MD MD - Tu Thi-Cam Tran, 24, Baltimore, 26 Nov 1990

Above: Tran at age 24; Tran's necklace.

​Tu Thi-Cam Tran
Missing since Nov. 26, 1990

NamUs MP # 19461
Location last seen: Campus of UMBC in Baltimore, Maryland
Age last seen: 24 years old (would now be 51)

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Physical Description:

Sex: Female
Race: Asian or Pacific Islander
Height: 4' 8" - 4' 9"
Weight: 90 lbs.
Hair: Brown, shoulder-length
Eyes: Black

Clothing & Personal Items:

Clothing: Was wearing a blouse, jeans, and sneakers.
Jewelry: A necklace with white pearls and blue gemstones strung in a scallop design (see above photo).

Identifiers:

Distinguishing Features: One of Tran's toes is missing (unknown which toe or on which foot).
Dentals: N/A
Fingerprints: N/A
DNA: Available; sample submitted and tests complete.

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On the evening of November 26, 1990, Tran attended a class in the fine arts building on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She was a senior information systems management major. She finished class at 6:45 p.m. and reportedly had a conversation with another student in the University Center's game room. She appeared to be in good spirits at the time.

She was last sighted at 8:30 p.m. exiting the game room, presumably going to her car which was parked in a nearby lot. But there is no indication that Tran made it there, and she's never been heard from again.

Tran lived with her brother and his family in Lanham, Maryland at the time of her disappearance. Her brother was the one who reported her missing. The family reports that they've had no contact with her since she was last seen. An extensive search of the university's 500-acre campus turned up no indication of her whereabouts. Few details are available in her case.

Investigating Agency(s):

UMBC Police and MD State Police
Investigator: Det. John Taylor
Phone: (410) 455-3136

Please reference Case # 90-4303.

Source(s): http://charleyproject.org/case/tu-thi-cam-tran;
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/19461/0

The Disappearance of Tu Thi-Cam Tran – The Philosophy of Crime

UMBC student has been missing for two weeks

Coffee56 said:

The Disappearance of Tu Thi-Cam Tran – The Philosophy of Crime

UMBC student has been missing for two weeks

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this blog post. Glad to see that there are still people wondering, nearly 30 years on, whatever happened to this promising young woman.

Bump

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Bumping for Tu-Thi Cam, today is the 30th anniversary of her disappearance.

Such a strange case with very little media coverage. It appears as if she just vanished from the campus after having a conversation with a fellow student at the University Center Game Room. She left the game room en route to her car parked nearby but never made it. Did students at the University of Maryland normally park their cars on campus?

Murkywaters said:

Did students at the University of Maryland normally park their cars on campus?

Click to expand...

I've known a couple people who went to UMBC, and even though there's dorms, I think a lot of students tend to be commuters, as Tu Thi-Cam was. Remember, she lived with her brother and his family nearby. Logically, she may have been walking back to where her car was parked, with the intention of going home; however, we can't assume that. It's possible she was planning to go somewhere else that night, but very little information is given. In fact, I don't think I've come across anything indicating that they even located the car... or maybe it was found just sitting there in the parking lot?

The report says: "...there is no indication that Tran made it there, and she's never been heard from again." This tells us that the car most likely was left there where she'd originally parked it and that it didn't show any signs of being tampered with. I'm going to assume that they dusted it for prints and looked for strands of hair besides hers, to see if there had been any signs of entry by anyone else - but again, it seems like she never managed to reach the car at all. This leads me to wonder if she was abducted in the parking lot?

I'm really thinking this was foul play... someone who forced her into their car and drove away. Did she have a boyfriend at the time, or was she dating any guys who seemed suspicious or whom she disclosed concerns about to anyone? Could someone have been stalking her, someone with an unreciprocated interest? Of course, it could have been a totally random kidnapping by someone who didn't know her. Depending on how campus security was back in the '90s at University of MD colleges, this may have been an overlooked problem.

Some predator may have been waiting in the parking lot that evening, and picked an opportune time when there weren't many other people around to take her. The perp was most likely looking for a victim who appeared easy to overpower, as that's the typical preference, and she fit that description being petite in stature. So if I was working this case, I'd really want to comb through the sexual assault reports filed with Baltimore County law enforcement (and adjacent counties) that year or around that year, with a particular interest in offenders who may have targeted college students and/or who forcibly abducted their victims. Look at unexplained disappearances of other young women in the mid-Atlantic area in those years to determine if there's a trend. It may have been a repeat offender, a serial rapist/killer at large in the area. I hate to think of another Ted Bundy being active in Maryland, but the possibility can't be readily dismissed.

