Lifers

CUE Center for Missing Persons

Community United Effort (910) 343-1131 P.O. Box 12714 24-hour Line: (910) 232-1687Wilmington, NC 28405 e-mail: cuecenter@aol.com

www.ncmissingpersons.orgwww.ncmissingpersons.org

COLD CASE: Investigators zero in on

waterfall

Miami-Dade homicide detectives are

teaming with a national missing

persons group to reopen a search for

the remains of a 23-year-old Home-

stead woman believed murdered in

1986. Police originally obtained a

warrant to look for the body of Sheri

Lynn Swims at a dome-shaped home in

the Redland in December 2003.

Investigators went to the property, but

did not excavate the area beneath a

backyard waterfall where an informant

told police Swims was buried.

Published on April 7, 2007

Sheri Lynn SwimsSheri Lynn SwimsMissing Since: August 19, 1986Missing From: Homestead, Fla.Age in 2008: 45

Police Dig For Woman Thought Killed 20 Years Ago

Waitress, Mother Disappeared After Leaving Bar In 1986

POSTED: 11:29 am EDT July 10, 2007

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. -- Miami-Dade police homicide detectives are digging up a yard in the Redland in the hopes of solving the case of a missing woman believed to have been killed 20 years ago.

Police received permission from the owner of the home at 23595 S.W. 170th Court to search for the remains of Sherie Lynn Swims, who disappeared Aug. 19, 1986, hours after leaving Homestead's Doubleheader Bar and Grill.

Swims, 23, was a waitress and mother of a then-6-month-old son.

Police said an informant told them Swims was killed and her body was buried near a man-made waterfall on the property. Emilio Mantecon bought the home several years later and is not considered a suspect in Swims' disappearance.

"I have no choice because if there's a dead body here, the best thing is to find out if it is or not," Mantecon said.

Police said a K-9 that was brought to the property Monday gave a strong indication someone or something is buried in the yard. Using a backhoe, police began digging up the property Tuesday morning.

Copyright 2007 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Police Dig For Woman Thought Killed 20 Years Ago

Waitress, Mother Disappeared After Leaving Bar In 1986

POSTED: 11:29 am EDT July 10, 2007

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. -- Miami-Dade police homicide detectives are digging up a yard in the Redland in the hopes of solving the case of a missing woman believed to have been killed 20 years ago.

Police received permission from the owner of the home at 23595 S.W. 170th Court to search for the remains of Sherie Lynn Swims, who disappeared Aug. 19, 1986, hours after leaving Homestead's Doubleheader Bar and Grill.

Swims, 23, was a waitress and mother of a then-6-month-old son.

Police said an informant told them Swims was killed and her body was buried near a man-made waterfall on the property. Emilio Mantecon bought the home several years later and is not considered a suspect in Swims' disappearance.

"I have no choice because if there's a dead body here, the best thing is to find out if it is or not," Mantecon said.

Police said a K-9 that was brought to the property Monday gave a strong indication someone or something is buried in the yard. Using a backhoe, police began digging up the property Tuesday morning.

Copyright 2007 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

From the familyFrom the family

My family and I have been searching for my sister, Sheri Swims, since her mysterious disappearance in August of 1986 where she was last seen with two male acquaintances at a Bar and Grill in Homestead, Fla.

Unfortunately, I have received very little help from the authorities for all those years. It is like Sheri vanished "Without a Trace.” We have been in the dark until last year – since then we have been in contact with Doe Network, CUE Center, Miami-Dade police and Miami Herald reporters. Sheri is on the internet, has had numerous articles written about her, the family has had conversations with the Miami police and Miami Herald reporters and even had personal property excavated based on a tip that Sheri was buried beneath a waterfall where the media (televised) was even involved. Finally, after all of these years, I am so thankful that I was referred to Monica Caison from the CUE Center by the Doe Network. Monica has been absolutely wonderful, passionate about her work, gives 100% of herself and is great with the families of the missing. She made things happen when there was nowhere else to go. I trust Monica completely and she is the one who is responsible for getting my sister’s Cold Case reopened and she organized the excavation that took place July of 2007, but the results were unsuccessful and I still have a lot of unanswered questions.

Not a day goes by that I do not think of Sheri and wonder what happened to her and where she is.  After 20 years of searching, I was hoping for closure but it hasn't happened yet.  I will continue my search until I find the answers "What Happened to Sheri." 

Thank You,Karin Flynn 

Jody Lee Ledkins Jody Lee Ledkins Missing Since: May 23, 1985Missing From: Kansas City, Mo.Age in 2008: 38

Age p

rogre

ssio

n

Age p

rogre

ssio

n

(2003)

(2003)

Jody Ledkins was last seen at a friend's

house in the 700 block of Cambridge

Street in Kansas City, Mo., on May 23,

1985, where she had an argument with

her boyfriend and other friends earlier in

the day. She apparently wanted to accompany them to their destination, but they refused.

