3 May 2023
RENO COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — The Reno County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) is seeking details in a 1977 unsolved homicide.
According to the RCSO, on Feb. 11, 1977, Gayle Sorensen left work to run errands for her employer. After not returning to work, her coworkers became concerned and notified her husband, who later reported her missing.
Later that evening, Sorensen’s vehicle was found in a grocery store parking lot in the 700 block of E. 4th Ave. in Hutchinson.
During an interview, a witness said she had seen a vehicle believed to have been Sorensen’s in the parking lot.
The witness observed a woman sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and an unknown white man standing outside of the driver’s door talking to the driver. The man and driver were both laughing, and she assumed the two knew each other.
“This unknown white male was described as 26-28 years of age, 5’10”-6’, brown hair which was about collar length or longer and was shaggy in appearance,” the RCSO said. “He was described as wearing wire-framed glasses with brown lenses, a red stocking cap and had a mustache and goatee.”
Several days later, Sorensen’s body was discovered southeast of Hutchinson, along the Arkansas River Levey. The RCSO says Sorensen’s throat had been slashed and that she had been sexually assaulted.
An investigation was conducted by the RCSO and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
“Investigators devoted a tremendous amount of effort, time and resources into finding the person responsible for Gayle’s murder,” the RCSO said. “Unfortunately, her murder remains unsolved.”
The RCSO asks if you have any information regarding the murder of Sorensen, to please contact Captain Shawn McClay or Detective Diana Skomal with the Reno County Sheriff’s Office at 620-694-2735. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call 620-694-2666 or 800-222-TIPS.