Sandra Faye Thompson Missing: Jacksonville, Florida Woman Vanishes in 1984 (Attempt to Match)

Missing Person: Sandra Faye Thompson

Notes on the pictures:

I have to say that these pictures do not look like the same person to me. I feel that way even if the black and white photo is from high school and the color photo is up to eight years later. However, there are no notes at NamUs suggesting that they are different people. The details for the case are sparse as well.

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Sandra was last seen in Florida on July 2nd, 1984.

Last contact: July 2nd, 1984 (Monday)
Last location: Jacksonville, Florida
Age when Sandra Faye Thompson disappeared: 26
Date of birth: February 13th, 1958
Sex: Female
Height in inches: 65 (approximation, often averaged from ranges)
Weight in pounds (lbs): 100 (approximation, often averaged from ranges)
BMI: 16.6 - Underweight (calculated to help picture what Sandra might have looked like)
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Hair color: Black - Straight, thick blackish brown hair
Eye Color: Brown
Link to Government Source: NamUs (right-click to open)

Websleuths discussion page: Sandra Faye Thompson (right-click to open)

Unraveling the Mystery: Key Insights and Updates

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: March 11th, 2025

Has Sandra Faye Thompson been found?

The Websleuths community has kept Sandra’s case alive, with discussions dating back to 2016, without their activity, there would not be much available online to read about this missing person. There is speculation online about a possible connection to unidentified remains, such as UP116037, covered here at MPC. This is a Jane Doe discovered in Palm Bay, Florida, in January 1985, though no definitive link has been established.

Points Comparing Sandra Faye Thompson to UP116037 (Attempt to Match)

Websleuths Username: SimsGuy67, to my knowledge, associated the cases first.

Geographical Proximity: Sandra disappeared from Jacksonville, Florida, while UP116037 was found in Palm Bay, Florida, about 150 miles apart, both within the same state.

Timeline Alignment: Sandra went missing on July 2, 1984, and UP116037 was discovered on January 17, 1985, a gap of roughly 6.5 months, which matches UP116037’s estimated PMI of 6 months. This suggests the unidentified individual may have died around mid-1984, which is almost to the day when Sandra disappeared.

Age Range: Sandra was 26 years old at the time of her disappearance, fitting squarely within UP116037’s estimated age range of 24-28 years.

Height: Sandra’s height was 5'5" (65 inches), slightly above UP116037’s estimated range of 5'2" to 5'4" (62-64 inches), but within a reasonable margin of error for skeletal estimates.

Weight: Sandra weighed 100 lbs, aligning closely with UP116037’s estimated weight of 95-105 lbs, indicating a similar slender build.

Race/Ethnicity: Both Sandra and UP116037 are classified as White/Caucasian, supporting a potential match

Is there some kind of alignment between the UP and the MP in a more abstract way? The body seems to have been a body dump. Somehow, that's consistent with the MP having dangerous associations, as suggested at the Websleuths forum. However, the chart below sticks to more convincing points of comparison.

My AI's Assistant's Guess on the Probability That This is a Match

Mathematical guesses using AI are just food for thought. But they are nice to have because they can eliminate the bias we bring to research efforts as humans. For instance, as a researcher, you sort of want the match to be right and that can affect you. AI doesn't have such wants. The more information that's available, the better but here's what Grok had to say about the chances of these two being one and the same person.

"I’d estimate a 70-75% chance that Sandra Faye Thompson and the Jane Doe are the same person. This reflects a strong likelihood driven by timeline, age, and physical overlap, tempered by the distance between locations and absence of conclusive forensic or circumstantial links. Rounding for simplicity, I’ll settle on 75% as a reasonable mathematical guess, acknowledging it’s an approximation based on available data." (Grok, X's AI)

Basically, the physical characteristics, age, and timeline match, but there is doubt due to distance and a lack of conclusive forensic evidence. Still, I think these two cases need to be looked at

