SANTA FE, Texas – The family of a 14-year-old girl who vanished from her Santa Fe home 42 years ago is hoping new eyes on the case will finally bring closure. Last week, detectives from the Santa Fe Police Department searched a garage in hopes of finding evidence linked to Sondra Ramber’s 1983 disappearance.
KPRC 2 Reporter Corley Peel spoke exclusively with Ramber’s brother, Kris Ramber. Growing up, he affectionately referred to his younger sister as Sondra Kay. The fresh faced 14-year-old girl had big dreams of becoming a model. Her brother, who lives in Oklahoma, shared fond memories of their childhood.
“We laughed a lot, we liked to draw together. Sondra Kaye was a very normal, regular 14-year-old girl getting into makeup and her appearance,” he said.
On October 26, 1983, Sondra vanished from her Santa Fe home, where she lived with her father. Police said her father reported her missing the following morning. Kris was 19 years old at the time and living in Oklahoma when he received the news.
“They had breakfast together, and there were biscuits in the oven,” Kris recalled. “He had to leave for work. When he came home that evening, the door was open, and the biscuits in the oven were still on,” said Kris.
Sondra was nowhere to be found, and her case quickly turned cold.
Last week, there was a glimmer of hope when Detective James Butler obtained a search warrant for the garage still located on the property where the Ramber family once lived. Although the original home is no longer there, the detached garage remains roughly the same.
Detective Butler told Corley that the search was prompted by statements from an outside agency and a process of elimination. While he could not disclose specific details about those statements, he mentioned they were possibly searching for human remains. Texas Equusearch utilized technology to drill and excavate the concrete floor of the garage, which Kris noted was originally built by their father.
Detective Butler indicated that the garage likely had a dirt floor in 1983. He said the agency obtained permits showing concrete was poured in 1984. Unfortunately, the search yielded no significant evidence, leaving Detective Butler back at square one.
“Right now, back to the drawing board,” he said. “We’ll take all the reports that have been recorded and timeline everything.”
Over the years, there have been rumors linking Sondra’s disappearance to the Texas Killing Fields, where several young women were murdered in the late 1970s and 1980s. However, Detective Butler stated that there is no evidence to support this theory.
Detective Butler said at this point, anyone who had direct contact with Sondra in 1983 is considered a person of interest. Nothing is off the table.
When asked if Sondra’s disappearance has ever been classified as a murder, Detective Butler clarified that she is still listed as a missing person. However, he acknowledged the possibility that she could still be alive.
Kris Ramber shared that a death certificate was issued for Sondra many years ago, but without answers, his sister will forever remain 14.
“We need to be able to go to a place to build a memorial in her memory,” he said. “We want to honor Sondra Kay in her life because she wasn’t just another name. She was a girl, she was a human being who needed so much to be given the chance to go on and live.”
KPRC2 reached out to Sondra’s father but have not heard back.
Kris and the detectives are urging anyone with information about Sondra’s disappearance to contact the Santa Fe Police Department, as they are following up on every tip.