SurrealisticSlumbers said:

I've known a couple people who went to UMBC, and even though there's dorms, I think a lot of students tend to be commuters, as Tu Thi-Cam was. Remember, she lived with her brother and his family nearby. Logically, she may have been walking back to where her car was parked, with the intention of going home; however, we can't assume that. It's possible she was planning to go somewhere else that night, but very little information is given. In fact, I don't think I've come across anything indicating that they even located the car... or maybe it was found just sitting there in the parking lot?

The report says: "...there is no indication that Tran made it there, and she's never been heard from again." This tells us that the car most likely was left there where she'd originally parked it and that it didn't show any signs of being tampered with. I'm going to assume that they dusted it for prints and looked for strands of hair besides hers, to see if there had been any signs of entry by anyone else - but again, it seems like she never managed to reach the car at all. This leads me to wonder if she was abducted in the parking lot?

I'm really thinking this was foul play... someone who forced her into their car and drove away. Did she have a boyfriend at the time, or was she dating any guys who seemed suspicious or whom she disclosed concerns about to anyone? Could someone have been stalking her, someone with an unreciprocated interest? Of course, it could have been a totally random kidnapping by someone who didn't know her. Depending on how campus security was back in the '90s at University of MD colleges, this may have been an overlooked problem.

Some predator may have been waiting in the parking lot that evening, and picked an opportune time when there weren't many other people around to take her. The perp was most likely looking for a victim who appeared easy to overpower, as that's the typical preference, and she fit that description being petite in stature. So if I was working this case, I'd really want to comb through the sexual assault reports filed with Baltimore County law enforcement (and adjacent counties) that year or around that year, with a particular interest in offenders who may have targeted college students and/or who forcibly abducted their victims. Look at unexplained disappearances of other young women in the mid-Atlantic area in those years to determine if there's a trend. It may have been a repeat offender, a serial rapist/killer at large in the area. I hate to think of another Ted Bundy being active in Maryland, but the possibility can't be readily dismissed.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, I do believe there was foul play involved. Somebody had to have picked her up, willingly or not.

I find it surprising that the University police are the lead investigating agency on this case. I didn't think a University police department would have efficient resources to conduct an investigation such as this.

Murkywaters said:

I find it surprising that the University police are the lead investigating agency on this case. I didn't think a University police department would have efficient resources to conduct an investigation such as this.

Click to expand...

Yeah, no kidding. Hope that Campus Police conducted a thorough search of the grounds, including around the neighboring Clear Spring Water Reservoir (a local dam adjacent to campus). There's a stream and wooded area around that vicinity as well. Recently had a look at a campus map - link here. On the map, note that there are designated Conservation and Environmental Research Areas, but I wonder if these areas were being used for that purpose thirty years ago. They could have simply been wooded areas where students were free to roam.

Also, found it interesting that the Baltimore County Police Dept. and Baltimore County Courthouse are actually right next door to the campus. You'd think that would discourage criminal activity, having the police be so close by. And looking at the campus map, you'll see the Commons, where the game room is located. Unless the game room has moved in the years since Tran's disappearance, this is probably the same location that she was last seen chatting with another student. On the map, you'll notice pretty near to the Commons is the Fine Arts building where she had her last class.

I would think she'd be parked in one of the lots near to those buildings. Of course, campus construction happens and things get moved around, but if the lots are the same now as they were back in the '90s, I am looking at Lot 8 or 9 on the map as being the most likely parking lots for her to have parked the car. When you examine the map, it doesn't look like an especially secluded place for someone to just go missing. But it could have been quiet enough at night. There's a community garden nearby (whether it was there back then, don't know) and I also see a rec field across the road. According to the map, Campus Police are now situated at the edge of Lot 10, but I don't know if that was always the case.

Essentially, we're talking about a high-traffic part of campus, as opposed to the northern portion shown on the map, which looks largely residential, comprised mostly of student housing. Again, it could've been that she was headed to a party on campus in one of the apartments or residential halls, or had plans to go somewhere else. Maybe she was parked in a totally different spot from where I'm looking at on the map, or the current map is showing discrepancies from how things may have looked back then. Your guess is as good as mine!

Oh, and there's a new point of contact for UMBC Police (wasn't able to edit the original post):

Daniel Sexton, Sergeant
sexton@umbc.edu
410-455-3136

P.S. I'm wondering if the thread's name can be changed to indicate the UMBC campus, rather than saying "Baltimore" (UMBC is in Catonsville, Baltimore County... people might think upon first glance that she went missing from the City of Baltimore).

