Louise N. Zunker - Missing in Wisconsin Since 1976

Paraphrased details from government source**: The missing person, Louise N. Zunker, had a scheduled dentist appointment for August 17th, 1976 in Portage, Wisconsin. Louise's sister, Hilda Zunker, took her to the dentist appointment (ie. disputed: I think they were just planning to go there). They were in the parking lot (possibly of a shopping center) when her sister turned around and Louise was gone. There were reported sightings of Louise walking east on Albert Street in the Mud Lake vicinity several hours after becoming separated from her sister. There has been no known contact with Louise since this time.

Missing Person: Louise Zunker
Last-contact date: August 17th, 1976 (Tuesday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Portage, Wisconsin, possibly walking east on Albert Street in the Mud Lake district of town. 
Link to government source: NamUs MP84012

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 56 years old
Birthdate: Louise Zunker was born between August 18th, 1919, and August 17th, 1920 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: None
Height/weight: 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 and 125 to 135 pounds
BMI*: Louise Zunker was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Louise Zunker did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.
Find-a-grave: There is a Louise N. Zunker on find-a-grave.com for the Columbia County area of Wisconsin. This person has an unknown date of death. It may reference the same person, however, it's likely a cenotaph memorial and not a final resting place.

Louise Zunker was last heard from on August 17th, 1976 when she was 56 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 45 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

The NamUs description of Louise's circumstances isn't great. It's hard to tell from that source if she disappeared before or after the dentist appointment. According to some journalism I read from 1976, she and her sister Hilda appeared to be on their way to the appointment, presumptively from their shared residence or from a shopping center. One source gave her address as 619 W. Franklin Street while another newspaper article gave her address as 56 Franklin Street. The individual that reported her missing was her brother Albert on August 18th, 1976.

21 Aug 1976, Sat Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

The article below mentions that Louise was despondent at the time of her disappearance. In my view, that increases the chances of a voluntary disappearance or even suicide and decreases the chances of something clandestine happening to her. However, everything appears to be in play. One thing that stood out with this case is the way Louise seemingly just went "poof" into thin air. In picturing the disappearance, I imagined Louise and Hilda walking in stride and then Louise disappearing when Hilda wasn't paying attention to her.

07 Sep 1976, Tue Waukesha Daily Freeman (Waukesha, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

20 Aug 1976, Fri Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

Given the missing person's footwear (ie. low heels), it's hard to picture her planning on walking all that far. I considered the Albert Street sighting and examined the bridges in the area as prospective suicide points. However, none appeared to be of sufficient height. However, Google Maps in the area only went back to 2008. 

The marshy area to the east of Mud Lake could be the focal point. However, if she was planning to kill herself, the method is the question. It would be interesting to learn about her purchases on the shopping trip that she was reportedly on. That they searched the marshy area to the west of the town and did not find her does not mean that she could not still be there. Police searches fail quite often.

This was an individual who was in Ancestry's files with simple searches (ie. first and last name) as she appeared in a few censuses with her original family. She had at least two sisters by my research, one of which is likely the one referenced in the NamUs description as being the last person that knew Louise to see her alive.

Louise's whereabouts were sought for legal matters that developed following the death of her mother in 1977. She was referred to as "deceased" in a 1983 classified ad, which isn't unusual given the circumstances.

25 Jun 1977, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

17 Dec 1977, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

12 Nov 1983, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

Louise Zunker may have had the following articles when she disappeared: a blue and white square patterned sleeveless dress; a blue/black raincoat, dark-rimmed and tinted glasses, and beige low-heeled shoes.

Furthermore, she was thought to only have 15 cents in her purse. These are items that can be cross-referenced against Jane Does or reports associated with unidentified remains in hopes of finding a reason for further comparison between Zunker and the Jane Doe.

Please, take a moment to share this blog post on social media using hashtags relevant to the missing person's area. Also, please include the website hashtag #MPCSL.

