FL FL - Tinzie Lucinda Huels, 17, Hillsborough County, 27 Oct 1984

Deputies think Huels may have been a victim of Tampa serial killer Bobby Joe Long. Long abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least 10 women during an eight-month period in 1984.

One of his victims, Lisa McVey, survived and she provided the information that helped police track him down. He's now on death row.

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In April 1992, they had their wife, mother, daughter, and sister back. But six months later, detectives and family members would find out the woman who had become part of the family was not, in fact, Lucinda.

If you’re wondering how that could have happened, there are few things Lucinda’s family would tell you. They wanted her to be alive more than anything. She seemed to know a lot about the family. And she looked like Lucinda. Eerily like Lucinda. So much so that some in the family have wondered if, somehow, it was really her.

“I remember as a kid, feeling that connection, that bond,” said Lucinda’s son Tony, Deanna’s older brother. Now 33 and living in Ohio, he was 10 when he though his mother had returned home. “I always felt it was her. Even now.”

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LaSarge remembers going through an old photo album on that first visit. The woman everyone called Lucinda seemed to have some recognition of the events and people in the photos, which LaSarge wonders about to this day: Had someone already gone through the album with her? Otherwise, how did she know?

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Stepp says there may have been a point at the beginning in which he left the room and Amanda could have looked at the case file on his desk, but he says it contained only limited information. He doesn’t understand how she seemed to know enough to convince him, Florida detectives, and the family.

“There was no internet as we know it today. Someone would have to make lots and lots of phone calls to piece all that information together,” Stepp offered.

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On Monday, for the first time since 1992, they both heard from Amanda. In separate messages, she told them she did not want to be interviewed, but was OK with them sharing details of their conversation.

Amanda and Tony have been communicating over Facebook messenger.

“I asked if she was my mother. She said, ‘No.’ I asked if she knew my mother. She said, ‘No, but I wish I did,’” Tony said.

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lostwithoutyou said:

Tinze Lucinda Huels

PHOTOGRAPH & AGE PROGRESSION:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: October 27, 1984 from Hillsborough County, Florida
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: April 6, 1967
Age: 17 years old
Height and Weight: 5'5, 140 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, brown eyes. Huels has a circular-shaped burn scar on her left leg. She goes by her middle name, Lucinda. She may use the last name Mauldin.
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Details of Disappearance

Huels was last seen at her home on October 27, 1984 in Hillsborough County, Florida. She was planning on driving to the laundromat at the time. She has never been heard from again. Huels's vehicle was located in a local parking lot later during the day. Two weeks later, her purse was found in the men's bathroom in a campground in Hillsborough County; only her keys were missing. There was no sign of Huels at the scene.
Investigators believe Huels may have been murdered by the serial killer Bobby Joe Long, who is currently in prison. Long admitted to murdering ten Florida women, but he has denied any involvement in Huels's case and has never been charged in connection with it.

Fathering Magazine published an online article regarding The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Huels's disappearance in 2000. The report repeated a hoax that took place in the early 1990s revolving around Huels's case. A woman from Arkansas claimed that she was Huels and that she ran away from her Florida home in 1984 to escape problems in her marriage. The story was fabricated, but several media outlets published the claims. Huels's case continues to remain open and unsolved. Some agencies state that Huels disappeared from Tampa, Florida or that she was last seen in a tavern.


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Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department
813-247-8000

www.charleyproject.org

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crimeblogger1983 said:

Say what? There is no comment on my blog post as of yet.

Sent from my SM-G550T using Tapatalk

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masquerading said:

It's unfortunate that the multiple women claiming to be Tinzie has totally taken the focus off of the case itself.

I wish there was more information about the man her friend last saw her with at the tavern - Charley Project says that it's unclear whether or not he is/was a suspect in Tinzie's disappearance. And what about the man he was arrested with the following morning? Who was her husband? I assume he was cleared of suspicion since he was never publicly named, but I'm still curious as to how he fit into this story. Lots of questions and very few answers, sadly.

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