A minor car accident turns into a decades long mystery that has baffled police, captivated the internet, and left a family heartbroken.
Maura Murray appeared to be the girl who had everything. She was a brilliant student and a talented athlete. Her qualifications earned her a spot at the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She entered West Point as a chemical engineering major, and she attended the academy for three semesters before she decided that the Army simply wasn’t for her. …
A 4-year-old girl was missing from her bed one morning, and her family is still searching for her nearly 20 years later
It was extremely hot in Wichita, Kansas on the evening of September 4, 2001. As Mattie Mitchell got her two great-grandchildren ready for bed at 8:00 pm, it was still nearly 90 degrees outside. She turned on the air conditioner in her small bedroom, then helped 4-year-old Jaquilla Scales and 2-year-old Marcus Scales climb up into the big bed the three of them shared. It had been a busy day for Jaquilla; she had attended her first day of preschool that morning. She loved being around other kids her age, and was looking forward to going back the next day…
An 11-year-old girl vanished during a visitation with her father, and police have been trying to find her for 20 years
Bethany Markowski was a typical 11-year-old girl who loved to shop. She asked her father, Larry Markowski, if they could stop at a nearby shopping mall so she could go to an accessories shop there, and he reluctantly agreed. He pulled into the parking lot of the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee around 2:30 pm on Sunday, March 4, 2001. He told Bethany that he would wait for her in the parking lot; he was still exhausted from the weekend and figured he could doze off for a bit while she was shopping. He reminded his daughter not to…
Police have been trying to figure out what happened to 4-year-old D’Wan Sims for nearly 30 years
The Wonderland Mall in Livonia, Michigan was crowded with shoppers on the afternoon of Sunday, December 11, 1994. There were Christmas displays throughout the mall, and people were in a festive mood as they wandered in and out of the mall’s 80 different stores. The atmosphere changed around 4:00 pm, when an announcement that security was trying to locate a lost child was heard. 4-year-old D’Wan Sims had wandered away from his mother, D’Wanna Harris, and no one had been able to find him. As the crowd of shoppers began to leave the mall, police arrived to conduct a search…
More than 20 years after she was kidnapped from her bedroom, police are still trying to learn what happened to her
Kemberly Ramer was having a great night on Friday, August 15, 1997. The 17-year-old had played in a softball game, and then went out with some friends. She ended her night with a visit to her boyfriend, and neighbors saw her car pull in the driveway a few minutes before her midnight curfew. Kem’s parents were divorced, and she lived with her father in Opp, Alabama. On this evening, she had the house to herself, as her father was staying overnight with his girlfriend. She kicked off her shoes as soon as she got into her bedroom, and then got…
Police first thought he drowned, but after more than 15 years of searching for him, they admit foul play is a definite possibility
Joshua Guimond, a junior at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, went to a party with a few of his friends on the evening of Saturday, November 9, 2002. It was a small gathering of less than 10 people, and it was held in a Metten Court dorm room. Josh left the room shortly before midnight, and his friends assumed he was going down the hall to use the bathroom. When he didn’t return after 15 minutes, they wondered if he had decided to return to his on-campus apartment. They tried calling him there; when they got no answer, they…
Police think the 12-year-old ran away, but her parents believe she was abducted and are still trying to find her 30 years later
Kimberly Norwood was walking to her home near Hallsville, Texas when she went missing on Saturday, May 20, 1989. The 12-year-old had spent the first part of the weekend with a few of her friends, and she was reluctant to go home because she knew she had to clean her room. She was a responsible child, though, so she told her friends she had to leave and they walked part of the way home with her. She was within a half mile of her home in the Caney Creek Addition when she parted ways with her friends, telling them she…
A 23-year-old woman walked out of a bar and vanished, and police have been looking for her for nearly three decades
The last time anyone saw Dail Dinwiddie, she was trying to find a ride home. The 23-year-old had spent the evening at a U2 concert with some old high school friends, and from there the group had ended up at their favorite bar in Columbia, South Carolina. As the night went on, Dail lost track of her friends, and by 1:00 am she was unable to find any of them. One by one, they had all left the bar, each assuming that Dail had found a ride home with someone else. Dail spoke with the bouncer at the bar around…
A woman posing as a social worker took a newborn from his home and was never seen again
Vanessa Blockett, a 19-year-old mother of two, was startled by a knock at her front door on the morning of December 11, 1980. Neither she nor her mother, Shirley Blockett, had been expecting company that day. Shirley answered the door and found a woman who introduced herself as Marie Kelly, a social worker. Marie said she was from the Social Services Bureau and worked out of Riverside Regional Hospital; she was looking for David Blockett.
David, Vanessa’s youngest son, was only 15 days old. Marie explained to Vanessa and Shirley that she had been sent to pick up David for…
The woman last seen with a missing 7-month-old baby gave conflicting statements about what happened to her
Melissa McGuinn was the first child of Robert and Becky McGuinn, born on August 3, 1987. The couple had been living in Louisiana when Becky learned she was pregnant, but moved to Trenton, New Jersey shortly before Melissa was born. They shared a rental house on Lamberton Street with another couple, Rob Ashley and his common-law wife, Wanda Reed. Robert and Rob were co-workers, and had worked together in Louisiana before relocating to New Jersey.
By March 1988, the two couples had settled into a comfortable routine. Wanda had given birth to a son in January, and she and Becky…
Jenn Baxter
Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and activist. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. Her books are available on Amazon.
