FL FL - Linda Louise Fledderman, 33, Myakka, 17 Aug 1996

The Doe Network:
Case File 2204DFFL

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2204dffl.html

Linda Louise Fledderman
Missing since August 17, 1996 from Myakka, Manatee County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing


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Vital Statistics

•Date Of Birth: February 18, 1964
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 33 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6"; 125 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; green eyes.


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Linda Fledderman and her fiancé, Jefferson Blanton were last seen at the Myakka City Bar on August 17, 1996. With them was Larry Parks, now a convicted murderer in the 1999 stabbing deaths of Sherry Brannon and her two young daughters.

The couple lived a few streets away at 37855 Sixby Road, a private dirt road in a heavily wooded area. At 18.00 that evening, Blanton was found shot to death in a hallway inside their home. Fledderman was nowhere to be found. The gun was never recovered.

Detectives found Blanton’s body after Fledderman failed to pick up her son from her sister, who had been babysitting. Someone had forced their way through the back door. There were no signs of struggle; nothing was taken from the home. Two vehicles — Fledderman’s navy blue Ford F150 pickup and Blanton’s smaller green pickup — were parked at the residence.

Fledderman was a technician at L-3 Aviation Recorders in Sarasota; Blanton was a construction worker. Investigators never found Fledderman’s body.
Detectives first considered her as a suspect in Blanton's homicide, as the relationship was violent, but they now believe she was a victim.

Fledderman's family had her declared legally dead, claiming she would never have left behind the couple’s then 4-year-old son.


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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
941-747-3011

Agency Case Number: 960029659

Source Information:
The Bradenton Herald
FDLE

I do not find Linda listed in Charley Project at this time.

I do not find Linda listed in NamUs at this time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=3451,348474&dq=linda-fledderman&hl=en
1996 article (NOTE: scanned off center, you will have to move the blue box to the yellow highlighted area manually to read article about Linda).

Other articles available pay per view.

Linda has been missing 14 years today. Come home soon.

She's now been added to Charley Project:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fledderman_linda.html

Her poor son...Dad shot to death, Mom disappeared and is still considered a possible suspect in the homicide...Must be terrible for him.

Aug 29, 2018 Find Missing Linda Louise Fledderman!

Investigators are now looking into the theory that Fledderman was innocent of Blanton’s murder. And may have met with foul play herself. She had a stable job as a technician at L-3 Aviation Recorders in 1996. And she was a good mother. Also, it’s uncharacteristic of her to be out of touch with her family. It was in response to her family’s concern that the police went to the couple’s home. And they found Blanton’s body in the hallway. Her loved ones stated she would have never abandoned her son.

Larry James Parks was at the same bar as Fledderman and Blanton on August 17. In 2002, Marks pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in connection with a 1999 triple homicide. He killed a woman and her two young daughters. His fingerprint was found inside Fledderman’s pickup truck.

Authorities are investigating Parks as a possible suspect in Blanton’s murder and Fledderman’s disappearance. But no charges have been filed against him.

Fledderman’s family had her declared legally dead in 2001. She is still considered a possible suspect in Blanton’s murder. Her disappearance remains unsolved.

Bumping for Linda - it's now been 25 years.

Details of Disappearance​

Fledderman was last seen at the Myakka City Bar and Grill in Myakka, Florida early on the morning of on August 17, 1996. At 6:00 p.m. the body of her boyfriend of eight years, Jefferson Lowry Blanton, was found at the home she shared with Fledderman in the 37000 block of Sixby Road. He'd been shot to death; the murder weapon was never found.

A photograph of Blanton is posted with this case summary. There were no indications of a struggle inside the residence, the doors were locked, nothing was missing, and Fledderman and Blanton's pickup trucks were parked nearby. There was no sign of Fledderman and she has never been heard from again. She had left her four-year-old son with her sister before her disappearance.

For years, Fledderman was the prime suspect in Blanton's murder and was considered as a fugitive. The police tried to get a warrant for her arrest for murder, but there was insufficient evidence, so instead they got a warrant on the charge of deserting her child.

Fledderman and Blanton had a troubled relationship and police were called to their home in response to domestic disturbances several times. Both of them drank to excess.

In one incident, Fledderman allegedly shot out Blanton's truck tires during an argument. Blanton was once arrested for assaulting Fledderman, but formal charges were never filed against him. Fledderman obtained a restraining order against him in 1993, saying he'd threatened her, but the couple reconciled and the restraining order was dismissed.

Investigators are now looking into the theory that Fledderman was innocent of Blanton's murder and may have met with foul play herself. She had a stable job as a technician at L-3 Aviation Recorders in 1996 and was a good mother, and it's uncharacteristic of her to be out of touch with her family. It was in response to her family's concern that the police went to the couple's home and found Blanton's body in the hallway. Her loved ones stated she would have never abandoned her son.

