Account
Jan 01, 2010
May 30, 2023
Mary
Hunter
63
35
63 inches
170 lbs
185 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
On a late summer day, September 1, 1996, 35-year-old Mary Frances Hunter, a Navy wife and mother of two, vanished from Island County, Washington. Known to her friends and family as 'Fran' or 'Francine', she was officially last seen by someone outside her immediate family at her home on the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor. When she disappeared, she left behind everything, including her children, husband, car, and beloved dog, creating a mystery that has endured for decades. The investigation into her disappearance would uncover a complex story filled with conflicting accounts and troubling behavior, leaving her loved ones without answers. The primary narrative of Mary's disappearance came from her husband, Navy Lt. Derek Hunter. He told authorities that he last saw his wife in the parking lot of the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington, on September 1st. According to his account, they had been on a target shooting trip when they stopped at the mall. He claimed Mary introduced him to a man she said was a former high school classmate named "Tony" or "Todd." Derek stated he went to use the restroom, and when he returned, Mary, the unidentified man, and her dog were all gone. He said he searched the mall for hours before going home. The next day, he claimed to have returned to the mall and found their dog, which appeared to have been scraped as if it had fallen from a vehicle. However, Derek Hunter did not report his wife missing until September 3, 1996, two full days after she had last been seen. From the outset, investigators were troubled by Derek Hunter's actions and statements. His story about the man at the mall could not be verified. In the days following Mary's disappearance, he made claims that she was withdrawing money from her bank account, but security footage from the ATMs showed Derek himself making the withdrawals with her card. He also took steps to remove Mary's name from his insurance policy and tried to do the same with their jointly-owned vehicles so he could sell them. Although Mary had a history of severe depression, for which she took medication, and had been previously hospitalized after a suicide attempt, her family did not believe she would have abandoned her children. The investigation, which involved the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Burlington Police Department, soon focused on Derek as the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance. Despite searches and ongoing investigations, Mary's body was never found, and there was not enough evidence to formally charge him. The case took a final, tragic turn on September 2, 2003, seven years to the day after Mary vanished, when Derek Hunter died by suicide. He left behind several notes, one of which claimed that Mary had also died by suicide and that, at her request, he would never disclose the location of her body. This act left a permanent cloud of suspicion over him and ensured the full story of what happened to Mary Frances Hunter may never be known. The case remains an unsolved, officially categorized as an endangered missing person, with investigators and family believing she was a victim of foul play.
Sep 01, 1996
Oak Harbor
Washington
Island County
No
8061
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Windy Island
Washington
,
1996-09-03
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Brown
Brown
Brown
No
06/16/2026
