Virginia C. Douglas, 69, disappeared on September 2, 1988, during what her husband, Frank E. Douglas Sr., described as an impromptu Labor Day weekend trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. Frank said they stopped at the Reny’s Shopping Plaza in Belfast so Virginia could use the restroom; he reported that she went into the department store and never returned. Investigators could not locate witnesses who saw Virginia at the shopping center that evening.

Details that prompted suspicion included Frank buying women’s lingerie in Virginia’s size at the Reny’s (items later found in her suitcase), and his return to the store about an hour later, telling a clerk it was an omen for her return. Searches of the couple’s Massachusetts home turned up a piece of carpet with stains matching Virginia’s blood type and a clump of her hair under a doorstep. Family members said Virginia would not have left home in the condition it was found, and a child was due to arrive at 9:30 p.m. the night Frank said they left at 8:30 p.m.

No charges were ever filed. Many investigators suspect Virginia was killed at the Massachusetts home and that the Maine disappearance was fabricated. The case remains unsolved and open; anyone with information about Virginia or that night is asked to come forward.