I initially thought this couldn't possibly be a match based on circumstances but the physical resemblance is pretty strong.
Baker's disappearance made the news here because the private investigator involved, Aley, was a local. At the time of her disappearance, Baker had been behind on car payments, and Aley called the finance company and told them her Accord was parked at the Shenango Valley Mall. It was towed the day after she disappeared, sold at auction and scrapped by the time LE discovered where it had gone. If he was sentenced in January 2006, Aley should be fresh out of prison or just about at the end of his four-year sentence for his role in disposing of the car and any evidence it might have contained.
Edit: he was sentenced to an additional 4-12 months for making threats while in prison:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...DAAAAIBAJ&dq=sandra kay baker&pg=3794,2855938
I can't find any mention of where the car was actually auctioned or when the auction actually took place, but one possibility would be the Butler Auto Auction, which is the biggest in western PA. In the summer of 2002 I was laid off and working day labor and often cleaned out repossessed cars there. There were thousands of cars processed at one time, but I can verify that any personal things inside would be tossed out, the car's interior swept and any upholstery and carpet stains treated, and so any evidence would be completely obliterated.
Aley had been hired by Crea to investigate Baker, so he had a motive to tell his client that Baker had still been married at the time they had become engaged; it was proof he was doing his job and was getting results. Any motive he might have had in reporting her car's whereabouts to the finance company if she'd left voluntarily is less clear. The finance company probably didn't pay him a "bounty" on the car, and if she'd simply left then the car couldn't have contained any damning evidence, right? Also, when he arranged for the car to be towed, he really had no way of knowing that LE wasn't going to find it for four years and it would be crushed by then. It could have been just as likely that the finance company would learn Baker was reported missing and let LE search the car.
A minor correction, Tamar, she was married six times (not seven) but got engaged to Crea while she was still married to her sixth husband. Whether she was still legally married at the time of her disappearance isn't clear.