FL FL - Tammy Leppert, 18, Cocoa Beach, 6 July 1983

Suzanne, what is going on? Why don’t you want us to discuss Tammy’s disappearance? Is everything okay?
Thank you everything is fine.I just don't discuss her case any more.I just put up law enforcement websites only and tell people to call the Cocoa Beach Police Department if there are any leads.They don't really like alot of discussion out here.Detective McClure is asking to please just call her with any leads.II do feel Detective McClure is a very good detective on my sister Tammy's case.I'm sure she will look into any leads.Phone
(321) 868-3251
 
Thank you everything is fine.I just don't discuss her case any more.I just put up law enforcement websites only and tell people to call the Cocoa Beach Police Department if there are any leads.They don't really like alot of discussion out here.Detective McClure is asking to please just call her with any leads.II do feel Detective McClure is a very good detective on my sister Tammy's case.I'm sure she will look into any leads.Phone
(321) 868-3251

I'm not sure why they wouldn't want awareness of the case. To help find out what happened.

People were wondering where you were since you haven't posted on the Unsolved forum either.
 
I'm sorry I have not been on a lot of boards.I had kidney failure awhile back and have been on dialysis 3 times a week for awhile now.I have not been feeling well.They do want awarness with the missing persons sites.NAMUS ect...They have never liked discussions on her.A lot of it was just rude and disrespectful on some boards and it did not help to find my sister.If you can please respect her request and just call her Detective McClure if you know what happened to my sister Tammy.CBPD (321) 868-3251
 
I'm sorry I have not been on a lot of boards.I had kidney failure awhile back and have been on dialysis 3 times a week for awhile now.I have not been feeling well.They do want awarness with the missing persons sites.NAMUS ect...They have never liked discussions on her.A lot of it was just rude and disrespectful on some boards and it did not help to find my sister.If you can please respect her request and just call her Detective McClure if you know what happened to my sister Tammy.CBPD (321) 868-3251

Sorry to hear your haven’t been feeling well. I will be thinking of you and praying for you.
 
I'm sorry I have I been on a lot of boards.I had kidney failure awhile back and have been on dialysis 3 times a week for awhile now.I have not been feeling well.They do want awarness with the missing persons sites.NAMUS ect...They have never liked discussions on her.A lot of it was just rude and disrespectful on some boards and it did not help to find my sister.If you can please respect her request and just call her Detective McClure if you know what happened to my sister Tammy.CBPD (321) 868-3251
With all due respect to Detective McClure, the purpose of this site is to analyze and discuss unsolved crimes. It is not meant to act as a tip line.
Most users of this site would conclude, based on the circumstances, that Tammy was the victim of either a sexually-motivated homicide or domestic violence (possibly due to pregnancy). The two best avenues for solving her disappearance are 1) to look for connections to other crimes committed by serial predators (geography, victimology, etc.) and 2) to examine the alibis and behavior of people who knew Tammy, especially the last person to see her and anyone with whom she was romantically involved during the months leading up to her disappearance. With respect to that second avenue, we're only permitted to discuss suspects named in mainstream media, which does tie our hands at times.
 
I'm sorry I have not been on a lot of boards.I had kidney failure awhile back and have been on dialysis 3 times a week for awhile now.I have not been feeling well.They do want awarness with the missing persons sites.NAMUS ect...They have never liked discussions on her.A lot of it was just rude and disrespectful on some boards and it did not help to find my sister.If you can please respect her request and just call her Detective McClure if you know what happened to my sister Tammy.CBPD (321) 868-3251

So sorry to hear you're not feeling well. The interest in this case has revived lately and I hope it isn't causing you harm. Please take care of yourself. Your advice to those with questions about the case is sufficient and others should take heed. I'm sure you've been through enough stress over the years dealing with your sister's case. I can't begin to imagine how difficult that would be.
 
Ms. Suzanne, hope you get to feeling better soon. I hesitate to bring this to the attention of LE because it does come from a gossip site but it makes a lot of sense about what may have happened to Tammy; there is an explanation for everything, whether true or not. For your consideration, make of it what you will.

<modsnip>
 
What was the argument about with the "family friend" the last day she was seen? If this is not already publicly disclosed, then please PM the information.
 
Just reading about this missing person case for the first time in awhile. Sad to see there has been no resolution for so long.

Hopefully someday soon. With DNA advancing with the geneology sites that may be a new avenue to try. I dont quite understand how LE is able to use the geneology sites and just was thinking maybe that is something new that can be tried. Not sure if it would help in this case.
 
