FL FL - Margaret Etta Kirkland, 34, Chipley, August 30, 1990

[Murkywaters]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Margaret Etta Kirkland was last seen in Chipley, Florida on August 30, 1990

 

[PayrollNerd]

What a shame there’s no birthdate available. Descendants could maybe sleuth her and connect. That appears to be a professional photograph but I don’t see the name of the studio on the corner, like “Olan Mills” or similar.

 

[Murkywaters]

From: Florida Today, Cocoa, Florida Wed, Sep 12, 1990

Eight days after Margaret disappeared, her estranged husband shot himself to death after being interviewed by police about her disappearance.

 

[PayrollNerd]

View attachment 189828
From: Florida Today, Cocoa, Florida Wed, Sep 12, 1990

Eight days after Margaret disappeared, her estranged husband shot himself to death after being interviewed by police about her disappearance.

What a sad story. Huge age difference too. Her family has to be still living. I wonder if any of them ever did DNA?

 

[AS77]

I grew up in Chipley and was 13 at the time this happened. I remember her daughter passed away the year before, then she went missing, then her husband committed suicide. Her daughter looked a lot like her. I remember hearing that her car was missing also. I’m pretty sure they even dug and searched at the house and the business her husband owned. There were a lot of rumors and gossip at the time about this. I always wondered what happened with this case.
That photo probably is Olan Mills. There was a photography studio in town at the time.
The town hasn’t changed much, and a lot of people have lived there a long time.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I grew up in Chipley and was 13 at the time this happened. I remember her daughter passed away the year before, then she went missing, then her husband committed suicide. Her daughter looked a lot like her. I remember hearing that her car was missing also. I’m pretty sure they even dug and searched at the house and the business her husband owned. There were a lot of rumors and gossip at the time about this. I always wondered what happened with this case.
That photo probably is Olan Mills. There was a photography studio in town at the time.
The town hasn’t changed much, and a lot of people have lived there a long time.

Welcome to Websleuths! Thanks for the local perspective. Do you know if she had any remaining family? Even a cousin DNA match could help LE identify her.

 

[Sleuthster]

Margaret Etta Rich Kirkland (1955-1995) - Find A...
Wierd. This person died in 1995 and would have been 39. Same age this MEK would have been in 1995

 

[PayrollNerd]

Margaret Etta Rich Kirkland (1955-1995) - Find A...
Wierd. This person died in 1995 and would have been 39. Same age this MEK would have been in 1995

I think it’s the same person. Scrolling down below the photo is the related family members. Her husbands name is there. It’s in the newspaper article too.

 

[AS77]

Welcome to Websleuths! Thanks for the local perspective. Do you know if she had any remaining family? Even a cousin DNA match could help LE identify her.

I don’t know if she did or not. Her maiden name is Rich, and there were some Rich’s from Bonifay nearby.

 

[Sleuthster]

I don’t know if she did or not. Her maiden name is Rich, and there were some Rich’s from Bonifay nearby.

I think it's her. There's also a daughter who died in 1989 listed on her relatives on that site. Didn't her young daughter died the year before? I'm not sure why it says 1995. Could that be when they declared her deceased?

 

[AS77]

I think it's her. There's also a daughter who died in 1989 listed on her relatives on that site. Didn't her young daughter died the year before? I'm not sure why it says 1995. Could that be when they declared her deceased?

Yes her daughter was in 10th or 11th grade at the time and passed away the year before.
The link to the grave shows Holmes County, so that’s Bonifay and a couple of other little towns where she would have had relatives. That is her grave, so I guess 1995 was when she was declared dead. I never remember hearing anything about that.

 

[ronrich54]

What a shame there’s no birthdate available. Descendants could maybe sleuth her and connect. That appears to be a professional photograph but I don’t see the name of the studio on the corner, like “Olan Mills” or similar.

September 7, 1955! She was my younger sister!

 

[ronrich54]

September 7, 1955. She was my younger sister. She has never been found. I volunteered & gave the police my DNA several decades ago but still no luck in finding her. Based on circumstantial evidence her husband, Robert Beryl Kirkland, was the key suspect in her disappearance, but the police gave him 24 hours after her reported disappearance to dispose of her before they issued a missing person report even though she had a restraining order against the husband that had been violated multiple times without a slap on his wrist. He had time to go anywhere in the panhandle or even central Florida, Alabama or Georgia during that time. Our biological father waited until the fifth year & had her declared legally dead. There is a gravestone at St. Johns Cemetery with her name on it but no body.

