On a winter afternoon in Norwalk, Connecticut, 14-year-old Maria Anjiras, known to her friends as Mia, was seen for the last time. On February 12, 1976, her father saw her at their Milwood Road home around 2:15 p.m. before he left for work. Reports suggest there may have been an argument between them that day. Maria, a freshman at Norwalk High School, had plans for the rest of her day; she was scheduled to attend a vocal lesson and then babysit for a neighbor that evening.
However, she never arrived at either commitment. The alarm was raised when she failed to show up, and her family discovered she was gone. It appeared she may have intended to leave, as some money, a few items of clothing including pajamas, jeans, and several sweaters, were missing from her room. This departure followed a conversation just two weeks prior, where she had threatened to run away, though her father believed he had persuaded her to stay.
In the immediate aftermath of Maria’s disappearance, a confusing trail of sightings offered both hope and deepening mystery. Her blue English Racer bicycle was discovered about a mile from her home, abandoned near the residence of a friend on St. Mary's Lane. The friend, however, told police she had not seen or heard from Maria. In the following days and weeks, several people who knew Maria reported seeing her in and around Norwalk. She was reportedly spotted at a local restaurant, and there were mentions of her being seen in both an orange and a black car. A particularly compelling account came in August 1976 from a classmate who claimed to have seen Maria at a bar on Westport Avenue. According to the classmate, Maria was with a man associated with the Charter Oaks Motorcycle Club. When urged to go home, Maria reportedly began to cry and simply said, 'I know.'
For many years, the investigation focused heavily on the possibility that Maria had fallen in with the motorcycle club. This lead, however, grew complicated decades later. In 2015, authorities determined that a previous sighting of a girl thought to be Maria at the Charter Oaks clubhouse was a case of mistaken identity; the individual was confirmed to be a different 17-year-old girl. While Maria may have initially run away, the prolonged silence is a source of great concern, leading to fears that she may have become a victim of foul play at some point after she left home. Maria was an artistically talented teen, involved in her school's theater group and taking ballet and drama lessons. Her parents both passed away in the 1980s without ever learning the fate of their daughter, but her siblings continue to hope for closure. Maria's case remains unsolved and is considered the oldest active missing juvenile case in the state of Connecticut, a poignant and lingering story of a young girl who vanished from her life, leaving behind only questions and a family waiting for answers.Last Seen: Feb 12, 1976
