This week marked eight years since Jennifer "Jenni" Lueth and Diana "Dede" Shawcroft disappeared from a Glendale convenience store, only to be found dead three months later in the desert north of Phoenix. Time may heal all wounds, but it doesn't always heal them completely.

"It doesn't get any easier," Jenni's sister Becky Lueth said.  Her mom, Deb, said, "It's harder (now), because it's more real - every day that passes, you realize she's not coming home."

The two women, both 19 and originally from Loveland, Colo., disappeared May 24, 1996 from a convenience store near 59th Avenue and Camelback Road. They left their apartment near 57th Avenue and Camelback and told their roommate, Shawcroft's sister, they would be back shortly.

The store manager was the last person to see the women alive, Det. Bruce Foremny said. The manager told police he saw the women talking with a man in a blue, older-model pickup truck. They were last seen getting into the truck.

Foremny said the women had reported vehicle trouble earlier and were expecting someone to come pick them up. He believes the man in the truck might have been that person.  Because of that, the investigation has focused on people the women knew.  "We do believe it's someone in that group. There's no reason to believe it's random," he said.

The skeletal remains of the two women were found in the Tulle Mesa area of Yavapai County, about 100 miles north of the Valley. Foremny said the area is frequented by hikers, bikers and off-roaders, but is very remote and is accessed by very few people. He believes the killer may have a connection to the area.

The Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible.  "As long as the person responsible is free, the family has no peace of mind and the community is not safe," Executive Director Kim Peterson said. "If he did it once, he'll do it again."

Investigators and family hope that the passage of time will be a benefit and someone will come forward now to clear their conscience.  "The people who know what happened have had to live with this for eight years," Becky Lueth said. "I pray every day that this will be solved. We need you to call if you know anything."

Foremny said all it takes is one phone call and the information provided by the caller may seem insignificant on the surface, but it could make the difference and break the case wide open.  "We've got 10,000 pieces of information. We just need that one call to link them together," he said. "The case isn't going away - we'll be here."  Anyone with any information about the disappearance and murder of Lueth and Shawcroft is asked to call Foremny at (623) 930-3327 or Silent Witness at (800) 343-TIPS.

Reach the reporter at [email protected].