 

[PayrollNerd]

September 7, 1955! She was my younger sister!

Welcome to Websleuths. I’m so sorry your family is dealing with this. It would be great if you can get Set up as a verified insider. That will allow you to freely provide info without a main stream media (MSM) link. It is part of the terms of service (TOS). I’ll get the link for you.

Verified Professional and Insider Members

 

[PayrollNerd]

September 7, 1955. She was my younger sister. She has never been found. I volunteered & gave the police my DNA several decades ago but still no luck in finding her. Based on circumstantial evidence her husband, Robert Beryl Kirkland, was the key suspect in her disappearance, but the police gave him 24 hours after her reported disappearance to dispose of her before they issued a missing person report even though she had a restraining order against the husband that had been violated multiple times without a slap on his wrist. He had time to go anywhere in the panhandle or even central Florida, Alabama or Georgia during that time. Our biological father waited until the fifth year & had her declared legally dead. There is a gravestone at St. Johns Cemetery with her name on it but no body.

Have you by chance done your DNA on Ancestry or 23andMe? I ask because if you gave LE DNA decades ago, they likely are comparing it to perps in CODIS. If her husband’s DNA was never added to CODIS, there wouldn’t be a match. Well, unless the perps family had committed a crime and was added to CODIS.

However, if you have tested, and downloaded your raw DNA file, then uploaded it to GEDmatch, LE could do genetic genealogy and match the DNA to the perps family.

 

[chaddylex]

Margaret was just added to the Charley Project

Margaret Etta Kirkland – The Charley Project

Margaret Etta Kirkland​

• 

Kirkland, circa 1990

• Missing Since08/27/1990
• Missing From Chipley, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth09/07/1955 (67)
• Age34 years old
• Height and Weight5'2 - 5'5, 115 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes.

Details of Disappearance​

Margaret was last seen in Chipley, Florida on August 27, 1990. She has never been heard from again. She was reported missing on August 30.
At the time of her disappearance, she and her husband, Robert, Beryl Kirkland, were in the process of a divorce and there was a no-contact order between them. Margaret had filed for divorce on June 29. According to a neighbor, the couple's marriage fell apart after their sixteen-year-old daughter died of a heart condition less than a year before her mother's disappearance.
In September, after finding out he was a suspect in Margaret's disappearance, Robert took his own life. Investigators believe he murdered Margaret prior to his suicide, but her remains have never been found. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Washington County Sheriff's Office 850-638-6117

Source Information​

• NamUs
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement
• Florida Today

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 31, 2023; casefile added.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Margaret's Ancestry profile has a few more photos of her.

 

[Floridachick81]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Margaret Etta Kirkland was last seen in Chipley, Florida on August 30, 1990

09/07/1955

 

[Floridachick81]

I grew up in Chipley and was 13 at the time this happened. I remember her daughter passed away the year before, then she went missing, then her husband committed suicide. Her daughter looked a lot like her. I remember hearing that her car was missing also. I’m pretty sure they even dug and searched at the house and the business her husband owned. There were a lot of rumors and gossip at the time about this. I always wondered what happened with this case.
That photo probably is Olan Mills. There was a photography studio in town at the time.
The town hasn’t changed much, and a lot of people have lived there a long time.

Did you ever hear where Burl was towing her car onto a Tallahasse exit. She had a little red or silver sports car. He was seen in the early hours towing her car to tallahassee.

 

[Floridachick81]

I certainly remember her and her daughter. I also remember when this happened and they drained the pond behind their home. I’ve been to their home several times visiting when she was still alive and her daughter was still alive. I also remember after their house sold my friends parents bought it and the terrible feeling i felt in that home was unshakable. I remember walking out on the dock at that pond and just wondering what happened and if it took place in the home that made me feel so sickly. i also remember them searching the sink holes at falling waters and the noiseless mysterious rumor of burl towing her vehicle to tallahassee. I always wanted this case solved.