FL FL - Diane Augat, 40, Hudson, 10 Apr 1998

[ekardh]

I'm quite surprised there wasn't a topic already. I hope it was okay to start one, as this is a haunting case.

Missing Since: April 10, 1998 from Hudson, Pasco County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: February 21, 1958
Age: 40
Height: 5'4-5'5"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown/Blonde/Strawberry
Eye Color: Blue
Race: White
Gender: Female
Distinguishing Characteristics: Tattoo on right shoulder and back, scar on abdomen, missing Appendix, Pierced ears.
Medical Conditions: Manic depression, drug addiction and alcoholism.
Clothing: White tanktop shirt, blue shorts, and white sneakers
AKA: Diane Young
Case Number: 98-15054
Dentals: Orthopedic plate

Augat was last seen at 11 a.m. on April, 10, 1998 when she walked away from her home. She is on medication and left her residence without it. In the years prior to her disappearance, Augat battled manic depression, drug addiction and alcoholism.

Less than a week after her family reported her missing, the phone at her mother's home rang. Since no one was inside at the time, the answering machine clicked on. Her mother remembers the short message: "Help, help," Augat said. Then, a scuffling sound, as though someone was grabbing the phone from her hands. "Hey, gimme that," Augat said. The call ended. The caller ID gave the name of the location as "Starlight".

A bartender at the Hay Loft Tavern at Little Road and State Road 52 reported seeing Augat on April 10. On the day that she called her family asking for help, a waitress at the Inn on the Gulf in Hudson saw Augat eating lunch

On April 16, 1998, a pedestrian found the tip of Augat's middle right finger, which was identified by a fingerprint match, near U.S. 19 and New York Avenue in Hudson. About a week after that, a bag of her neatly folded clothes was found at an Odessa convenience store.

One of the last places Diane Augat was seen was the Coral Sands Motel, which was managed by Gary Robert Evers. In 2001, Evers was arrested on an unrelated murder charge. Augat's family was informed that Evers was a suspect in her disappearance. Her finger was found a block away from the motel.

http://www.nampn.org/cases/augat_diane.html

 

[alb1on]

I agree this needed a thread. However I am not convinced about the Evers link, although I would not rule it out. It seems that the unrelated murder charge (for which Evers was sentenced to life which he is serving) was the result of him shooting a man he thought responsible for an attempted robbery where they beat his girlfriend. Unfortunately, not only did he kill the man but it also turned out he was not the robber (although he knew them). I have not seen any other behaviour by Evers indicating he would target a lone woman and this behaviour only suggests a willingness to use violence. Perhaps the LE have other reasons for linking him. I hope so as it would be unfortunate to be focused on a rather tenuous line if it distracted from other possibilities.

 

[ekardh]

I agree this needed a thread. However I am not convinced about the Evers link, although I would not rule it out. It seems that the unrelated murder charge (for which Evers was sentenced to life which he is serving) was the result of him shooting a man he thought responsible for an attempted robbery where they beat his girlfriend. Unfortunately, not only did he kill the man but it also turned out he was not the robber (although he knew them). I have not seen any other behaviour by Evers indicating he would target a lone woman and this behaviour only suggests a willingness to use violence. Perhaps the LE have other reasons for linking him. I hope so as it would be unfortunate to be focused on a rather tenuous line if it distracted from other possibilities.

Yes, I can't see any link between Evers and Diane's disappearance, that's not to say there isn't one, but I think the police might be clutching at straws due to the lack of solid leads.

Does anyone else find it weird that the bag thought to belong to Diane was found in a convenience store by her brother's girlfriend? If it was Diane's bag, that must have been an uncanny coincidence or someone knew that one of Diane's connections would be visiting the store and deliberately planted it there?

 

[Skully]

That is an interesting case, and yes you would think something would have lead them to solving this case. The "neatly folded cloths" reminds me of a guy in Hernando that went missing in the 90's. Last name was ,Hope, I think. I used to be able to go to the unsolved on the HCSO site, but I don't see it any longer. If I remember right, he went to the Upper Deck for dinner and drinks, and disappeared after. His car was found, and his cloths were found in a neatly folded pile.

 

[Skully]

Charles Hope, found the link. Oh and Hernando is next to Hudson. It was 1982 so not when I remembered. But I read that his cloths were found neatly folded, in another article.

http://www.hernandosheriff.org/Unsolved/MissingPersons.htm

 

[los2188]

10 Disappearances That Are Unsolved...And Unsettling

 

[dotr]

Bumping.

