Mary Ann Knightly was 28 years old when she was last seen in Bear, Delaware, on February 18, 1998. Public case summaries describe her as a white woman with brown hair and blue eyes, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and 130 pounds. She had a scar over her right eye and an abdominal scar, and she was reportedly last seen wearing black tights and a brown leather jacket with a fur collar. Her NamUs case is listed as MP5630.
According to available online case information, Mary Ann was last seen at about 11:30 p.m. at her home in the 1500 block of Du Pont Highway in Bear. Her husband, Roy, said she packed a bag and told him she needed to get away for a while and planned to visit her sister in Florida. He reported that he fell asleep, and when he woke around 1:30 a.m., she was gone. Mary Ann never arrived in Florida.
Another troubling detail in the case is that Mary Ann had borrowed a van from her mother on the evening of February 18, saying she would return it the next day. The van was later returned by Roy, who reportedly said Mary Ann had asked him to return it for her. Public summaries note that it remains unclear how Mary Ann would have traveled to Florida, and it was not known how much money she may have had with her when she disappeared.
Mary Ann’s disappearance was reported on February 26, 1998. Some reports state that she had previously left home for short periods of time, up to three days, without saying where she was going. Even with that context, the circumstances of this disappearance were concerning because she did not reach the destination she reportedly intended to visit, and no confirmed public account has explained what happened to her afterward.
The case has been classified by The Charley Project as endangered missing, and public summaries state that foul play is suspected. Roy Knightly has been described in those summaries as a person of interest who was never cleared of suspicion. Mary Ann’s disappearance remains unresolved in the online sources reviewed, and the available public record does not indicate that she has been located.Last Seen: Feb 18, 1998