Does anyone know whether NamUs UP54550 has been looked at for Tammy? This UID was located in 2018 in Birmingham, AL, which might be a stretch in terms of both time and distance (nearly 700 mi).

What stood out to me about this UID is the clothing: "A weathered, soil-stained elastic band with remnants of two pockets. The pockets contain only dirt and soil debris. A worn tag is on the garment with 'Made in Bangladesh; RN #70892; S 28-30; CH 28-30.' Shreds of apparent navy blue fabric are loosely adherent to parts of the band." Furthermore, NamUs states there were "weathered shreds of soft apparent navy blue fabric mixed with dirt and leafy material." Could this be from a blue denim skirt? NamUs mentions a "weathered, soil-stained grey elastic band" was found with the remains; I wondered if that could have been the remains of a gray purse.

The location where this UID was found is 3001 Portofino Dr., Birmingham, AL. Google Earth and Google Maps both show it as "Vulcan Materials Company - quarry." In Google Earth, the oldest image is from 1997, when the area appears to have been just sandy mounds. Very desolate. It's close to Interstate 20, which runs towards Atlanta, but that appears to be the only major highway. The most direct route to Cocoa Beach looks like a State highway 231? I'm not sure if this location makes sense logistically if someone were looking to hide a person's remains coming all the way from Cocoa Beach, but the potential for a match may be worth taking a look.
 
Last edited:
Last updated April 22, 2019; details of disappearance updated.
Tammy Lynn Leppert – The Charley Project
Tammy Lynn Leppert
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    • Missing Since 07/06/1983
    • Missing From Rockledge, Florida
    • Classification Endangered Missing
    • Date of Birth 02/05/1965 (54)
    • Age 18 years old
    • Height and Weight 5'4 - 5'5, 105 - 115 pounds
    • Clothing/Jewelry Description A blue denim skirt, a light blue shirt with flower appliques on the shoulders, and flip-flops. Carrying a gray purse.
    • Medical Conditions Leppert may have been three months pregnant at the time of her disappearance, but this has not been confirmed. She was apparently suffering from emotional problems at the time of her disappearance.
    • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. Leppert may spell her first name "Tammi." She occasionally uses Tammi and/or Tami-Lyn as stage names."
 
Tammy Lynn Leppert – The Charley Project
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"Leppert, circa 1983; Age-progression to age 48 (circa 2013); Christopher Wilder; John Crutchley
Details of Disappearance
Leppert left her family's home in Rockledge, Florida at 11:00 a.m. on July 6, 1983 with a 20-year-old male friend. She said she was going to the beach and would be "be back in a little while." She never returned home.

Her friend later told authorities that he and Leppert had an argument while driving and that he left her standing in a parking lot outside the Glass Bank near an Exxon gasoline station in the vicinity of State Road A1A between 2nd Street North and 3rd Street North in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Many reports erroneously state that Leppert was barefoot at the time of her disappearance. Her mother said she noticed she had not combed her hair before leaving the house that day, which is very uncharacteristic of her; she usually spent considerable time on her appearance before going anywhere. At the time of her disappearance, Leppert was planning to go to California to act in some movies. She apparently never arrived there, however.

Investigators looked into the possibility that Leppert was attacked by Christopher Wilder, a man linked to at least a dozen disappearances, rapes, murders and/or attacks of women in the early to mid-1980s.

Photos of Wilder are posted with this case summary. He frequented the Florida region at the time of Leppert's disappearance. He sometimes attempted to lure young female victims by offering non-existent "modeling sessions" or other tactics, which would have fit well into a scenario involving Leppert. She was a relatively known model who had won several titles and was an occasional actress, landing bit parts in the films Scarface and Spring Break, and she wanted to be an internationally famous star.

Wilder, whose history of violence towards women went back to his adolescent years, was put on probation in 1980 after pleading guilty to attempted sexual battery towards a teenage girl. While on a visit home to Australia that same year, he was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting two teenage girls. His parents bailed him out of jail and he flew back to the United States, promising to return for his trial which was set for April 1984.

Wilder is a also a suspect in the Florida disappearances of Mary Opitz, Rosario Gonzales, and Elizabeth Kenyon. He was killed during a shootout with authorities in 1984.

Leppert's family filed a one-million-dollar lawsuit against Wilder before his death, but dropped the suit afterwards. Leppert's mother, modeling agent Linda Curtis, later stated that she never believed Wilder was involved in Leppert's disappearance. Police have never been able to link Wilder and Leppert and it may be coincidence that she disappeared at the same time he was targeting area models. He had a long history of sex crimes but did not begin his killing spree until a year after Leppert vanished.

