Delores Jeane Wilkerson-Nicely, known as Jeannie, was 40 when she vanished from Newcomerstown, Ohio, in spring 1985. She was last seen at work, Don’s Deli and Donuts, on April 23. A missing persons report was filed April 25, the same day her car was found abandoned on Linton Township Rd. 144, driven up to an abandoned bridge and backed into position with the license plates removed.

Investigators found a tire between the front and back seats and blood consistent with Delores’s blood type on the back seat, a side panel, the floor, and a blanket. A spot of blood matching Delores was also found on her husband Donald Lee Nicely’s trousers. After his arrest, he made a recorded jail call discussing changing tires, concern about his sister turning over his trousers, and worry about his wife’s body being found. Searches of the house, the car site, a nearby river, and a family farm did not locate her remains.

Donald Nicely was convicted of Delores’s murder and received a 15 years to life sentence; he later died in prison. Delores’s body has never been recovered.