Identified! GA - Newton, WhtFem 522UFGA, 25-30, red white & blue bandanna, May'85 Mary Anga "Angie" Cowan

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There are a few local articles about Mary's identification where the reporters spoke to her daughter, Angelique. She lives in Orlando, so she didn't move far from where they originally lived in Apopka. It's all very sad, she was the oldest of all four kids Mary had and she was just 10 when Mary disappeared in 1985.

Here's one article: Authorities in Georgia identify remains as Florida woman who disappeared in 1985
 
I couldn't find anywhere online on what day in May she disappeared so we don't know how long she was missing before she was found May 24, 1985 or the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Her Find A Grave website states she fell from a moving taker truck so apparently there was a witness? Also, it's pretty hard to 'fall' out of a semi going 55 mph unless you purposely jumped out to escape a perceived threat or were pushed out. It's also possible she was 'on' the truck when she fell.

Her Find a Grave website states:

Angie left her home in May of 1985 and her family did not hear from her again. But hundreds of people in Newton, Baker County, Georgia cared for her from the the 24th of May when she fell from a moving tanker truck on an Interstate until she died on July 1st.


A school teacher driving along Highway 91 near Colquitt Ford Road discovered the victim in a ditch, 15 miles south of Albany on May 24, 1985. She was alive but unconscious when discovered. She died eight days later from her injuries. A white pillow was by her side. Investigators believe she was either thrown or fell from a vehicle, possibly the back of a truck. There was no indication that she had been raped or attacked.

Doenetwork page:

 
Do we know if she had a missing persons case file in NamUs?
I don't know, but she doesn't seem to have a missing thread on here, just a Doe thread.

I don't recall if news articles from her identification mentioned whether she was ever reported missing. If she was never reported, she may not have had a NamUs.
 
I don't know, but she doesn't seem to have a missing thread on here, just a Doe thread.

I don't recall if news articles from her identification mentioned whether she was ever reported missing. If she was never reported, she may not have had a NamUs.
She was reported missing in northern Florida. Her case never made it to NAMUS or the media besides a single article six months or so after her disappearance.
 


He couldn't remember the date or the name of the road, but Daniel recalled it was a sandy road and his mom's yellow Toyota was stuck in the sand. He said he had called a friend to come over and help her get it out of the sand. He said the friend told his mom they couldn't get over that night, so it wasn't until the next day the family showed up to the house.

Daniel recalled they saw his mom's car outside. However, there was no sign of her inside or outside. He remembers them finding her purse and ID on the counter, there was food on the stove -- things appeared as if she had just ran out for a quick minute and would be returning home soon.

According to her son's account, the car couldn't have gotten stuck too far from their home if he recalled that it was a sandy road. He said he called a friend to help her get it out of the sand and the friend obviously talked to his mother, Mary Cowan, on the phone, which tells me she had walked home from where her car was stuck nearby.

Then, the car was outside their home by the next day, so, someone else had obviously helped his mother get the car home. Too bad there are no phone records to see who she had talked to to get help moving the car. (Daniel recalled they saw his mom's car outside.) They, meaning him and the family that came over to help.

So, she disappeared from the house that next day while she was cooking food. It appears whoever helped her get the car home is involved in her disappearance. There would be no reason for her to be found 500 miles away (actually 316 miles) with a head injury after disappearing from their home. IMO, whoever helped her get the car home is probably involved in her disappearance also. She had every intention of coming back to finish her cooking and keep an eye on her kids. She didn't just fall off a truck 500 miles away after she went missing from her home. Someone used a ruse to get her to go outside and it was probably someone she knew and trusted. Would an x-ray of her skull determine if the injury was sustained by a flat road surface or an object?

Remember, she was found on GA Highway 91 North in Newton, Georgia, going opposite of her home in Florida. She wasn't returning home, the person who took her was taking her away from her home.

The news articles all say she disappeared in May, 1985. They don't give the exact day or time she went missing in relation to her being found May 24, 1985. The news articles say she was found 500 miles away. Newton, GA is only 316 miles away from Seminole County, FL. That's a 5 hour drive. How did they mix that up?

I think they closed this case too early.
 
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Reading about the circumstances behind Angie's disappearance I am totally baffled. What the heck happened to this poor woman?
 
From what I've seen on Facebook, it looks like Mary's oldest daughter, Angelique, wants to keep her body in a condition that would allow for additional testing if needed. However, her sister and uncle, Mary's brother, want the body cremated and interred in an urn. They were supposed to travel to Georgia this week to visit Mary's grave, but... yeah. I didn't have time to read two long posts, but Angelique feels as if her sister and uncle went behind her back.
 
I have a suspicion that she was homeless or a transient (maybe both). As far as the pants, I know I write my kids names on the inside labels of their shirts and pants...but that is so nobody else from school and daycare mixes them up when there are activities that require a change of clothes. I never understood why adults would do this...but it is known to happen. Not impossible to believe the pants in this case were donated.
We would receive clothes with people’s names in them in the assisted living facility I worked at. Would help us make sure they got back to the correct resident
 

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