Criteria	Sandra Faye Thompson	UP116037	Match?	Explanation
Geographical Proximity	Jacksonville, Florida	Palm Bay, Florida (150 miles)	✅	Both locations are in Florida, 150 miles apart, a reasonable distance for a potential connection.
Timeline Alignment	Missing: July 2, 1984	Found: Jan 17, 1985 (PMI: 6 mo)	✅	6.5-month gap matches the 6-month PMI, suggesting death around mid-1984, aligning with Sandra’s disappearance.
Age Range	26 years old	24-28 years	✅	Sandra’s age of 26 fits within UP116037’s estimated range of 24-28 years.
Height	5'5" (65 inches)	5'2"-5'4" (62-64 inches)	✅	Sandra’s height is slightly above the range but within a reasonable margin for skeletal estimates.
Weight	100 lbs	95-105 lbs	✅	Sandra’s weight of 100 lbs falls directly within UP116037’s estimated range of 95-105 lbs.
Race/Ethnicity	White/Caucasian	White/Caucasian	✅	Both are classified as White/Caucasian, supporting a potential match.

Russell Raymond Williams, Missing Person: Unsolved Abington Disappearance Since April 1972

Missing Person: Russell Raymond Williams

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Mr. Williams received a phone call at his lumber company (Reed Lumber Company), on 4/19/1972, at approximately 1:30PM, and left. Mr. Williams was never seen or heard from again. Mr. Williams' vehicle was recovered from Logan Airport in Boston, MA on 4/26/1972, with no evidence or information as to his whereabouts.

There is no photo available of Russell Raymond Williams, who was last seen after receiving a phone call at his place of work.

Last contact: April 19th, 1972 (Wednesday)

Last location: Abington, Massachusetts

Age when Russell Raymond Williams disappeared: 33

Date of birth: April 20th, 1938 - April 19th, 1939 (When a date range is used, it is calculated based on the MP's age when he disappeared)

Sex: Male

Height in inches: 67 (approximation, often averaged from ranges)

Weight in pounds (lbs): 190 (approximation, often averaged from ranges)

BMI: 29.8 - This is in the overweight range. This calculation helps in attempting to picture what Russell Raymond Williams looked like.

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Link to Government Source: MP91100 (right-click to open)

Unraveling the Mystery: Key Insights and Updates

By: Shane Lambert

Original time of writing: March 9th, 2025

Has Russell Raymond Williams been found?

As of early March 2025, this individual has not been found. Furthermore, there is very little coverage of his case. Finding information on the company he worked for, Reed Lumber Company, was also difficult. I'm sure most people who look at this case will have questions regarding the phone call and the location of his vehicle at the airport.

The Phone Call: A Critical Clue or Red Herring?

The phone call that prompted Williams’ departure stands as the last known interaction before his disappearance. Questions should arise: was the call pertaining to a business matter, a personal emergency, or a deliberate lure? 

Unfortunately, in 1972, tracing calls was rudimentary, and no accessible records detail who called or what was said. Coworkers’ accounts—if preserved—could hold the key, yet their absence from the narrative suggests early investigative limits. This ambiguity invites speculation: could it have been someone he knew, or a staged event to justify his exit?

The Logan Airport Connection: Mislead or Genuine Lead?

Often when a missing person's car is left at the airport, it does not mean that they took a flight. In some cases, all it means is that the missing person was a target of foul play. Then whoever committed the crime against the MP, decided to mislead investigators by leaving the MP's car at the airport.

This is a case that will require some kind of opening up, maybe from a surviving family member. At present, few details are available.

Tara Suzette Breckenridge -- Missing from Houston Since 1992

Paraphrased details from government source**: Tara was last seen leaving her place of employment at The Men's Club in the 3300 block of Sage in southwest Houston, TX, where she worked as a waitress. She was returning home at the time of her disappearance. Her vehicle, a red 1986 Pontiac Fiero was found abandoned and locked in the 1200 block of West Loop North near 12th street, on her route home. The car's alternator belt was missing, there was no sign of a struggle, but she has never been seen since. Foul play is suspected.

