FL FL - Donna Mullen, 37, Jacksonville Beach, 19 July 1986

[Gardener1850]

Case File 1525DFFL

Donna Geneve Mullen
Missing since July 19, 1986 from Jacksonville Beach, Duval County, Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing
AKA: Donna South, Duck

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Vital Statistics

• 
  [*]Date Of Birth: November 29, 1948
  [*]Age at Time of Disappearance: 37 years old
  [*]Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1"; 110 lbs.
  [*]Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes. Wears reading glasses; pierced ears; medium complexion.
  [*]Marks, Scars: Hysterectomy scar.
• Tattoos: A black "panther" on back of left shoulder; two red "hearts" with the letter "K" in black ink in the middle of the hearts on top of right wrist.

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Circumstances of Disappearance
Mullen was last seen at her residence in the vicinity of the 700 block of N. Second St. in Jacksonville Beach, Florida on July 19, 1986.

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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Jacksonville Beach Police Department
904-270-1661
Agency Case Number: 2704-86
NCIC Number: M-644775391
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
National Center for Missing Adults

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1525dffl.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26092/

 

[isluuth]

Maybe NamUs/doenetwork: UP11112 / 19UFGA?


The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

19UFGA

 

[Murkywaters]

Cold Case Spotlight: Donna Mullen - Project: Cold Case

Candy Lynn Sharp and April Jolicouer have continuously sought justice for their mother, Donna Geneve Mullen. The 33 years since her disappearance have been difficult on the sisters, struggling to move forward under the weight of not knowing the truth. “I still think about it every day, and it’s very hard not knowing what happened,” Candy stoically shares.

Donna Mullen was a beloved mother, friend, and citizen of the Jacksonville Beach community. She had strong ties to the beaches, working at the historic Ritz beach bar while juggling motherhood and maintaining close relationships with those around her.

Candy described her mother as “a sweet woman” who would “do anything for anyone and would help whenever anyone asked.”

 

[alb1on]

I assume she was divorced from Harry W Mullen (who she married in 1970 in Ohio according to Ancestry) and that he is of no relevance to this case? She was previously married to James Eldon Crafton which was the marriage that produced the daughters.
Update: found the Mullen divorce from 1974. I assume she did not marry again since she continued to use the Mullen name.

In her marriage records Donna is listed as Donna Geneva, not Donna Geneve.

 

[MimosaMornings]

There is very little information, so perhaps a timeline with pertinent information would be helpful? I’m going to try and piece together items from articles and member posts. Feel free to add/correct/etc.

Donna Geneve/Geneva (her maiden name?)
married James Eldon Crafton.
Unknown date of marriage/divorce

During this marriage, Donna has daughters.
Candy Lynn Sharp
April Jolicouer
Other daughters? since Candy references her mom when sober would bring her “sisters” to visit.
Candy mentions being adopted by family in Ohio.
April in Kentucky? Perhaps adopted or married? Unknown

Donna marries Harry W Mullen in 1970, divorced 1974.

Donna and boyfriend spent a weekend in Ohio on the way to Michigan to buy a motorcycle. Stop in Kentucky to see April on the way home. June 1986

July 19, 1986 - reported missing.
Who reported her missing?

Did they buy a new motorcycle? Was it for Donna or her boyfriend?

Was her boyfriend a member of a motorcycle club?

When was cocaine found on her motorcycle? Before or after his disappearance?

Why do they suspect “a drug deal gone bad”? Because of what they found on her bike? I wouldn’t suspect that unless Donna and/or her boyfriend were known drug users/dealers.

 

[alb1on]

I can fill a few details. Donna married James Eldon Crafton circa 1966 as, in her divorce record from 1970, it gives the duration of the marriage as 4 years. He obtained the divorce for 'gross neglect of duty', which presumably related to her known problems. They seem to have had 3 daughters from records on Ancestry;

• April Lee Crafton
• Candy Lynn Crafton
• Dawn Michelle Crafton

The divorce record only gives 2 daughters, presumably as Candy was adopted out, as mentioned in the link in #3 above.

 

[MimosaMornings]

• 
  Laws permit a spouse to divorce his wife or her husband for gross neglect or dereliction of marital duties. Spouses have certain obligations to one another under the law. Failing to perform those obligations, or neglecting a duty, is a ground for divorce.
  
  Marital duties include fidelity toward one another, engaging in sexual relations and participating in the care and raising of children. For example, a husband will be granted a divorce on these grounds where his wife abused credit cards, took out a second mortgage on the house to pay them off, and refused to cook or clean, because, taken as a whole, the wife was grossly neglectful.
  
