Ted Bundy ‘knew things about our family’: Lynnette Culver’s sister reflects on Pocatello teen’s disappearance 51 years later
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EDITOR’S NOTE: EastIdahoNews.com recently published a Fact or Folklore article exploring whether Ted Bundy may have struck in Pocatello in 1975, abducting and murdering 12-year-old Lynnette Dawn Culver. After the article was published, Culver’s older sister, Nancy Culver Albano, contacted EastIdahoNews.com and agreed to share her thoughts 51 years after her sister’s disappearance. Albano also emphasized that her sister’s name is spelled Lynnette, not Lynette, noting that many media outlets have repeatedly misspelled it over the years despite her efforts to correct it.
POCATELLO — Nancy Culver Albano was just 16 years old when her younger sister disappeared forever on May 5, 1975, during her lunch break from Alameda Junior High School.
Lynnette Culver is believed to have been abducted and murdered by serial killer Ted Bundy, who confessed to the crime 15 years later. Although her remains have never been found — leaving a small degree of uncertainty — Albano said she and her family believe Bundy was responsible.
“While he could have made up some information based on what he heard in news reports, he knew things about our family that make it likely it was him,” Albano said.
RELATED: Fact or Folklore: Did Ted Bundy strike in Pocatello?
Albano said there is evidence, supported by witness accounts, that Bundy traveled from Utah, was in Pocatello at that time, and was lurking around Idaho State University.
Based on information she later learned, Albano said Bundy allegedly tried to talk his way into Turner Hall, an all-women’s dormitory that had limited visiting hours for men. According to Albano, a security guard refused to let him in and told him to leave.
“After that, he went driving around Pocatello looking for more victims,” Albano said. “That’s when he spotted Lynnette walking home for lunch.”
Albano said that despite rumors over the years about where her sister was going or what she was doing that day, she was simply walking home for lunch — something she did regularly.
“I’m sure there were probably people who witnessed her abduction but didn’t realize at the time what was happening,” Albano said.
She also recalled the frustration her family felt in the hours after Lynnette disappeared.
“When Lynnette first disappeared, the Pocatello police wouldn’t touch it for 48 hours and treated the case as a runaway,” she said.
Lynnette was never seen again.
Life after Lynnette’s disappearance
Albano said life at home was tense in the weeks and months after her sister disappeared. Their parents, Ed and Carol Ann Culver, were both educators in Pocatello. Carol Ann taught at Tyhee Elementary School, and Ed worked at Idaho State University’s audiovisual center.
Albano was the only child left at home after their older brother, Eddie, left for the Navy around the same time Lynnette disappeared.
“We were a tight-knit family. We always held on to hope,” she said. “There were rumors she was out on the reservation. My dad flew to different places looking for her based on tips from people claiming they saw her. He was always on the hunt.”
Albano said she often kept her emotions to herself because talking about her little sister would make her mother cry.
“She cried a lot and immersed herself in work,” Albano recalled.
Albano still holds on to the fond memories of her younger sister.
“She was my fun, tag-along little sister,” she said.
One of the sisters’ final memories together came just weeks before the abduction, when they participated in a 20-mile March of Dimes walkathon in April 1975.
“I was exhausted afterward,” Albano said. “But not Lynnette. She hopped on her bike and rode to McDonald’s to redeem the free Big Mac she earned for participating.”
Life marches on
Albano later married and became the mother of nine children — five biological and four adopted.
“What happened to Lynnette made me more protective of my own children,” she said. “They were raised in the mountains outside of Pocatello, where I felt like they were a little safer.”
She also taught Head Start in Pocatello, where she made it part of the curriculum to teach children about “stranger danger” at just 4 and 5 years old.
Today, Albano lives in Kuna and travels frequently to Arizona to check on her aging parents, who spend winters in Apache Junction.
Her parents rarely speak publicly about what happened to their daughter. However, Albano said words her father once shared have stayed with her through the years.
“Life happens to everyone,” Ed Culver told her. “Back then, we bled. The bleeding stopped, but the scars will always remain.”
Albano said her mother still struggles to hear Bundy’s name.
“My mother doesn’t like his name said out loud. She doesn’t want to bring glory to him in any way,” she said.
Ultimately, Albano said her family chose to move forward rather than live as victims.
“Yes, our story is terrible, but someone else’s story may be just as terrible. Bad things happen, and we all have trauma in our lives. The question is what you will do with it so you can overcome and fly,” she said. “I hope people realize they don’t have to live as a victim — they can move forward and live a full, happy life.”
Now vs. then
Albano said she is also aware of the other young girls who went missing in the Pocatello area during the 1970s and 1980s, including 12-year-old Tina Anderson and 15-year-old Patricia Campbell — both students at Alameda Junior High School who could not have been taken by Bundy, as he was incarcerated at the time.
The girls disappeared during a Pioneer Day celebration at Alameda Park. They were last seen on July 22, 1978, after leaving family members near a swing set to buy corndogs for their group.
“There are still a lot of killers out there,” she said. “We live in a broken world where, unfortunately, people’s bad decisions affect others.”
Albano said she is grateful that law enforcement’s response to missing children and teens has changed over the years, from early efforts like photos of missing children on milk cartons to modern Amber Alerts.
“Now when kids go missing, they take it a lot more seriously and get on it a lot quicker,” Albano said. “I think Lynnette’s case helped start that.”
The Pocatello Police Department encourages anyone with information about Lynette Culver or the other cold cases mentioned here to contact the department at 208-234-6100.