WA WA - Mary Frances Hunter, 35, Oak Harbor, 1 September 1996

sasha17

Curiouser & curiouser
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
2,582
Reaction score
9,910
Mary Frances Hunter (also called "Fran" or "Francine") was last seen by a member outside of her immediate family on Sunday, September 1, 1996 at her residence at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, WA. Mary left behind two children, a husband, her dog, and vehicle.

mary_frances_hunter_1.jpg
mary_frances_hunter_2.jpg
mary_frances_hunter_4.jpg


NamUs #MP4476 - The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

"She took no credit cards, clothes, money, or her driver's license, and she left a significant amount of cash in her bank account. [Her husband] Derek reported her as a missing person to authorities on September 3, 1996, two days after she was last seen. After her disappearance, he claimed that Mary was withdrawing money from her bank account at ATMs, but security cameras at the ATMs showed Derek withdrawing the funds using Mary's ATM card. Derek also took Mary's name off of his insurance policy and attempted to do the same with their jointly owned vehicles, so he could sell them."
Mary Frances Hunter – The Charley Project
 
Last edited:
"Her husband, Navy Lt. Derek Hunter, told police he last saw her at the Cascade Mall in Burlington Sept. 2, 1996.The investigation into her mysterious disappearance – which has involved the Navy Criminal Investigative Service, Burlington police, the FBI and even TV’s Unsolved Mysteries – led agents to the woods near officer’s Capehart housing on the NAS Whidbey Seaplane Base early this year. But her body was never found."

http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/cold-cases-unsolved-murders-disappearances-haunt-island/
 
7 years to the date of Mary's disappearance, her husband, Derek Hunter, killed himself.

"Mary Frances Hunter -- a disappearance that led to a maddening multiple-agency murder investigation, with Lieutenant Hunter as the prime suspect. Homicide cases with no bodies are legal hair-pullers, and this one came with few clues, a tangle of hearsay, nagging questions and an uncooperative suspect. [Derek] Hunter was chased, but never charged..."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Google Groups

"He was treated for depression, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder in the years after his retirement, and suffered from fainting spells and occasional episodes of amnesia. He left several notes, including one which stated that Mary had committed suicide and at her request he would never reveal the location of her body. Investigators believe Derek, who is described as a possessive and controlling husband, may have murdered Mary."

Mary Frances Hunter – The Charley Project
 
Last edited:
Could someone please list her exclusions?
Just did a quick search. Does anyone have thoughts regarding:

NamUs #UP5691

or

NamUs #UP11755

It sounds like LE really tried to resolve her case, though...
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
149
Guests online
3,836
Total visitors
3,985

Forum statistics

Threads
593,896
Messages
17,995,178
Members
229,276
Latest member
SeymourMann
Back
Top