SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: September 28, 1973 from Dayton, Ohio
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 13 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair. Pretorius was tall for her age in 1973. She did not wear makeup, but she frequently wore her hair in braids or pigtails.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A long-sleeved yellow sweater, blue jeans and gym shoes.
Details of Disappearance
Pretorius was last seen on September 28, 1973, when she left her home on Cornell Drive in the Dayton View neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio. She had attended her classes at Fairview High School, where she was a freshman. After school she went home, had a piano lesson, and left to collect money in the neighborhood for her Journal Herald newspaper route. She has never been heard from again.
Procedures at the time prohibited Pretorius's family from reporting her as a missing child until 24 hours had passed. Investigators believe she did not run away and was probably abducted and murdered. A witness saw a girl matching Pretorius's description struggling with a man near a car at the corner of Cornell and Philadelphia Drive on the day she disappeared, but the man has never been identified and the girl was not confirmed to be Pretorius.
Investigators do not believe Pretorius left of her own accord. Her family describes her as an intelligent, responsible and studious child who always dressed modestly. She skipped the eighth grade at Cornell Heights School prior to her disappearance. Authorities followed up many leads in her disappearance over the years, but her case remains a mystery. Her family held a memorial service for her in 2006.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Dayton Police Department
