A Nebraska girl's murder went unsolved for more than 55 years before an Oklahoma man was arrested and accused of being the "enraged killer," that was being sought for decades, officials said.
Joseph A. Ambroz, 77, was picked up by marshals in Ponca City, Oklahoma this week, after he was indicted for one count of first-degree murder for the slaying of 17-year-old Mary Kay Heese, according to a statement by the sheriff and prosecutor in Saunders County, Nebraska.
The girl was reported missing on the night of March 25, 1969, before her body was found in a "roadside ditch south of Wahoo just after midnight," the sheriff and prosecutor said.
Heese's loved ones never lost hope that her killer would be found one day.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
The family maintained a Facebook page all these years, asking for the public's help to bring justice to the teenager whose "life was taken by this enraged killer."
Investigators recently exhumed Heese’s body, though it wasn't immediately clear what role, if any, unearthing the girl's remains played in Ambroz's arrest.
Saunders County Attorney Jennifer Joakim could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.
U.S. & World
The indictment against Ambroz has not been unsealed, according to Saunders County Sheriff Chris Lichtenberg, who declined to offer any more details about what allegedly connected the elderly suspect to Heese.
"Unfortunately, at this point, I can’t release details as to not jeopardize the case," the sheriff said Wednesday.
Ambroz was taken into custody on Monday and was still at the Kay County Detention Facility on Wednesday, a jail official said.
Records did not indicate if Ambroz had yet hired or been assigned a defense lawyer.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
