The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is tracking 619 missing person cases in Michigan that date all the way back to 1958.
According to NamUs, more than 600,000 people go missing in the United States every year. Many missing children and adults are quickly found, but tens of thousands remain missing for more than one year. Those are considered cold cases.
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We’re taking a look at some of the oldest missing persons cold cases reported in Michigan.
Below is a look at 12 people who were reported missing between Sept. 18, 1958, and Oct. 31, 1969. They are still missing.
Ida Dean Anderson
Ida Dean Anderson was last seen on Sept. 18, 1958, in Ann Arbor.
According to TrackMissing, she had left her husband in February and was hospitalized due to rheumatic fever and ulcers. Her children were placed into state custody. She was scheduled to get her children in mid-September, but went missing instead.
She was supposed to fly to Jacksonville, Florida with her children, but the airplane tickets they had purchased were never used.
| Ida Dean Anderson | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 21 |
| Current Age | 85 |
| Height | 5′2′' |
| Weight | 110 |
| Hair | Brown |
| Eyes | Blue |
Anyone with information should contact Ann Arbor police at 734-794-6920.
Adele Marie Wells
Adele Marie Wells was last seen on Nov. 21, 1958, in Flint.
Police said Adele was walking to Jefferson Elementary School after staying home that morning with a slight cold.
She stopped at her grandmother’s house first, just blocks from her school, to show her how her mother had nicely done up her hair that day for school.
She left her grandmother’s home and was never seen again.
She was last seen wearing a grey cotton coat, a bluish dress with small animal figures along the lower hemline and red knee-length socks.
| Adele Marie Wells | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 7 |
| Current Age | 70 |
| Height | 3′6′' |
| Weight | 45-60 |
| Hair | Black |
| Eyes | Brown |
Anyone with information should contact the Flint Police Department at 810-237-6800.
Juliette Delania Walker
Juliette Delania Walker was last seen on June 1, 1963, in Pontiac.
Police said she was known to leave for a day or two, but this time, she never returned home.
| Juliette Delania Walker | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 21 |
| Current Age | 80 |
| Height | 5′5′'-5′7′' |
| Weight | 140-160 lbs |
| Eyes | Black |
| Hair | Brown |
Anyone with information should contact the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office at 248-858-4951.
Patricia Louise Zentner and Mildred Patricia Zentner
Patricia Louise Zentner was last seen on Aug. 28, 1964, in Garden City.
She disappeared along with her mother, Mildred Patricia Zentner. Police believe foul play was involved in their disappearance.
| Details | Patricia Louise Zentner | Mildred Patricia Zentner |
|---|---|---|
| Missing Age | 2 | 28 |
| Current Age | 60 | 86 |
| Height | 3′ | 5′7′' |
| Weight | 31 lbs | 126 lbs |
| Eyes | Blue | Blue |
| Hair | Blond/strawberry | Brown |
Anyone with information should contact the Garden City Police Department at 734-793-1700.
Mary Jean Mclaughlin
Mary Jean Mclaughlin was last seen on Jan. 1, 1965, in Lake Odessa.
She was last seen by her 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter when she visited them in school.
She told her son she was going away for a while, but would be back. She then traveled to her sister, Kathleen Lindstrom, who lived in Muskegon. She left a photograph and went missing.
She wasn’t reported missing until Aug. 2002. Investigators said there is no record of Mary since the mid-1960s and there has been no activity on her social security number.
| Mary Jean Mclaughlin | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 26 |
| Current Age | 83 |
| Weight | 140-150 lbs |
| Height | 5′5′' - 5′7′' |
| Hair | Brown |
| Eyes | Blue |
Anyone with information should contact Michigan State Police at 989-352-8444.
John Lester Brown
John Lester Brown was last seen on Dec. 26, 1965, in Lansing.
He saw his family the day after Christmas and was never seen again after that.
He has a tattoo on his upper left arm that says “Johnny Boy” with a black panther. He has a dagger tattoo on his other arm and possibly a spider.
