July 14, 2025 | By: Fahad Amjad

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Melody Rhoades Husk enjoyed playing with dolls with her sister, Roxanne. “I remember spending hours playing Barbies with her. We didn’t have Barbie’s Dreamhouse back then, so we’d make our own house,” Roxanne said. Melody also enjoyed riding horses with her family at their house in South Carolina.

This all changed for Roxanne and her family on December 14, 1980, when Melody’s remains were found off San Pablo Road in Jacksonville. Her murder has never been solved.

Melody was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Spartanburg and Cowpens, South Carolina. She moved to Neptune Beach with her family when she was 10. Neptune Beach is a small residential beach community just across the Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville, Florida. Compared to its neighboring city, Jacksonville Beach, it is relaxed. Historically, Neptune Beach has attracted tenants such as lawyers and real estate agents and has remained an affluent area. Her brother still lives in their family home in Bal Harbor Estates.

Melody’s friends and family describe her as fiery with an ambitious personality. Her brother, Craig, described her as bold and short and said she didn’t back down from a fight. “She should’ve been a boy,” Craig said. He also mentioned that as an adult, she carried a knife and a pistol with her for protection.

Melody’s sister, Roxanne, had trouble walking as a child and was bullied. She can remember a specific time that she was bullied by a boy in school. Melody was so upset, she got in the boy’s face and demanded that he apologize and leave Roxanne alone. “If you ever speak that way to my sister again, it will get physical,” Melody told the boy, according to Roxanne.

Melody was expected to do well in school, and when she didn’t have homework, her parents would assign their own homework. She enjoyed helping others and volunteered with the Special Olympics.

Melody was short, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her friends and family describe her as a beautiful woman. She was fashionable and enjoyed hanging out with her friends, going out dancing, and listening to music. She also loved her two cats, Seagram and Seven. On a typical weekend, she would go out dancing and hang out with her small group of friends.

Melody was married, but they separated when she discovered that he was selling drugs. Melody was also angry about a rumor that her husband was having an affair with one of her friends. After moving back in with her parents, she started working at Quincy’s Steakhouse.

The night she went missing, she went out with a friend to grab drinks. She was wearing stylish jeans and a sweater. Her friend stepped away from the table to dance, and according to her, when she came back, Melody was gone. The friend didn’t search for her but instead went to another party across town, according to Roxanne. Although there was suspicion that the friend knew more, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove any involvement, according to the police at that time.

Melody, age 19, was last seen at Hobo’s Discotheque in Neptune Beach on November 23, 1979. It was a free-standing building with a wooded area surrounding it. Her pickup truck was found in the parking lot near the wooded area.

When Melody didn’t come home that night or the next morning, her sister, Roxanne, became worried and contacted the friend she had gone out with that night. The friend didn’t know anything, so Roxanne got her parents involved. The family reported her missing late afternoon on Saturday, the 24^th. According to Roxanne, there was no investigation completed by the police. As time passed, Melody’s family continued searching the Beaches area where she went missing.

Melody’s father started going to bars across Jacksonville, searching for the person of interest that the police had identified. Her disappearance caused tension within her parents’ marriage, which ultimately led to their divorce. “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Roxanne said.

According to Roxanne, the Neptune Beach police did not dust Melody’s truck for prints when it was found in the parking lot at Hobo’s Discotheque. She said that they mishandled Melody’s missing person case. “It was a struggle to get the police to even accept a missing person report,” Roxanne said.

Just over a year later, Melody’s remains were discovered about 4 miles away, in Jacksonville. Police informed Melody’s family that she was murdered. When Melody’s mother heard the news that day, she collapsed instantly. Crime in the Beaches area was minimal in the late ’70s, so Melody’s case was unusual. Roxanne, then 16 years old, said that their house was filled with police, neighbors, and family after the discovery was made. “Funeral planning started right away. A lot of people came, and it was very difficult to go through,” Roxanne said. To this day, her murder is still unsolved.

Forty-five years after Melody’s death, Roxanne said her grief hits her the most when she’s doing household tasks like washing dishes. “It’s hard because that’s something we used to do together,” Roxanne said. Melody’s family has learned to accept their loss; they can’t change it, and nothing can make it better. Roxanne keeps a picture of Melody in her house to keep her sister’s memory alive.

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Anyone with information concerning Melody Rhoades Husk’s unsolved homicide is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 255-2626. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call First Coast Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-TIPS (8477).

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