Ledkins walked to a nearby friend's residence and called her mother, asking for a ride to her home on Topping Street. Her mother did not have her car and Ledkins told her she would find another ride. Ledkins was never heard from again.

She did not take any money or extra clothing with her when she disappeared.

Ledkins was enrolled in a juvenile probation program at the time she disappeared – the result of a run-in with a security guard in 1984. Her caseworker was contacted by Ledkins' mother after the disappearance. The caseworker filed two warrants for Ledkins, listing her as an endangered juvenile who should be detained by authorities if she was spotted.

Ledkins's mother assumed that the warrants also meant juvenile authorities had filed a missing child report with law enforcement, but that was not the case. Because they hadn't been properly notified, law enforcement didn't consider Ledkins a missing person until 1987 -- two years after her disappearance. As a result of this extreme delay, clues were minimal by the time the investigation began.

In 1997, police dragged the Missouri River after two prison inmates claimed they had information on the case. Their tip went nowhere, but it lead the Kansas City Police Department to reclassify Ledkins's case as a homicide. Ledkins' mother now lives in Arkansas but visits Kansas City a few times every year to search for her daughter. The case remains unsolved.

CasCase e

FactFactss

From the familyFrom the family

My daughter, Jody Ledkins, disappeared on the night of May 23rd, 1985, in Kansas City, Missouri, without a trace. Over the years there have been several leads of her possible whereabouts, all leading to a dead end.

Friends and family can empathize but only a parent that has had a child disappear can truly sympathize and understand the sheer torture and devastation we live through each and every day of our lives, not knowing whether our child is dead or alive. And sometimes we feel such guilt over the disappearance: what could, or should, we have done so it wouldn't have happened?

Jody has been my life ever since she was born on September 20th, 1970, she always will be. I am persistent in finding out what happened that terrible night Jody disappeared and I will not find inner peace until I do.

Jody is the best friend anyone could ever have, yet someone, somewhere, in their twisted mind, took that away from me. Jody is a human being, a daughter, a friend, and I would give anything to have her back. Twenty two years later, I'm still searching for the truth and can only hope Jody is alive.

The trauma I've been through losing a child to these circumstances is utterly devastating. Not being able to keep a job due to emotional breakdowns, going after every lead no matter how small it may seem, and employers not being quite so understanding of the circumstances, have all taken a toll on my life.

I recently contacted a psychic in Canada, Robert Lindblad, to aide in any possible way and he's working with the Missouri Police Department. Robert is not the first psychic I've contacted but he has been the only one who has not charged a dime for his assistance.

We go day to day and live our lives but Jody is always going to be in our hearts and we won't rest until we find out what really took place awful night when I lost my beloved Jody. One can only imagine the anger, frustration, and devastation that a parent goes through having to wake up every morning, and survive yet another day, not knowing where your child is.

Jody always has been, still is, and always will be the most important being in the world to me. Jody is my child and I pray one day I will have the opportunity to see her, hold her, and tell her how much I love her. Jody is missed more than anything imaginable in this world.

Karen StrattonGreen Forest, Arizona

We go day to day and live our lives but Jody is always going to be in our hearts and we won't rest until we find out what really took place awful night when I lost my beloved Jody. One can only imagine the anger, frustration, and devastation that a parent goes through having to wake up every morning, and survive yet another day, not knowing where your child is.

Deborah Lowe Deborah Lowe Missing Since: February 28, 1972Missing From: Pompano Beach, Fla. Age in 2008: 50

Age progression Age progression (2004)(2004)

Lowe was last seen walking to Rickards Middle School in the vicinity of 8th Street and Sunrise Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida, between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. on February 28, 1972. She never arrived at school and has never been heard from again. Authorities initially believed Lowe had run away from home, possibly back to Palestine, West Virginia; her family had moved to Pompano Beach from Palestine shortly before her disappearance. Lowe's family has never believed she left of her own accord, and she did not have a prior history of such behavior. None of her personal belongings were taken.

Lowe's family believes she may have been a victim of the serial killer Gerard John Schaefer Jr. He was convicted of only two murders in the 1970s but is believed to be responsible for the murders and disappearances of many other girls and young women in the 1960s and 1970s, including Wendy Stevenson, Peggy Rahn and Carmen Hallock in 1969, and Pamela Nater and Nancy Leichner in 1966. Schaefer was never charged in connection with any of the cases, however. He was murdered in prison in 1995.

Lowe's father died of a heart attack four years after her disappearance, but the rest of her family continues to search for her. Some agencies give the date of her disappearance as February 29, 1972. Her case remains unsolved.

Case summary courtesy of the Charley Project: www.charleyproject.org/

CasCase e

FactFactss

Deborah Lowe

Posted on Sun, Jul. 31, 2005

Cold-case cop won't give up huntGerard Schaefer, who died in prison, may have murdered dozens

of women, some of whom were never found, but one detective is dedicated to providing the victims' loved ones some answers.

