FL Vivian Lee Barrett, W/F, 63, Sarasota, Sarasota, Florida – 03 Jan 1989

[folieadeuxnola]

Vivian Lee Barrett



Last Contact: Tuesday. January 3rd, 1989

Missing From: Sarasota, Sarasota, Florida


Physical Description:
Race: White
Sex: Female
Age: 63 Years Old
DOB:
Height: 5’2” (62”)
Weight: 140 - 160 lbs.
Hair: Short Reddish Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Clothing:
Characteristics/Medical/Scars: Previous childbirth, small scar on forehead, upper dentures
Transportation: 1986, Honda Motor Scooter
Fingerprint Status: Unknown
Dental Status: Unknown
DNA Status: Unknown

Circumstances:
Vivian Barrett was 63 in 1988 when she purchased a Honda motor scooter in Glendale, Calif. and set out on her scooter to see the United States. She sometimes stayed with friends or camped out in a two-person dome tent. She carried these items on the back of her scooter in a plastic milk carton.

In November of 1988, she lived in Myakka River State Park and Oscar Scherer State Park in Sarasota County as funds permitted. When she was low on cash, she stayed in her tent in the woods just off the roadway.

On Jan. 2, she telephoned relatives in California

On Jan. 3, she went to an ATM machine in Sarasota Florida and withdrew $260.
(Some sources state Vivian withdrew $ 105). The next day, she wrote and mailed a letter postmarked from Oneco to her family advising that she was leaving the Sarasota County Florida area for North Florida.

Five days later, on Jan. 9, 1989, Barrett's scooter was found in a wooded area off State Road 66 in Sebring, Highlands County, some 107 miles east of her last known location. The tag had been removed, as had the milk crate containing the tent. Family members advised that Barrett was very confrontational, which may have led to her disappearance and probable death. However, she also wrote that if she got sick she would die in the woods.

Investigating Agencies:
Highlands County Sheriff’s Office
400 South Eucalyptus Drive
Sebring, FL
MP Case # 89010481 / HCS0060FF00721
Tele: 863.402.7200
Contact: Sgt McGann, [email protected]
Orlando Esquibel
Web: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/police/

Information Sources:
NAMUS
MP Case # 26322: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/26322/details?nav
Case Manager: Carrie Sutherland
Tele: 817.202.5931
E-Mail: [email protected]

Highland County Sheriff’s Office: https://www.hcso-news.org/unsolved-major-cases

The Florida Crime Information Center: Missing Persons

The Charley Project: Vivian Lee Barrett – The Charley Project

News/Blogs:
03/11/1989 – The Tampa Tribune
03/11/1989 – The Tampa Tribune
01/05/1990 – The Tampa Tribune
01/14/1991 – The Tampa Tribune
01/16/1992 – The Tampa Tribune

Rule Outs/Comparisons (9/18/20):
UP6279 – Fairfax, VA

 

[Martian_Time_Slip]

Just found out about this case via Mi Trust. What interests me is that this was an older lady living alone off the road. Sounds like a firy personality. I wonder where exactly the scooter was located - I looked at google maps and the location is nothing but woods and flat fields. Maybe someone accidentally hit her and fled the scene?

 

[PayrollNerd]

How sad. I’d say she was a victim of a hit and run. I’ve traveled the roads from Sarasota & Manatee counties across the state past Sebring numerous times.

The most direct route from the Oneco area of Bradenton FL is State Road 64. There are no bike lanes, it is very rural, dark at night and basically no place to stop for a break. Lots of produce & citrus fields, cattle farms and deep canals. It it traversed by semi trucks, farm trucks, tractors, and cars. The speed limit is maybe 55, maybe 60. In a vehicle, it is a 90 minute drive. People drive like maniacs on a straight away. On a scooter, I cannot even begin to guess the time it would take. All day probably.

So if she was hit, her remains are long gone. Wildlife is plentiful, canals are filled with gators, poisonous snakes, fields have feral hogs and you’ll dodge vultures on the road. I’ve also dodged produce (watermelons, oranges, etc) that bounces out of the trucks. That draws wildlife also.

It is possible hurricane flooding could cause a skull to travel into a open place. Although if it was in a produce field, it isn’t likely to be noticed as the machinery would grind it up.