Tina Faye Kemp-Missing 36 Years

ON February 3, 1979, Tina Faye Kemp was last seen at her home in Felton, Delaware on Main Street. Tina was helping to hang laundry outside and walked away at 9:00 AM. She was never seen again. The next day, a severe snow storm hit the area. 

Tina was only 14 years-old when she vanished in 1979. She was 5'-5'1" tall and weighed 100 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has dark brown hair with blue eyes and freckles. She has a half-inch mole on her right triceps. She was wearing a white sweater, red and white flannel shirt with new blue jeans. She had on boys red and white sneakers with a leather strap on her left arm that said "ERIC". She was wearing a gold band with white rhinestones.

I could not find much on Tina's disappearance. The internet lacked even an anniversary article. Stories like these are the hardest to write, but they are the ones that need to be written the most-to generate leads, spark memories and keep the person's memory alive. What I did find out was Tina had run away on two previous occasions. She was known to frequent race horse tracks in Delaware and surrounding areas. Close to her disappearance, Tina became very close to her boyfriend who also lived in Felton. Tina was also very close to her family. She never contacted either again, which is out of character for her. Although investigators never say why they believe so, her foul play is expected in her disappearance.

Tina's vanished the day before a severe snow storm hit. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

I researched other disappearances of young women or teens in Delaware, as well as surrounding states like Maryland and New Jersey. I found the northeastern coast had an usual amount of missing girls across all three states. (I didn't even count the bigger states, like New York or Pennsylvania). I will present all the stories of the young women who through circumstances, distance and date share similarities with Tina's disappearance. They may or may not share a connection, but that is something no one knows, but hopefully it will be found out!

Karen vanished while walking along State Route 13. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

Two years after Tina vanished, 17 year-old Kathryn Quackenbush was visiting Delmar, Maryland in July of 1981 with her brother. They were there to visit their father-they resided in Georgia. Kathryn had plans to meet someone in a bowling alley in Salisbury, Maryland the night of her disappearance. She began walking south along State Route 13 when the person was late. Five minutes later, her boyfriend showed up to get her but she was gone. She was never heard or seen from since. She vanished two hours away from Felton, where Tina went missing two years earlier. Foul play is suspected, as investigators believe someone picked her up on her walk.

Katherine was abducted after she got her van back from an auto shop in Annapolis. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

On April 20, 1979, 24 year-old Katherine Anderson was last seen in Annapolis, Maryland getting her metallic blue van fixed at Tate Dodge Chrysler. She returned later in the day to pick up her van. She was supposed to drive it to K&K Seafoods in Chester, Maryland where she worked as a waitress. She was normally very reliable and her boss was concerned when she did not show up for her shift. Her van was found in Glen Burnie, Maryland, twenty-four minutes away from Annapolis, in the parking lot of the shopping center. However, the mileage log revealed her car had been driven 45 miles between the dealership and the parking lot, which is much farther then the drive between the two towns. Glen Burnie is also 36 minutes away from her job in Chester. There was no sign of her or what may have happened. Investigators believe she was taken against her will. There is no information on where she vanished or if it was close to where she got her van fixed in Annapolis.

It is unknown if Nancy left for Florida or vanished from New Jersey. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

On July 22, 1977, 18 year-old Nancy Jason was last seen when she picked up medicine in Bethseda, Maryland. She was never heard from again. She had plans to travel to Florida to attend a meeting of the Divine Light mission, a religious group. All her items were packed, but still in her room. Authorities believe she could have left without her luggage, but see her disappearance as suspicious. Nancy was known to hitch hike a lot. If she did leave for Florida, she could have vanished anywhere between Maryland and Florida.

Karen was last seen at a bowling alley in 1979. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

On October 23, 1979, 16 year-old Karen Zendrosky was last seen at a bowling alley (now closed) in Bordentown Township, New Jersey, 2.5 hours away from where Tina vanished 9 months earlier. She was never heard from again. There were rumors she went to a lagoon with three unknown men but it has never been confirmed. There have been many searches for her remains, but her case is still unsolved. Investigators are approaching it as a homicide, and have some suspects in mind. I wonder if any of these suspects can connect to Tiffany in any way?

Maragaret went missing after going to meet a man who responded to her baby-sitting ad. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

On June 24, 1974, 14 year-old Margaret Fox was last seen by her sister at a bus stop in Burlington, New Jersey. Witnesses saw her in Mount Holly after she got off the bus near Mill and High Streets. Maragaret had placed an ad in the paper looking for a baby-sitting job. A man who called himself John Marshall responded to the ad on June 19. He asked her to baby-sit many weekends, but kept cancelling. He gave her his number, which was traced to a public phone booth at a supermarket in Lumberton, New Jersey. Several parents made complaints that someone was trying to lure their daughters with fake job offers. There was a confession to this crime in 1976, but it turned out to be a hoax. Her siblings are still alive and live in the area, and are still looking for her. Margaret's disappearance is a terrifying one. While today we may blame her parents for letting her meet with someone she didn't know, we must remember the world felt "safe" in the 1970s. People hitch hiked without worry and never locked their doors. It seems like this was a persistent predator targeting teen girls in surrounding areas. This was 2 hours away from where Tina vanished. Could Tina been an easy target for someone like this, if not the same guy?

Both images of Tina, who walked away from her home and vanished into thin air in 1979. Photo credit: charleyproject.org

Tina is still missing, and it is believed she did not leave of her own accord. It seems across all three states there were many predators at work-targeting girls and young women who were alone in public areas. There is no information as to where Tina walked off to. Did she go to meet a friend? Was she still turning tricks after she started dating her boyfriend? Was she meeting a client? Running an errand? Did she just need to go for a walk? Did she know that a severe snowstorm was going to hit. It's likely she did. If so, why would she pick such a time to leave if that's what she did? Was she picked up by someone looking for young girls vulnerable, by themselves? Did she know her kidnapper? There is a lack of detail in accounts of her disappearance. I only can hope that her case is revived, that her DNA is checked against many unidentified remains recovered, and that someone will come forward, even if they feel their information isn't important, it could very well be what everyone was looking for all along.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Tina Faye Kemp, please contact:

An age progression of what Tina would look like today. . Photo credit: charleyproject.org

Delaware State Police

302-739-2600

Sources:
Charley Project
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kemp_tina.html
Buckskin Girl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckskin_Girl
Doe Network
http://doenetwork.org/cases/2966dfde.html
NAMUS
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/6937/2
Kathryn Quackenbush
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/q/quackenbush_kathryn.html
Katherine Anderson
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/anderson_katherine.html
Karen Zendroksy
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/z/zendrosky_karen.html
Nancy Jason
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/j/jason_nancy.html
Margaret Fox
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fox_margaret.html