  

 

[Al Ka]

UNSOLVED: The 1986 disappearance of Donna Mullen

The wait for answers is never easy. Just ask the surviving daughters of Donna Mullen.

"We just need this closure, we need to know where she is," said Candy Sharp, as she holds her mother's picture.

Pictures and memories are all Candy Sharp and April Jolicoeur have left of her. It was June of 1986 the last time Sharp saw her mother, who had made a trip out to visit her in Ohio alongside her boyfriend.
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Just a month later, Mullen was reported as missing by her sister to the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. The last time anybody could remember seeing her was after she left work at the Ritz Bar on July 19, 1986.

"After that, nobody knows," said Detective Justin Thompson, with the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.
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Mullen was a bartender at the Ritz Bar in Jacksonville Beach in 1986, and police say there's nothing to indicate that she had any enemies, and her belongings were all still found undisturbed in her apartment. Yet, people were not forthcoming with information for detectives back then, a struggle the family has endured too.

Sharp says she had her mother’s address book and wrote a letter to every person in it, asking if they had any information about where her mother could be. She didn’t get a single reply.

UNSOLVED: The 1986 disappearance of Donna Mullen

 

[Al Ka]

Donna Mullen was a beloved mother, friend, and citizen of the Jacksonville Beach community. She had strong ties to the beaches, working at the historic Ritz beach bar while juggling motherhood and maintaining close relationships with those around her.

Candy described her mother as “a sweet woman” who would “do anything for anyone and would help whenever anyone asked.”

Donna fought her fair share of demons. Her daughters share stories of their mother’s struggle with alcohol addiction and even a bout of tuberculosis. “When sober, she would come and visit me. She would bring my sisters to visit,” Candy recalled
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On July 19, 1986, Donna Mullen was reported missing. She had last been seen by a neighbor near her home on North 2nd Street in Jacksonville Beach.

Donna was 37 years old at the time, 5 foot 1 inch tall, with brown hair, and blue eyes. The mother of three had affectionately been known as “Duck” due to the noticeable waddle in her stride.

Donna had a few distinctive tattoos, including a black panther on her left shoulder and two red hearts with a black “K” on her right wrist. She also had pierced ears and a scar from a hysterectomy on her abdomen.
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Candy said many of her family members suspected Donna may have been a victim of a “drug deal gone bad.” Donna’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle had been found with cocaine on board.
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Donna and her boyfriend at the time spent a weekend in Ohio before traveling to Michigan to buy a new Harley. They then swung by Russellville, Kentucky, to visit April before returning to Jacksonville.

Cold Case Spotlight: Donna Mullen - Project: Cold Case

 

[Al Ka]

Donna Geneve Mullen

• Missing Since 07/19/1986
• Missing From Jacksonville Beach, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 11/29/1948 (71)
• Age 37 years old
• Height and Weight 5'1, 110 pounds
• Medical Conditions Mullen has an unspecified medical condition.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Mullen's nickname is Duck. She may use the last name South. She wears eyeglasses for reading. Mullen has a black panther tattooed on the back of her left shoulder, and a tattoo of two red hearts with a black initial "K" in the middle on the top of her right wrist. Her ears are pierced. She has a hysterectomy scar on her abdomen.

Details of Disappearance
Mullen was last seen at her residence in the vicinity of the 700 block of north Second Street in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. She has never been heard from again. After her disappearance her belongings were found undisturbed inside her apartment.

At the time of her disappearance, Mullen was a bartender at Ritz Bar in Jacksonville Beach. She had no known enemies. Few details are available in her case, but foul play is suspected.

Donna Geneve Mullen – The Charley Project

 

[Al Ka]

Donna Geneve Mullen

(click on the photo to enlarge)

This might be the one of the more recent photos prior to her disappearance (source of the photo her NamUs)

Eyewear - Wears Reading Glasses

Jewelry - Gold ring, cracked near top, rose (flower) engraved upon it. Wider towards the top, narrow towards the bottom.

NamUs profile #MP26092 - The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[theshadow45]

Donna has been missing for 35 years today.

 

[alb1on]

The aka of Donna South is her maiden name. Both family trees and the birth record of her daughter April (on Ancestry) confirm this. Attached to one tree is the interesting note;
"Believed to have died in Tampa, Florida, buried under a Jane Doe."
There is no indication as to why this is believed or why Tampa, given the home address in Jacksonville.

 

[JnRyan]

The Charley Project updated her case on 6 Feb 2022. Photo and jewelry description added.
Donna Geneve Mullen – The Charley Project

 

[theshadow45]

Donna has been missing for 37 years this month.

 

[theshadow45]

Donna has been missing for 38 years today.