Let's be honest—we all love a good mystery. That's why there are so many armchair detectives hiding among us and why every streaming service has true crime documentaries and addictive crime thrillers out the wazoo. 

 

You might be surprised to discover the charming small town of Mill Valley has had its fair few unsolved mysteries. (Then again, maybe not too surprised—if we've learned anything from television, it's that the small town where "nothing ever happens" is usually the main culprit.)

 

 

A hiker walking near the Mill Valley Golf Course got a nasty surprise on September 26th, 1974, when they stumbled upon the partial skeletal remains of a young boy on the premises. Initially thought to be a female due to the slight form, further testing determined the Doe was a male. 

 

To this day, no one knows who the poor kid was or how he died. All they ever found was a partial skeleton, some human hair, a ladybug pin, and the clothes in which he died.

 

 

In 2008, a cemetery worker found mysterious remains at the Fernwood Cemetery. A few months later, the coroner's office connected them to a missing woman from 1964 named Gertrude Kavesh Jones. 

 

Police suspect that her husband, a union boss with the Longshoremen named Bruce B. Jones, might have killed her. The reason? Supposedly, Gertrude refused to put Bruce's name on a piece of property they owned. 

 

According to Bruce, his wife walked out of their house on foot after an argument and didn't return. (Maybe because you killed her, Bruce!) Unfortunately, Bruce is long gone by now, and Gertrude's death will remain unsolved. Maybe one day they'll find his remains out of place in a cemetery. 

 

 

While not in Mill Valley, Ashley Yamauchi's murder rattled everyone in Marin County. Her body was found on December 15th, 2008, in the neighboring town of San Rafael. Ashley was a single mother who worked as a full-time nanny. On the day of her murder, she was walking to work from the Fourth Street Tavern when someone brutally attacked her. 

 

Ten years later, Ashley's sister is still desperately seeking answers to what happened to her. It's a tragic story, especially given the nature of the 33-year-old's death. Police conducted an extensive investigation, questioning every suspect and chasing down any lead, but unfortunately, answers were never found.

 

 

In one of the more strange Mill Valley cases, a motorcyclist took the name "Hell's Angels" too literally when he dressed in all black and opened fire on a couple sitting in a truck on a quiet suburban street. 

 

The shooter rode up on a black motorcycle to match his dramatic attire and fired off five shots at the couple's white pickup truck. Thankfully, the couple only suffered from minor injuries, although the shooter did manage to shatter all of the truck's windows. 

 

According to the woman, she and the man with her were having "a meeting" (is that what they call making out these days?) when the strange assault occurred. 

 

Want to learn about more Mill Valley’s rich (and sometimes eerie!) history or interested in purchasing a piece of Mill Valley real estate? Contact me today. It would be my pleasure to help you browse the best (unhaunted) Mill Valley homes for sale.