In the late morning of September 22, 1979, in the Martineztown neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, nine-year-old Mary Lou Sena and her eleven-year-old cousin, Billy Sena, vanished without a trace. The two children were last seen together near Edith Road and Mountain Road, having received permission to go play on the grass at the local post office. Mary Lou, a fourth-grader at Longfellow Elementary School, was wearing a red halter top at the time of her disappearance.
She and Billy, a sixth-grader at Truman Middle School, were reportedly very close. They left for the post office that morning and were never seen or heard from again. The disappearance of the two cousins triggered a search and an investigation that would span decades, leaving their families with unanswered questions and a community with a lasting sense of unease.
The initial investigation into the disappearances of Mary Lou and Billy explored several possibilities. Theories ranged from the children running away to a tragic accident, such as being accidentally locked in a boxcar on the nearby railway tracks. The more sinister possibilities of abduction or foul play were also considered. Rumors circulated about the children having been murdered and buried in the basement of a house in their neighborhood, but these claims were never substantiated. A particularly heart-wrenching moment for the family came months after the disappearance when Mary Lou's mother, Phyllis, received a phone call. She was convinced the voice on the other end was her daughter's, but the caller claimed it was a wrong number and hung up, leaving Phyllis with a lingering sense of hope and uncertainty.
Years turned into decades, and the case grew cold, becoming one of Albuquerque's oldest unsolved missing children cases. However, in 2011, new information brought a renewed focus to the investigation. Authorities publicly identified a person of interest: Michael Cordova, who was the live-in boyfriend of Billy's mother at the time the children went missing. Billy's sister later recounted that Cordova was involved with drugs and had become enraged shortly before the disappearances, accusing Billy of stealing one of his marijuana plants and severely beating him for it. Another individual, a woman named Liza Ramirez who lived with the family in 1979, was also sought for questioning. Despite these developments, the case remains unsolved, with no arrests made and the whereabouts of Mary Lou and Billy still unknown. The case is a poignant reminder of a day that forever changed the lives of a family and a community, leaving a void that has yet to be filled.Last Seen: Sep 22, 1979
