FL FL - Mary Teresa Kushto, 43, St. Cloud, 29 May 1998

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Mary Teresa Kushto

Missing since: May 29, 1998
Classification: Endangered Missing
Location last seen: Cindy's Lounge, 1018 Pennsylvania Ave, St. Cloud, Florida

Description:

• Date of Birth:
• Age: 43 years old
• Race: White/Caucasian
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5' 6" (66 inches)
• Weight: 120 lbs
• Hair Color: Brown
• Eye Color: Brown
• Nickname/Alias: Her previous married name is Flaherty.
• Distinguishing Marks/Features: N/A
• Clothing & Personal Items: A white blouse, blue jeans and black boots.
• Identifiers: Tattoo of a parrot on her right shoulder blade, pierced ears.

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Mary was last seen at Cindy's Lounge at 1018 Pennsylvania Avenue in St. Cloud, Florida at approximately 1:30 a.m. on May 5, 1998 (May 29, 1998 according to Namus) She got into an argument with her boyfriend, left the lounge and has never been heard from again.

Her husband, Guy "Tuck" Kushto Jr., reported her missing on May 29, when he went to Cindy's Lounge and told the bartender his wife was missing and "had probably been raped or is somewhere dead."
Guy is a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan and admitted he had mistreated Mary. He stated that he and his wife argued just like any other couple, but it doesn’t mean he would harm her. Guy was initially the focus of the investigation, and he cooperated with a search of his trailer and car, and he passed a lie-detector test. He was cleared of involvement in Mary's disappearance.

Investigators suspect Christopher J. Below was possibly involved in Mary's case. He is a suspect in several murders and disappearances of young brunette women, including Shaylene Farrell, Kristina Porco and Heather Teague. Below pleaded guilty to attempted involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting of his mistress, Kathern Fetzer, whose body was never found. He is currently incarcerated in an Ohio prison.
Below is known to have been in St. Cloud at the same time that Mary disappeared. It should be emphasized that he has not been charged in connection with any case other than Fetzer's and only conjecture links him to Mary's case.

Mary left behind her parents, her children, and her first husband in Pennsylvania. She usually called them at least once every three weeks. Her family realized there was something wrong when she didn't call home during the week of her son's senior prom and high school graduation.

Mary and Guy met in a drug rehabilitation center outside Philadelphia. She had become addicted to prescription drugs and Guy to alcohol. She was married with three boys – George, Michael, and Vincent – who in 1998 were ages 18, 13, and 7.
Mary moved to Florida in the spring of 1997 with her husband Guy after he found a job as an ironworker at Universal Studios. The couple visited friends in St. Cloud before the move and stayed with them until they found a place to rent. They had been married for five years, but by the time of her disappearance she had left him, was seeing another man and moved in with friends at a motel near Alligator Lake.
Mary Kushto’s family disapproved of the marriage and of her leaving the boys.

She left behind her parents, her three children, and her first husband in Pennsylvania. She usually called them at least once every three weeks. Her family realized there was something wrong when she didn't call home during the week of her son's senior prom and high school graduation.

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An August 1998 article by the Orlando Sentinel gives a slightly different account.
According to that article, she was last recorded by a security camera inside The Horseshoe Bar on 13th Street.
It's also stated that she was supposed to meet some friends later at a party. When she didn't show up, they assumed she went back to her husband’s, but when they called him a couple of days later, he said she hadn’t. They called police to report her missing.

Investigators:
St. Cloud Police Department 407-891-6700
NCIC Case Number:
NamUs Case Number:
NCMEC Number:

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

WOMAN’S VANISHING IS MYSTERY TO FAMILY

ST. CLOUD – Mary Kushto wasn’t from St. Cloud but she vanished here in May. “Maybe a trucker picked her up. Maybe she overdosed. Maybe she got hit by a car and flew into the side …

www.orlandosentinel.com

 

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Orlando Sentinel Article:

WOMAN’S VANISHING IS MYSTERY TO FAMILY

UPDATED: July 29, 2021 at 8:46 PM EST

ST. CLOUD – Mary Kushto wasn’t from St. Cloud but she vanished here in May.

“Maybe a trucker picked her up. Maybe she overdosed. Maybe she got hit by a car and flew into the side of the road somewhere. I don’t know,” her husband, Guy Kushto, said. “Or maybe the people she was hanging out with took her diamond ring and killed her.”

Mary Kushto, 43, moved to Florida last spring with her husband after he found a job as an ironworker at Universal Studios. The couple visited friends in St. Cloud before the move and stayed with them until they found a place to rent, friends and family said. The couple had been married for five years but were separated when she disappeared.

“She loved her three boys and mother,” Alice Marshall said. The Kushtos stayed with Marshall for a while in St. Cloud. “Just before she disappeared she gave me a letter to them to mail.”

St. Cloud Sgt. Fran Rinehart never met Kushto but said he is haunted by the case.

“It bothers me,” he said. “This just doesn’t happen in St. Cloud. It’s a small, close-knit community where everyone knows everybody and someone always knows where you are or who you’re with.”

Mary Kushto’s last night in St. Cloud was recorded by a security camera inside The Horseshoe Bar on 13th Street.

“She was sitting at the bar dressed in a black blouse and jeans. She’s slender and attractive,” Rinehart said. “She gets up to mingle and talk to her friends. As the night wears on you could see she is drinking too much.”

She left alone at 1:30 a.m., and was supposed to meet some friends later at a party. She never arrived. They assumed she went back to her husband’s, but when they called him a couple of days later, he said she hadn’t. They called police to report her missing.

Guy Kushto became the focus of the police investigation, which has reached an impasse.

“He has cooperated with us. He let us search the trailer he was renting and his car, and he volunteered to take a voice stress test,” Rinehart said.

Rinehart said he hasn’t eliminated anyone as a suspect, and said he still needs to talk with the people she was living with at the time of her disappearance.

Alice Marshall and her husband, Bill, who worked with Guy Kushto in Pennsylvania, helped distribute 250 posters with Mary Kushto’s name and picture.

“She was the type of person who would give you anything she owned if you wanted it,” Bill Marshall said. “She was quiet to strangers, but once she got to know you she was open. She was like a kid really. We’d say ‘Let’s go to the beach,’ and she’d get excited.”

Dolores Cataldi, Mary Kushto’s mother, got a call from her daughter asking for money before she disappeared. “She said to tell everybody hello. I love you.”

Guy Kushto said he and his wife argued just like any other couple, but it doesn’t mean he would harm her.

“During the drive down she kept saying I was her best friend and we would have a happy life together in Florida,” he said.

The couple met in a drug rehabilitation center outside Philadelphia. She had become addicted to prescription drugs and Guy to alcohol. She was married with three boys – George, Michael, and Vincent – who are now ages 18, 13, and 7, Guy Kushto said.

Mary Kushto’s family disapproved of the marriage and of her leaving the boys. Her mother and family say they are praying.

“I didn’t realize I had so many tears,” Cataldi said. “Some days I say maybe she’s getting her life together somewhere, but most of the time I wonder if she was killed. It’s not like Mary not to call her three boys.”

Originally Published: August 8, 1998 at 4:00 AM EST