Angela Sigrid Ramsey-Missing 37 Years

Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

IN June of 1977, 16 year-old Angela Sigrid Ramsey hitchhiked from her home town of Columbia, South Carolina to Deland (in Volusia County), Florida to visit some friends. For two days, beginning on June 19, Angela stayed at the Boulevard Motel on Woodland Boulevard in Deland. She had befriended a worker at the motel who helped her stay there. She was reported a missing person on June 21, when she failed to show up for a dinner date with a man she met in Deland. All her belongings were left behind in her motel room. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Angela's birthday is May 16, 1961. She was 5'3" and weighed 115 pounds at the time of her disappearance. At the time, she had dark blond hair and brown eyes. She goes by the nickname "Angie". Despite leaving her home in South Carolina of her own accord, she is officially listed as Endangered Missing with foul play suspected in her involuntary disappearance from Deland, Florida. She went missing on June 21, 1977.

Police searched her motel room and found her jewelry, clothes and a photo of Angela herself taken by the Boulevard Motel swimming pool. The photo was taken by the man who was going to take Angela out to dinner on June 21st, the day she went missing. The man also had found the motel room key, and handed it over to investigators. The man was questioned in Angela's disappearance and has been ruled out as a suspect. Investigators also discovered a letter Angela had written to her best friend in South Carolina, saying she missed Columbia and her mother.
Angela's father was in the United States Army, so as a result of her family's travels, she had accumulated many friends throughout the country. Angela's mother said she hitchhiked to Florida with truckers, then stayed at a friend's house for two days before checking into Boulevard Motel. Apparently the friend she stayed with offered her money before she left, but she refused the offer. Her friend's family mentioned she was very polite and well-behaved during her visit.

A Google image of Boulevard Motel, where Angela was last known to be. 

There are many questions in Angela's disappearance. Did she vanish from the motel? Did she leave the motel for some reason (with the intention of coming back)? Did she try to hitch hike somewhere to get food or necessity items? Did she have anymore contact with friends during her stay? Did she go to the beach at all? Did her friend from the motel see her at all on June 21st? Why did the man she was supposed to meet up with have the key to her motel room? Did she leave to try to secure a ride back to Columbia? Was there a mall or any other social setting by Deland she would go to? All in all, I believe Angela wanted to return home to Columbia because she was home sick, so it is obvious she did not voluntarily leave Deland.

Angela's disappearance is one of many that occurred in Florida during the 1970s. There was also a surge of serial killers in Florida in the 1970s, so I figured a good place to start would be thinking of all the serial killers who were running loose in June of 1977. The first serial killer many would mention is Ted Bundy, who ended his killing spree in Florida. He was imprisoned on August 19, 1975, and escaped from prison December 30, 1977, so we can rule him out since he was still in prison at the time Angela vanished. Gerard Schafer can also be ruled out because he was arrested in 1973. Christopher Wilder did not start his killing spree until 1984. Is it possible he started before that? Sure, but it is doubtful.

Gerald Stano was a serial killer in the Florida area who killed runaways, prostitutes and hitch hikers in the 1970s. (Photo Credit: Murderpedia.com)

Then we have Gerald Stano, who confessed to killing 41 women, but was convicted of killing 22. Gerald started his killing spree in the 1960s, and peaked his killings in the 1970s. It was not until April 1, 1980 that he was finally arrested. He was trying to kill a teen girl in a motel room. She was badly injured, but escaped and went to the police right away. If it was not for her, his killing spree would have spanned out another decade. He is a possibility in the disappearance of Angie. He targeted teen girls or young women in eastern Florida areas. He would target prostitutes, runaways or girls who liked to hitch hike. He would often cruise the strip of various towns, go to the beaches or motels where he knew young people liked to hang out. He is thought to be responsible for the disappearances of 12 year-old Susan Basile from Port Orange, Florida and 13 year-old Gail Joiner from Thonotosassa, Florida. Gail vanished two hours away from where Angela did in Deland on September 22, 1972. Susan vanished on June 10, 1975 from Port Orange, which is only 19 minutes away from Deland, where Angela would disappear from two years later. I believe Gerald Stano is someone who was very capable of taking Angela. Looking at the disappearance of Susan, we know he was likely to have crossed into the Deland area at some point. He target teen girls who were run aways or who liked to hitch hike, like Angela. He also would often go to motels to find his victims, and Angela was last seen at a motel.

I also searched the NAMUS and Charley Project databases for other cases in Florida that have similarities to Angela's. I based it on the ages, area, time frame and circumstances of the girls who were missing, such as if they liked to hitch hike, vanished from a motel or public "hang-out spot" or if they went missing not too far from Deland, Florida. Out of all the missing persons cases in Florida, I believe these would be most similar to Angela's disappearance, based on what we as the public know.

Delores Stanton vanished on her way to school. She oftened hitch hiked. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

First, there is 21 year-old Delores Jean Stanton, who went missing from Gainesville, Florida on April 13, 1976. This is two hours away from Deland, Florida. Delores left home to go to school and was never seen or heard from again. Delores is well-known for hitch hiking throughout the area.

