Mary Jo Lee Long-Missing 32 Years

 

Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

MARY JO Lee Long went missing twice. Originally, 17 year-old Mary Jo was last seen at her childhood home in Austin, Minnesota on December 27, 1981. She had spent Christmas of 1981 with a half sister, and was a student at Austin High School. However, she had a split up home. Although most of her family lived in Minnesota, her parents were split up, and her father lived thousands of miles away in Gardena, California. December 27 of 1981 is the last time anyone from Minnesota would see Mary Jo Lee Long.
By all accounts, months later, it appeared that Mary Jo chose to leave her home in Austin without her mother's permission to move in with her father in Gardena, California. There are school records that prove Mary Jo was enrolled at Gardena High School. It is recorded that she was last seen on February 22, 1982. She was living 13700 block of Alma in Gardena with her father at the time. There is no record of her even existing after that date and she has not been seen since.

As if this case could not be anymore ambiguous or odd, there is no record in California or Minnesota of Mary Jo ever being reported as missing until February 24, 1988. Her mother came in to the Austin Police Department and said her daughter had been out of touch for seven years. Apparently, her mother thought she had already given a missing persons report, as her request was to have it "re-entered" into the computer. However, there was no record of Mary Jo ever being reported before 1988, and according to an article from the Post-Bulletin in Rochester, Minnesota, Law Enforcement believes she was never reported missing, or that the police report never got filed. Law Enforcement is also not sure if she ever had a Social Security number. If so, they cannot locate it to check the activity. Mary Jo had already been missing for seven years before anyone started the search for her.

Mary's birthday is June 9, 1964. At the time of her disappearance, she weighed 115 pounds and was 5'5" with brown hair. She has brown eyes and is listed as Endangered Missing, not a runaway.

Mary Jo's disappearance has been a frustrating one to write an entry on because everything is so vague. What bothers me is, how people seemed to have failed her. This girl slipped through every crack out there. They say the first 48 hours are the most important in finding a missing person. Well, Mary Jo is at seven years of a disadvantage. I question her family. Obviously the first time she vanished, a report may have not been filed because the family seemed to have known she was with her father. However, in California, how could her family there, along with teachers and friends, not know she was missing? How could she have been gone for seven years without anyone questioning where she is, especially her father?
 Records prove she never graduated with her class, so she may have not been in Garden after she was last seen in February-or something happened to her. I question where she was last seen at-was it at home? When does her father remember last seeing her? What was the last day she was seen in in school? How was her relationship with her family? Any records of abuse? Did she have a good experience at school? Did she have a boyfriend? How did she get from Minnesota to California? Did her father help her get to California? Did she hitch hike, take a bus there? Was she the type to stay out of touch with her family? Why did she leave Austin? Does she have a history of running away or doing drugs? Were any of her personal belongings or money missing?

Mary Jo was not reported missing until 1988, seven years after she vanished in 1981. (Photo Credit: NAMPN.org)

We have more questions then answers in her disappearance. It seems quite poetic that her mother checked to see if her disappearance was on file in February of 1988. In 1989, a year later, her mother was killed in a car accident. Her father is ill in Arizona, and her brother in California was also interviewed about her disappearance. Unfortunately, family members don't have much to offer in leads to shed light on the specific circumstances of the day she vanished.
Now, since there are not many theories out there for Mary Jo, I will draw up some of my own based on what I was able to research. These are just my opinion, and could have not been what really happened to her. It is just a "best guess" in a very vague case that was very delayed.
The first theory is that she left Gardena of her own accord, and later was a victim. She left without a notice from Austin, Minnesota. She did not notify her family, and was brave enough to face the trip from Minnesota to California. This also means she up and left school at the time. I am wondering if there was something wrong at home in California that caused her to up and leave. This could be from family relations, a bad group of friends or drugs could also be involved. If she did leave, she could have went anywhere. I wonder if she had a history of hitch hiking. She could have went anywhere in the country. Knowing more about her habits, activities and personality could greatly help rule this theory out or in, and I hope a family member will step forward someday and share what they know about her, even if they know nothing about her disappearance.

