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Body of Gaylord woman who police believe was killed still missing after 31 years

Cathy Ann Hawley last seen at Maple Ridge Estates in Gaylord in 1992

Cathy Ann Hawley (NAMUS)

GAYLORD, Mich. – It has been 31 years since a Gaylord woman vanished and investigators believe she was killed.

Cathy Ann Hawley, 41, was last seen on Feb. 28, 1992, at the Maple Ridge Estates in Gaylord. Her ex-husband John Vincent Hyland, Jr. is the prime suspect in her disappearance, according to the Doe Network.

Cathy Hawley had recently won a financial claim settlement stemming from the recent divorce. Part of the settlement included a restraining order against Hyland contacting Cathy Hawley at her workplace, according to the Doe Network.

In the early 1990s, Hyland was convicted of sexually assaulting his two young daughters. In 2011, he was convicted of a felony for failing to register as a sex offender in Mobile, Alabama.

Failure to register as a sex offender is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The latest records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons have Hyland listed as “not in BOP custody” and with a release date of “unknown.” He is 93 years old.

Cathy Hawley’s body has never been found. There have been at least three unidentified bodies that investigators have ruled out as a match in this case.

Anyone with information about Cathy Hawley’s case should contact Michigan State Police at 989-732-2778. The agency case number is 73-479-92.

DetailsCathy Ann Hawley
Height4′8′'
Weight142 lbs
EyesBlue
Identifying marksScars on inner thigh and scar on posterior thigh

Read: Michigan cold case coverage

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We’re working to bring attention to as many unsolved and missing persons cases from around the state as we can. Our hope is that getting this important information out to the public will help generate tips for investigators and potentially lead to closure for the affected families. If you have a cold case you’d like us to look into, please let us know by using the form below.


About the Author
Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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