Girl’s Death Haunted Police Until Arrest Made 45 Years Later

Linda O'Keefe (L) and James Neal, a case that has long shaken the seaside community of Newport Beach, Calif. Newport Beach Police Department via AP

SANTA ANA, California—Investigators searched for decades for the killer of an 11-year-old girl who disappeared while walking home from summer school in a case that gripped a California seaside community.

A photo of a smiling Linda O’Keefe has hung for years on the wall of the police department in Newport Beach, reminding investigators to keep pressing forward on cold cases like hers.