Missing Mary Jean McLaughlin Mary, approximately 1965 Date reported missing : 06/01/1965 Missing location (approx) : Lake Odessa, Michigan Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Female Ethnicity : White DOB : 06/13/1938 (83) Age at the time of disappearance: 26 - 27 years old Height / Weight : 5'5 - 5'7, 150 - 160 pounds Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Mary may wear eyeglasses. Her maiden name is Beatty, and she may use the last name Blair. Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Mary was last seen in Lake Odessa, Michigan sometime in the second half of 1965. Her oldest son, Donald McLaughlin, who was eight years old at the time, recalls that his mother visited him at school and told him she was going away for awhile but would eventually return. Mary apparently traveled to her sister's home in Muskegon, Michigan afterward, and left a photograph there. She disappeared afterwards and has never been heard from again. She was possibly driving a dark blue Ford Falcon or Mercury Comet at the time of her disappearance. Donald filed a missing persons report for his mother in 2002, thirty-seven years later. Donald and some of Mary's neighbors stated that she was having marital problems in 1965. Donald described Mary's husband, his father Carlon Arden McLaughlin, as a violent man. Carlon and Mary fought frequently and it was alleged that Mary had extramarital affairs. Carlon moved to Mississippi after his wife's disappearance. Mary has five children. She lived with several foster families, including Carlon's parents, from the Age at the time of disappearance: of eight until her marriAge at the time of disappearance: . She is a 1957 graduate of Lakewood High School. There has been no activity on her Social Security number since around the time she vanished, and identity and public record checks have turned up nothing either. Donald believes his mother left of her own accord, but was murdered sometime afterwards. Investigators believe Mary either died long ago, or changed her identity so completely that she cannot be found. Her case remains unsolved. Other information and links : ncy Lake Odessa Police Department 616-374-8844 Michigan State Police 616-527-3600 September 2021 updates and sources The Doe Network The Ionia Sentinel-Standard WOOD TV A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece. October 12, 2004. March 25, 2013; DOB : added. |