Missing Person: Tara Suzette Breckenridge
Last-contact date: August 4th, 1992 (Tuesday) at about 1am (this would have felt like the night of August 3rd)
The area where the MP was last seen: Houston, Texas
Link to government source: NamUs MP914

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 23 years old
Birthdate: September 30th, 1968 in Kern, California
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: None known
Height/weight: 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-10 and 110 to 125 pounds; journalism from August 1992 said 5'5" and 115 pounds
BMI*: Using the upper height and upper weight for the ranges above, in this case, the missing person was underweight by BMI at the time of the disappearance. However, she would have been in the normal range using lower values from the ranges. She looks thin in her pictures.
Tattoos: Tara Suzette Breckenridge did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

Objects associated with the missing person: a light-colored shirt, blue shorts, sandals, contacts or glasses, Del Rio High School class ring from 1991 (I read she graduated in 1987, however), a red Pontiac Fiero.

Distinctive characteristics: a scar on the left side of the lower lip, long red-painted fingernails, a scar under her left arm, and a scar on the left side of the body

By: Shane Lambert

Tara Suzette Breckenridge has not been seen since August 4th, 1992 when she was 23 years old. This individual has now been missing for about 29 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

This is a case that I looked at previously in comparison to several other similar cases. After working on scores of cases, I've noticed that one pattern common to a lot of missing person cases is a found vehicle where the driver of the vehicle is the missing person.

In some of these cases, I think that the abandoned vehicle was sabotaged by the person that disappeared the missing person. I think Tara Breckenridge's case is one such case with other similar cases worth noting. I've written on such disappearances more broadly in another blog post called "Women With Car Troubles Go Missing."

My advice to any female motorist is to be skeptical of the help that arrives if your vehicle suddenly starts behaving oddly. It could be that the person that arrives to help had a hand in sabotaging your vehicle. Perhaps, the widespread use of mobile phones will have helped curb this kind of modus operandi since the time of Breckenridge's disappearance. However, I think the first person on the scene is a risky person to trust if your vehicle breaks down.

The earliest journalism I found on this case dated to August 15th, 1992. The meat of this early journalism is as follows.

15 Aug 1992, Sat Del Rio News Herald (Del Rio, Texas) Newspapers.com

One oddity in the disappearance of Tara Breckenridge is that an 18-year old man seemed to interject himself into the case, a man named Robert Beaty who was 18 years old as of April 1st, 1993. He would have been born in 1974 or 1975, however, I wasn't able to find him in Ancestry.

NamUs #MP914 01 Apr 1993, Thu Del Rio News Herald (Del Rio, Texas) Newspapers.com
Tara Breckenridge has at least one landing page within Ancestry's files. Within that site, her date of disappearance is considered to be her date of death. That can be true or false.

Tara's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance was considered a suspect in this case. In my opinion, I think the guilt is elsewhere (ie. men at the club she worked at, whether staff or patrons).

What stands out with this case is that Tara was lovely and she was working in a kind of place (a strip club) that would attract some questionable characters, I think. She had a boyfriend, Tara was religious and not likely to cheat, and so I think she was the gorgeous waitress that the amorous men at the club could not get. That would have made her frustrating to someone who was edgy.

Her alternator belt had been removed from her car, this is a known fact of the case. I am thinking that the belt was in the car when she drove to work, hence, the car didn't break down during that trip. But I think the belt may have been removed during her shift and then she may have been followed. That her car was able to travel to work is a big clue in this case: it says to me that her vehicle was sabotaged at work. Thus, I think those that think her boyfriend did this crime need to prove that he was at her place of employment that night.

The removal of the alternator belt, I read, would affect the car's electrical system:

"The serpentine belt is also known as an alternator belt, fan belt, or accessory drive belt.  It is powered by a car’s engine to spin or 'drive' several mechanical components in the engine, and is responsible for providing power to vital systems, such as the electrical system, the power steering system, the cooling system and the A/C system. Some vehicles’ water pumps, radiator fans, and power brakes are also dependent on the serpentine belt.

