When someone goes missing, their loved ones usually contact the police and often join the search themselves. But how long do you keep looking? As months turn into years, and years into decades, both police and family may eventually stop searching, leaving the case as an unsolved mystery.
One such mystery from 42 years ago has finally been resolved—at least partially. Authorities have located the missing woman, but the reasons behind her disappearance and the details of her life over the past four decades remain unknown.
In the 1970s, a woman named Flora and a man named Robert worked at the same resort hotel, The Concord. They shared the same last name, Stevens, and were believed to be married. One day, Robert drove Flora to a nearby hospital for an appointment. When he returned to pick her up, she had vanished. He reported her missing, but no trace was ever found. Robert passed away in 1985, never learning what happened to his wife.
More than 40 years later, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an investigator looking into recently discovered skeletal remains. The investigator wanted to know if Flora had any living relatives to help with DNA identification.
While searching for family members, deputies uncovered something unexpected—they found Flora alive. She was living in an assisted care facility called CareOne. Due to dementia, she couldn’t share much about her past. Festus Mbuva, a staff member who cared for her, recalled, “To be honest, I don’t think she ever really wanted to be found. You can tell something happened in her past that she didn’t want any part of.” Her most common response when asked about her history was simply, “None of your business.”
Police suspect she may have left voluntarily. They know there was a bus station near the hospital and that she had recently been paid at the time, which could have given her the means to leave.
Although the case is technically closed, many questions will never be answered. For Sheriff Mike Schiff, that’s acceptable: “The main thing is that we know Flora is safe.”