In 1978, Four Young Employees at a Burger Chef In Speedway, Indiana Vanished During Their Night Shift

On the night of November 17, 1978, in Speedway, Indiana, what began as an ordinary closing shift at a Burger Chef restaurant turned into one of the most disturbing and unsolved crimes in American history.

Four young employees — Jayne Friedt (20), Ruth Shelton (17), Daniel Davis (16), and Mark Flemmonds (16) — were working the late shift when they mysteriously vanished without a trace. The next morning, their coworkers arrived to find the restaurant’s back door open, the safe emptied of $581, and purses and jackets belonging to the employees still inside.

At first, police assumed it was a simple case of employee theft — that the group had taken the money and gone out for the night. But that theory collapsed two days later when all four bodies were discovered in a remote wooded area about 20 miles away in Johnson County.

The crime scene was horrific:

• Jayne and Ruth had been shot execution-style.

• Daniel was stabbed multiple times.

• Mark appeared to have died from blunt-force trauma — possibly from trying to run away.

Despite an extensive investigation that spanned years, no one was ever charged with their murders. Over time, police developed multiple theories, including possible connections to a robbery gone wrong or retaliation by local criminals. Several suspects were questioned, and deathbed confessions even surfaced — but none ever led to a conviction.

The Burger Chef murders remain one of Indiana’s most haunting cold cases. The tragedy shook the small community of Speedway and changed how police departments across the country handled missing-person cases, leading to faster investigations when employees or teens disappear under suspicious circumstances.

More than four decades later, the case is still open — and the families of the victims continue to seek justice.

The story of the Burger Chef Four stands as a chilling reminder that even the most ordinary places can become the scene of unimaginable horror.