Larry James Parks was at the same bar as Fledderman and Blanton on August 17. In 2002, Marks pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in connection with a 1999 triple homicide; he killed a woman and her two young daughters. His fingerprint was found inside Fledderman's pickup truck.

Authorities are investigating Parks as a possible suspect in Blanton's murder and Fledderman's disappearance, but no charges have been filed against him.

Fledderman's family had her declared legally dead in 2001. She is still considered a possible suspect in Blanton's murder. Her disappearance remains unsolved.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Linda Fledderman was living with Jeffrey Blanton at his residence in Myakka City. On 8/17/1996 Jeffrey Blanton was found murdered inside his residence. Fledderman's vehicle was still in the driveway along with her identification. The previous night, and early in the morning of 8/17/1996, both were observed at the Myakka City Bar and left in Fledderman's vehicle.

Published 8/26/2002


Snip
Liz Blanton screamed when her sister called her in the middle of the night with the news that their brother had been murdered. Jefferson Blanton, 36, had been found lying in a pool of blood in the hallway of his Myakka City home on Aug. 16, 1996. He had been shot twice.

Last weekend, on the six-year anniversary of his death, Liz Blanton doubted she will ever know who killed him.

"I don't have any false illusions of this case ever being solved," the 43-year-old Sarasota resident said. "It's no closer to being solved than it was six years ago."

And not knowing is a constant struggle for Blanton.

or four years, Blanton refused to date. She was too afraid to pull someone else into the whirlwind of emotions tearing her up.

"It's unbelievable," Blanton said. "One minute everything's just fine and the next minute your world has just changed forever."

Manatee County sheriff's deputies linked convicted murderer Larry Parks' fingerprints to those found on the truck Jefferson Blanton was seen driving the night he was murdered. Witnesses said Parks spoke to Jefferson Blanton and his girlfriend, Linda Fledderman, at the Myakka City Bar & Grill that night. Fledderman disappeared the night Jefferson Blanton was killed. She has never been found.

Five years later, Parks was charged with sexually assaulting a woman who also frequented the Myakka City Bar & Grill. A jury said he wasn't guilty.

Parks is in prison for killing three people. In March, he pleaded guilty to the 1999 murders of Sherry-Ann Brannon and her two daughters, Shelby, 7, and Cassidy, 4, in their Panther Ridge home. He was given three life sentences.

But it's unlikely Parks will ever be charged with Blanton's murder.

On each anniversary of her younger brother's death, Liz Blanton tries something different to deal with the pain.

One year she locked herself in her bedroom. Another year she spent time with family. Last weekend she got together in Jupiter with a childhood friend who knew her brother.

"It's never going to be perfect," she said. "Maybe now there will be a day that I don't think about it, but it's always going to be there."

Date of Birth: February 18, 1964
Age: 32 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 125-140 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown

The scene inside the cozy cafe along State Road 70 in Myakka bears no resemblance to the days when it was known as the Myakka City Bar.
Patrons from more than a decade ago remember the crowd as rough and the atmosphere as fierce.
Brawls were frequent, especially among patrons who werent regulars.
People would come from the east and west, and if any strangers came in, they got into fights, said long-time resident Rodney Teuton. His wife, Suzanne, now runs the restaurant there, Susy Qs II.
The crowd trickled into the Myakka City Bar most days after the sun went down.
During the early morning hours of Aug. 17, 1996, the crowd included local residents Linda Fledderman and her fiancé, Jefferson Blanton, both 33. With them was Larry Parks, now a convicted murderer in the 1999 stabbing deaths of Sherry Brannon and her two young daughters.
That was the last time anyone saw Fledderman and Blanton alive.

HS yearbook photos showing her face moreso.

Beyond the fingerprints in the truck, I wonder if there is any other evidence in existence that would bear out any DNA. Myakka City is/was a rural area, particularly back then.

If one wanted to dispose of a body, there is never a lack of remote spots, particularly on the watershed filled with big wildlife, coyotes, gators, bears, etc. Lots of weekend bonfires, burning trash, etc.

I almost bought 5 acres out there in late 2016. It a rural way of life for sure.

PayrollNerd said:

Beyond the fingerprints in the truck, I wonder if there is any other evidence in existence that would bear out any DNA. Myakka City is/was a rural area, particularly back then.

If one wanted to dispose of a body, there is never a lack of remote spots, particularly on the watershed filled with big wildlife, coyotes, gators, bears, etc. Lots of weekend bonfires, burning trash, etc.

I almost bought 5 acres out there in late 2016. It a rural way of life for sure.

Click to expand...

That's for sure! I camped in the state park once a long time ago. It is a vast wilderness. Tons of gators. I was surprised to learn that there are wild boars roaming around!
Let's face it, if you wanted to dispose of a body where there would be nothing left of it to find, our state is a place where you could easily accomplish that goal.