Murder case of 17-year-old girl remains unsolved 26 years later

The body of Samantha Zublionis was found in rural Frio County in Sept. 1994

SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Rangers cold case unit has dozens of unsolved cases and one of those is that of 17-year-old Samantha Zublionis.

Back in August 1994, Zublionis was starting her senior year at MacArthur High School and a new job at Wendy’s on Nacogdoches Road and Loop 410.

At the time, she was living away from her family and staying with friends at an apartment complex.

Aug. 30, 1994, is the last time anybody saw Zublionis. Four days later on Sept. 3, a body was found in rural Frio County and was later identified as the teen.

The Texas Rangers took over the investigation but with few details or evidence, the case went cold.

In 2018, the Texas Department of Public Safety increased the reward to $6,000 in hopes that someone would provide a lead but nothing has come from it.

This case remains unsolved.

If you have any information you can call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS or you can submit a tip online thru the Texas Rangers’ cold case website.

Read more about other unsolved crimes in South Texas:


About the Author

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

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