By WANDA J. DeMARZO Before he was killed in prison, Gerard Schaefer was suspected of killing

dozens of young women across South Florida and elsewhere.Family members of many of his victims felt their last chance to find out what

happened to their loved ones died with him.But one cop's passion to solve the cases did not vanish when Schaefer, 49,

was stabbed to death in 1995 in Florida State Prison, where he was serving two life sentences for murder.

For the past year, Fort Lauderdale homicide detective John Curcio has been gathering forensic evidence and sending it to the FBI's 5-year-old Missing Persons DNA Database as a means to identify remains found around South Florida.

 Curcio started working with the family of Debora Sue Lowe three months ago. The 13-year-old was last seen about 8:30 a.m. on a drizzly Tuesday as she walked to Rickards Middle School on Feb. 29, 1972, wearing black slacks with roses, a yellow blouse and a tan poncho.

 Three of Debbie's siblings -- Eva, James and Sherral -- recently submitted DNA samples to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Persons DNA Database in the hopes that Debbie's remains will be matched.

 The Lowe family's DNA also has been entered into the FBI's national database.

 Curcio believe Schaefer, a former Wilton Manors police officer and a Martin County sheriff's deputy, abducted, tortured, murdered and raped dozens of women across South Florida and other states in the late '60s and early '70s.

 Like Debbie, many of the missing never have been located. "We believe Schaefer is responsible for the murders of a lot of women," said

Curcio, a veteran homicide detective. "We just have to find the families of his victims and get their DNA entered

and compare it to all the unidentified remains sitting in Medical Examiner's Offices."

(continued)

Deborah Lowe

(continued) He's currently trying to close the cases of two young Fort Lauderdale women -- Carmen

Hallock, 22, Belinda Hutchins, 22 -- who disappeared between 1968 and 1972. Curcio believes Schaefer is responsible for the murder of a third Fort Lauderdale woman, Leigh Bonadies Hainline, 25, who vanished in 1968. All had ties to Schaefer.

Hallock and Hutchins had dated Schaefer. Hainline was a childhood friend and tennis partner. Only Hainline's remains were found.

When police executed a search warrant in 1973 in the Fort Lauderdale house where Schaefer lived with his mother, they found jewelry, teeth and other possessions belonging to each woman.

 Police also found short stories in the home that Schaefer wrote about abduction, rape and strangulation of young women, including a woman named Carmen.

 The Carmen in his story wore a black chiffon dress. The stories were typed double-spaced on white paper. Schaefer admitted writing the

stories, but said they were fiction. Hallock's sister told police her sister bought a new black dress for a date with a married

teacher. Schaefer, who was married, was a student teacher at Plantation High School the same

year Hallock disappeared. Police never had enough evidence to try him on the three cases. He was convicted in September 1973 of the murders of two Oakland Park teens, Susan

Place, 17, and Georgia Jessup, 17. Investigators found the remains of the teens on Hutchinson Island in April 1973. They had

been reported missing after leaving with Schaefer in September 1972. One of the girl's mother identified Schaefer as the man who drove her daughter away. Investigators say they got back one of the teens' purse, a suede bag, from Schaefer's wife,

who later divorced him. Police suspect Schaefer abducted two young Pompano Beach friends, Peggy Rahn, 9,

and Wendy Stevenson, 8, in December 1969. Witnesses told investigators the girls were last seen in the company of a man buying them ice cream from a convenience store at the beach. A clerk gave a description of a man who police say fit Schaefer.

 The girls have never been been found. Because of an April 19, 1989 letter he wrote to a friend while in prison, which was later

published, investigators fear he murdered the young girls and ate their remains.He wrote, "Peggy and Wendy just happened along at a time when I was curious about

Fish's cravings for the flesh of young girls. . . . I assure you these girls were not molested sexually. I found both of them very satisfactory, particularly with sautéed onions and peppers."

Schaefer, who never talked to police about the girls, was referring to Albert Fish, a New York serial killer in the 1930s who cannibalized his victims.

Investigators think Schaefer started as a serial killer in his early 20s, possibly earlier.He moved from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale with his family in 1960, at age 14. He graduated

from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, went to Broward Community College, transferred to Florida Atlantic University.

 (continued)

Deborah Lowe

(continued) He graduated from FAU in 1971 and joined the Wilton Manors Police Department.

He was not good cop material. Investigators say he was obsessed with writing traffic tickets. Wilton Manors Police believe

he used that as a way to meet women. Wilton Manors fired him after learning he had applied for a job with the Broward Sheriff's

Office. Then-Wilton Manors Police Chief Bernard Scott said Schaefer "used poor judgment and did

dumb things." BSO didn't hire him. He did get hired in Martin County in June 1972 with a glowing letter of recommendation

from Scott. Martin County later learned the letter was forged. Shortly after getting hired, he was arrested on charges of abducting two teenaged girls,

who got away. Police believe he committed scores of other murders, but he was never charged. Schaefer could "talk with the best of them." said Richard McIlwain, a former investigator

with the Martin County State Attorney's office, who worked on the Oakland Park case. "He never admitted to killing anyone to me," McIlwain said. "But the stuff he put in his

writings, the details of what we found at the crime scene were in his stories." Schaefer's writings talked about finding a spot to bury the women and having them stand

on an orange crate while he bound them. "He'd strangle them, rape them, bury them and then dig them up again to rape them

again," McIlwain said. Schaefer maintained the writings were fiction.