Mary Sprague was last seen leaving her place of employmeny in Daytona Beach, which is 25 minutes away from Deland, Florida. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

On September 11, 1979, 19 year-old Mary Michelle Sprague vanished in Daytona Beach, Florida, which is only 25 minutes away from Deland, Florida.  She was last seen leaving her place of employment, which was a nightclub. Mary left behind her son, and her family says she would have never left without him.

Ellen Akers was last seen at a 7-11 in Ormond Beach. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

On April 18, 1981, 15 year-old Ellen Linda Akers vanished from Ormond Beach, Florida, which is only 30 minutes away from Deland. She was last seen at the 7-11 on Atlantic Avenue around 8:00 PM where her mother worked. She asked for some money so she could go to the movies. She was never seen again and has not been heard from since. She left behind her glasses and her purse in her room.

Viola Findley was on a trip to Daytona Beach. She never made it back and has not been seen since. Photo Credit: NAMUS.org

On September 1, 1983, 29 year-old Viola Findley came to visit Daytona Beach from Iowa with a friend. She never made it back to her three kids in Iowa, and it is unclear if her friend is missing as well. She vanished 25 minutes away from Deland. It is unclear from exactly where in Daytona Beach she vanished from or where she was last seen.

Carol Lynn Sullivan's information from Volusia County Sheriff;s Office website. 

There are also a number of unsolved homicides in Volusia County that have similarities to Angela's disappearance. On September 20, 1978, 15 year-old Carol Lynn Sullivan left her home at 7 AM to walk to her bus stop on Doyle Road near Courtland Boulevard. Typically, her mother also waited at the bus stop with her, but Carol Lynne insisted on walking by herself because she felt she was mature enough to. She was never seen again. Several days later, her remains were found a couple of miles from her home when a little girl found a skull in a rusted paint can. This happened 17 minutes from Deland, Florida. Her murder remains unsolved.
On December 12, 1980, an unidentified body was found in a wooded area in Deltona, Florida. The remains were later identified as Pamela Sue Jones, originally from Indiana. She frequented Daytona Beach before she was killed. Her body showed signs of violent trauma and she is ruled as a homicide victim. Her body was discovered 17 minutes away from Deland. Her murder remains unsolved.

Denise Dansby's information from Volusia County Sheriff's office website.

On June 12, 1989, 24 year-old Denise Dansby, native from Fort Worth, Texas, was reported missing from Osteen, Florida. She has arrived in Volusia Country for a 4 day vacation on May 4, 1989 and checked into the Days Inn Motel. Similar to Angela, Denise was not from the area. The two vanished not too far from one another, and were last seen at a motel during June. On December 9, 1989, Denise's skeletal remains were found off a cemetery road in Osteen. Her remains showed signs of violent trauma and her death is ruled as a homicide, which remains unsolved.

An image of Boulevard Motel and the swimming pool where Angela was. Photo credit given to thepostcardattic.com.

Originally, many people were suspicious about the man who asked Angela out on a date. Is it only coincidence he had her motel key or that Angela vanished the night they were to have dinner? Could it be a possibility he was the last person to see her? He seems suspicious, but authorities have ruled him out for reasons not known to the public. The we have the person she befriended at Boulevard Motel so she could stay there. Would they know her last whereabouts? Did they go out with her the day she went missing? Did they ask for something in return for letting her stay there? Of course, there is also the possibility that someone who was traveling through took Angela after seeing her at the motel. June is a "vacation" month, and Florida is a vacation hot spot. It is also possible that she met someone at the hotel or in Deland who asked her to meet up with them. If she attempted to hitch hike somewhere, like a store or gas station for food, it is possible that is how she was taken. Angela hitch hiked often, so this scenario is probable. I wonder where Gerald Stano was in June1977, or if he was ever looked at as a suspect in Angela's disappearance. I think out of all the cases I have read about for this entry, that Denise Dansby's is the most similar. Both these girls were from out of state. They both vanished during June, which is a vacation month, from a motel. The motels are about 26 minutes from each other. Both women were also alone instead of traveling with a friend. It would be interesting to see if there is any further things that would connect these two cases to one another.

Angela has been missing for 37 years, and her family still searches for her to this day. Please, if you have any information about the disappearance of Angela "Angie" Sigrid Ramsey or any of the other unsolved missing persons cases or homicides, please contact:

An age progression of what Angela would look like today. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Volusia County Sheriff's Office

1-904-254-1535

Sources:
Charley Project
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/ramsey_angela.html
Hometown News
http://www.myhometownnews.net/index.php?id=97177
Carol Lynn Sullivan
NAMUS
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6556/0
News Journal Online
http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/coldcase/2007/071607.htm
1973 - Unidentified petite teen - south Florida
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/635uffl.html
Gerald Stano
http://murderpedia.org/male.S/s1/stano-gerald-eugene.htm
Unsolved Deland Homicides
http://www.volusiasheriff.org/homicides/
Delores Stanton
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/stanton_delores.html
Mary Sprague
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/sprague_mary.htm
Ellen Akers
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/akers_ellen.html
Viola Findley
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2914/5/