Carla Beth Anderson
Missing since November 13, 1987 from Wadena, Minnesota
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 23 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'11"; 80 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; brown eyes.
Clothing: A brown and orange Hardees jacket; pink tennis shoes.
Medical: Mildly mentally challenged
Circumstances of Disappearance
At the time of her disappearance Carla, had just leant that she would be named the employee of the month at her job at Hardees. That night she went out to eat with her mother, and stepfather to celebrate. They ate at Taco Johns, and stopped on the way back to Carlas apartment to pick up a couple of movies she planned to watch that night.
Her parents dropped Carla off that Friday night, and made plans to have Carla come to the cabin the family was building on Sunday to help stain some wood. In return, her mother was going to do Carlas hair so it would look nice Monday morning for her employee of the month photo. The parents dropped Carla off around 7:30 or 8 p.m. that night, at her apartment at Greenwood Apartments in Wadena, and never saw her again.
Carla had a cup of pop she took with her from Taco Johns, she drank that and she watched one movie. The video cassette was still in the VCR. The pop was consumed.
Nothing was disturbed in her apartment, and only her keys were missing. Her purse was still there. Carlas brown and orange Hardees jacket was also missing from the apartment. Carlas door was locked from the outside.
A fire burned on the edge of town that night, one that would have been visible from her apartment on the northwest side of the building. One theory is Carla may have grabbed her jacket and keys and walked down to observe the fire up close. From there, someone could have grabbed her.
Another incident that night involved the theft of a car from the neighborhood near where Carla lived. A brown Plymouth Horizon was stolen a couple of blocks from Greenwood Apartments. It was never located.
The police followed every tip. A search committee went out looking to find Carla. A WCCO helicopter was used to search from the air. It was deer hunting weekend when Carla disappeared, and hunters were alerted to be on the lookout for Carla.
Carla's parents think someone Carla was acquainted with came to the apartment and convinced her to leave with him (or them.) The parents remembered two boys who would harass Carla, visiting her apartment and knocking on her windows from the outside.
Her parents did not know Carla was missing until. Monday, 3 days later, when she failed to show up for work. The whole family took polygraph tests, which they passed. The boyfriend was also questioned and cleared.
Foul play is suspected.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Wadena Police Department
Sergeant/Investigator Tom Crawford
218-631-7700
Source Information:
Wadena PJ
The Doe Network: Case File 2460DFMN
LINK:
2460DFMN - Carla Beth Anderson