Mary Opitz was a 17 year old girl who when missing in Fort Myers, Florida in 1981. She has originally classified as a runaway but is now believed to have been abducted. Her latest age progression depicts her at age 57.
Background[]
Mary Opitz lived with her family in Fort Myers, Florida at the time of her disappearance. She dropped out of her high school during tenth grade and was studying for her GED at the time.
Case[]
Disappearance[]
Mary was last seen to the Edison Mall parking lot in Fort Myers, Florida on January 16, 1981. She had gone to the mall with her mother and brother at 6:30 p.m. Mary bought some pretzels and told her mother and brother that she was tired and was going back to their car. She left the mall with her pretzels and some items they had bought.
About an hour later, Mary's mother went out and when she got to the car, Mary wasn't there. Her pretzels and the items were on the hood of the car. The car was in a well lit area in front of the entrance to Woolworths store.
Initially, Mary was believed to have run away as nothing at the scene suggested a crime had taken place. Mary's family strongly disagreed with this. Mary had been saving up money in her account to buy a van and she had saved $300. She was also redecorating her room at the time which Mary's family believe is not suggestive of a runaway. She had taken no extra clothing or her purse with her and she was also excited about getting her braces taken off.
Links to Mary Hare[]
On February 11, 18 year old Mary Hare disappeared from the same parking lot. Her car was also found abandoned in the parking lot and nothing was found at the scene. Police were unsure if the cases were connected.
Mary Hare was noted to look similar to Mary Opitz. Both cases involved women who grew up in New York and spoke with a slight New York accent who disappeared while running errands and were considered to have no reason to run away. Mary Opitz worked at Mariner's Inn and Mary Hare and her friends did go there sometimes but they are not believed to have known each other.
Mary Hare's badly decomposed and fully clothed body was found in June 1981 in a remote area in Lehigh Acres, Florida. Her death was ruled as a homicide as she had been stabbed in the back. Police suspected foul play in Mary Opitz's disappearance after Mary Hare's body was found.
Christopher Wilder[]
Police have suspected that Christopher Wilder, a man who has been linked to a dozen disappearances, rapes, murders and/or attacks of women in the early to mid 1980s is a suspect in both the cases of Mary Hare and Mary Opitz. Other suspected victims of Wilder include Chary Gonzalez, Beth Kenyon and Tammy Leppert
Characteristics[]
- Brown hair.
- Hazel or green eyes.
- Pierced ears.
- A scar between the fingers of her left hand.
- Braces on her teeth.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Brown velveteen jacket.
- White pullover shirt.
- Blue jeans.
- Brown pumps.
- Two gold bracelets.
- A gold necklace with a charm.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Mary Opitz at NamUs
- Mary Opitz at the Doe Network
- Mary Opitz at the Charley Project
- Mary Opitz at NCMEC