Mary Crupper was 47 when she left her Wichita home about 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 8, 1979, intending to make a quick trip to the local grocery store. Her white 1973 Ford station wagon was later found abandoned near 10th and Cleveland; a witness said they saw a man parking that vehicle there around 10:00 p.m. the night she disappeared.

Her body was found in a field on September 12, 1979. Investigators determined she had been strangled and believe she was killed shortly after being abducted the night she went missing. The clothing she was wearing when found differed from what she had been wearing when she left for the store.

Police received reports of a suspicious man seen at the grocery store and following women at a farmer’s market the same day. He was described as in his thirties, balding in the middle with brownish hair combed back on the sides, wearing dark-rimmed glasses, and driving a brown 1972 or 1973 four-door Maverick with chrome trim. No arrests have been announced and the case remains unsolved with the Wichita Police Department.

If anyone knew Mary, saw her car that night, or has information about the man or the Maverick, please share what is known.