From the familyFrom the family

On Feb. 29, 1972, our mom walked part way to grade school with Debbie and me. Debbie was wearing a yellow blouse, black slacks with vertical stripes of roses, and a tan poncho that day.

Debbie went to Rickards Middle School at about 8:30 a.m., and we always met her at about 4:10 p.m. She was not allowed to ride the bus, and we couldn't afford bus pass. She was never late to meet us after school.

We were new to South Florida and didn't know anyone. Debbie would not take a ride from anyone.

Mom and Dad, Hattie and John Lowe, went to the Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) many times asking for help. In fact, the BSO told my father that if he came back there again, they would put him in jail.

The BSO told my parents that Debbie had just run off. We all knew better then that -- a 13-year-old girl doesn't just run off without any money or possessions beyond what she wore to school that day.

Our father and older brother stayed in Florida. I went with my mother and other sister to West Virginia, where the sheriff's office said Debbie might have gone. We stayed for two months, but none of our family in West Virginia ever saw or heard from her.

When we returned to Florida, the police still wouldn't help.Then, in late 1972, former police officer Gerald Schaefer was

arrested and charged with two murders in South Florida. They even had my parents look at one of the victims to see if it was Debbie, but it wasn't her. It is believed that Schaefer killed more than 30 young girls from 8 to 25 years of age. Most of these young girls have never been found. Because he had been a police officer, it was easy for him to pick up all these girls.

I know my sister would never run off. We were all close. Our mother cried about my sister up until she passed away in 1985. My father had a heart attack in 1976 at the age of 45.

We have discovered that there are only four reports that BSO filed, and they never checked the leads out or even looked for our sister. Back then, they just didn't care, and I feel they still don't care, but my brother and sisters still keep Debbie in our hearts. One day we will all be together.

We all believe Schaefer killed our sister, but we just want her home. My siblings and I registered our DNA in the CODIS system so that if an unknown body is found, we might be able to determine whether it's Debbie , and we can bring our family home.

Thank you and God bless,James Lowe

The Vermont State Police Seek Information.  SUSPICIOUS DISAPPEARANCEOF MOTHER AND DAUGHTEROn June 6, 1978 Grace M. (Canto) Reapp, 32 years old, and

her 5 year old daughter Grace Noel "Gracie" Reapp disappeared from their home located in Jericho, Vermont.   Grace's 2 sons, Brian, age 11 and Patrick, age 8 were in Elementary school at this time.

On June 11, 1978 Michael Reapp reported his wife Grace and daughter Gracie as missing to the Vermont State Police.

On June 16, 1978 Michael Reapp filed for divorce from Grace on grounds of desertion and intolerable severity.

Investigators initially assigned to this case concluded that the unexpected disappearance of Grace and Gracie Reapp was suspicious.

In the years following the disappearance of Grace and Gracie, several State Police investigators have worked on this case.

Various record checks with government agencies, including the State Department and the Social Security Administration have revealed that there is no activity listed on Grace Reapp.

The consensus of opinion is that their disappearance is the result of foul play, and that Grace and Gracie Reapp are dead.

Investigation revealed that Michael Reapp had an extra-marital affair, at the time of Grace's disappearance. The extra-marital affair had been ongoing for almost a year prior to the disappearance.

On November, 1994, Det. Sgt. Gerald H. Charboneau was assigned this case for follow up investigation.

On 09-23-96 Michael Reapp was interviewed by Vermont State Police Detectives at his residence in Jupiter, Florida.  At that time, Michael Reapp was advised that the disappearance of his wife and daughter (Grace and Gracie Reapp) was suspicious, and that the investigation was being treated as a homicide case.

At that time, Michael Reapp had admitted to Detectives that he and Grace Reapp were having marital problems for the two years prior to her disappearance, as well as to having sexual relations with several women, including the one whom he eventually married.

(continued)

Grace and Gracie ReappGrace and Gracie ReappMissing Since: June 6, 1978 Missing From: Jericho, Vt.

Grace M. Canto Reapp Age in 2008: 63 (Picture taken in 1978)

Grace Noel Reapp Age in 2008: 35

(continued)

Michael Reapp admitted to detectives that his relationship with Grace was physical at times, but that he figured that she (Grace) just took her daughter (Gracie) and left him and the boys.  Michael Reapp advised that he had always believed that Grace was living somewhere with her family members.

On 10-21-96 State Police cadaver dog units, the F.B.I. Evidence Response Team, and a Ground Penetrating Radar Unit were searching the former Reapp residence in Vermont, from where Grace and "Gracie" were reported as missing.

