Sunday, March 17, 2013
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. About 6 p.m., her relatives began looking for her. They called police…
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Family received threatening phone calls after she went missing.
Amy L. Pugner chatted on the phone with her sister as she was painting her new apartment in Washington, Pa., where she had recently moved, on June 8, 2010. That was the last time Amy's sister spoke with her. Amy, a Latrobe native, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of drug abuse. Her family considered the move a good thing—something that seemed to indicate that Amy, was getting her life together, leaving her demons behind and heading in the right direction. No one is sure when Amy was last seen, but likely it was June 9 or 10, 2010. Her family became alarmed when, a few days after that last phone call, a man used Amy's cell phone to make several threatening phone calls to them. He demanded money from them and told them…
Sunday, March 3, 2013
The Pittsburgh resident has been missing since September 2006.
More than six years ago, Devin Janelle Brown-Bousetta, 25, disappeared from her Mt. Washington residence in the City of Pittsburgh She has not been seen since Sept. 5, 2006, and that was at her home near Southern Avenue and Natchez Street. Her vehicle—a white, 1995 Chrysler Cirrus LX—was later located in Pittsburgh. Devin is described as a black/Hispanic woman, 5-foot-2 and 115-120 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. She has a flower tattoo over her right breast, the name "China" on her left arm and "chinese woman" on her back. Authorities say she also has a scar on her earlobe from previous tear, a burn scar on upper right thigh, pierced ears and a gap between her upper front teeth. Devin speaks very slowly. …
Sunday, February 17, 2013
She was last seen or heard from in June 2011, just after she moved back to Pittsburgh from Florida.
Amanda Marie Koller had moved back to the Pittsburgh area from Orlando, FL in May 2011. The 23-year-old did not establish or maintain a permanent address in the few short weeks after her return, according to her mother. On Sunday, June 12, 2011, she was stopped by Pittsburgh police and cited for operating a vehicle without a valid inspection and also without an emissions inspection. Her car, a purple 2005 Scion TC has a Pennsylvania license plate and also one from Florida, both of which expired in 2011. The license numbers are Pennsylvania GLH 0116 and Florida ANA 4580, according to the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. She has not been seen nor heard from since. Amanda is described as 5-feet to 5-foot 5, about 100 to 150 pounds with …
Sunday, February 10, 2013
The man's death was ruled a homicide.
An Avella resident was hitchhiking on Old Route 40 in Donegal Township, Washington County, about 9:20 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, 1972 when he spotted the badly decomposed body of a man. The man was down an embankment, about 65 feet south of the roadway. His skeletal remains were found in a briar thicket, near a small trash dump, about two miles west of Claysville. It was estimated that he had been there for about 8 to 10 weeks. The man's death was ruled a homicide, according to the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. The man had gunshot wounds in his left torso, possibly from a .22-caliber weapon. While details about the man's appearance and clothing are many, there are no clues as to who he was, where he came from or why he died. The man …
Sunday, January 20, 2013
She has not been seen since leaving her home in Swissvale on March 28, 2008.
It's been nearly five years since 30-year-old Faime Lynette Francis left her home in Swissvale and vanished. Faime is described at 5-foot-8, 115 pounds with black hair and dark brown eyes. According to the North American Missing Persons Network, she might wear a wig or add weave to her hair. She also wore an engagement-type ring on her left hand and often dressed in all black. Her disappearance concerned family members because she suffers from mental illness. She did not have her medicine with her when she left home. She has not been heard from since. She would turn 36 years old this May. Anyone with information is asked to call Swissvale Police Department at 412-271-0430. For more information about this and other missing person cases, …
Sunday, January 13, 2013
She took only her ID and Social Security cards when she left her Hazelwood home.
When Lonnett Myer Jackson left her home in the 5100 block of Chaplain Way in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood sometime after 11 a.m. on April 11, 2006, she left behind her cell phone, keys and money. Relatives think she took her identification and Social Security cards, though. But she has not been seen or heard from since that day. At the time of her disappearance, Lonnett was 46 years old, 192 pounds and between 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-6. She had graying black hair and brown eyes, a surgical scare on the right side of her head near the hairline, a scar from a Cesarean section and pierced ears. She was dressed in a white undershirt, black sleeveless hooded jacket, dark blue warmup pants and white athletic shoes. She was also known by her …
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Wilkinsburg teen might still be in the Pittsburgh area.
Taylor Murphy, 17, has been missing from Wilkinsburg since Sept. 20. Authorities believe she could still be in the Pittsburgh area. She is classified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as an endangered runaway. Taylor is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall; 140 pounds; with black hair and brown eyes; and having a tattoo on her upper arm. She will turn 18 on Jan. 23. The very out-of-focus photo used with this article is the only one available of Taylor Murphy. Anyone having information about Taylor should contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or call the Penn Hills Police Department at 412-473-3056. For more information about this and other missing person cases…
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists her as an endangered runaway.
Stefanie C. Mills has been missing from her home in Pittsburgh since March 7, 2002. At the time of her disappearance, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children considered her an endangered runaway. Today, she would be 26 years old. Stefanie, who goes by the nickname "Stef," is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and was 110 pounds when she went missing a decade ago. She has black hair and brown eyes. She also has pierced ears and a scar on her right forearm. At the time, authorities felt she might travel to the Colorado Springs, Colorado area. Anyone having information about Stefanie should contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or the Pittsburgh Police Department at …
Monday, December 3, 2012
He's been missing from Pittsburgh since March 1993, though he was reported in New York City and possibly San Francisco a few weeks after he disappeared.
Oakland is teeming with college students on any given day as students from Carnegie Mellon, Pitt and Carlow cross back and forth between traffic as they go to and from classes. Andrew Karis was a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1993, when he disappeared on a March day. He was last seen on March 1, then, suddenly, he was missing from among those crowds of students. Also known by the nicknames Andy, Drew and Sparky, he was last seen on campus on March 1 that year. When he was reported missing, authorities tracked his credit card and telephone records, and determined that he might have purchased a Greyhound bus ticket to New York City. He was 19 years old at the time of his disappearance and would be 39 …
