On July 12, 1991 Salem resident Martha Brailsford agreed to go for a sail with her neighbor Thomas Maimoni. They sailed from Salem Willows out into the ocean 2-3 miles off Gloucester. The next morning Maimoni returned and claimed a rogue wave had washed Martha off the boat, and he searched all night for her and found no trace. For six days police boats searched and found no sign of her. One of the investigators called Salem psychic and witch, Laurie Cabot. She asked for the victim's name, location, and date of birth. She then went into her "alpha state" and had a vision. She saw Martha on a boat with Maimoni and claimed he made sexual advances towards her. When she rebuffed him he became angry and grabbed her, dragged her across the deck, picked up a blunt object and struck her on the head. After that, he tied an anchor to her legs and a weight to her waist, and threw her overboard. Laurie told investigators Martha's body was still anchored underwater. She claimed it was near a small offshore island with a lighthouse in view. After eight days, and within hours of Laurie's vision a lobsterman found Martha's body attached to one of his traps. As predicted, an anchor was tied to her foot, and a diving belt was around her waist. The location was exactly as Laurie had described. It was just off Children's Island (formerly Cat Island) at the mouth of Marblehead Harbor. Soon after Martha's body was found Maimoni disappeared. Again, investigators went to Laurie Cabot. She sensed he had shaved off his mustache and was planning to go to Canada. Three days later a police officer in a small Maine town close to the Canadian border was called to investigate a cabin where neighbors had seen an unfamiliar car. The cabin was supposed to be vacant, but there were signs of forced entry. Inside, he found Maimoni, and just as Laurie had predicted he had shaved off his mustache, and was planning to go to Canada. Thomas Maimoni was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. In 2017 he died in prison. Investigators believed Laurie Cabot had a hand in bringing Maimoni to justice. If Googled, you will find lots of information on this incident. At the time, it was all everyone could talk about here on the North Shore.
Take-aways and things to keep in mind from this incident (other than the obvious: How well do you really know your neighbors, and never ever get on a boat alone with someone unless you really, really, really know them), are things which might explain or help in the search for Abbie Flynn, and they are: In the ocean a body can sometimes eventually be found miles from where it entered, depending mainly upon weather conditions, currents and tides. In addition, during Chief Conley's podcast with JC someone asked if LE had thought about bringing in a psychic. CC seemed to indicate he would not be adverse to bringing in a "swami" (his word) if it would help. In 1991 Salem LE was not adverse to getting in touch with Laurie Cabot and taking advantage of her psychic abilities in the Brailsford disappearance. In fact, they gave her a lot of credit when the case finally came to a conclusion.
Laurie Cabot is, I believe, still alive and living in Salem. She has been a legend in this area for years. She would be about 88-89 yrs. now. She may not still be using her psychic abilities, but she surely had apprentices. At this point, I think it might be something for Gloucester LE to consider with regard to Abbie Flynn's disappearance. Especially, before too much more time passes.