In the late 1980s, Mary A. Cox was a 28-year-old mother living in East Cleveland, Ohio. Known to have a son, she worked as a bartender at McCall's Lounge on Euclid Avenue, a popular and well-trafficked spot in the neighborhood. Mary was a Black woman, described as being slender, standing between five feet three and five feet five inches tall, and weighing around 120 to 135 pounds. She wore her black hair in an afro style and had brown eyes.
The last time she was definitively seen was in May of 1989. Her disappearance originated from her workplace, the lounge where she tended bar, a place familiar with the steady rhythm of a busy road.
There are conflicting accounts regarding Mary's last known movements. Most sources state she was last seen at McCall's Lounge, her place of employment. However, another report suggests her brother, Robert, saw her after she left their home in East Cleveland to walk to a nearby store on May 29, 1989. Tragically, she never returned, and the silence that followed her departure stretched into weeks, then months, and then years. In a startling detail of the case, Mary Cox was not officially reported as a missing person until 2009, two decades after she was last seen. This significant delay has raised questions, with a police chief later admitting that law enforcement had 'dropped the ball' in the initial stages of the investigation.
The passage of time has not brought any resolution for Mary's family, who have endured decades of uncertainty and hope. The investigation into her disappearance has been linked to a disturbing figure from Cleveland's history, the convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell. Sowell was known to be a patron at McCall's Lounge and knew Mary personally. Just two months after Mary vanished, Sowell was arrested for the kidnapping and assault of another woman he had lured from the same lounge to his nearby home. He lived less than half a mile from the bar at the time of Mary's disappearance. Though considered a suspect in her case, Sowell never admitted to any involvement. The case of Mary Cox remains an open and haunting mystery, an overview of a young mother who vanished from her life, leaving behind unanswered questions and a family still waiting for news. Her son has provided a DNA sample in the hopes that it may one day help bring her home.Last Seen: May 29, 1989
