On the early evening of October 4, 1990, 28-year-old Robin Abrams was last seen in her hometown of Beecher, Illinois. The final known sighting of her was a brief, familiar moment as she and her father waved to each other while their cars passed on Goodenow Road. Abrams, a former Will County Sheriff's deputy, was driving her red 1989 Dodge Daytona hatchback. She was reportedly wearing a white long-sleeved knit pullover, a black leather jacket, black slacks, and black patent leather shoes, carrying a light beige patterned clutch purse. After that fleeting wave to her father, Robin Abrams vanished, and she has not been seen or heard from since. The circumstances leading up to her disappearance were anything but ordinary, involving a tumultuous relationship and a legal battle with members of her former police department.
The initial clues in the case emerged hours after her last sighting.
Eleven hours later, Abrams's car was discovered abandoned in Harvey, Illinois, with the doors locked and her keys still in the ignition. A witness later reported seeing two men in a tow truck drop the car off around 10:00 p.m. that night. Early the next morning, a neighbor reported a break-in of the vehicle, which led investigators to connect the car to Abrams's disappearance. Three days later, her purse was found in a residential area a few blocks from where her car had been left. While her checkbook remained inside, her wallet and credit cards were missing. This discovery deepened the mystery, suggesting that this was not a simple case of a person choosing to walk away from their life.
The investigation into Robin Abrams's disappearance quickly focused on her volatile history with a married colleague, Anthony Marquez, with whom she'd had a romantic relationship. Their affair began in 1987, and he reportedly persuaded her to join the sheriff's department in 1988. The relationship soured, leading to a series of escalating conflicts. Abrams accused Marquez of harassment, and in November 1989, she obtained an order of protection against him. She was terminated from her job just two weeks before her probationary period was set to end. In response, Abrams filed a federal lawsuit in December 1989 against Marquez and seven other members of the sheriff's department, alleging wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and civil rights violations. Tragically, she disappeared just eighteen days before she was scheduled to give a deposition in that lawsuit. The Will County Sheriff's Department initially handled the investigation, but it was soon transferred to the Illinois State Police due to a potential conflict of interest. Despite ongoing efforts, including a 2017 search of a Joliet home where Marquez's stepbrother had poured a concrete basement floor around the time Abrams vanished, no trace of her has ever been found. Her family has long held that Marquez was involved in her disappearance, a belief fueled by Abrams reportedly telling them that if anything happened to her, he was likely responsible. The case remains an unsolved and painful mystery for her loved ones.Last Seen: Oct 4, 1990