If your serpentine belt wears out, becomes damaged or contaminated, or breaks, engine accessories will not be able to spin at the proper speed, leading to decreased power to the electrical system. This can lead to a sudden lost of power assist for the steering system, leading to the steering wheel all-of-a-sudden becoming very hard to turn. A broken serpentine belt may stop the water pump from circulating coolant through the cooling system, causing the engine can overheat. And it may stop the alternator from generating power to operate the vehicle’s electric/electronic systems and recharge the battery - the headlights will dim, the radio will not work, and the battery will die." (Source: streetautorepair.com)

Tara may have had no choice but to accept the help of whoever arrived at the scene when her car broke down on her way home. This person who arrived to help her may have been the same person that caused the damage to the vehicle as part of a premeditated attack. Importantly, this kind of modus operandi is well known for the time period that we are looking at. When a woman's car is sabotaged and then the person that sabotaged the vehicle follows her in order to abduct her when she needs help has been called "The Good Samaritan's Ruse." Many women fell victim to it in the 1980s, 90s, and even beforehand.

I don't picture the boyfriend's timeline as fully supporting him being the one that sabotaged Tara's vehicle in the parking lot of her work. Also, it's hard to picture him happening on Tara as she drove. If the boyfriend planned to attack her after her shift, that would require some predictability out of Tara, I think. However, her shift ended earlier than expected the night she went missing and she was leaving her place of employment at a bit of a surprise time. I can't say that I don't 100% discount the boyfriend as a suspect but, in my opinion, I don't think he is guilty.

What I think makes the most sense is this:

1. Tara drove to work without problems because her vehicle was in good running order.
2. During Tara's shift, someone with access to her vehicle removed the alternator belt.
3. That person lay in waiting for Tara to leave work, whether in the parking lot or parked curbside.
4. Tara left work an hour early, something I don't think the boyfriend knew about.
5. Her car broke down because of the vehicle sabotage.
6. The man that arrived on the spot to help her had actually caused the damage.
7. Tara may have trusted him to an extent if she knew him from the club, which explains why there is no sign of a struggle at the found vehicle as she went with him voluntarily.
8. Tara locked her car doors, believing she would be back at a future time.
9. This mystery person disappeared Tara.

This mystery was covered in the February 10th, 1995 episode of Unsolved Mysteries, hosted by Robert Stack. I've embedded that episode below. The segment on Tara starts at 10:20. Please comment if the embedding no longer works as Youtube videos are often deleted. There are a lot of pictures of Tara in the video.

 

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 April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: To determine whether a person is missing or not, this site relies heavily on government sources. If you are described as missing when you are not, I recommend simply having your missing person report updated or removed. When that happens, updates at this site can follow.

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Sandra Lee Hopler - Missing from Scranton Since September 1973

Paraphrased details from government source**: Sandra was last seen on September 29th, 1973. She was a student at Keystone Junior College in La Plume, PA, and was last seen at Martz Trailways Bus Station in Scranton, Pennsylvania, or at the pick-up point.

Missing Person: Sandra Lee Hopler
May use the following alias(es): Sandy
Last-contact date: September 29th, 1973 (Saturday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the LaPlume area possibly at the Martz Trailway Bus Station or at a pick-up point. Possibly, she would have been near Lackawanna and Jefferson Avenue since that's where Martz Trailways offices were located in 1973 according to the following classified advertisement but the pick-up point could have been somewhere else. The zip code 18440 is given as her place of disappearance, which would be near Lackawanna Trail in La Plume.

23 May 1973, Wed The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

Link to government source: NamUs MP#8897

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 18 years old
Birthdate: June 8th, 1955
Hair: Brown or light brown
Eyes: Hazel
Scar: a small scar on one eyebrow
Height/weight: 5-foot-4 and 125 pounds
BMI*: Sandra Lee Hopler was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Sandra Lee Hopler did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

Clothing and accessories: Burgundy blazer, dark blouse, Seiko watch with a gold face, and a tan shoulder purse

Distinctive: A mole on the back of the hand between the thumb and index webbing, a small mole near lip (left side), pierced ears, and she may have glasses, however, these aren't pictured in the two pictures I found of her. 

