On the evening of July 28, 1973, 79-year-old Mary Oliva and her husband of 52 years, Frank, were seen returning to their Wilber, Nebraska, home between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Seconds later neighbors reported the couple driving off in their beige 1958 Chevrolet, heading north then east; that was the last confirmed sighting.

A week later their daughter-in-law Shirley found newspapers and milk accumulating at the house and entered through a closed but unlocked front door. The home showed no signs of disturbance, but Mary’s purse and necessary medications were left behind. Mary had recent dental surgery and suffered heart problems, high blood pressure and memory issues; Frank had been her primary caregiver and had said he opposed nursing home placement. In the weeks before they vanished Frank bought a Kansas-Nebraska road map, which was unusual for the couple.

Investigators and the family came to believe Frank may have decided to end both their lives and possibly driven the Chevrolet into a local water-filled sandpit; searches and later efforts, including a 2021 sonar search, did not locate the car or the couple. Seven years after their disappearance they were declared legally dead. Does anyone in the Wilber area remember seeing the Olivas or that beige 1958 Chevrolet around July 28, 1973?