Phylis Ellen Lewellen, 36, vanished from her Kelso, Washington home on the night of December 27, 1996. She told her husband, Bill, she was going for a drive around 10:00 p.m. to get some peace of mind and left in his light blue 1981 Peugeot 505 sedan (Washington plate Q680494) because her pickup truck wasn’t working. She wore blue jeans, a white sweatshirt, a western-style coat, and rubber-soled slippers, and took her female Rottweiler with her — a dog she did not usually favor over the family’s Jack Russell Terrier. Her husband reported her missing 24 hours later.

The last confirmed activity was a written check at a location on Ocean Beach Highway; there were no further bank or credit card transactions. Early leads went nowhere, and a man briefly considered a suspect was ruled out because he was in custody the night she disappeared. In 2005 a photo of a woman at a motorcycle rally who resembled Phylis proved to be someone else. The Peugeot and the Rottweiler have never been recovered. Her husband later filed for divorce on grounds of abandonment nine months after she left, citing financial reasons.

Anyone who knew Phylis, saw that Peugeot after December 27, 1996, or has information about her disappearance is asked to come forward.