Bonnie Elzora Brashers, 50, was last seen at her Freedom, California, home the morning of September 16, 1963. A daughter spoke with her at 9:30 a.m.; by the time the children returned from school that afternoon she was gone. Bonnie left behind all personal belongings, including her reading glasses and all three family vehicles. Four of nine children still lived at home then.

Her husband Nathaniel Nathan Brashers, 61, told the children she had walked down the road and not returned; he disappeared the next day leaving $77, a note to the children and his dentures. His initial disappearance prompted a murder-suicide theory and an extensive search. Nathan was found and taken into custody on October 5, 1963, denied killing Bonnie and said he had gone to Oregon to work. He was charged with deserting his two minor daughters and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Nathan had a prior violent history, including a 1958 killing that a grand jury declined to indict and a 1980 shooting charge.

Bonnie was described as 5 feet 7 inches, 170 pounds, brown hair, blue eyes, with a mole between her breasts, a healed fracture on her lower right arm near the wrist, and recently recovering from a hernia operation. The case remains unsolved and Bonnie is classified as an endangered missing person. Anyone who knew Bonnie, her family, or saw her in Freedom around September 16, 1963 is asked to share information.