The parents of a Virginia girl who disappeared at age 15 found a note on the missing girl’s bed, but nearly 25 years later, its author remains a mystery.
Jennifer Pandos was reported missing from Williamsburg in February 1987.
Pandos’ mother went to wake her up, but found the bedroom door locked, said Melinda Stevens, director of the missing children’s division for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Both of the girl’s parents then forced their way into the room and found the girl gone.
There was a handwritten note on the bed. Stevens said it initially appeared to have been written by Pandos, but law enforcement officials now believe it was written by someone else. Police have also guessed that the teenager, who was left-handed, might have written the note with her right hand, the Newport News Daily Press reported in 2007.
“We wish we did know who wrote that letter,” Stevens said.
The note told Pandos’ parents that they would hear from her and should not call the police. They waited to report her missing, but called authorities when she didn’t call or return the next day.
Stevens said it’s unknown whether foul play was involved in the girl’s disappearance.
The Daily Press reported that Pandos’ disappearance is the oldest open missing-person case in that region.
At the time she went missing, Pandos was white, about 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds, according to NCMEC. She had shoulder-length brown hair that was sometimes permed and had hazel eyes. She has a small mole on her left shoulder.
She was last seen wearing a pink sweater, blue jeans, a jacket and high-top tennis shoes, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Anyone with information is asked to call NCMEC at 800-THE-LOST (843-5678).