Police need any friends, family, acquaintances, witnesses or teachers to come forward with any information about Mary or her disappearance. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Focusing on this idea, I have searched other missing person cases around the California area. (Although, if she hitch hiked and left the state and something happened to her, other cases in other states would have more of a chance of being connected to her case). Making out of California seems like a hassle, because there were a lot of serial killers and predators picking up hitch hikers or plucking girls right off the streets at that time.
In a radius around Gardena from 1975-1989, there were many disappearances. I looked through cases that were in towns forty minutes and under from Gardena, and found a lot of disappearances that happened about twenty minutes away from Gardena. I discovered 16 cases of people vanishing off the streets leaving a grocery store or work place, and majority of the rest were people last seen hitch hiking. If Mary Jo was hitch hiking her way through the country, the result could have been bad.
There were two cases in particular that happened thirty minutes away from where Mary Jo lived that are too suspicious to be ignored.

Rachel was last seen walking home carrying groceries in 1977. She was taken right off the streets. (Photo Credit: Charley Project.org)

The first is of 11 year-old Rachel Hanna Ziselman from Pacific Palisade, California. On September 5, 1977, she was last seen walking home at 4:00 PM from a supermarket that was only two blocks away, carrying a bag of groceries. Police believe she did not leave on her own, and her parents were cleared as suspects.
A decade later after Rachel's disappearance and six years after Mary Jo would vanish, 19 year-old Joyce Walcott mysteriously vanished from Reseda, California, which was thirty minutes from where Rachel vanished and 39 minutes from Gardena, where Mary Jo was last known to be. On April 19, 1986, the 19 year-old was last seen by her friends and mentioned she was on her way to apply for a position as a cashier at Sav-On-Drugs, located in a shopping center. After lunch with her friends at Winchell's Donuts around noon, she left to turn in one of her last applications. She turned the corner and disappeared. The manager of Sav-On-Drugs confirmed she never turned in her application. She was never seen again. Both Rachel and Joyce are confirmed to have vanished right off the streets.

Joyce Walcott vanished while walking to a shopping center to apply for a job. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

With Mary Jo, we do not know if this was the same case because it is unclear where she was last seen and who she was last seen by. It makes it difficult to link her with any other cases from the area, but it is hard to ignore two cases as suspicious as these that prove there were many predators at the time targeting males and mostly females who were looking for a ride or walking down the streets by themselves.
There were more serial killers then Ted Bundy roaming around at that time, especially in California.
Looking through the cases in California were very frustrating because there is not a lot of information. Back then, missing persons cases were not given the time of day they are now, so it is difficult to say what is connected to what. There are three men who vanished 20-30 minutes away from Gardena. They were all last seen hitch hiking, never to be seen again. There names were Larry Williams, Ronald Kruska and Sean Phelan, and I have their Charley Project case links below that carry more details. At the time, it was theorized that there was a predator targeting male hitch hikers.
As for women hitch hiking, I can't even begin to name all of them, as there were multiple criminals who found it too easy to pick up a woman who needed a ride, leaving her to never be seen alive again. Also, in my entry about the disappearance of Robin Ann Graham, I featured a lot of the cases on there if any readers would like to read about some.

This young woman was found in a ball field in Seattle, Washington. Her identity is unknown, and she is a victim of serial killer Gary Ridgeway. (Photo Credit: NAMUS.org)

 The second time I searched the NAMUS and DoeNetwork databases, I looked for unidentified persons who could be a possible match to Mary Jo, based on circumstances and physical characteristics. All in all, I came up with 8 UIDs, but I did not have enough information to really convince me, and there were no reconstructions available yet of the victims. However, there were two unidentified persons that I thought would not hurt to compare to Mary Jo. The first one would be a bit more logical due to the distance. The first unidentified person was found in Seattle, Washington. She was 12-18 years old, was found on March 21, 1984 and was most likely deceased for a year before she was even found. She was estimated to be 5'5" tall and weighed 120 pounds. She was left handed, and was found in a ball field. She is a confirmed victim of Gary Ridgeway, a serial killer of over 40 women in the area. He said he picked her up in the Riverton (Tukwila) area, and that she had brown hair. Gary Ridgeway is serving a life sentence for her murder. She was ruled out as being another missing girl, Kerry Washington. Due to how Mary Jo and this girl physically match up, I'd like to see them compared.