Family: Lyle Joseph Hopler Jr. (father, d. in 2002), Patricia Lee Snyder (mother, d. in 2017), and she had siblings.

28 Feb 2002, Thu The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) Newspapers.com

Sandra Lee Hopler was last heard from on September 29th, 1973 when she was 18 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 48 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. 

The journalism coverage I found for this missing person case was either modern or written years after her disappearance. She has been mentioned in cold case articles for the region she lived in, however, these articles did little but mention the broadly known details of this case. The oldest article using the databases I searched was from 2010.

I did find a second picture of her using Ancestry. She had a photograph in the 1973 yearbook for James Caldwell High School. Her hair was parted in the middle and she had a wavy characteristic to it that is consistent with the photo of her from her missing person profile. Sometimes the place of hair parting can be discerned from Jane Does so this is one point of comparison if you are looking at descriptions of unidentified remains.

Online sources say that Sandra Hopler was going to New York, that she told her plans to a roommate, and that she was last seen at a bus station or pick-up point for Martz Trailways. The details of this case could be opened up by someone in the family or the roommate (if surviving), people who may know more publishable details, or have some publishable information on the investigation.

I tried to find information on the bus schedule since these are sometimes in newspapers. However, I found only an article from 1962 when the original service between Scranton and New York was announced from Martz Trailways. This article may or may not contain information about where she was dropped off.

25 Jun 1962, Mon The Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

One major point with this case is simply if she got on the bus or not. From what I gathered, she was seen waiting for the bus. Sometimes an attractive young woman waiting for a bus attracts the attention of someone offering a rideshare. But if she did get on the bus, then New York becomes the focal point. 

This individual has a landing page in a family tree with Ancestry. There was little information there but it could be updated in the future.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Author: Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Non-opinionated information at this site generally comes from government sources or police reports. Other sources may be used.

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Symone Kylie Flowers -- Missing From Edmond, Oklahoma Since 2019

Details from NamUs**: 

It is unknown who Symone was last seen with. She left an address in Edmond with unknown persons. She had stated she wanted to go to Colorado, Venice beach, CA, and Vegas.

Missing Person: Symone Kylie Flowers

Last-contact date: March 1st, 2019
The area where the MP was last seen: Edmond, Oklahoma
Link to government source: NamUs #MP78361 (dead link as of March 10th, 2025)

• When NamUs cases are removed, it often means the case is resolved in some way (person located, whether alive or deceased); however, this wasn't a case that made the news so there's no online updates.
• The information below is for historical archiving, as this will be treated as a resolved case for this website's purposes.

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 22 years old
Birthdate: About February 1997
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: None indicated
Height/weight: 5-foot-4 and 140 pounds
BMI*: Symone Kylie Flowers was in the normal range for BMI.

• Please, Google-search BMI if you aren't familiar with the phrase. I think it's an important tool to be aware of when working on missing person cases.
• At the original time of publication, there was no photo available for this person. If one isn't found, then rely on BMI, height, weight, ethnicity, and other physical features to describe or picture the person.

Symone Kylie Flowers, a missing person, was last heard from on March 1st, 2019 when she was 22 years old. This individual has now been missing for 2 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

The description from NamUs depicts an adventurous and youthful person that appeared to have plans to travel. Whether she settled somewhere else or whether she suffered some kind of mishap during her travels is something that Websleuths or amateur investigators can try to shed some light on. The NamUs profile is not a strong one for looking at Jane Doe profiles due to an absence of distinctive characteristics, clothing, and personal items.

In my research on this case, I did find a lead. This has been reported to NamUs. Feel free to inquire as to the status of this lead, however, the details I have decided not to publish in case this is a voluntary disappearance. Adults can choose to disappear if they would like to.

Please share this article to social media using hashtags that are related to where the missing person went missing from, which is Edmond, Oklahoma.

Author: S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

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 person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.