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 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. …
Saturday, February 16, 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 had 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 3, 2013
The North Huntingdon man had a fight with his girlfriend in the Strip District and then vanished.
Jacob "Jake" Lipp, 27, did what many young adults do on the weekend—headed to Pittsburgh's Strip District for the night life. He left his home in North Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, about 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, and ended up with his girlfriend at the Static bar on Smallman Street. The couple left the bar and then had an argument in the early morning hours on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. The girlfriend drove off, leaving Jake in the parking lot. He walked in the opposite direction, back toward the bar. She circled the block and went back, but Jake was already gone. He was last seen at about 3 a.m. in the parking lot outside the McDonald's restaurant at 1630 Penn Ave. in the Strip District, about two blocks from where his …
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 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 when she left her home in the 5100 block of Chaplain Way in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood. 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 scar 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 …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children listed 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 …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
The missing man was from Waynesburg but worked on a river boat owned by Tri-River Fleeting in Pittsburgh.
Robert Elmer Allison of Waynesburg, Greene County, worked on a river boat owned by Tri-River Fleeting, which is currently listed on West Carson Street in Pittsburgh. Allison reportedly left work on Dec. 21, 1994, and was headed for a bar in the west end of Pittsburgh. All of this belongings were found on the boat and he has not been seen since. Sources that list his disappearance say he was last seen "leaving Tri-River Fleeting in Bethel Park near Pittsburgh" but it is questionable as to why a river business is listed in Bethel Park. He was 42 years old at the time of his disappearance. Allison is described as a white male with brown eyes and wearing glasses, brown hair and a fair complexion; about 5 feet, 9 inches; and 170 pounds. He was …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
He's been missing 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 1993, when he disappeared on a March day. Suddenly, he was missing from 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 years old today. Andrew is described as a white male about 5 feet, 8 …
Sunday, November 25, 2012
These cases in the Pittsburgh area did not have a happy ending, but finding these missing persons might have brought closure to families.
As early as this July, people in the law enforcement community knew that the remains of Amanda Sue Myers of Pittsburgh had been identified through DNA comparison. However, it was only last week when Pittsburgh police finally released the news. In July, two separate sources told Patch that Amanda had been identified but that police wanted to hold off on releasing information until some interviews had been conducted. Amanda, who was 22 at the time of her death, was last seen in Pittsburgh at the end of 1999 but may have been in Florida and Tennessee as late as April 2000. She was not reported missing until 2007, according to the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. Known unofficially as Homestead Jane Doe, Amanda was found deceased on Oct…
