Forty-Three Years Later, A Question Still Echoes in Blaine: The Unsolved 1983 Murder of Scott Allen Johnson

Blaine, MN

On the morning of February 19, 1983, a 20-year-old man was found dead inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the Blainbrook Bowling Alley at 9150 Central Avenue N.E. in Blaine, Minnesota.

His name was Scott Allen Johnson. He had been shot in the head.

More than four decades later, the case remains unsolved.

According to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Homicide Unit, Johnson’s death is officially recorded as Case Number 83-011742. The public case summary confirms that Johnson was located inside a vehicle parked at the bowling alley and had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. No witnesses came forward. No suspect information was developed in the immediate aftermath.

This week marked the 43rd anniversary of his killing.

And once again, investigators are asking for help.

A Public Place. A Private Crime.

Blainbrook Bowling Alley was and remains a community gathering place, a familiar suburban fixture where families bowl leagues and teenagers meet on weekend nights. That Johnson was killed in the parking lot of a public business makes the silence that followed even more striking.

Despite the location, investigators have stated that no witnesses to the shooting have ever been identified. The official county case description remains concise, a common approach in cold cases where details may be withheld to preserve investigative integrity.

What is known is stark: Johnson was 20 years old. He was found inside a vehicle. He had been shot in the head.

The rest remains unanswered.

The Cold Case Unit and Modern Forensics

In recent years, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office formalized its Cold Case Homicide Unit, consolidating decades-old investigations and applying modern forensic tools such as advanced DNA analysis and forensic genetic genealogy where possible.

The approach has yielded results in other cases. One of the most notable breakthroughs involved a 1983 infant homicide long referred to as “Baby Jane Doe,” which was resolved through contemporary forensic methods.

But not every case has biological evidence suitable for DNA testing. Some, like Johnson’s, may depend less on laboratory science and more on memory.

Investigators routinely emphasize that time changes people. Relationships shift. Loyalties fade. Fear diminishes. What once felt too dangerous to say can become easier to share decades later.

Anniversaries, in particular, can jog recollection. A date can reopen a mental file. A detail that once seemed minor may, in hindsight, feel significant.

What Detectives Are Looking For

The Sheriff’s Office has renewed its public appeal, asking for:

• Information about Johnson’s activities leading up to February 19, 1983
• Names of individuals he may have been with in the days or hours before his death
• Any recollection of conflicts, threats, or unusual activity tied to him
• Rumors or admissions that may have circulated in the years since

Even fragmentary details can help investigators re-examine timelines, cross-reference statements, and test long-held theories.

Officials stress that tips do not have to be definitive. They do not have to solve the case on their own. They simply need to move it forward.

Humanizing the Case

There is another request.

The Sheriff’s Office is seeking a photograph of Scott Allen Johnson for public awareness efforts. No widely circulated image currently accompanies the case listing on the county’s Cold Case Homicide Unit page.

In cold cases, images matter. They transform a file number into a face. They remind the public that behind each unsolved homicide is a family that marked a birthday without him, a holiday with an empty chair, and now 43 anniversaries without answers.

How to Submit a Tip

The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office says tips can be submitted anonymously.

Email: ACSOColdCases@anokacountymn.gov
Phone: 763-324-5000

Additional details about this and other unsolved homicides are available on the Anoka County Cold Case Homicide Unit website.

A Question That Still Lingers

Forty-three years is a long time in the life of a community. Blaine has grown. Businesses have changed hands. Families have moved in and out. The bowling alley still stands.

But somewhere, someone may remember something.

A car leaving too quickly.
A conversation that felt strange.
A confession whispered and dismissed.

Cold cases rarely resolve because of one dramatic revelation. More often, they move forward because someone finally decides that silence has lasted long enough.

Scott Allen Johnson was 20 years old when his life ended in a parking lot in Blaine.

The question that remains is whether, after four decades, someone will help answer why.

MinneapoliMedia