DE DE - Anne Manchester, 26, Newark, 29 June 1980

[methodwriter85]

In case you guys were unaware, there's a podcast that talks about Anne's case, as well as a video from Dark Curiosities.

First State Unsolved: The Disappearance of Anne Manchester
Dark Curiosities: The Disappearance of Anne Manchester
It's still crazy to me to think that Anne's mother lived to be 93 years old. Imagine living for over 40 years without knowing what happened to your 26 year old daughter.

 

[Sweetluv]

I wonder if Anne was seeing someone new..that her friends and family didn't know about? I feel like she stepped outside for a minute, and planned to not leave the parking lot. Maybe this person was meeting her out front and something went wrong.

 

[methodwriter85]

I wonder if Anne was seeing someone new..that her friends and family didn't know about? I feel like she stepped outside for a minute, and planned to not leave the parking lot. Maybe this person was meeting her out front and something went wrong.

Very good possibility. Or someone who thought things were more serious than Anne thought. Maybe this person got ticked off about the male friend who had been at her home earlier that same day?
I've also always wondered about a Jennifer Kesse type situation. It was summer, so maybe there was some construction or maintenance going on around Anne's apartment?

 

[Sweetluv]

@methodwriter85 Good idea about a maintenance or construction worker in the complex.

 

[methodwriter85]

The area Anne disappeared from. Of course a lot has changed since 1980 but there is a fair amount of parks right by where she lived where she could have been buried in.

 

[Sweetluv]

Also, Villa Belmont Condos in Newark, DE borders Maryland. It's a stones throw to major highway I 95. These condos have a patio or balcony..I wonder if Anne's faced the parking lot? Maybe she seen someone pull up or someone called to her from the parking lot to come down for a minute?

 

[methodwriter85]

Also, Villa Belmont Condos in Newark, DE borders Maryland. It's a stones throw to major highway I 95. These condos have a patio or balcony..I wonder if Anne's faced the parking lot? Maybe she seen someone pull up or someone called to her from the parking lot to come down for a minute?

Totally plausible. I think whatever happened to Anne happened in that parking lot.

 

[Grimm1123]

I ran Anne's photos from NAMUS in an AI photo enhancer called AI Ease. I couldn't do the photo of her smiling with the editor unfortunately.
But here are the results.

 

[Grimm1123]

Here are a few more of Anne in the newspaper.

(AI enhanced photos for ID purposes only)

 

[methodwriter85]

I ran Anne's photos from NAMUS in an AI photo enhancer called AI Ease. I couldn't do the photo of her smiling with the editor unfortunately.
But here are the results.

These are great!
Are you saying you can't do the short-haired yearbook photo of her smiling here?

This is a screenshot from her senior yearbook at Allegheny College in 1976. Obviously, she decided to grow out her hair leading up to her disappearance by 1980. Fun bit of trivia- the graduation speaker at her graduation was none other than George H. Bush!

I peered through the 1981 University of Delaware yearbook to see if she got mentioned at all, but zip. The yearbooks don't cover graduate school at all, unfortunately.
There was, however, a shot from the 1981 Blue Hen that showed what the Villa Belmont Apartments look like at the time.

 

[Grimm1123]

I can do that picture but it's the last photo that is pixelated of her grinning from the Charley Project: Anne D. V. Manchester – The Charley Project
It came out very strange when I tried to do that picture. I used AI Ease the website. The website is great for photo restoration but I noticed that pixelated photos confuse the AI program.

 

[methodwriter85]

I can do that picture but it's the last photo that is pixelated of her grinning from the Charley Project: Anne D. V. Manchester – The Charley Project
It came out very strange when I tried to do that picture. I used AI Ease the website. The website is great for photo restoration but I noticed that pixelated photos confuse the AI program.

Yeah, that last photo I wish you could restore somehow but it's just too pixelated.
Her pixie haircut photo turned out great, though. I kind of wonder if the turtleneck she's wearing in the 1976 photo is the same one she's wearing in the 1980 photo (Christmas? Birthday?) holding a package. She probably just had an affinity for turtlenecks, which were very popular in the 70's and 80's.

 

[Sweetluv]

All i can find is that she lived on a third floor apartment. I wish we knew if her balcony faced the parking lot. What kind of a search was done? Were tracking dogs brought in?

 

[methodwriter85]

I was browsing a student newspaper from March 1980 and found an article about a serial rapist that struck in August and September 1979. No clue if he was apprehended. It would explain why UD wanted to keep Anne's disappearance as quiet as possible even if there was no link. I mean Howard Johnson was right by where Anne lived.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Anne D. V. Manchester – The Charley Project

 

[Sweetluv]

@methodwriter85 ..this Rapist you mentioned is a good lead. Curious if he was ever caught...
Very close proximity to Anne's complex!

 

[methodwriter85]

I contacted someone who lives in Villa Belmont. He agreed to take photos of the building where Anne disappeared from. Credit: Gary Morgan

 

[Sweetluv]

@methodwriter85..thank you, Gary too, for those pics! So there WAS a clear view of the parking lot. Anne could have seen someone pull up and thought she was stepping out for a minute. This would also mean someone could have been watching Anne's movements..but, she did go out barefoot and left her purse inside with the door unlocked..indicating she intended to not be long.

 

[Sweetluv]

It would be interesting to know if anyone from U OF DE that was in Anne's circle or who worked there at the time, has ever been convicted of a sexual assault after 1980?
The man who was with Anne earlier that day, I'm sure was interviewed extensively. Did he have any ideas as to who might be responsible?

 

[methodwriter85]

I was scanning around again for possible mentions of Anne on the web and came across this thread on a 1981 Doe from New Jersey where a poster mentioned Anne Manchester as a possibility. The hair doesn't match but the height, location, age, weight, and time period do. The Doe was found completely skeletonized in January 1981, it looks like, and just 93 miles away from Newark.
Lacey, New Jersey Jane Doe 1981 Websleuths
Any thoughts?