Grace and Gracie Reapp

On 10-22-96 a TV news reporter from Vermont called Michael Reapp in Florida and advised him of the current search process underway at his former Vermont residence.

On 10-26-96 Michael Reapp fled from his Florida residence without telling his wife or other family members of his intentions.

On 11-13-96 Brian Reapp had reported his father, Michael E. Reapp, as missing to the West Palm Beach Florida Sheriff's Department.

On 12-04-96 Michael Reapp's pick-up was found abandoned at the New Orleans (Louisiana) International Airport.  This is the last confirmed location where Michael Reapp was identified as being.

Michael Reapp's current location is not known.

From the familyFrom the family

If you possibly can, imagine not knowing for twenty-nine years where your only sister is! Additionally, you have no idea where your only niece is because she 'disappeared' and 'vanished' with her mother, both of them supposedly "voluntarily"...(I think NOT, but rather as victims of foul play!)

For twenty-nine years, with the assistance of the Vermont State Police, I have diligently attempted to learn exactly what happened to my sister, Grace Canto Reapp, as well as my niece, Gracie Noel Reapp, on June 6, 1978.

A mother and her five-year-old daughter simply do NOT vanish into thin air, never to be seen or heard from again! There is someone, somewhere, who knows something to help bring closure to this case and assist us in learning the details of "What Happened To Grace & Little Gracie."

Juliana WoodworthNew Port Richey, Florida

Mary BadaraccoMary BadaraccoMissing Since: Aug. 20, 1984Missing From: Sherman, Ct.Age in 2008: 62

Mary BadaraccoMary Badaracco

The Hartford Courant | August 20, 2000

Runaway or Foul Play?By Rick Green

Cloudy and humid, it was one of those thick, breathless summer days when it feels as if something has to give.

Not long after sundown, the foreboding skies let loose with drenching rain and crashing thunder, soaking the dark, green hills of western Connecticut. The night was perfect for sliding unnoticed into the densely forested back country of Sherman and slipping away into a new life.

On the other hand, Aug. 19, 1984, was also a pretty good evening for dumping a corpse.

The next day, all that remained of 38-year-old Mary Badaracco were her car keys and a wedding ring, left on the kitchen counter. A wry parting gift, perhaps, to a husband who wanted to ditch her.

That morning dawned breezy and bright, like an open door to a new life. Maybe she really did have that sack of money - more than $100,000, her husband, Dominic, claimed - stuffed in her bags.

Problem is, Mary was a fighter and a hometown girl who never strayed far. A feisty, compact woman of 145 pounds, she loved but a few things dearly: her daughters, painting pictures and serving beers on a smoky Friday night.

"Mary Poo," her girlfriends at work called her. Her laugh could be heard clear across a noisy cafe.

She's still missing. No body. No weapon. No evidence of a new life anywhere.

But 16 years is a long while, time enough for friendships to unravel and people who know something to think about speaking for someone who can't.

And when it comes to the name Badaracco, therein lies a boozy, decades-old tale of fact and dark rumor, of murder and Hell's Angels. Wrapped within in it are violent men and unsentimental women, tough workingman's bars and the vanishing of a bereft barmaid.

"Your Mother Left Me"Sherrie Passaro was nervous as her hands gripped the steering wheel. Driving up Route 37, a twisting blacktop that snakes from Danbury into the hills of western Connecticut, the forest seemed in places to almost strangle the highway.

She thought about her mother. At dinner the week before, there was an odd edginess.

(continued)

Mary BadaraccoMary Badaracco(continued)Now, a few days after Aug. 19, her stepfather wanted to talk with her. Could

they meet? Strange, she thought - he never asks for me. Sherrie, 21 and the oldest of Mary Badaracco's two daughters, turned on to

Wakeman Hill Road and looked for the long driveway. The rest still feels like a dream. Mary Badaracco's car, a 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier, was parked out front, the

windshield smashed in on the driver's side. Soon, Dominic Badaracco appeared. "Your mother left me. She took some money and took off," he said.

It hadn't been an easy summer for Mary and Dominic Badaracco. After 15 sometimes-violent years together, they had moved recently from Danbury to Sherman, renovating a home on a few pristine acres on a hillside where the deer came from the dark woods to eat right out of Mary's hand.

Mary and Dominic had met in the late '60s. Tall and handsome, he was a man who at times could be a real charmer, driving children about on his riding lawnmower. She was a barmaid, he a bar owner of places named Fats and The Three Kings. He had four kids; she had two. They married in 1970 and made a twisted "Brady Bunch" go of it.

"She would come to work with a black eye. Two or three times she would come knocking on [my] door at 2 o'clock in the morning and I would put them up," recalled one friend, who like others remembers the times during the 1970s when Mary and her daughters would flee Dominic.

Still, Mary always returned home. In spite of her happiness to be in Sherman, as the summer of 1984 wore on,

life closed in. Friends noticed that the woman who never took grief from anyone seemed agitated.

