2 Marion cold cases in the latest deck of cards

OCALA - Officials with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit planned to attend a press conference in Gainesville on Thursday to help unveil of a deck of cards about unsolved cases.

But on Wednesday the press conference was postponed because of Tropical Storm Fay.

Sgt. Brian Spivey said they will have two cases in this deck called “Florida Cold Cases, Third Edition.”

The first is about Gayle Beall, 32, whose body was found in a vacant lot in Silver Springs Shores on Dec. 9, 1983. Beall had been stabbed to death. She was last seen at a bar, Spivey said.

The second is on Michelle Otter, 15. Her parents reported her missing on May 7, 1998. She disappeared while on her way to a school bus stop.

The deck of cards was developed by the state Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Correction, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Sheriff’s Association, Florida Police Chiefs Association and Florida Association of Crime Stoppers.

They hope someone may recognize or have some information about the faces on the cards and contact law enforcement officials.

Anyone with any information about either case can call the Sheriff’s Office at 732-9111, or Crime Stoppers at 368-STOP.

- Austin L. Miller