On the evening of January 13, 2009, 45-year-old Lynn Miller Stafford-Yilmaz, a Bellevue resident and English as a Second Language educator, drove her Ford Windstar minivan onto the M/V Puyallup ferry at Coleman Dock in Seattle for the 10:55 p.m. crossing to Bainbridge Island. When the ferry arrived, her van was found abandoned on the car deck and she was nowhere to be found. Her purse, keys and a cup of coffee were later located on an upper passenger deck, and witnesses placed her at the terminal and on board during the trip.

An extensive search of the waters between Seattle and Bainbridge Island involved the U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter and boat, Seattle Police Harbor Patrol, the Seattle Fire Department and Bainbridge Island’s marine unit, but no trace of her was recovered and the active search was suspended. Washington State Patrol detectives later said they found no evidence of foul play or criminal activity. Her husband reported a vague note that led the family to consider the possibility of suicide, though authorities have not officially classified the case.

Why was she on that ferry instead of the library where the family thought she should have been, and does anyone remember seeing her on board that night?