Still Missing

911

Well-known Member
Location
USA
Twenty-nine years ago, I aided in investigating a missing hospital worker in Montgomery County. Today, she is still missing and although we have our suspicions, we can prove nothing.

We believe that she was grabbed as she waited for the bus by someone she probably knew. The young lady, 23, was somewhat mentally challenged, so she probably would have been very trusting.

Even today, this case really bothers me and sometimes keeps me awake at nights. I have gone back to those people that knew her and interviewed them a number of times, hoping that maybe one of that would make a Freudian slip.

I fear the worse, but will not stop looking on my own time now that I am retired and is allowed until she is found; dead or alive. I have nothing but time.

Thanks for reading.
 

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You're very kind and caring for continuing the search on your own 911, I hope you can find some answers to what happened to this poor young woman. Best of luck to you, please post if you get any valuable leads or discoveries. It would be great is she was still alive and doing okay...but I doubt that is likely. :(
 
Twenty years ago, I aided in investigating a missing hospital worker in Montgomery County. Today, she is still missing and although we have our suspicions, we can prove nothing.

We believe that she was grabbed as she waited for the bus by someone she probably knew. The young lady, 23, was somewhat mentally challenged, so she probably would have been very trusting.

Even today, this case really bothers me and sometimes keeps me awake at nights. I have gone back to those people that knew her and interviewed them a number of times, hoping that maybe one of that would make a Freudian slip.

I fear the worse, but will not stop looking on my own time now that I am retired and is allowed until she is found; dead or alive. I have nothing but time.

Thanks for reading.
911, not only are you the gold star re police officers, you are a wonderful human being. We are blessed to have you on sf. I wish you the best on your search for that poor woman.
 
You are the best 911, and the rest of us can sleep better at night knowing people like you are there.

Q (at the risk of sounding obvious, sorry...): is there anyone you can trust to give all your information to look at? New eyes, as it were.
 
You are the best 911, and the rest of us can sleep better at night knowing people like you are there.

Q (at the risk of sounding obvious, sorry...): is there anyone you can trust to give all your information to look at? New eyes, as it were.

The case is still open, but has been placed in the cold case files. All of my notes and interviews are included in the files. We feel that she has met her fate, but I never gave up hope that if I couldn’t find her that I could find someone who knows more than what has been told. Anyone that has met their fate at the hands of another deserve justice.
 
911,
Reminds me of the Jodi Huisentruit case - Iowa newswoman disappeared in 1995, evidence of a struggle in her apartment parking lot, never found or heard from. I'm sure you know about that case...every so often it's mentioned on Forensic Files or similar program.

Must be terrible for families in such cases...not knowing. :(

Yes, this case is still used as a teaching case when studying finding and/or investigating missing persons. When I studied missing persons at the FBI Academy in Virginia, this case was micro analyzed from A-Z. Jody’s case remains open and is still being investigated as any new information is received. The law enforcement and FBI do not have any suspects or persons of interest. In many of these missing person cases, we just need someone to come forward and tell law enforcement what’s what.

When dealing with the families of a missing person, you deal with several different personalities because each person has a different emotion going on. Some may be worried, some may be afraid, some may be upset emotionally or want to physically do harm to someone and so on.

I always found it best best to be positive, but make no promises. What brought this case to mind was that I was in New York City over the weekend and on my way back on Monday, I asked my wife if we could take a little side trip. She knew right away that I was going to go to Montgomery and just check things out. It has been a long time, but you have hope that maybe someone that is still alive has knowledge of the case or may have heard something from someone else. It’s always worth a chance.

As I was walking around the bus stop where we think she was taken from, there was a man about 50 or so years old who I asked if he was a long time resident of the area. He said he was, so I asked him if he was aware or the case and he said that he remembered it, so I asked him what he thought may have happened. It’s sometimes funny the answers that you get to that kind of question. OTOH, sometimes you get very interesting answers, as well.
 
Twenty-nine years ago, I aided in investigating a missing hospital worker in Montgomery County. Today, she is still missing and although we have our suspicions, we can prove nothing./QUOTE]

There are hundreds of thousands of unsolved murders in the US, over the past half century....and the rate of solving these homicides is declining. http://www.decodedc.com/how-many-unsolved-murders-are-there-in-the-u-s/

At any given time, there are 10's of thousands of Missing Person cases. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/09/23/missing-persons-children-numbers/16110709/

No matter how hard the police try, they will Never solve thousands of such cases....especially when those involved refuse to cooperate in the investigation, or just lie to the police.
 
