Mary Lou Boston, 23, was last seen in Sacramento, California, on September 1, 1968. Her brother reported her missing after her husband, Silas Duane Boston, refused to get involved; family say the disappearance was out of character for a devoted mother of three.

Suspicion centered on Silas. Relatives reported a .22 caliber rifle that was one of his prized possessions disappeared around the same time, and they say he later told acquaintances he had shot Mary and buried her in a remote part of Northern California. Silas was later charged in an unrelated double homicide at sea in 1978; he never faced trial for Mary’s disappearance and died in 2017. Mary’s body has never been found and foul play is strongly suspected.

The Sacramento Police Department is still seeking information that could clarify what happened. If anyone knew Mary, her movements in late summer 1968, or has information about Silas’s activities or the missing rifle, please come forward.