Nine months after Mary disappeared, Dominic Badaracco went before Judge John J.P. Ryan and said he and Mary had been planning in detail for a divorce. Mary, he said, agreed to leave and give up the home in return for "approximately $100,000."

He also told the judge during the divorce hearing that Mary happened to have taken just that amount of "goods and cash" that he had stashed around the house. No evidence of the money has ever turned up.

"You came home from work one day and she was gone?" asked Heidi G. Winslow, Dominic's lawyer, referring to Monday, Aug. 20, 1984. Mary Badaracco was not represented at the hearing, her whereabouts listed only as "parts unknown" on court documents.

(continued)

Mary BadaraccoMary Badaracco(continued)Dominic, who got the house, the car and freedom from a 15-year marriage

that day in May 1985, had one word for the judge: "Yes." What he didn't say was he had never bothered to tell police she was missing in the first place.

For Years, NothingAt various times, the peculiar vaporization of Mary Badaracco has consumed no more than a handful of people.

Her daughter Beth, now 36, is one. She keeps a thick briefcase that belonged to her mother, crammed with copies of dozens of letters she has written in vain to law enforcement agencies from Washington to Hartford. With her sister, Sherrie, they have consulted a psychic, even appearing on an early version of Regis Philbin's talk show.

Another is Lynn Taborsak, a former state representative and one- time congressional candidate from Danbury. At the daughters' request, she took up the case in the 1980s and helped persuade the police to declare the disappearance a homicide and offer a $20,000 reward.

"She didn't wander off and start a new life," Taborsak said flatly. Like other friends and family members of Mary Badaracco, Taborsak said she

also felt local pressure not to get too close to the truth. "There was a time a friend of the [Badaraccos] told me to mind my own

business for my own sake," Taborsak recalled recently. For years, police have felt that there are those who know precisely what

happened to Mary Badaracco but have remained silent out of fear. Last fall, however, the reward attached to the case suddenly jumped to $50,000, suggesting that police were on to something new. Recently, the state police added new detectives to the investigation and placed Mary Badaracco on its high-profile "cold case" list.

"Over the past two years, this case has become more active," said Sgt. Wesley Clark, a former principal investigator on the case. "People are talking."

The police won't discuss their new findings, but there is plenty to examine in a disappearance that once seemed nothing more than a runaway wife.

In 1985, there was a tip from an informant in the federal witness protection program that the Hell's Angels had killed Mary Badaracco under a contract "hit." Police won't say whether they are still looking at this connection.

In 1990, Dominic's son, Joseph "Joey" Badaracco, went to prison on an arson conviction after hiring two men in 1989 to firebomb a bar owned by a rival of his father. Joey Badaracco is an acknowledged member of the Hell's Angels. Police refuse to say whether he is a suspect in his stepmother's disappearance. Now out of prison and living in upstate New York, he could not be reached for comment.

(continued)

Mary BadaraccoMary Badaracco

(continued)Then, on Super Bowl Sunday 1997, a drunken confrontation at the Tortilla

Flat restaurant in Danbury left another Badaracco son, Dominic Jr., fatally shot. The fight has a connection to Joey: It began after his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child, threw a drink in Dominic Jr.'s face.

Just this past winter, a public defender sought to keep Joey Badaracco out of the courtroom in the trial of a man charged with Dominic Badaracco Jr.'s death for fear that he would intimidate witnesses. The judge rejected the attempt, as well as an effort to ask Joey about something else: the whereabouts of his stepmother.

"We Were The Enemy"Sixteen years later, Dominic Badaracco lives in the same house and has

remarried. Now 64, he starts his days working out of the basement of a Pembroke Road bar in Danbury, where he runs a siding and roofing company.

No one has ever been charged in the case. Dominic Badaracco denies any knowledge of what happened to his former

wife. "I don't know nothing at all," Badaracco said one morning recently before heading out to a job site.

He hasn't spoken to his former wife's daughters since they reported their mother missing.

“Once we talked to the police, there was no relationship. We were the enemy," said Sherrie Passaro, now 37. As the years pass, she said she no longer worries as much about her lost mother.

Some things, though, Passaro cannot push aside from that day when she went to see her stepfather.

What she found entering the Wakeman Hill home sent a jarring jolt through her body that lingers still.

“I went up to her room to pack," Passaro recalled, thinking that a woman who left in a hurry without her car might leave something behind. "There was nothing there. I opened drawers, there was nothing. Not one odd sock, not one old shirt.”

Then looking around the house, she saw something more chilling: every picture of Mary and her daughters had been carefully removed from the frames on the walls.

Brown-eyed Mary Badaracco had ceased to exist.

From the familyFrom the family

A Daughter's Daymare

In August of 1984, my family's life was forever changed. After a childhood of chaos and violence, we were told that our mother was gone - on that day, the perpetrators of this crime also committed a secondary crime, for they killed a part of me, too.