 

[Sleuthster]

10 Disappearances That Are Unsolved...And Unsettling

The photo that they use for Diane Augat is not her. It is Kim Marie O'Connell also listed as missing on PCSO's website http://pascosheriff.com/cc1001r-m/

Also, The time line is all off from Namus and PSCO's account of her disappearance.

I also find it interesting that she would be listed in this top 10 group. I wonder why.

 

[ekardh]

*bump*

This is one of the freakier disappearances that I'm surprised more people aren't attracted to.

 

[Lola915]

This has always been a strange case.... the Evers link cane from the Starlight Hotel, which is where Evers shot and killed the person in 2001 and convicted in 2004. He is now deceased.

My mom mom is Diane, and this case has always left us with many more questions than answers. I have had little cooperation from PCSO. They seemed to dismiss her case as she wasn't their problem any longer.

I dong know why my mom's case is in the top 10, but foul play was suspected in this.... unfortunately witnesses weren't credible to persue enough of the leads. Everything led to a dead end.

My uncle's and his girlfriend's discovery is bizarre. Was it a warning? I have no idea. Was it a sick prank, I have no idea.

I have my speculations of what is going on, but can't get through to anyone willing to help or try. I called 6 months ago and was dismissed again. Promise she of calls back and nothing. Makes you wonder.....

i have my theory.... but in order to speculate, makes one tread carefully

 

[Spiritecho]

This has always been a strange case.... the Evers link cane from the Starlight Hotel, which is where Evers shot and killed the person in 2001 and convicted in 2004. He is now deceased.

My mom mom is Diane, and this case has always left us with many more questions than answers. I have had little cooperation from PCSO. They seemed to dismiss her case as she wasn't their problem any longer.

I dong know why my mom's case is in the top 10, but foul play was suspected in this.... unfortunately witnesses weren't credible to persue enough of the leads. Everything led to a dead end.

My uncle's and his girlfriend's discovery is bizarre. Was it a warning? I have no idea. Was it a sick prank, I have no idea.

I have my speculations of what is going on, but can't get through to anyone willing to help or try. I called 6 months ago and was dismissed again. Promise she of calls back and nothing. Makes you wonder.....

i have my theory.... but in order to speculate, makes one tread carefully

Lola, Welcome and I'm so sorry about your mom! I hope you get some answers soon.

Have you had DNA taken so it can be ran through Namus against unidentified persons? I hate asking but it is an avenue for you.

 

[Spiritecho]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2222dffl.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10727/0

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/augat_diane.html

 

[dotr]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2222dffl.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10727/0

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/augat_diane.html

Thanks for the links, Spiritecho!

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2222dffl.html

The Doe Network:
Case File 2222DFFL

Diane Louise Augat
Missing since April 10, 1998 from Hudson, Pasco County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing

---

Vital Statistics

• 
  [*]Date Of Birth: January 21, 1958
  [*]Age at Time of Disappearance: 40 years old
  [*]Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4"; 130 lbs.
  [*]Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde/red hair; blue eyes.
  [*]Marks, Scars: Tattoos on her back and right shoulder. Scar abdomen. Orthopedic plate. Missing appendix. Pierced ears.
• Clothing: She was wearing a white tank top, blue shorts, white tennis shoes and coral nail polish.

 

[Skully]

Is she in NAMUS? If they found the fingertip, they have her DNA to enter into CODIS too. Wonder if the cold case unit is doing this?

 

[Skully]

http://www.skeptictank.org/gen1/gen00581.htm

 

[0101ABA]

Severed finger one of few clues to woman missing since 1998

A woman who went missing in 1998, and whose finger was found days after her disappearance, is the subject of a cold case from the Pasco Sheriff's Office.

Diane Augat, then 40 years old, was last seen leaving her home on April 10, 1998, according to the sheriff's office. She was never seen or heard from again.

 

[ADKGemini]

No updates on Diane

Augat was last seen leaving her residence in the 1000 block of Chesapeake Drive in Odessa, Florida at approximately 11:00 a.m. on April 10, 1998. A witness observed Augat walking north on U. S. 19 near New York Avenue in Hudson, Florida on April 11, the day after Augat left her home. She has never been heard from again. Augat did not have her medication with her when she walked away from her residence.

Augat's mother received a phone call from her daughter on April 13, three days after she disappeared. No one was home at the time the call came through and the answering machine recorded the message.

Augat said, "Help, help, let me out," while a noise consistent with someone attempting to grab the phone away from her was overheard. Augat was heard saying, "Hey, gimme that," before the call was terminated. Caller ID stated that the call was placed from a business called Starlight in the Odessa area. Augat's mother dialed the number, but no one answered.