I just found this Reddit post written just a few days ago. It acknowledges the 30 year anniversary of Tran's disappearance, and as its author is a current student, it contains a lot more in-depth, "insider" information from someone who knows the campus well. This person, who describes themselves as a senior at UMBC, seemed to have done a deep dive into the student newspaper archives.

Regarding where Tran was last seen: "In 1990, it was even more so; a lot of the larger buildings on campus, such as the Commons, hadn't even been built yet." It's as I suspected... game room was in some other building, and the post goes on to say that the parking lots "are further removed from campus and more isolated." Meaning a parking lot abduction is still plausible.

There's lots of comments already, even though it's only been four days. A few posters think that the campus police were a bunch of bumbling idiots back in the day, others simply feel like she was done a disservice and that other police departments should have been called on to investigate. And some people apparently seem to believe that the college has a history of covering up sex crimes on campus, and that they can't be trusted... take it all with a grain of salt. But it is interesting to read other people's opinions on this case.

First I am sorry in advanced for posting this in the wrong thread because I believe I am.

Hi, I am a college female student and found out about a cold case of a missing female student back in 1990 at my University. Her name is Tu Thi-Cam Tran.

There are a few things really odd about the case, but I find it very sad that there is nothing on campus to remember this poor girl, and that maybe getting the word out about her case can generate some leads. However the case was/is still under Campus PD and not Baltimore County which I find odd. I am trying to find info on this case to make a good post, but as we'd say back in HS, I am a total n00b at this. Some Alumni feel Miss Tran's case wasn't publicized back then to protect the reputation of the University, because back in the 1990s, this was a common occurrence among USM schools.

Here is the link to my Universities Reddit about the case:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unresolved...evening_in_1990_a_umbc_student_vanished_from/

An Aerial view of the Campus in 1993, the closet date students could find:

Aerial View of Campus, circa 1993 · UMBC 50th

A posts about the case:
The Disappearance of Tu Thi-Cam Tran - The Philosophy of Crime
Tu Thi-Cam Tran – The Charley Project

Any help on how to make a good post, or if there are any MD sleuths here that are interested in the case that would help.

wow this is really interesting, you can start a thread in the missing but not forgotten section

but good on you for taking the torch for this missing girl

Welcome Retriever_738 I was able to start a thread with this excellent step by step

Thank you guys! I will make a post in Missing Persons tonight using the step by step guides .

Looking forward to having a look at your post.

Hello Sleuths. This case came to my attention via my Universities and Unsolved Mysteries Reddit Page. Most of the information will come from the reddit posts and things I have been able to find from google. I used the same resources as the reddit post, so I will link at the bottom. The Investigation Portion will be directly copied and pasted from the reddit as I feel it is well written and contains vital information. I am new to this, so I hope this gets the ball rolling on finding out more information about the case, and hopefully what happened to Miss Tran will be discovered. I apologize for any formatting issues.




Info&Description:

Tu Thi-Cam Tran is a female student who vanished from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (abbreviated UMBC not to be confused with UMD University of Maryland, this will be important when I talk about the campus) in the of 1990. She has been missing since November 28 1990.

At the time, Tran was a 24 year old senior majoring in information systems. Tran was described as a petite "attractive" woman, with a height of 4'9 and weighing 90lbs. She had brown eyes, shoulder length brown hair. In the reddit post, a distinguishing feature is noted as her missing one of her toes. However it doesn't say which one or which foot. On the day of her disappearance Miss Tran was last seen wearing a blouse, jeans, and sneakers, with distinctive necklace with white pearls and blue stones.



Last Known Sightings:

Miss Tran was seen after class at 6:45pm in the Game Room located in the University Center. The Game Room was said to be a place where many students spent their time in between classes (this is important to consider). There she was seen hanging out with a classmate until 8:30pm when she began heading to her car with the intend of making the drive to her home in Lanham. This is about a 30 minute drive from campus. The classmate reported that Tran was in "good spirits."

Unfortunately Miss Tran never made it home. Her worried brother reported her missing to Campus PD. Her car was found parked on Campus where she left it, and there was nothing to suggest she ever made it to her vehicle.

Investigation:

A massive search of UMBC's 500 acre campus, including the surrounding woods, was organized. The campus was surveyed with K9 teams and helicopters, but no trace of Tu was found. Fliers with her name and photograph were posted around campus.
The investigation was handled by the UMBC campus police, rather than the Baltimore County Police.

This decision was made because, according to a Baltimore County Police spokesperson, university police were "fully certified to investigate incidents believed to have occurred on the campus." According to Louise M. White, UMBC's director of media relations, they thought that there was "no reason to believe" Tu had been harmed.
The university police were tight-lipped about their investigation. Said Frank Wiley, the campus police's spokesperson, in a statement to The Retriever (UMBC's student newspaper), "It's an ongoing investigation. We won't release any information on an active investigation."

