Crime & Safety

Little Girl's Disappearance Still Unsolved 50 Years Later

Mary Ann Verdecchia's disappearance rocked the Pittsburgh area in 1962.

One of the oldest and most memorable missing persons cases in southwestern Pennsylvania is that of Mary Ann Verdecchia, who disappeared from Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood on June 7, 1962.

The 10-year-old had lived with her aunt in the five years after her parents separated. She had returned home after a half day of classes at Immaculate Conception School, changed out of her school uniform and went outside about 12:30 p.m.

Witnesses saw Mary Ann go into the Martinique Apartments on Baum Boulevard. A woman resident who she ran errands for sent her to the store. She was seen going back into the apartment about 2:45 p.m. And that was the last reported sighting of her.

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About 6 p.m., her relatives began looking for her. They called police at about 10:30 that night.

Mary Ann was described as 4-foot-10, 60 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair with a brownish tint that was worn in a ponytail. She had thin legs and fingers, and her breasts were just beginning to develop. She also had a scar on the center of her forehead. Mary Ann was last seen wearing a white blouse and red shorts with white tennis shoes.

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The investigation into her disappearance was led by former Pittsburgh police Assistant Chief Therese Rocco of Brookline, who then headed the Pittsburgh Police Bureau's missing persons squad. The search involved one of the largest police manhunts in history with throngs of detectives who combed the neighborhood and beyond.

The little girl's disappearance still makes its way into the Pittsburgh media every few years.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Pittsburgh Police Bureau at 412-323-7800 or use the department's Tip Form. 

For more information about this and other missing person cases, visit Pennsylvania Missing PersonsNamUs or the Doe Network.


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