Diana Jane Braungardt was just a small town girl working in a Venture store. She finished her late night shift and vanished in thin air.
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Since that night, investigators have searched for links to serial killers and sent her DNA for comparison to numerous other states seeking a potential match to nameless bodies.
Despite their efforts, the mystery of what happened to Diana Braungardt on March 11, 1987, remains unsolved.
We don't expect Diana to show up at our door.
We know something bad happened.
-Jane Braungardt, Diana's mother
Diana, who the lived in the 800 block of west Main Street,
had mentioned to coworkers during her shift as a cashier that she needed to get home to study for a test, as the 18 year old was a senior at Festus High School. After her shift ended at 10 p.m. that night of March 11, 1987,
Diana Braungardt was excited about attending a modeling class that weekend.
She seemed to disappear from the Venture Store parking lot. Her car, the family's yellow 1982 Ford Escort, was the only thing found.
Authorities don't believe she ever made it to her car.
Her adoptive parents were at home the night she disappeared. They went to the store and saw their daughter's car on the lot and began calling her friends in the middle of the night. The following morning they filed a missing person report with Crystal City police.
Following Diana’s disappearance, a woman came forward with a statement that she had stopped in the Venture parking lot to change her baby’s diaper, and she believed she saw Diana speaking with an adult male. A sketch (included in the photos) was drawn up based on her description, and a store employee said that someone who resembled the sketch was the last customer to go through Diana’s checkout line. He's described as Caucasian, in his early twenties, about 5'10 tall with brown or black hair and a medium build. In 2007, they interviewed a local man whose appearance matched the sketch, and while he has not been named, "He hasn't given us a reason to clear him," said Crystal City Police Detective Mike Pruneau. That individual is currently in prison for an unrelated crime, and according to police, has not given them a reason to clear him.
Braungardt reportedly did not have a boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, but shortly before she went missing she had argued with her parents and stayed overnight with a friend. In that incident it was said that she had told her parents of her whereabouts. She was the daughter of a local pastor. Diana has never been located, and her parents died never learning her fate.
There is a $10,000 reward for information in this case.
This case was shown on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, which thanks to some awesomely helpful Facebook angels we have obtained and added to the post!
LITTLE ELSE IS KNOWN AT THIS TIME
Height: 5' 6" - 5' 7" (66 - 67 Inches)
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: NamUs lists as Blond/Strawberry and Dark Blonde however it appears brown in photos.
Scars/Marks: 3 small scars on forehead; V-shaped scar above right corner of mouth, pierced ears
Diana was reportedly carrying a off white cloth purse, and was wearing her work clothes (Venture Smock, Bright Turquoise pants, short black coat, white shirt with colored print, brown loafer shoes) at the time she went missing.
- Dentals: Available
- DNA: Available
NCIC Number: M-257182757
If you have any information please contact:
CRYSTAL CITY MISSOURI POLICE DEPARTMENT
PHONE: (636) 937-4601
AGENCY CASE NUMBER: 210F80
or
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