The severed tip of Augat's right middle finger, cut off just above the knuckle with the nail painted red, was located on the roadside in the U.S. 19/New York Avenue area on April 15, 1998. Her finger was discovered in the same area where the witness reported seeing Augat on April 11. A second finger was also reported, but law enforcement was able to recover only one of them. A bag of Augat's neatly folded clothing was discovered inside a convenience store's outdoor freezer in Odessa two weeks after she was reported missing.

In 2000, just one day after the St. Petersburg Times, a Florida newspaper, ran a story on Augat's disappearance, another bag was found at a Circle K convenience store in Pasco, Florida. It was discovered by Augat's brother's girlfriend. The clear zip-top plastic bag was labeled "Diane" in black marker, and contained black eyeliner, Taboo perfume, a tube of bright pink lipstick, and a tube of generic toothpaste

Augat's mother says the makeup and perfume were items her daughter would have owned, and she was issued a similar tube of toothpaste when she was released from a mental hospital a few weeks before she disappeared. Investigators have not been able to confirm that the bag or its contents were Augat's possessions, however.

Augat's mother stated that her daughter was a stay-at-home mother in the 1970s and early 1980s. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the late 1980s and only took her medication occasionally. Augat's three children were taken from her custody in 1988. She and her husband divorced in 1991.

Augat was arrested several times during the following years for minor offenses. Her mother said that Augat had been taken into custody at least 32 times under Florida's Baker Act, which allows a physician, judge or law enforcement officer to determine if an individual requires an involuntary medical exam.

One of the last places Augat was seen at before her disappearance was the Coral Sands Motel, which was managed by Gary Robert Evers and his girlfriend. In 2001, Evers was charged with murder; he allegedly shot and killed a man during an argument. He has no prior criminal record in the state Florida. Evers is considered a possible suspect in Augat's disappearance, but has not been charged in connection with it.

Augat had been treated at a mental health facility several weeks prior to her April 1998 disappearance. Her mother believed that she should not have been released, as Augat required institutionalized care. Her case remains unsolved. Authorities believe that foul play is likely in her disappearance.

Some agencies state that Augat's residence was in the 12000 block of Cobblestone Drive in Hudson, Florida in 1998.

Diane Louise Augat – The Charley Project

 

[Seifert79]

This case really bothers me, even more than most. I spend summers in Clearwater, and my best friend lives in Hudson. I drive along US-19 on the way to her house frequently and I ALWAYS think of Diane each time. I’m particularly troubled by the fact that the onset of Diane’s illness happened later in life, once she had a family. As someone who’s struggled myself, I find it especially tragic that Diane’s family life was torn apart by her illness and the difficulties it brought forth.



I tired talking to my BFF about Diane’s case, though she doesn’t share my interest in Unsolved Mysteries. She does work in Pasco schools, and from what I’ve heard second-hand odd happenings are not out of the ordinary. Her husband did add that Odessa, FL is a less than desirable area of the county.



I wish I could solve this case and help provide the family with the closure they so rightly deserve!

 

[CastlesBurning]

The Bizarre Disappearance of Diane Augat

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Strange Disappearance of Diane AugatPhoto byNikki Young/Canva
This is a 23-year-old unsolved disappearance story and has no shortage of crazy findings along the way. Diane Augat disappeared on April 10, 1998, never to be seen again. However, what is even more bizarre than her disappearance would be the evidence collected relating to what happened to her. Yet, even with a ton of things found and collected, there haven’t been any leads on suspects to this day.

Diane Augat was born on February 21, 1958. Diane grew up in New York, however, the family would end up relocating to Odessa Florida. She loved camping, fishing and music — and she was very active and happy growing up. She had a beautiful head of red hair and a dazzling smile. She was your typical teenager growing up. But behind that smile, Diane struggled with mental health issues and in the late 1980s, she was diagnosed as being manic-depressive.

This is a very serious diagnosis. Mania often involves sleeplessness, sometimes for days, along with hallucinations, psychosis, grandiose delusions, or paranoid rage. The lows resemble that of severe depression. They can go from feeling like they are invincible to feeling anxious, empty and suicidal. It’s not uncommon for those with a manic-depressive disorder to be hospitalized at least once or twice in their lifetime, and it’s not something that can be fixed. It needs to be managed by medication. Diane was on medication for her disorder, however, she was known to take it sporadically, which is not effective and can even make symptoms worse. More:

Woman Goes Missing After Bizarre Phone Call; Only Severed Finger is Found | Nik | NewsBreak Original

This is a 23-year-old unsolved disappearance story and has no shortage of crazy findings along the way. Diane Augat disappeared on April 10, 1998, never to be seen again. However, what is even more bizarre than her disappearance would be the evidence collected relating to what happened to her...

original.newsbreak.com