Twenty-three years have passed and I have never given up on finding out what happened to my mom. I look for answers, any answers, but mostly I just want to bring my mom home where she belongs -- to her final resting place.

The disappearance of my mother has cost me a lot -- the family that we were raised with performed the ultimate betrayal. I'd convinced my sister to got the police and together we defied the stepfathers orders to tell no one. At that point, we had become his enemy -- this man was the last person to see our mom alive and yet he still has no comment ! Then, law enforcement seemed to not take this very seriously, but three years ago God sent us Trooper Joe Bukowski. He is conducting a real investigation and we are beginning to get some answers.

 Sadly, I must admit that this unsolved murder of my mom

has consumed much of life. In between raising four children,  I've made it my mission to right this wrong. However, I am now at a point in my life that I have realized I am not a superhero, and I cannot do this alone anymore -- I am just a daughter who truly loves her mother, knows the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil, and I have this primal need to find out what happened that day mom went missing. Until I get those missing puzzle pieces, I try to heal one day at a time, and I still pray for divine intervention.

Beth ProfetaDaughter of Mary Badaracco

Anthony Ross AllenAnthony Ross AllenMissing Since: October 1, 1978Missing From: Fort Smith, Ark. Age in 2008: 46

Age progression Age progression (2005)(2005)

30 Years Missing – October, 2008Anthony (Tony) Ross Allen,16 years old, disappeared from Fort

Smith, Arkansas in October of 1978. He was staying with friends nearby. It was completely out of

character for him not to call or stay in touch with his family.His family was told that he had traveled to Hartshorne, Oklahoma

and was last seen there. However, law enforcement and family members have never been able to locate anyone in Oklahoma who remembers him being there.

Family and law enforcement were later told that he was seen in Ft. Smith again. This was the last information ever received.

Initially, the police told his mother that he was probably just upset about something and would come back soon. His father gave a missing person report to the police, but no direction was given as to what the family should do. Police records were later destroyed in a 1996 tornado. In January, 2004, his case was re-opened and he was entered into NCIC.

Tony Allen has never been seen or heard from since October, 1978. His dental records and family’s dna sample has been compared to several unidentified victims, but no match has been found. Foul play is suspected.

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Anthony Ross AllenAnthony Ross Allen

Family seeks help finding missing Fort Smith man; may have visited Hartshorne

By Trevor DunbarStaff Writer (October 22, 2005)Even after 27 years, Laura Hood still misses her brother, Tony.

Hood, of Fort Smith, Ark., hasn’t seen or heard from Anthony Ross Allen since late 1978.

“He was always friendly, very outgoing and just a lot of fun to be around,” Hood said. “He was anything a girl could want from a brother.”

Allen disappeared in late 1978 when he was 16. He was last seen in the Hartshorne area. Sgt. Adam Holland of the Fort Smith, Ark., Police Department has taken over the case in hopes of determining exactly what has happened to Allen.

“In late 1978 he was basically classified as a runaway,” Holland said. “At that time he had left his house, but his family had a good idea where he was.”

Allen left home to live with some friends in Cedarville, Ark. At first his family wasn’t concerned. Allen had left home before, but had always come back, according to a police report.

About three months after moving to Cedarville, Allen left again. This time he headed for Hartshorne.

“Some information came in from his old friends that Tony had places to stay in Hartshorne.” Holland said. “They said he had been in the area from late 1978 to early 1979.”

Hood also said Allen had connections in Hartshorne.

“His friends’ relatives lived there,” Hood said. “We were told he had gone to that area to stay with them.”

Allen left Arkansas with his friends Jerry, Jeff and Jesse McAlister.

“Their father and an uncle lived in Hartshorne,” Hood said. “The uncle had some kids about the same age as Tony and his friends.”

Holland and Hood both said the McAlisters are not involved in Tony’s disappearance; they simply wanted to release the names in hopes someone in Hartshorne may remember Allen through the McAlister family.

AnthonyAnthony Ross AllenRoss Allen

Holland said he only has one piece of information about where Allen may have been seen.

“We believe he was last seen staying with an elderly black man in the Hartshorne area,” Holland said. “We think the man had horses or ponies on his property.”

Holland said the case went cold because of “jurisdictional issues” and a lack of solid leads.

During the time Allen went missing, he was never entered into the National Crime Information Center system that links police departments across the country.

“If his name had been run someplace else, he wouldn’t have come up as a runaway,” Holland said.

Allen’s name has since been added to the system, but records are only available for the last 10 years.

“We couldn’t find anything,” Holland said. “But anything from late 1978 to 1994, if there was any activity, we have no way to know for sure.”

To make matters worse, the original files on Allen were destroyed in a 1996 tornado.

“Any Fort Smith files were in a storage building that didn’t make it,” Holland said. “There wasn’t a missing persons case because he was considered a runaway.”

Holland got the case re-opened in 2004 after being contacted by Hood. Allen is now classified as a missing person. He is listed on the website for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Holland said anyone with information or memories of Allen should contact him as soon as possible.