(L) This is the gold cross Princess Doe was found wearing. To the (R) is a reconstruction of what she may have looked like. (Photo Credit: DoeNetwork.org)

The second girl carries less of a chance because of the distance, but it still is possible. On July 15, 1982, a girl, estimated to be 14-18 years old, was found dead at the north end of Cedar Ridge Cemetery in Blairstown, New Jersey. Police tested her for drugs which came back negative, but could have been tainted since the girl was deceased for weeks before she was found. It is possible she was from the Long Island, New York area, but at the same time, there is no proof she is. She had never been pregnant and never had given birth. The girl was thought to have been about 5'2"-5'4" tall and weighed possibly 100 pounds. She had brown, straight shoulder-length hair, and both of her ears are pierced. Police believe she was a run away, and became estranged from her family. The Blairstown community gave her the nickname Princess Doe. Mary Jo's DNA has never been compared to either unidentified girl. I pray for closure in all three cases, which remain unsolved.

My second theory is that something happened to her right there in Gardena. Maybe she never even left Gardena. If this was the case, and Mary Jo never even attempted to runaway, then I believe her disappearance has to do with someone who knew her. I am wondering why her family in California did not make an effort to report her missing, and check in for updates on her case. I certainly hope the outcome will not be like Coral Hall's. Coral Hall vanished from Flint, Michigan. The circumstances around her disappearance was also foggy, and it appeared that she ran away from home. Years later, her grandmother admitted to her murder. Coral was never a run away like many assumed she was. She never even left Flint, Michigan. I am hoping that is not the case for Mary Jo.

The third theory is the brightest one of all. Mary Jo could have left of her own accord, and still be out there, living out a happy life. There is nothing but probability and statistics that show us she is not alive out there, perhaps living under a new identity. Hopefully, someone will recognize something of Mary's and connect the dots. I hope the friends, teachers and family she had in California will come forward and give any information they know to authorities. Even if they know nothing about her disappearance, information about her would help narrow down this search. Mary could still be alive out there. I refuse to write her off as a run away, because there is nothing that supports that. Even if she was, she could still be in danger.

If anyone has any information on the disappearance of Mary Jo Lee Long, please contact:

 

Austin Police Department

507-437-9400

An age progression of what Mary may look like today. (Photo Credit: Charley Project.org)

 An age progression of Rachel (L) and Joyce Walcott, both missing from the Los Angeles area. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)



If you have any information about the disappearance of Rachel Ziselman or Joyce Walcott, please contact:

Los Angeles Police Department

213-485-4189

 

Another reconstruction of what Princess Doe may have looked like. Do YOU know who Princess Doe is? (Photo Credit: DoeNetwork.org)

If you have any information about the identity of Princess Doe, please contact:
Sgt. Steve Spiers, Jr.
908-475-6275



This unknown woman is a victim of Gary Ridgeway. Do YOU know her name? (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

If you have any information on this woman, a victim of serial killer Gary Ridgeway, please contact:



 King County Sheriff's Office

206-296-7530

Sources:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/long_mary.html
http://www.nampn.org/cases/long_mary_jo_lee.html
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/detective-renews-search-for-girl-missing-since/article_70566426-12a0-5461-85bc-624b581e9208.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/phelan_sean.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kruska_ronald.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/williams_larry_dean.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/z/ziselman_rachel.html

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/9927

http://doenetwork.org/cases/97ufwa.html

http://doenetwork.org/cases/36ufnj.html