John Brennan Crutchley, the so-called Vampire Rapist, is also considered a possible suspect in Leppert's case. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1986 for kidnapping and raping a woman in Orlando, Florida and drinking her blood. Crutchley committed suicide in prison in 2002. Authorities have never been able to link him to Leppert. A photo of Crutchley is posted with this case summary.

Curtis criticized the police for allegedly mishandling the investigation into Leppert's disappearance. Police initially believed she ran away, and some continue to think that foul play was not involved in her case. Curtis said her daughter was afraid of the man who last saw her, and that the individual was never properly investigated. Authorities say they did the best they could to find Leppert and the man she was last seen with has been interviewed is not a viable suspect in her case.

On June 1, a month before Leppert vanished, she began acting erratically at her home. She yelled and screamed, broke a window with a baseball bat, and accused family and friends of trying to poison her. Curtis took Leppert to a mental health center for a 72-hour observation after she calmed down. Psychiatrists there could not find anything wrong with her, and a toxicology screen on her blood and urine turned up no indication of drug use. Curtis planned to find a therapist for Leppert, but she disappeared before that could be arranged.

Curtis believed that Leppert may have been kidnapped and murdered as a result of her knowledge of a large-scale drug and money laundering operation in Brevard, Florida. The operation allegedly involved many prominent local citizens. Leppert was reportedly afraid for her life because of what she knew. She stayed in her bedroom more than usual and refused to drink from open containers or eat from her own plate.

Curtis claimed Leppert made a police report about what she knew, but investigators have no record of the report and do not espouse Curtis's theory. Curtis moved to Orlando, Florida after her daughter's disappearance. She died in 1995. Leppert's sister is still looking for her and believes her mother's theory about Leppert's disappearance.

Leppert's dental records have been lost. Some agencies incorrectly state that her home is in Cocoa Beach, Florida."
 
Does anyone know whether NamUs UP54550 has been looked at for Tammy? This UID was located in 2018 in Birmingham, AL, which might be a stretch in terms of both time and distance (nearly 700 mi).

What stood out to me about this UID is the clothing: "A weathered, soil-stained elastic band with remnants of two pockets. The pockets contain only dirt and soil debris. A worn tag is on the garment with 'Made in Bangladesh; RN #70892; S 28-30; CH 28-30.' Shreds of apparent navy blue fabric are loosely adherent to parts of the band." Furthermore, NamUs states there were "weathered shreds of soft apparent navy blue fabric mixed with dirt and leafy material." Could this be from a blue denim skirt? NamUs mentions a "weathered, soil-stained grey elastic band" was found with the remains; I wondered if that could have been the remains of a gray purse.

The location where this UID was found is 3001 Portofino Dr., Birmingham, AL. Google Earth and Google Maps both show it as "Vulcan Materials Company - quarry." In Google Earth, the oldest image is from 1997, when the area appears to have been just sandy mounds. Very desolate. It's close to Interstate 20, which runs towards Atlanta, but that appears to be the only major highway. The most direct route to Cocoa Beach looks like a State highway 231? I'm not sure if this location makes sense logistically if someone were looking to hide a person's remains coming all the way from Cocoa Beach, but the potential for a match may be worth taking a look.

I think you should send the NamUs contact an email. Back in the day, there was no system to match up remains found in other states so perpetrators would dispose of bodies in other areas so they wouldn't be linked.
 
I think you should send the NamUs contact an email. Back in the day, there was no system to match up remains found in other states so perpetrators would dispose of bodies in other areas so they wouldn't be linked.
Do the people at NamUs ever get annoyed with "the public" reaching out to them with suggestions like this? That's honestly what I'm afraid of.
 
I think you should send the NamUs contact an email. Back in the day, there was no system to match up remains found in other states so perpetrators would dispose of bodies in other areas so they wouldn't be linked.
I just emailed the NamUs contacts for both cases. Fingers crossed that the families in both cases may get some answers!
 
Do the people at NamUs ever get annoyed with "the public" reaching out to them with suggestions like this? That's honestly what I'm afraid of.

I've emailed comparisons before and they were always friendly and grateful for the help.

In fact, a WS member just was able to identify Kimberly Shawn Cheatman missing since 1989. Sloane7777, bugged and bugged the investigators and it turned out her persistence paid off.
 
I received a generic response from one of the two NamUs contacts, acknowledging that they have received the information. I will most definitely update on this thread if I ever hear from them as to the outcome.
 

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