On August 15, 1993, Kristen Joy Diede, age 30, and her boyfriend, Robert Anderson, vanished after a trip to Wishek, North Dakota. The couple, who resided in Minnesota, had traveled to Wishek to drop off Diede's son and daughter at the home of their paternal grandparents. Diede was in the process of a divorce at the time of her disappearance. Friends of Diede reported receiving a call from her in which she expressed distress, stating she was having trouble getting her children back. After this call, Diede and Anderson paid a visit to her brother before they were supposed to start their journey back home. They were never seen or heard from again.
Five days later, on August 20, the Dodge van that the couple had been driving was discovered abandoned in a railroad station parking lot in Aberdeen, South Dakota, over a hundred miles from where they were last seen. The discovery of the van coincided with the day Diede and Anderson were officially reported as missing persons. The vehicle was found with its license plates missing and the vehicle identification number scratched off. This discovery, along with the fact that all of their personal belongings were left behind at their Minnesota home, led authorities to suspect foul play.
Initially, law enforcement considered the possibility that the couple had disappeared of their own accord. However, Diede's family and friends vehemently disputed this theory, stating that she would never have voluntarily abandoned her children. Over time, the investigation shifted, and authorities came to believe that both Kristen Diede and Robert Anderson were the victims of a homicide. Despite ongoing investigations and a podcast series dedicated to uncovering new details about the case, their bodies have never been found, and no one has been charged in connection with their disappearances. The case remains an unsolved mystery.
Last Seen: Aug 15, 1993
