Vivian Barrett, 63, was last seen January 3, 1989, in Sarasota, Florida, while traveling on a 1986 Honda motor scooter and supporting herself with Social Security. By late 1988 she was staying intermittently in state parks and camping in woods when money ran low. On January 3 she withdrew $260 from an ATM and wrote her family that she planned to travel north; that was the last contact her family had with her.

Five days later Barrett’s scooter was found abandoned along State Road 66 near Sebring, about 107 miles from Sarasota. The scooter showed signs of an accident, its license plate and a milk crate were missing, and her camping gear and personal belongings were not at the scene. There was no sign of Barrett herself. Reports note her confrontational nature and past statements about going into the woods if she became ill, so possibilities mentioned include foul play or an intentional disappearance into wilderness, but no conclusive evidence has emerged.

Does anyone who traveled State Road 66 or camped in that region in January 1989 remember seeing a lone scooter or camping gear that might be linked to Vivian Barrett?