"We do have an active missing person's investigation being conducted by our investigative section," he continued. "There are a number of leads involving possible whereabouts and we are investigating all of them. At this point we do not suspect foul play."
In a later statement, made in January 1991, Wiley added: "We are very confident... that our investigation does not indicate the presence of any kind of serial rapist or serial killer." They refused to release more specific information, saying it would be "contrary to the public interests" and might "jeopardize an ongoing investigation". Despite this, they insisted that they were working hard on the case. They said that they had "enlisted the assistance of other law enforcement agencies both in and out of state" and that they were "conducting an exhaustive investigation."

At this point, police said that they had found "no evidence of foul play" and that they "did not believe Tran was forcibly abducted" despite the circumstances of her disappearance. However, they also said they had not ruled out foul play.
According to archives of The Retriever, despite Wiley's statement, rumours spread that Tu had been kidnapped or murdered, that her body had been found in the woods, that she had been shot repeatedly, or that a killer was loose on campus, but police denied these.
Fueling further speculation, Tu's disappearance came after the disappearance of a male UMBC staff member from off-campus earlier in the fall semester; however, police termed this an "unrelated event". They were correct about this - it indeed did turn out to be unrelated, as the staff member was eventually found alive.

Criticism of Investigation:

According to comments from UMBC and USM Alumni, many former students feel that the school was not very vocal about the case in order to keep the reputation of the University intact. That they did not want any bad publicity surrounding the University. Apparently, this was common practice for USM school back then in order to avoid generating panic among current and prospective students. For example a student attending the Catonsville location of CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) which is a 4 minute drive from UMBC is quoted as saying:

"I was attending the community college next door to UMBC when this happened. However, I didn't even hear about it until I saw it in the paper (or maybe on TV) about a week later. There were no posters or police presence on my campus. I also had friends at UMBC whom I would visit regularly, and when I asked them about it, they had only heard vague details.

The seriousness of Miss Tran's case was also mocked in the The Retriever. The Retriever's staff editorial of May 1991, in a recap of the school year, noted sarcastically:

"According to what the rumor mill generated, she was abducted by a stranger, maybe two, or someone she knew. There were cigarette butts in her car, bullet holes, and blood stains, and her mangled corpse had been found just outside the Loop, or in the Patapsco River, or in the Baltimore Harbor, and there was a second abduction the following week, and so on and so on. Either that, or she was in Cleveland. But if one listened to the police statement, soon after, one could divine that she had just up and disappeared without evidence of foul play. It happens sometimes."

Campus PD has also been criticized for not handing the investigation over to the county. Although this case is cold, it is still open and if anyone has any information, they are to contact campus PD and not the county. I to find this a bit odd.

Thoughts

In the comment section, many alumni/former students spoke about how the Campus was back in the 1990s. Parking was pretty far from buildings and after 5pm, UMBC was described as a "ghost town" by many people in the comment section of the Unsolved Mysteries Reddit. For context, UMBC is known as a "commuter school" where most students commute, and live off campus. As a commuter myself, I myself have never stayed on campus past 4:30pm. However I have friends who have and they say UMBC is pretty "dead" at night.

While I couldn't find a view of the campus in 1990, someone was able to find one from 1993

https://s3.amazonaws.com/omeka-net/25178/archive/files/aac4d5e787a6e726d59e2dd62c28f6c8.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAI3ATG3OSQLO5HGKA&Expires=1609977600&Signature=XPfQUXc7Jgx6Y7MjUS/EV9e/MOM=

Based on this imagine, and what people say about the school being a ghost town after 5pm, I believe she was abducted while walking to her car. Miss Tran is described as petite and short, and could have been easily abducted by someone much larger that her. It is also possible that someone could have been stalking her from a distance as well. I want to know what you Sleuths think and how more information on the cases can be discovered, such as potential suspects.

According the podcast, UMBC is charging $5,000 for a FOIA (any and all documents pertaining to the case). As a student I find this shameful. There is currently NOTHING on campus to commemorate miss Tran, the case is decades cold, and this is how it is being treated for those seeking to find out more information. There isn't much out there on the case, but perhaps these documents contain a piece information a more seasoned investigator could use to solve the case.


Links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unresolved...evening_in_1990_a_umbc_student_vanished_from/

Tu Thi-Cam Tran – The Charley Project

UMBC student has been missing for two weeks

http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/digita...ever/id/16535/page/0/inline/Retriever_16535_0

Disappearances of Tu Tran & Elaine Lehtinen w/ Naptime Nancy Drew - Missing Maura Murray