Author: Shane Lambert (Edmonton, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Edmonton, Canada) 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: 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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Lillian Rochelle Holmes -- Missing From Pasadena Since 1984

Details from NamUs** (the time in the description below is disputed): 

"21-year-old Lillian Rochelle Holmes went missing in Pasadena California on 3/22/1984. Lillian was last seen by her father when she left her Pasadena home at approximately 6:30 am on her way to start a new job demonstrating products at Robinsons in the Santa Anita Mall located in Arcadia, CA. Lillian was last seen boarding an RTD bus in Pasadena carrying a blue dress over her shoulder. Lillian was never seen or heard from again. It is believed that Lillian never made it to the new job at the mall but it is unknown where exactly she vanished along her journey between her home and the mall."

Missing Person: Lillian Rochelle Holmes
Last-contact date: March 22nd, 1984 (Thursday) -- NamUs says she was seen at 630AM, another source says noon to 1pm
The area where the MP was last seen: Pasadena, California at Lake Avenue and Rio Grande Street
Link to government source: NamUs MP14475

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Black (described as a light-skinned mulatto)
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 21 years old
Birthdate: January 23rd, 1963
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Scar: None indicated
Height/weight: 5'2" to 5'5" and 105 to 120 pounds
BMI*: Lillian Rochelle Holmes was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Lillian Rochelle Holmes did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles. If you know that the missing person did have tattoos, then please post a remark at the end of this blog post on the matter.

By: Shane Lambert

Original time of writing: March 22nd, 2021

Lillian Rochelle Holmes was last heard from on March 22nd, 1984 when she was 21 years of age. This individual disappeared during her commute on what was her first day of a new job according to the NamUs description. She has been missing for about 41 years as of early 2025.

What stands out with this case to me was the fact that it was her first day at a new job. I considered the possibility that she was not entirely familiar with her commute. When I research modern routes, the trip between Pasadena and the mall should not have been complicated for Lillian. Evidently, things did not go as planned.

I found her in high school yearbooks from Pasadena in what would have been earlier times of her life. It's clear that she lived in the area for at least seven years prior to disappearing. She is in the 1978 Pasadena High School yearbook as a freshman. That picture is below but the one at the top of this article is from closer to the time she disappeared.

A search for journalism regarding this case failed when I used my membership at Newspapers.com. However, she was definitely covered somewhere as NamUs included an uncredited newspaper article in their profile. Apparently, this newspaper article wasn't in the newspapers that are included in the Newspaper.com database at the time of this article's research.

In reading below, you will note that the missing person had a blue dress in her possession that she had just gotten from the laundromat. The location of this laundromat would be interesting to learn. Also, the journalism indicates that she was last seen later in the day than what the NamUs description states.

I would like to credit this article to the source. If you know where it appeared, then please comment at the end of this blog post.

NamUs says she was last seen at 630AM by her father, whose name was Kenneth Holmes. However, the newspaper article clipped above says she was last seen between noon and 1pm by a bus passenger. There is a contradiction here to try and make sense of.

I think her day likely involved leaving home at 630AM, going to the cleaners, perhaps going for lunch, and then taking the bus from the laundromat to the mall where she was to start her job. That scenario is how I've made sense of the contradicting information in this case.

The following clippings are advertisements from the Robinson's store that she was going to work at. One of them may even have been the job that Lillian applied to as the timing is about right.

Sun, Feb 5, 1984 – 660 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com

Sun, Mar 4, 1984 – 613 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com

I think trying to trace her exact commute would be useful. What laundromat she used is one question in this case. Where she might have gone to lunch would be a point to note too, however, that seems difficult to figure out after all these years. 

I'm picturing an abduction in this case because of how attractive Lillian was and the fact that I think she was showing up for work eager to make a good first impression in the type of job where looks mattered to the employer. Sales Associate or Product Display positions in department stores usually feature well-dressed and attractive women. That would also attract a lot of attention her way during her commute.

