Troubled Highway

Troubled Highway

By. William Aranda
11/24/12
Writing & Editing 271
MW 12:30 -2:00


             While traveling in the back of the Sandia mountains at this time of year, people expect to see the changing colors of all the trees surrounding them, not a concrete barrier with the words “Who Killed Carla?” in huge printed letters on it along with a picture of Carla Salina Simmons, whose body was found on the stretch of highway back in 1999. That’s what travelers will see when driving on Highway 165 between Placitas and Sandia Peak Ski Area.

              On the evening of November 29, 1999, Simmons was driving to through the back mountains to Placitas to see her friend. On the way there, she over corrected, got her front right tire stuck in a broken culvert, near the Sandia Man Cave parking lot, leaving her stranded on the dark highway.

               Sometime during the evening she was brutally beaten and strangled by an unknown assailant. Simmons was left there throughout the night and eventually died of hypothermia. The next morning, a jogger found her semi-nude body, along with her van, and called police. Since the crime occurred on National Forest Land, the case was handed over to the FBI.

              Sandoval County Sergeant J. Hunt vaguely remembers the case but knows the impact it had on the family. “The mother and father have been relentless in finding whoever did this,” he says.

              After years of investigating, the crime remains unsolved.

              The area where her body was found is now the home of a road side memorial. The concrete barrier with the words “Who Killed Carla?” on it also includes a photo of a young Carla, two wanted posters from the FBI, and a picture of the Virgin de Guadalupe. Just a few feet away from the barrier is a cross, with Carla’s name and dates of birth and death, surrounded by rosaries and flowers.

              Carla isn’t the only person to have lost her life in this area of Highway 165 however.

              Between 2000 and 2012, three other people have lost their lives within the half mile of Highway 165 at or close to the Sandia Man Caves.

             An unknown woman, who had been stricken with cancer, was seen wondering that particular area, in the spring of 2001, in the days leading up to her death that May. She climbed up the treacherous terrain leading up to the caves and jumped to her death. Her body was eventually discovered by hikers.

              On July 17, 2010, Placitas resident Matthew Dykes was taking photographs on the same path when he lost his footing and fell to his death.  His death was ruled an accident by the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office.

             And the most recent case, on June 9, 2012, Olivia Lovato’s body was recovered from a burning car on the highway below the caves. Since the Lovato case is still under investigation, not much else is known at this point.

             Hunt has some strong advice for anybody who plans on traveling through the mountains during this time of year. “In the winter, it would be in your best interest if you’re not to be up there at all unless you have to.”

              The roadside barrier with photos of Carla Salina Simmons on Highway 165 is what passerby see when heading to Placitas or Sandia Peak Ski Resort

                                    Nearby is the cross and flowers placed in her memory.

            Sandia Man Cave from Highway 165 near Simmons roadside memorial. Three other people have lost their lives in or near this area.



References
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-108334762/light-went-out.html

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-78063498/police-suspect-suicide-death.html

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/mans-body-discovered-in-mountains

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/06/16/riorancho/police-id-body-in-burnedout-car.html