although investigators suspect foul play, the available public evidence has not established precisely what happened to her.

Her case remains unresolved, and the circumstances of her disappearance continue to warrant public attention.

Anyone who remembers suspicious activity near Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard on January 12 or 13, 1980, or who possesses information about Khymbrly’s disappearance, is encouraged to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Even information that seemed insignificant at the time could be relevant when examined alongside investigative records.

The California Department of Justice lists the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office at 916-874-5115 for her case. The California missing-person hotline is 1-800-222-3463.

When contacting authorities, reference Khymbrly Marcella Scruggs and case number 1980-003830.