Abduction on a city bus is hard to do with a grown adult like Lillian. A commotion would create witnesses. The same could be said inside the mall. In my opinion, the part of her commute where she was most vulnerable would be the mall parking lot. That is my presumptive area of interest for where she might have been abducted.

Along these lines, a similar case would be that of Cindy Lee Mellin. She was a department store employee that was practically known to have been abducted in the parking lot of the mall where she worked. In Mellin's case, it happened during her commute as well but after her shift. Mellin's disappearance was 14 years earlier in 1970 and about 80 miles away in Ventura. Mellin was 19 and she a female. That's pretty close to the same demographics as Holmes. 

These cases may be unrelated but, if you agree that the mall parking lot was the most dangerous park of Lillian's commute, then they do have some interesting similarities. If either missing person is to be found then certainly a lot of work remains to be done. 

Author: Shane Lambert (UncoolNegated on Websleuths)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (UncoolNegated on Websleuths) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 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.
**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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Mary Leah Rodermund -- Missing Since March 1978

Details from NamUs**: 

Sent to a local drugstore and did not return home. The vehicle she had driven was located in the drug store parking lot.

 

Missing Person: Mary Leah Rodermund
Last-contact date: March 2nd, 1978 between 7:30pm and 8pm (she had made a purchase at the K&B Drug Store at a mall)
The area where the MP was last seen: Morgan City, Louisiana, thought to be abducted from the parking lot at the Inglewood Mall on Victor II Boulevard
Link to government source: NamUs MP#6849 

---

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 16 years old
Birthdate: Mary Leah Rodermund was born between March 3rd, 1961, and March 2nd, 1962.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Scar: No scars known
Height/weight: 5'3" to 5'5" and 110 to 115 pounds
BMI*: Mary Leah Rodermund was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Mary Leah Rodermund did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles. If you know that the missing person did have tattoos, then please post a remark at the end of this blog post on the matter.

Mary Leah Rodermund, a missing person, was last heard from on March 2nd, 1978 when she was 16 years old. I've included this case with the broad site tag "car found person missing." This tag refers to a case, of which there are many, where an individual's vehicle is found but the driver or owner is not heard from again. Mary Leah Rodermund has now been missing for 43 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. 

What stands out with this case is that there was reporting of a ransom request. The family, in this case, was willing to pay the ransom but there were not any details provided on how to do that, according to the early news coverage. The early coverage also said that the girl was not put on the phone, however, much later reports state that there was a second call where she verified her well-being. If true, then that would make the time of her last contact late in the evening on March 2nd, 1978.

Sun, Mar 5, 1978 – Page 8 · Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) · Newspapers.com

There appear to have been leads in this case. The article below mentions a vehicle that was in close proximity to the scene of the crime. Early in the investigation, there was interest in two or three adult males that were in a vehicle in the parking lot. Two possible suspects were described as 35-40-year-old men, "shabbily dressed," and driving a 1966-69 Chevy. After the article below, there are composite sketches of these suspects.

Tue, Mar 7, 1978 – Page 21 · The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana) · Newspapers.com

Fri, Apr 14, 1978 – 10 · The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana) · Newspapers.com

This case received daily coverage until about March 10th and then it was covered less often but still regularly appeared in local newspapers. Furthermore, there appeared to be a spat of kidnappings in the Morgan City area. The disappearances of Gordon Mark Cannella and Bridget Cantrell Sons were mentioned in conjunction with Mary Leah Rodermund as was the disappearance of Bertha Gould. Robert Hohenberger is mentioned as a possible link to these cases in journalist coverage.

Mary Leah Rodermund may be among the Jane Does of America. Accordingly, it's important to note what she was in possession of. She may have had the following articles when she disappeared: a brown shirt and sweater, khaki pants, brown loafer-type shoes, a burgundy purse, and a gold chain necklace. These items can be useful in expediting a match if the missing person is in a Jane Doe database. Unidentified persons are often profiled in conjunction with items or clothing that they were last in possession of.

Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) 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.