Lorree Lee Dennis -- Missing Since July 1984

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Lorree was last seen in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 22nd, 1984. She was a passenger in a maroon 1970 Ford station wagon. There was a storm and the driver tried to cross high water near the corner of East Washington Avenue and Lamb Boulevard when their vehicle flipped over and was swept away. In journalism, this water was called "6-foot wall of water."

The driver was Stephen Jack House (which might be spelled Steven in media). He was located dead but Lorree Dennis has never been located. Journalism covering the event suggests that there was another person in the vehicle as well, however, this was later debunked. Steven Jack House and Lorree Lee Dennis were the only occupants of the vehicle.

Missing Person: Lorree Lee Dennis

Last contact: July 22nd, 1984 (Sunday)

Age when Lorree Lee Dennis disappeared: 19

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64, which is 5'4"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 95- 100

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Red/Auburn

Eye Color: Brown

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Scar on knee. Freckles. However, after all this time her remains would only be skeletal.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/13546?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

The case of Lorree Lee Dennis is one of those cases where there might not be a lot of mystery surrounding what happened to her. She went missing when the car that she was a passenger in got swept away in a surge of aggressive water, as suggested by the NamUs circumstances. The driver died and the car was located but Lorree Lee Dennis was not. That actually struck me as really odd at first.

But Lorree Lee Dennis was diminutive at 5'4" and just 100 pounds for an upper body weight. Her light body cause probably contributed to her being taken further away in the surge of water than the driver.

Has Lorree Lee Dennis been found?

At first, this was an accident that was hard to picture in my mind. The intersection that she went missing in is urban on contemporary maps and it was in Las Vegas. There are no rivers or streams near this intersection in the desert. But after researching that summer in Nevada, there was a series of floods in the state. She must have been out during one of these floods.

That said, if she disappeared in a vehicle accident involving a surge of stormwater in Las Vegas, then I don't know why the authorities would compare her to Jane Does in Virginia and Tennesssee, which they did according to the comparisons chart at NamUs.

I think with this missing person case, we should not be too fanciful. In my opinion, this individual was likely swept into irrigation, which could be defined as man-made waterways. On contemporary maps of the area, there is a man-made canal called the Las Vegas Wash. I think this wash might have existed in 1984 as a wash in the area is referenced in some journalism about this event. She could have ended up in Lake Mead according to one authority that commented on this case. Lake Mead is in both Nevada and Arizona.

The Idaho Statesman. July 24th, 1984.

I found a divorce record for this individual from just days prior to her disappearance. However, I think that is just a red herring. Jane Does found in the area around the Las Vegas Wash or Lake Mead are in play for this missing person in my opinion. Her small body could have been carried a very long way, I think.

Attempt to match: https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/9858?nav

If you are searching for original newspaper at about the time of Lorree Dennis' disappearance, then search for the driver, spelled "Steven Jack House."