Brown’s family believes he died in 1973 in a scuba diving incident, according to a Facebook group. He is still listed as a missing person in the national database.
| John Lester Brown | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 29 |
| Current Age | 86 |
| Height | 6′0′' |
| Weight | 175 lbs |
| Hair | Brown |
| Eyes | Brown |
Anyone with information should contact Michigan State Police at 517-322-1907.
Charles J Pinger
There is no photo available.
Charles J Pinger was last seen on May 8, 1968, in Bergland.
He reportedly lived in a shack in the woods as a hermit. He was 64 years old.
The postmaster at the time said Pinger had not picked up his social security checks in about two months.
He was known to wear “six-inch work shoes” and had a pocket watch.
He had brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information should call Michigan State Police at 906-229-5372.
Judith Ann Ruggirello
Judith Ann Ruggirello was last seen on Aug. 18, 1968, in Southfield.
The night before she went missing, she told her husband that she was divorcing him and she had put a deposit on an apartment. They argued.
Her husband threatened her and the next day he arranged for their children to go to his brother’s home at 11 a.m. She was never seen again.
Her car was found at 7 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue in Detroit. Her purse was inside the car.
| Judith Ann Ruggirello | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 29 |
| Current Age | 83 |
| Height | 5′1′' |
| Weight | 115 lbs |
| Hair | Black |
| Eyes | Hazel |
Anyone with information should contact the Southfield Police Department at 248-796-5500.
Robert Richard Lepsy
Robert Richard Lepsy was last seen on Oct. 29, 1969, in Grayling.
He left his place of employment mid-afternoon for lunch and was never seen again.
His car was found abandoned in a parking lot in Traverse City three days later. The doors were unlocked, keys were in the ignition and cigarettes were on the dashboard.
He has a scar on his scalp and his two front teeth are crooked. He was last seen wearing a pumpkin-colored crew neck sweatshirt, London Fog beige raincoat and black loafers.
He was legally declared dead in 1976.
| Robert Richard Lepsy | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 33 |
| Current Age | 85 |
| Height | 5′10′' - 6′ |
| Weight | 180 - 190 lbs |
| Eyes | Brown |
| Hair | Black |
Anyone with information should contact the Grayling City Police at 989-348-4621.
Pamela Sue Hobley
Pamela Sue Hobley was last seen on Oct. 31, 1969, in Oscoda.
She was 15 years old. Hobley had a 3/4-length white fur coat with brown fur trim, long sleeve blouse with ruffled cuffs, white cotton knee socks and a brown and white plaid skirt. She had chunky-style shoes with a thick heel.
She has a scar on the left side of her mouth and a scar across the bridge of her nose.
Hobley and Patricia Spencer (below) went missing on the day of the homecoming football game. They were not considered friends, but it is believed that they might have skipped school together that afternoon. They did not have a purse or ID with them.
They have not been seen or heard from since.
Foul play is suspected.
| Pamela Sue Hobley | Details |
|---|---|
| Missing Age | 15 |
| Current Age | 67 |
| Height | 5′6′' |
| Weight | 100 lbs |
| Hair | Brown |
| Eyes | Brown |
Anyone with information should contact the Oscoda Township Police Department at 989-739-9113.
Patricia Spencer
Patricia Spencer was last seen on Oct. 31, 1969, in Oscoda.
She was 16 years old. She wore glasses but did not have them with her when she went missing. She was wearing a tweed or brown plaid skirt, brown sweater, and a green plaid jacket. She was wearing brown shoes with a thick heel.
Spencer and Hobley went missing on the day of the homecoming football game. They were not considered friends, but it is believed that they might have skipped school together that afternoon. They did not have a purse or ID with them.
They have not been seen or heard from since. Foul play is suspected.
| Patricia Spencer | Details |
|---|---|
| Age Missing | 16 |
| Age Now | 69 |
| Height | 5′3′' |
| Weight | 120 lbs |
| Hair | Brown |
| Eyes | Blue |
Anyone with information should contact the Oscoda Township Police Department at 989-739-9113.
More: Michigan cold case coverage