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by ERIN PARROTT
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On a quiet summer morning in rural York County, 15-year-old Eva Gerline DeBruhl finished mowing her family’s lawn, walked inside to make a pitcher of iced tea and seemingly vanished without a trace.
She left behind an untouched glass of tea, a television still playing and a mystery that has haunted South Carolina for nearly fifty years.
As part of its Unsolved Carolinas series, FITSNews is revisiting some of the Palmetto State’s most enduring disappearances and cold cases in the hopes that renewed attention could help generate the one lead investigators have been waiting decades to receive.
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A TYPICAL SUMMER MORNING…
Eva was last seen on June 29, 1977, at her family’s home in the Catawba community of York County. According to investigators, the shy, church-going teenager had spent the morning mowing the lawn before going inside to prepare iced tea.
Her father left for work shortly after 11:00 a.m., while her mother – who had worked the overnight shift – remained asleep. When her mother awoke around noon, Eva was gone.
There was no sign of a struggle. A pitcher of freshly made iced tea and a glass sat untouched inside the house. The television had been turned on. Eva’s rubber flip-flops were found in the front yard, and every article of clothing she owned remained inside the home except the outfit she had been wearing that day – and her prescription eyeglasses.
In addition to there being no sign of an abduction, family members have long maintained there was no reason to believe the 15-year-old would run away from home.
Eva had just completed junior high school, was excited to begin classes at Rock Hill High School that fall and was described as a deeply religious teenager who sang in her church choir, babysat to earn spending money and had no history of disappearing or leaving home unexpectedly.
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THE MAN IN THE JEEP…
Perhaps the most intriguing clue in the case came from Eva’s grandmother, who lived nearby.
She told investigators she saw a late-model blue-and-white – or possibly green-and-white – Jeep-type vehicle pull into the DeBruhl driveway that morning. A white man wearing a light green shirt and dark green pants reportedly stood on the front porch speaking through the screen door.
Believing he was there to see Eva’s father about automobile repairs, she thought nothing of it.
But Eva’s father had already left for work.
According to investigators, the vehicle drove away before returning roughly 10 to 15 minutes later. Eva’s grandmother never saw her granddaughter enter the vehicle, and authorities have never identified the man or determined whether he had anything to do with her disappearance.
Nearly five decades later, he and his vehicle remain the biggest unanswered questions tied to Eva’s disappearance.
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RELATED | THE VANISHING OF ANDREA HAYSLETTE
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A FALSE CONFESSION…
Eva’s disappearance was further complicated when serial killer Henry Lee Lucas falsely claimed responsibility for her death.
Like hundreds of other murders Lucas confessed to, however, investigators were unable to substantiate his account. Lucas became notorious for providing false confessions to crimes across the country, leading authorities to discount many of his claims before his death in prison.
Foul play is strongly suspected in Eva’s disappearance, but no one has ever been charged.
Online discussions over the years have generated numerous theories – including speculation about other convicted killers active in the Carolinas during that era – but investigators have never publicly identified another suspect.
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STILL WAITING FOR ANSWERS…
At the time of her disappearance, Eva DeBruhl was just 15 years old. Today, she would be in her 60s.
Her father has since died, but her mother and sisters spent decades searching for answers and keeping hope alive that someone, somewhere, knows what happened on that June morning in 1977.
The York County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) continues to investigate the case.
Anyone with information about Eva Gerline DeBruhl’s disappearance is encouraged to contact YCS at 803-628-3059. Even after nearly 50 years, investigators believe the smallest detail could finally help solve one of South Carolina’s oldest missing persons cases.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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