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.

Celeste Hensley Greub -- Missing Since 1976 From Wyoming

Details from NamUs**: 

"Celeste went missing in the year 1976. She went hiking in the Big Horns with a group of people. She elected to take a break near the trailhead and when the group came back, she was gone."

Missing Person: Celeste Hensley Greub

Last-contact date: August 10th, 1976 before 5pm

22 Aug 1976, Sun Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming) Newspapers.com

The area where the MP was last seen: Kaycee, Wyoming in the Cloud Peak Primitive Area of the Big Horn Mountains

Link to government source: NamUs MP 

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 20 years old
Birthdate: December 3rd, 1955 (I think)
Hair: Not known
Eyes: Not known
Scar: No scars known
Height/weight: 5'2" and weighs 115-120 pounds
Tattoos: Celeste Hensley did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles. 

The NamUs profile, at the time of writing, was not complete for Celeste Hensley. It was missing the date of the disappearance and her body dimensions. For the record, the missing person was 5'2" and 115 to 120 pounds and I think she went missing on August 10th, 1976. The earliest journalism I found covering this case was from Tuesday, August 17th, 1976 and it said that she went missing the previous Tuesday.

17 Aug 1976, Tue Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming) Newspapers.com

This individual has now been missing for about 45 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. If you are researching this individual's background, then she was described as being "of Casper" in many news articles so focus on Casper, Wyoming. On Ancestry, I think she is Wyma Celeste Hensley born on December 3rd, 1955 in Montana.

What stands out with this case, at least at first glance, is that she was having marital problems at the time of her disappearance. However, I had trouble picturing her husband disappearing her given the remote location that she went missing in.

She was a part of a trio of female backpackers: two went to climb a peak while Celeste elected to rest. When the two peak-climbers returned to collect Celeste, they found that she was gone. I don't think the husband could go into the backcountry and lay in wait for her because it seemed that her decision to separate from the group was a random thing at a hard-to-predict location. There was an insinuation in some media coverage that she might have wanted to disappear because she was described as "distraught."

One interesting point that I read in the journalism was that the search area was very challenging. One searcher said there were canyons or drop-offs near where she went missing that you could drop cars into.

19 Aug 1976, Thu Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming) Newspapers.com

This case had some similarities to another case I did research on in the past. Despite occurring 42 years earlier, the case of Olga Mauer has a lot in common with the case of Celeste Hensley Greub. Both Mauer and Hensley-Greub disappeared under similar circumstances.

• Reportedly, both women were in the backcountry and voluntarily separated from their companion(s)
• When the companion(s) returned, they found the woman was not where they expected her
• Enormous searches were conducted
• Neither Mauer nor Greub has been heard from or seen since
• Coincidentally, both of the disappearances were in the state of Wyoming

My opinion on both cases is the same. Mauer and Grueb probably each got bored of waiting and decided to try and venture back alone. Some kind of mishap happened during this time. The route into the backcountry doesn't look the same when it's played in reverse so getting lost in the forest is a possibility. Additionally, there are wild animals out there. As always, suicide and abduction can't be discounted.

When it comes to finding Greub, it should be noted that a huge search effort was funded by the family. However, there were areas that were not deemed searchable. Jane Does found in the Big Horn Mountains near Buffalo, Wyoming might be Greub but all Websleuths have to compare with at this point is a height of 5'2". 

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Author: Shane Lambert

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

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Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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