Woman hitchhiking in the snow was killed in 1974. Fifty years later, cops say they arrested her killer

In the 1970s it wasn’t unusual to hitchhike, ‘but It’s stories like this that is the reason we don’t let our kids do it anymore,’ the sheriff said

A man was arrested for the murder of Mary K Schlais, who was killed in 1974 while hitchhiking (Dunn County Sheriff’s Office)

Fifty years after the murder case of a 24-year-old woman went cold, authorities say they identified her killer.

Mary K Schlais was stabbed to death on February 15, 1974 when she was believed to be hitchhiking from Minneapolis to Chicago for an art show. Now, five decades later, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jon Keith Miller, 84, for her homicide.

Investigators found Miller from genetic evidence — a hair found on a hat — left at the crime scene, according to the criminal complaint seen by CBS News. The hat belonged to Miller, he told investigators.

After tracking him down at his apartment in Owatonna, Minnesota, police interviewed Miller, who “confirmed his involvement with Mary’s homicide in 1974,” the sheriff said.

A man was arrested for the murder of Mary K Schlais, who was killed in 1974 while hitchhiking (Dunn County Sheriff’s Office)

Miller confessed that he had picked up the young hitchhiker and asked for “sexual contact,” the complaint says. She refused his advances, prompting him to grab a knife in the car and fatally stab her in the back.

Schlais was found dead with multiple stab wounds. But the murder weapon has not yet been recovered, Sheriff Kevin Bygd said at a press conference.

He faces one first-degree murder charge, records show. The 84-year-old is being held in custody in Steele County, Minnesota and is awaiting extradition to Dunn County later on Friday.

“In 1974 it wasn’t that unusual for somebody to hitchhike their way from Minneapolis to Chicago. But it’s stories like this that is the reason we don’t let our kids do it anymore,” Bygd said. “This was a very bright young lady who had a very bright future ahead of her, and her life was taken away from her way too young.”