There are many versions of the legend of the pink lady, however we have finally uncovered the most complete version of the story to day. We have also discovered the truth behind the sightings and discovered some new facts about the Pink Lady.

The most popular version of the story goes that the Pink Lady was on her way home from a ball at Valencia High School and was killed when her buggy overturned. The legend also states that the victim is Alvina de los Reyes – one of the few grave markers that has not been defaced at the Yorba Cemetery.

 

Unfortunately the story falls apart when we learn that Valencia High School wasn’t around, and that Alvina de los Reyes died giving birth to a child when she was 31 years old.

Just as urban legends grow, we have found the bits of truth behind the story. There was indeed an accident in 1910 where a buggy overturned killing a 17 year old girl. One of the passengers on the buggy was in fact one of the de los Reyes boys.

Professional psychic Barbara Soblewski who said she has been in communication with the spirit of the "Pink Lady" says that she is alive and well. The Pink Lady reportedly haunts the tiny Yorba Cemetery on June 15th of even numbered years and has communicated more details to Ms. Soblewski.

Lets first establish some of the facts. In 1834, Don Bernardo Yorba petitioned Mexican Governor Figueroa for 13,000 acres of land on the northern side of the Santa Ana River. It was granted, and named Rancho Canon de Santa Ana, or the Canyon of Saint Anne.

 

In 1858 Bernardo deeded to the Bishop of the Catholic Church a plot of land 1/4 miles west of his adobe ranch house. The land, the La Mesita, was a gently sloping hill with some corrals located on it. It would become the oldest private cemetery in Orange County predated only by the Mission Cemetery in Capistrano. This cemetery is located in the center of a townhouse complex at Fairlynn and Esperanza on Woodgate Drive.

The cemetery is the final resting place for many of the Yorba relatives, including many of the de los Reyes family, which is probably one of the reasons that the Pink Lady was rumored to be one of their family instead of an acquaintance. We will look at more about the relationship later.

 

The cemetery closed in 1939. It fell victim of vandals who defaced and stole many of the rustic markers and marble headstones. Because of this, we have lost a part of history, and contributed to the false identity of the Pink Lady.

In 1967, the Orange County Board of Supervisors accepted the deed to the cemetery from the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In an attempt to restore the cemetery and preserve a very important part of our local history, Ranger staff and volunteers have been trying to restore the damage caused by these vandals and years of neglect prior to the county's acquisition. The cemetery remains closed in respect to those that are buried there.

Oh, yeah – there’s the Pink Lady phenomenon, but don’t expect to see her. She only makes an appearance on June 15 of every even-numbered year.

Ms. Soblewski tells us that the Pink Lady is "living" near the grave of Alejandro N. Castillo.  " I was very skeptical," she said. "you should have heard the jokes I was making". But she managed to sense the spirit's presence and "tuned in" to an area toward the rear of the cemetery- the Castillo grave.

" The impressions of a frail, young-looking woman appeared in my mind's eye," Ms. Soblewski recalled. "She had sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes and a cream colored dress."

This is in contradiction to the de los Reyes rumors which described the Pink Lady as a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman garbed in pink. Ms Soblewski returned to Yorba Cemetery to get more information. Accompanied by her husband, Richard Garcia, and Fullerton residents Shirley White and Jim Wright, took infrared photographs of the graveyard during Ms Soblewski's "session" with the elusive spirit.

Through a technique known as psychic art, Ms. Soblewski sketched three drawings that depict the woman, a church, an unidentified structure behind the church, and what appears to be a wrecked carriage and a book, held by the woman in one of the drawings.

Ms Soblewski turned to another psychic technique - "automatic writing" - to transfer the spirit's thoughts to paper.

During the drawings and automatic writing, Ms Soblewski said, "I am not aware of what's going on - a spirit, an energy, an intelligence" controls her pencil. The spirit communicated that she was buried beside the Castillo grave in an unmarked plot, Ms. Soblewski said. "My family not here, just one," the spirit communicated. "I look for my family, my home: where are they, not here. I am a free spirit, let me go in peace and peace be with you."

 

After the automatic writing stopped, Ms Soblewski said, "Ellie's presence overpowered me. It wanted me to walk; I submitted to her wishes and was led to the grave site of Angie C. Bleecker, who died in 1934."
Ms. Soblewski and Mrs. White contacted Angie Bleecker's grandson, who put them in touch with his father - Earlan Bleecker.

Bleecker remembered the little church as a small boy and said he used to play in the adobe ruins behind it. He said the Bleeckers moved to Yorba Linda from Anaheim: some had married into the Garcia, De Los Reyes and Castillo families.

"He recalled an Ellie who he believed had married a Castillo," Ms. Soblewski reported. "But no one knew what had become of her after the couple had broken apart. He described her as attractive woman, slender, fair in complexion, "with light brown hair."

Ms Soblewski also visited Angie Bleecker's sister, Netty Rivera, who said she vaguely remembered and Ellie. In addition, Mrs. Rivera recalled an automobile accident involving two boys - one of whom, a De Los Reyes, survived the crash.

(The spirit had communicated, through automatic writing, that she had a "little brother who had a sister that died," Ms. Soblewski said.) The psychic investigator plans to continue her search regarding Ellie.

But tracing the spirit has become "an emotional thing with me," Ms Soblewski said. "She's apparently earthbound, kind of like a lost soul" A lost soul Ms Soblewski intends to find.

The incorrect legend names the Pink Lady as Alvina Yorba de los Reyes, a Yorba descendent who was killed in a buggy accident in 1910, on her way home from a dance at a local school. According to local legend, her ghost appears in this cemetery every two years in mid-June. But one of her relatives says she really died during childbirth. In any case, Alvina’s death has been recorded as December 2, 1910.

We now know that the Pink Lady was a 17 year old woman named Ellie. She had sandy hair, a fair complexion and wore a light colored dress – possibly pink. She was killed in a buggy accident around 1910 – and was most likely returning from a social event, such as a dance. She’s buried at the Yorba cemetery in an unmarked grave (due to vandalism) and work is being done to identify her in more detail.

We also know that her appearance isn’t limited to even numbered years. Recently, she has appeared at the Haunt Hotel in Yorba Linda, an event held at the approximate site of the original Bernardo Yorba hotel.