Found Deceased CA - Mary Louise Day, 12, Seaside, 1980

[Faithandhope]

It sounds like a family member (not surprising) is probably responsible; not enough evidence to convict.

moo

Most significantly - Due to the complete LACK of information.

So sad that no one even could say WHEN she went missing? Like not even the month! IMO that says family member/legal guardian/etc. If you're responsible for a child and dont know when they went missing, that makes you at the very least, negligibly responsible..

 

[Fuuro]

The fact that they don't have a date for her disappearance is kind of nonsense and it makes me think it took a super long period of time for her to be reported missing if they don't remember what day or even what MONTH she went missing. I'm not trying to start anything or point fingers, but something tells me that Mary never left for school that morning she went missing.

Also, 5'8 and 120 lbs is underweight. Another thing I noticed that in her first photo, when she looks about 12, she does look underweight, but in her second photo, where she looks a little younger, she looks about normal weight. I'm no professional, I'm just someone with a computer, but it's just something that I noticed.

 

[Faithandhope]

The fact that they don't have a date for her disappearance is kind of nonsense and it makes me think it took a super long period of time for her to be reported missing if they don't remember what day or even what MONTH she went missing. I'm not trying to start anything or point fingers, but something tells me that Mary never left for school that morning she went missing.

Also, 5'8 and 120 lbs is underweight. Another thing I noticed that in her first photo, when she looks about 12, she does look underweight, but in her second photo, where she looks a little younger, she looks about normal weight. I'm no professional, I'm just someone with a computer, but it's just something that I noticed.

Totally agree that it's highly unlikely she even left for school. How come the school doesn't know when she went missing? or at least when she stopped coming to school?? truancy, anyone?!

I'd overlook the 120lbs for a 5'8" frame (which is technically a healthy weight, just on the lean side), because at 12, kids can hit weird growth spurts, or just be skinny, even if it's technically underweight. I didn't hit 100lbs until I was in late high school, and I'm 5'5". Nothing wrong, just skinny as a kid.

 

[alllads]

The other odd thing is that her case was originally investigated by Federal Police, then handed over to Seaside PD in the early 2000s. The investigator listed for the case is the one that told me he doesn't know anything further.

Would someone be interested in maybe contacting again? When I contacted before her file was gone from NamUs, but it's back on now. If the case was indeed closed, then why is she on NamUs? I don't want to contact again and bug them, but it might be a good idea for someone to reach out.

Also weirdly, the contacts listed on NamUs are all from NCMEC.... but Mary no longer appears on NCMEC...? She even has a NCMEC number.


Also, NamUs now says that she went missing on July 15th, 1981 NOT in Spring of 1980.

 

[Fuuro]

Great, now we have a third date. How frustrating. Maybe July 15, 1981 was the day she was reported missing.

 

[Fuuro]

I'm really interested in knowing what her family situation was like - who was she living with and how long was she living with them at the time of her disappearance? Like, was she living with a parent at one point and then went to live with someone else recently before she went missing (maybe foster care)? In terms of school, she could've been homeschooled (like Erica Parsons). I'm also interested in finding out if anyone else saw her go to school that morning if she did attend a physical school.

If she was reported missing in July 1981, that would explain why people don't remember exactly when she went missing. Or the people in charge of her told police that they last saw her July 15, 1981, only for it to be discovered that she was missing for quite some time before that.

I'm sorry, but it just baffles me how people don't know when (maybe) their own child goes missing. That sounds like something you would remember the exact hour of.

 

[scriptgirl]

This whole thing is shady. Was there a huge outcry when she went missing? What was her family situation? Also, that one pic-she is wearing makeup, like for a photo shoot-did she model?

 

[Faithandhope]

This whole thing is shady. Was there a huge outcry when she went missing? What was her family situation? Also, that one pic-she is wearing makeup, like for a photo shoot-did she model?

I have always wondered what that was about. It's such poor resolution and cropped tightly, so no idea what was going on there.

 

[Faithandhope]

And maybe this is too much of a presumption, but I am always suspicious when a missing child has very little info and few pictures (especially ones where they are not smiling). It's not that i think they must have been unhappy in life if they are not smiling in the pics, but I would think desperate parents/family members would be digging up every photo they had and sending it in.

 

[scriptgirl]

I don't get the feeling her parents are too concerned. They might not be living at this point, though.

 

[scriptgirl]

This case reminds me so much of Rachel Kemp's case. I hope it is not the same thing.

 

[Springrain]

I submitted her to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences as a possible match for 1980 Walker County Jane Doe.

 

[paul1980]

in one picture of Mary - she is wearing make-up and in one of the others she is wearing a fancy necklace. Was she a child model? Maybe she was the child of a privileged family - maybe that could explain the make-up and the fancy necklace?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I don't get the feeling her parents are too concerned. They might not be living at this point, though.

Some family member is bothered enough to have given a DNA sample though. It would be good if that person would come here and tell us what they know, however little it is.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Some family member is bothered enough to have given a DNA sample though. It would be good if that person would come here and tell us what they know, however little it is.

Looking at Seaside on Google maps it seems there are only two schools in the area and I assume she must have attended one or both unless she was homeschooled. I wonder if any of the teachers or other staff at either school might remember her or something about her situation. This case seems a very old one but it's not so old in terms of people's careers, and perhaps there are also retired staff still living in the area.

IF she was fostered into the family that lost her, who might have arranged that placement? And IF she was fostered is it possible that it was a completely unofficial arrangement so off the radar of social services?

 

[Laughing]

IIRC the family was military, or Mary Louise was last seen on a military base?

The pictures don't look like a 12 year old, JMHO, but modeling hadn't occurred to me!

 

[STANDREID]

IIRC the family was military, or Mary Louise was last seen on a military base?

The pictures don't look like a 12 year old, JMHO, but modeling hadn't occurred to me!

She was 5'8" and 120# it says so she was taller than the average adult woman. I would assume she may have stood out to some creep. Were all her, especially male, teachers checked out?

 

[paul1980]

I was only agreeing that modelling could be the reason for the make-up and the fancy necklace. Both of which seem a bit... strange.

 

[Laughing]

She was 5'8" and 120# it says so she was taller than the average adult woman. I would assume she may have stood out to some creep. Were all her, especially male, teachers checked out?

The height caused us to talk about her over on the FLEK threads.

Odd & unsettling that family didn't seem to look for her....

 

[kimi_SFC]

IIRC the family was military, or Mary Louise was last seen on a military base?

The pictures don't look like a 12 year old, JMHO, but modeling hadn't occurred to me!

RBBM: I just happened to stumble across this case, as I popped up on my feed. My Father retired from the Army out of Fort Ord in 1976. I grew up in this area, so I have to wonder about this facet of her case. I had friends who lived right off-base (just outside of the gate in Seaside).

I am going to read this thread from the start, and pay close attention to any details regarding the Army base and her being part of a military family.

Thank you all for the effort put forth into this case! So frustrating from what I've read so far!

:candle:



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