DPS Offers Increased Reward, Seeks Leads In 1983 Harris County Murder

Her 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was found in the parking lot of the Gulf States Yachts boat store (now out of business), very near to where her body was discovered.

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is asking for the public’s help in solving the 1983 murder of Susan Lee Eads, and an increased reward of up to $6,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible if the tip is received before next month’s featured case is announced. (A $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest is routinely offered on all cases on the Texas Rangers’ Unsolved Homicides website.)

On Aug. 31, 1983, the body Susan Lee Eads, 19, was found in a vacant lot near Nasa Road 1 and Elam Street in Seabrook. Her 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was found in the parking lot of the Gulf States Yachts boat store (now out of business), very near to where her body was discovered. 

Eads worked at the Prickly Pear Bar in Webster (Harris County) and also worked part-time for Charlie’s Bar in Nassau Bay (Harris County).  She was last seen leaving her job in Nassau Bay on the night of Aug. 30. Eads was wearing her Clear Lake High School class ring and a gold necklace, which were never recovered. Numerous leads were developed early on in the investigation but ultimately the case was never solved.

Recently, detectives from the Seabrook Police Department and the Texas Rangers reopened the investigation.  Investigators are asking for anyone with information about this crime to contact them, even if they have previously been interviewed or called in information.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to authorities by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).  All tips are anonymous.

Individuals also can submit information through the Texas Ranger Cold Case website or by contacting us at 1-800-346-3243 (DPS Missing Persons Hotline).

The DPS Texas Rangers’ Unsolved Homicides website provides information on more than 75 cases in an effort to help garner public interest in unsolved or “cold cases.”

Texas Crime Stoppers offers rewards (funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division and administered by DPS) of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for any Rangers cold case listed on the website. For more information, visit the Texas Ranger cold case website at: http://www.dps.texas.gov/TexasRangers/UnsolvedHomicides/index.htm.

As part of a DPS public awareness program, one case from the Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation (Cold Case) Program is featured each month in an effort to generate new investigative leads and bring attention to these cold cases.

The Texas Crime Stoppers reward is increased up to $6,000 for the featured case in hopes that the higher reward money will generate additional tips. The higher reward amount will only be paid if the tip is submitted before the next case is featured.

The Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program was created to assist Texas law enforcement agencies investigating unsolved murders or violent serial crimes. Since there is no statute of limitations for the offense of murder, investigators pursue these cases to a successful resolution or until no viable leads remain.