Debra Kay Manial -- Missing Since December 1982

Missing Person: Debra Kay Manial



Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Manial was last seen at the Indersol Tree farm in Dobbins with a group of friends cutting down Christmas trees. When the group was getting ready to leave Manial walked in front of the group, never to be seen again.
Last contact: December 19th, 1982 (Sunday); went missing in the morning, reported missing at noon. I see some sources stating that she went missing on December 12th. However, NamUs says December 19th. Also, the journalism starts on Monday, December 20th and states she went missing on Sunday, presumably the most-recent Sunday or else they would specify.
Last location: Dobbins, California. Specifically, Yuba River area, east of Dobbins. Near the Indersol Tree Farm, according to NamUs. This tree farm was called Ingersol Tree Farm from other sources. Also, journalism mentioned a place called Bullards Bar dam.
Age when Debra Kay Manial disappeared: 29 according to NamUs, 28 years old according to early journalism. However, 29 appeared to be the correct age.
Birthdate: December 6th, 1953 (source: DoeNetwork)

The Sacramento Bee. December 21st, 1982.
The age in the journalism appears to be wrong.
She recently turned 29 as of her disappearance date.

Sex: Female
Height in inches: 64
Weight in pounds (lbs): 140
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Hair color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Scar or distinctive characteristic: Scar on top of one of her thumb knuckles. Horizontal appendectomy scar.
Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/126821?nav

BMI means body mass index. It is meant to describe someone's healthy body weight relative to their height. It is food for thought as to how someone may have looked. However, it is meant as a guide only and does not account for all body types. 

Debra Kay Manial had a BMI of 24.03. Debra Kay Manial was at a HEALTHY WEIGHT by BMI standards at the time of her disappearance.

Clothing: Lots of clothing and accessories to note, as snipped from NamUs below.



Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert 

Has Debra Kay Manial been found?

I researched the missing person's case of Debra Kay Manial tonight. From what I gathered, she and eight friends (nine people total) went out on a Sunday morning to find a Christmas tree. On their return to their vehicle, Debra walked ahead of the group for some reason. She has not been seen since and was reported missing at about noon on that day. The way it read, she must have been last seen sometime between 11am and noon on December 19th, 1982.

There was a large search for her. However, there were both rain and snow storms in the time frame that followed. The area was considered dangerous for walking, which brings into play the chance that she slipped down a slope. 

Debra Manial was not originally from the Sacramento area. That would suggest that she wasn't too familiar with the terrain. I think she was from Michigan as per the clipping below from The Saginaw News. There was an obituary for her mother in 2014 in The Saginaw News. In this obituary, it's clear that the family considers Debra to be deceased (May 15th, 2014, page 6).



I did feel like that may have happened to her and then the treacherous weather impeded the search efforts. However, other scenarios are possible, like abduction or self harm. The search for her was called off on December 28th, 1982 as it was thought that she must have perished by then, if she was in the rugged area.

What stood out in this case was simply that she walked ahead alone. I found no statements as to why she did that. What also stood out is the amount of detailed information there is of her clothing. Amateurs working on this case could try to match her clothing/accessories to clothing/accessories found on Jane Does in the area.

A couple of contradictions that I noted was that she was described as 28 years old in the journalism, while NamUs lists her as 29. Also, the tree farm was called "Ingersol Tree Farm" in journalism, not Indersol Tree Farm as per NamUs.


This case reminded me of some other missing person's cases on this website. There have been quite a few people who have gone missing while out with a group in a natural setting. In the cases I am thinking of, the person separated from the group and was then lost.

Trenny Gibson went missing while on a school hike. She separated from the group for a short time and has not been seen since. I looked at missing trail hikers quite extensively back in a 2021 article.

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