We have a case here where a young woman was abducted from a store and murdered in 1984. New DNA evidence has surfaced. She was found but her killer never was, the crime lab lost the bullet that was removed from her head. Her mother has dementia and her dad has passed away. They always suspected her ex boyfriend but could never place him at the scene. There was no camera footage. The detective never gave up.

The search never ends...
 
The case is still open, but has been placed in the cold case files. All of my notes and interviews are included in the files. We feel that she has met her fate, but I never gave up hope that if I couldn’t find her that I could find someone who knows more than what has been told. Anyone that has met their fate at the hands of another deserve justice.

Yes! Here's hoping you're successful!
 
Agreed, there are 1000’s of missing people and many more occur each day. Some are runaways and some go unwilling. All or most may never be found, but many policemen and women have that one case that may continue to haunt them. Sometimes, we just feel in our bones that there has to be an answer to solve that particular case.

I like Warrigal’s signature line. Nothing could be further from the truth. I tell all women living in their domicile without a man to keep a light on at night over each entry door. It’s also a good idea to make sure that all doors and windows are locked before going to bed and if affordable, to have a security company monitor for illegal entry.

I know now that some women should fear the man that they are living with. As we in law enforcement always say, “Most murders are committed by someone that is known by the victim.” If a women is fearful of the man in their home, they should seek protection from their local police and court and also go to the nearest safe house.
 
I have read / heard that there are literally 100's of people that for what ever reason?....Just walk away from their life every year. Was this maybe one of those? Or were there signs of a crime?

Of course a person has every right to do that....but I imagine it drives family / loved ones absolutely crazy , the never knowing.
 
I would (and have) cautioned young women that if they're alone and someone pulls up and asks directions, etc. do not get close - in fact it's okay to just keep walking. Let them get directions from someone else.
 
I know now that some women should fear the man that they are living with. As we in law enforcement always say, “Most murders are committed by someone that is known by the victim.” If a women is fearful of the man in their home, they should seek protection from their local police and court and also go to the nearest safe house.


I watch the ID/Discovery [true crime] channel and many times police being interviewed say the same thing.

My ex-husband was abusive, especially when he drank alcohol. A few times I thought he was going to kill me. One night he left our house and hours later a stranger [a nurse at a local hospital] called me [apparently he had given her our phone number and asked her to call me.] She was walking to her car and he accosted her drunk and talking crazy. I could tell she was scared and almost in tears. I told her he is dangerous, to get away from him and call the police. Then I called my mother and she said to take my own advice and come home. So I quickly gathered some things and threw them in my car to leave before he returned home. He arrived just as I was leaving. I believe if I had not left that night, I would be dead. Many years after my divorce, I heard he had kidnapped his girlfriend. I don't know exactly what he did to her. But he wound up in a mental hospital for the criminally insane.
 
The lady missing was seen standing at the bus stop by a co-worker who had left the shift at the same time, but was going in the opposite direction. This woman just like vanished. Back then, not too many business or other commercial buildings had cameras outside. In fact, most didn't even had cameras on the inside.

I have to go near where she went missing again in a few weeks, so I will go back there and walk around and maybe have the opportunity to speak with a few people. I can almost guarantee anyone that someone knows something. It just has to be at the right time and place to get them to talk.
 
I watch the ID/Discovery [true crime] channel and many times police being interviewed say the same thing.

My ex-husband was abusive, especially when he drank alcohol. A few times I thought he was going to kill me. One night he left our house and hours later a stranger [a nurse at a local hospital] called me [apparently he had given her our phone number and asked her to call me.] She was walking to her car and he accosted her drunk and talking crazy. I could tell she was scared and almost in tears. I told her he is dangerous, to get away from him and call the police. Then I called my mother and she said to take my own advice and come home. So I quickly gathered some things and threw them in my car to leave before he returned home. He arrived just as I was leaving. I believe if I had not left that night, I would be dead. Many years after my divorce, I heard he had kidnapped his girlfriend. I don't know exactly what he did to her. But he wound up in a mental hospital for the criminally insane.

