Mary Opitz, a 17-year-old from Fort Myers, Florida, went missing on January 16, 1981, under mysterious circumstances. She had gone shopping with her mother and brother at Edison Mall. At around 7:30 p.m., feeling tired, Mary told her family she would return to their car, a burgundy 1979 Chevrolet Camaro, parked near the mall's Woolworth store.
She was last seen carrying a package of pretzels, and an hour later, her mother found the pretzels and some packages abandoned near the car, but there was no sign of Mary. Despite the area being well-lit, there were no immediate witnesses to her disappearance.
Initially, authorities suspected Mary might have run away, but her family strongly disagreed. Mary had no reason to leave voluntarily—she left behind her savings, was in the process of redecorating her room, and was looking forward to having her braces removed. These factors, combined with the lack of evidence pointing to a runaway scenario, led investigators to believe foul play might have been involved.
Just weeks after Mary's disappearance, another young woman named Mary Hare vanished from the same mall parking lot. Hare's body was found months later in a remote area of Lehigh Acres, Florida, leading authorities to consider a possible connection between the two cases. While Hare's case was classified as a homicide, no trace of Mary Opitz has ever been found.
Authorities have since linked a notorious serial killer, Christopher Wilder, to Mary’s case, although this connection remains speculative. Wilder was known for targeting young women in Florida and luring them with false promises of modeling opportunities. He died in 1984 during a shootout with police, leaving many questions unanswered.
To this day, Mary Opitz’s case remains unsolved, and law enforcement continues to investigate her disappearance as a likely abduction.Last Seen: Jan 16, 1981
