Janice Elizabeth Norat, a 32-year-old woman from Lakeland, Florida, went missing on June 19, 1990, under mysterious circumstances. She was last seen leaving her job as a landscaper at Merchant's Walk on South Florida Avenue. That morning, she told her employer she needed to pick up her daughter from summer camp for a doctor's appointment, but she never arrived to collect her child. Norat was not seen again after she left work around 8:30 a.m.
Three days later, her car, a 1982 Ford Fairlane, was found locked and abandoned in a nearby Albertson’s grocery store parking lot. There was no sign of Norat at the scene, and no one reported seeing anything suspicious around the car.
Norat had been dealing with significant personal struggles before her disappearance. Her husband had died in a car accident a few months earlier, and she was reportedly depressed and grieving the recent loss of both her husband and father. At the time, she was believed to be carrying up to $20,000 in insurance money from her husband's death, though she also left behind a significant sum in her bank account, which was never touched.
There are varying theories regarding her disappearance. One of Norat's daughters suggested that her mother's involvement with the occult might have played a role, citing the discovery of pentagrams in their home after she vanished, though Norat had never been observed engaging in occult practices. Another daughter speculated that Norat may have left voluntarily due to the overwhelming stress she was under at the time. However, investigators believe she was the victim of foul play. In 2007, new evidence surfaced, though authorities have not disclosed specific details. Despite this, Norat's case remains unsolved to this day.
Janice Norat had no known history of disappearing or leaving her children unattended. At the time of her disappearance, she was described as a Caucasian woman with black hair, brown eyes, standing between 5'5" and 5'8" tall, and weighing around 125 pounds. Her case is classified as endangered missing, and investigators continue to seek information that could lead to her whereabouts.Last Seen: Jun 19, 1990