You're one of the lucky ones. The most dangerous time for a woman when she is separating from her husband or SO is when she is actually leaving. It infuriates a lot of men to see their woman walk out on them. Many men claim women as property and to see their property leave makes it a very personal issue to many men. We have always suggested to woman who want to leave to never threaten to do it, but just do it. Leave a note, if they must, but no forwarding address. Most importantly, take the little ones with them.
 
The lady missing was seen standing at the bus stop by a co-worker who had left the shift at the same time, but was going in the opposite direction. This woman just like vanished. Back then, not too many business or other commercial buildings had cameras outside. In fact, most didn't even had cameras on the inside.

I have to go near where she went missing again in a few weeks, so I will go back there and walk around and maybe have the opportunity to speak with a few people. I can almost guarantee anyone that someone knows something. It just has to be at the right time and place to get them to talk.

Sometimes a person may know some useful information and not realize it. Maybe saw the person talking to someone several times, maybe the victim was having trouble with a neighbor, maybe they felt they were being followed but hadn't reported to police - especially back before stalking became a crime.

Unfortunately, the person who knew or saw something may no longer remember, or they might have moved or passed away.
 
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UPDATE: For anyone that may remember this case that I have been chasing. Yesterday, I received a phone call from a Trooper in Montgomery County telling me that he was going through cold cases to work on in his spare time and he asked me if I would mind if he also picked up on it. With his being in Montgomery County, I thought, “Oh, Yeah!” I told him to go ahead. He told me that I did a great job leaving all the reports and my notes in the file, but also in chronological order, so he could read it just as if it just happened, which is why he chose to pick up on this case.

I agreed to meet with him on Monday in the Barracks to review the case. This is a psychological move that we do. Sometimes when we (anyone) tells a story, we sometimes will remember a detail that we omitted previously. It’s a 2-hour drive, but it may payoff, even if he just gets some additional information.
 
UPDATE: For anyone that may remember this case that I have been chasing. Yesterday, I received a phone call from a Trooper in Montgomery County telling me that he was going through cold cases to work on in his spare time and he asked me if I would mind if he also picked up on it. With his being in Montgomery County, I thought, “Oh, Yeah!” I told him to go ahead. He told me that I did a great job leaving all the reports and my notes in the file, but also in chronological order, so he could read it just as if it just happened, which is why he chose to pick up on this case.

I agreed to meet with him on Monday in the Barracks to review the case. This is a psychological move that we do. Sometimes when we (anyone) tells a story, we sometimes will remember a detail that we omitted previously. It’s a 2-hour drive, but it may payoff, even if he just gets some additional information.


Oh I hope he is able to find something that could lead to finding out what happened. I don't know how her family has been able to deal with all that happened and all the years that have passed. Years ago my 85yr old grandfather went missing. We went on search parties almost every night when someone mentioned they saw an elderly man that looked like him. The Police were wonderful to the family. Sadly a month to the day he went missing they found his body. A young boy ran through a field on his way home from school and tripped over my Grandfather's body. I pray they can find some evidence about what happened to the girl.
 
UPDATE: Back on the case. On Tuesday evening as I was just ready to go to bed, the phone rang. It was the Trooper in Montgomery County telling me that he received some information from the County's Coroner, who took over the job just a few years ago. There are two unidentified graves that the County buried at their expense due to no one claiming the bodies. These are just since the newest Coroner took over.

I am now in the process of seeking a warrant to test their DNA, if possible and check it against the brother of this missing lady. This is going to be a slow process because I am acting as my own attorney. If I paid an attorney, he may be able to fast track it, but I really didn't want to go that route at the moment. The judge has some options with this. He may sign it and move on or he may want to have a hearing. Because I am no longer in law enforcement and am not a relative of any type, this may go on for awhile, but we'll see.

I spent yesterday in Norristown, which is the County seat for Montgomery County speaking with the Coroner and trying to see the judge, but I was told by his clerk that he will be in court all day. One other thing that the Coroner also told me was that he has the cremated remains of 4 other unidentified people, but before they were cremated, he took tissue samples for comparison DNA testing, however, each one will need a warrant before he will proceed. I didn't feel the day was wasted because I feel hopeful that "maybe" something good may come from these endeavors.

I thought I would update anyone that may have remembered this thread from a few years back.
 
How many people disappear each year?
Of the 900,000 people reported missing each year in the U.S., 50,000 are over the age of 18. Half of missing adults are white, 30% are African American, and 20% are Latino. [2] Half of the 800,000 missing-juvenile cases reported each year are runaways.
Note this is every year.
 


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