“Something trivial to them may be the piece of the puzzle I need,” Holland said. “Anything and everything I can get is important.”

Allen wasn’t wanted by any law enforcement agency and isn’t now. Holland said he merely wants to find Allen so his family can have some closure.

“I’m looking for a 43-year-old man, but the reality of it is I’m still looking for a 16-year-old kid,” Holland said. “I just want to find him and, if he’s safe, reunite him with his family.” Anyone who remembers him should contact Holland at (479)709-5129.

From the familyFrom the family

My son, Tony Allen, has been missing since October of 1978. We do not believe that he chose to be gone, and can’t believe that it’s been this long. We have been on a roller coaster ride of feelings and emotions, hopes and fears, throughout these twenty-nine years and four months. Unless someone experiences it, they can never truly understand what a family goes through when they are touched by something like this.

Each holiday, birthday, special day, or ordinary day, we waited expectantly, hoping to hear something. We believed that if he was able, he would surely contact us…and over and over, time after time, the cycle has continued for nearly thirty years.

When we reported him missing to the police, they offered no help. When months turned into years, there was still no help. I don’t know what we could have done to get someone (besides my family and me) to take some kind of action, for we could not make them do anything. They considered him a runaway from the beginning, as though that was a reason not to look for him. After years of checking back with them to see if they had done or heard anything, they would seem surprised when I showed up to tell them he still was not back home. But that really didn’t matter, they still didn’t do anything.

We’ve had more luck with our current police department. Since January of 2004, Tony’s case has been re-opened, he’s been registered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, entered into NCIC, and my DNA has been entered into CODIS by the FBI. News articles about his disappearance have run in newspapers from several towns, and local television stations have run stories, too. Last year he was the featured missing person for the CUE Center’s Road to Remember Tour. But even with all of this, nothing has brought any answers, and we continue to wait for a follow-up investigation on all possible leads.

One day is too long for anyone to wait to find out what happened to their child, and for me and my family it’s been an agonizing thirty years. Every teenager (or anyone) who disappears is not a runaway and families deserve immediate help. Precious time was wasted in the beginning for us. Somebody, somewhere, knows what happened to my son and after all these years, we still need help finding that someone who knows.

I’m still waiting for the day that I can hug him and kiss his cheek, hear

his voice again, and tell him how much I love him. It would be wonderful to hear him and his sisters laughing and having fun together like they used to do. We miss him so much and our family is incomplete without him.

Marilyn AllenFort Smith, AR

Jennifer Lynn PentillaJennifer Lynn PentillaMissing Since: October 17, 1991Missing From: Deming, N.M. Age in 2008: 35

Age progressions Age progressions (from 1991 to (from 1991 to

present)present)

Jennifer Lynn Pentilla, 18, left her home in Missoula, Mt., in late September, 1991. She planned to travel to San Diego, Calif., to meet with a missionary group.

Jennifer was in Los Cruse, N.M., in mid-October, riding her new white Fuji mountain bike, and carrying her backpack, camping gear, $45 in cash and two Bibles. Jennifer evidently decided to bike to Mexico and work with another mission at that time.

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Jennifer called her mother in Montana eight times between October 1st and 13th to report her trip progress. She called home the last time on October 17 from Deming, N.M. She placed the call a pay phone from a Main Street Shell gas station that is no longer in operation.

Jennifer said that she heard Mexico could be dangerous for a single woman who traveled alone, so she had changed her plans. She said she was thinking of traveling to Minnesota to visit a friend instead. Jennifer's mother offered to pay for her transport there after she made more concrete plans, and Jennifer agreed to call her mother that evening. She never called back, never arrived at the friend's home and has not been heard from again.

Jennifer's camping gear, backpack, bicycle helmet and journals were discovered by hunters under a tree in Hatch, N.M., in 1992, approximately one year after Jennifer disappeared. Hatch is approximately 46 miles northeast of Deming. There has been no trace of Jennifer Pentilla since that time.

From the familyFrom the family

I know my husband and daughter are in

heaven, but the not knowing what happened to Jennifer is just as hard to bear.Jennifer’s dad passed away October 1989;

her grandmother passed away October 1990, and; Jennifer disappeared without a trace October 1991.  There has been so much tragedy for my twin

sister, Lynn Pentilla Harris, that I don’t know where to begin except that my niece, Jennifer Lynn Pentilla, has been missing since October 17, 1991.  It’s been a difficult road with a lot of dead

ends and not a lot of publicity, and money has run out for further use of private detectives. It seems as though once a person turns 18

years of age and disappears, they just simply fall into a black hole and are forgotten about, unless of course you have lots of money, or know someone who knows someone who can get you connected to the right person or people to get media attention. The family of Jennifer Lynn Pentilla would be

very grateful for any assistance to get some national attention for Jennifer’s cold case.

Linda J. BlumerAunt of Jennifer Pentilla

It seems as though once a person turns 18 years of age and disappears, they just simply fall into a black hole and are forgotten about