Flora Vesta Smith Helmick, 53, vanished on August 3, 1973, after leaving Bridgewater, Virginia, with her sister Martha Helmick and their employer John Keyton. The three were driving Keyton’s light green 1967 Ford Fairlane toward a family reunion in Dabolt, Kentucky. Flora was mentally disabled, had difficulty speaking, and was recovering from a back injury sustained in a prior car crash. They stopped briefly in Monterey, Virginia, then continued and were not seen again.

In 2016 a submerged, rusted 1967 Ford Fairlane was found in the Kentucky River near the Valley View Ferry; human remains were inside. DNA testing identified those remains in 2021 as Martha Helmick. Investigators concluded the trio likely drove into the river and were killed in the accident. The remains of Flora Helmick and John Keyton have not been recovered.

If anyone knew Flora, Martha, or John, or remembers the car or that 1973 route, please share information that might still help fill remaining gaps.