There seems to be an interest concerning the car of the missing subject. Past cases involving missing cars have usually resulted in the vehicles being found in a body of water, or in thick vegetation. Harriman was looking for water-front property along Texas' southern coast, so it is more likely that is the status of her vehicle. Not every case is nefarious though every missing person case we investigate is treated as a crime until proven otherwise.

Thanks for raising this — the vehicle is definitely a key piece. In a number of missing-person cases, cars are eventually located in bodies of water or in areas with heavy vegetation, and given she was scouting property toward the coast, that’s one possibility investigators consider. At the same time, we can’t rule anything in or out without evidence. Like you said, we treat missing-person cases as potential crimes until facts prove otherwise, and we encourage anyone with specific information about Tot or her Lincoln (rose quartz 1995 Continental, FL plate TOTSY) to report it.

Tot Tran Harriman, 57, was last seen July 12, 2001, in League City, Texas, while visiting family. She left her son’s house about 5:00 a.m. to look at properties along Highway 35 between League City and Corpus Christi, driving a rose quartz-colored 1995 Lincoln Continental with personalized Florida plates reading TOTSY. A friend’s call at 8:30 a.m. went to voicemail, but by 10:30 a.m. calls were going straight to voicemail, suggesting the phone had been turned off.

Tot never arrived at her planned destination and her family reported her missing later that day; the car has never been found. There were unconfirmed sightings of Tot and the vehicle in the weeks afterward, and authorities have said they suspect foul play. A sketch of a potential suspect was released, but no clear link has been established and no substantial evidence has emerged.

If anyone saw Tot or that Lincoln in July 2001 along Highway 35 or nearby, please share what was observed.