LA LA - Wilda Mae Benoit, 14, Creole, 23 July 1992

[SpanishMossAntiques]

She was missing for so long that they most likely had her declared deceased - much like in the Jennifer Kesse case (her family waited 7 years, after which they appealed to the court to have her declared officially dead). From what I can tell, she nor her body have ever been found...

I wonder if that is confirmed or assumed?

This case bothers me.

I asked 2 locals who should have heard of this girl and didn't.

I'm not sure she ever made it out of the area.

She would have needed help..........a car, clothes.

Who helped her?

 

[Moonwalker9]

Details of Disappearance
Wilda was last seen at her family's residence in Creole, Louisiana on July 23, 1992. She had just been released from the hospital after a shoulder injury and was under heavy sedation at the time. She has never been heard from again. Authorities initially classified her case as a runaway, but her family never believed she left of her own accord.

Wilda may have traveled to Florida after her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved; few details are available.

Sounds like whoever put her in the hospital the first place made sure she wouldn't come back a a second time.

 

[ap_troy]

I wonder if that is confirmed or assumed?

This case bothers me.

I asked 2 locals who should have heard of this girl and didn't.

I'm not sure she ever made it out of the area.

She would have needed help..........a car, clothes.

Who helped her?

Hi. I used to live across the street from Wilda Mae -- and lived there when she disappeared. Keep in mind across the street in the country involves long driveways and a couple ditches.

The area of SW Louisiana we grew up in was devastated by Hurricane Rita in the mid-2000's. Most of the people who would have been local left and didn't come back after. So many of the current locals wouldn't have been in the area when Wilda Mae disappeared.

The area we lived in was surrounded by marshes. If she'd been highly medicated and wandered out of the house in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping she could have very easily gotten a good distance from her home and encountered an alligator or other wild animals such as coyotes. We lost more than one cat to coyotes in the area.

There was nothing unusual in our neighborhood during the time she disappeared and whether her step-dad had a temper or not, we never heard anything where we were. While it was a rural area there were many houses in that area and we would have heard screaming or loud fighting and if anyone in the area had seen her being beat on someone would have called CPS.

A lot of us who knew her in school still wonder about her and hope she did run away and is living happy somewhere. But honestly the more years that go by most of us tend to believe she wandered off in the night while on the pain meds from her surgery and had something bad happen to her.

 

[JnRyan]

The updated link to the Charley Project:
Wilda Mae Benoit – The Charley Project

 

[CajunFBI]

The updated link to the Charley Project:
Wilda Mae Benoit – The Charley Project

If the family or friends wanted us to, we could take up the case at the next Cold Case Conference in Mamou July 12/13, 2019. No charge.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bump

 

[Sleuth91]

Bumping this thread for Wilda Mae.

 

[Sleuth91]

A photo of Wilda Mae that I enhanced. I'm including the original so you can see the difference.

 

[saralaspirit]

I am Wilda Mae's cousin, Sara (Benoit).I am still looking for her. Her sisters are still looking for her. Since the case is still opened I can not get any information from the Cameron Parish Sheriffs Department. I had contacted NamUs to submit DNA just in case her remains are out there somewhere, just waiting to be named. If anyone can help in anyway feel free to contact me. Thank you all for keeping her name circulating.

 

[SpanishMossAntiques]

I am Wilda Mae's cousin, Sara (Benoit).I am still looking for her. Her sisters are still looking for her. Since the case is still opened I can not get any information from the Cameron Parish Sheriffs Department. I had contacted NamUs to submit DNA just in case her remains are out there somewhere, just waiting to be named. If anyone can help in anyway feel free to contact me. Thank you all for keeping her name circulating.

Do you have any idea of why authorities believe Wilda may have gone to Florida? Did she have relatives there? A boyfriend? Friends? Etc???

 

[saralaspirit]

No family there, there was a friend of hers that mentioned that she may have gone to Florida. Heresay. That is all they went off of for years, which is why she was classified as a Runaway for years. She had an older boyfriend but as far as family and police say, he didn't leave at the time she went missing. And unfortunately I am not a close enough relative DNA wise, according to NamUs to submit. I will ask both of her sisters if they are willing, but its a very hard subject for them.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping Wilda's case up to the top with her NamUs profile:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[dotr]

VIDEO

Cold Case: disappearance of Wilda Mae Benoit

The latest weather, news, and sports in Southwest Louisiana.

www.kplctv.com

Dec 27 2022 by By Jade Moreau

Cold Case: disappearance of Wilda Mae Benoit

7News investigates the disappearance of Wilda Mae Benoit.

www.kplctv.com

''Cameron, LA (KPLC) - 7News investigates the disappearance of Wilda Mae Benoit.

Down in the deep south all the way down in Cameron Parish. It’s the year 1992, with population at just over 9,000 people.

It’s an otherwise untouched marsh, but in the quiet, secrets lie in the shadows.

“Wilda Mae if you’re out there, would you please call your mother,” Brenda Smith said.''

“She was a typical 14-year-old. She was into makeup, going to football games, just whatever a 14-year-old girl in high school does,” Smith said.

On July 23, 1992, Wilda Mae was last seen at her home in Creole.

Detectives with the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office said Benoit was living with her aunt and uncle at the time. She was last seen in her bedroom by her uncle later that evening.''

“She had to leave with someone because she wasn’t going to leave by herself,” Smith said.

Wilda Mae Benoit has not been heard from since that July night in 1992. She would now be 44 years old. She has brown hair and blue eyes.''
Wilda Mae was last seen wearing black and white shorts with a green long-sleeved shirt that had a navy-blue design on the bottom of the shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 337-775-5111.''

 

[dotr]

Bumping Wilda's case up to the top with her NamUs profile:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Facial/case IDUploaded: January 12, 2010--


Age progressionUploaded: January 12, 2010--


Age progressionUploaded: March 24, 2011Wilda's photo is shown age-progressed to 32 years (1/28/2010)


Age progressionUploaded: October 12, 2015Wilda's photo is shown age-progressed to 37 years. (AP completed 05/28/2015)
Missing Age14 Years
Current Age44 Years
First NameWilda Mae
Middle Name--
Last NameBenoit
Nickname/Alias--

SexFemale
Height5' 0" (60 Inches)
Weight100 lbs
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian''

 

[Maddmama19]

Bumping this post in hopes someone with information will help solve this case.

 

[dotr]

wilda mae benoit missing - Google Search

 

[FindingSabrina]

Link to her father's obit: Thomas Gary Benoit

His obit lists her as living. Ancestry lists her date of death as July 23, 1992.
It's probably nothing, but I figured it was worth noting.

Does anyone know why she was living with her aunt and uncle and if her uncle was suspected?

 

[Caring1]

Bump

6 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[spartanx]

I have the impression that she had planned to go to Florida but that somewhere or at some point she was either kidnapped and murdered or she met someone she trusted and fell into a dirty game...
but as the neighbor says further up where she lived it was a part of the countryside with different elements such as wild animals or dangerous places... maybe she is still in the area waiting to be found...
either way
rest in peace

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Wilda Mae Benoit – The Charley Project