In the cold of a Nantucket, Massachusetts winter, 50-year-old Dr. Margaret Mary Kilcoyne, a brilliant cardiologist and hypertension researcher at Columbia University, vanished from her secluded vacation home. The night of January 25, 1980, she had dinner with her brother, Leo, and two friends. She was last seen at her home in the Tom Nevers area between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m. The following morning, January 26, when her brother went to wake her for church as she had requested, she was gone. The frigid temperatures that night had dropped well below zero. Inside her home, her winter coat, boots, wristwatch, and purse were left behind, suggesting she had not planned to venture out into the harsh weather. Her car and bicycle were also found in the garage. An immediate and extensive search of the surrounding scrub oak, ponds, and shoreline by police and local volunteers yielded no trace of the missing woman.
In the days leading up to her disappearance, those around Dr.
Kilcoyne had noticed a change in her behavior. She had excitedly told friends, family, and colleagues that she was on the verge of a monumental medical discovery related to her hypertension research, one she believed would earn her a Nobel Prize. While her colleagues acknowledged a breakthrough had been made, they did not believe it was of the magnitude she described. Her friends described her as "hyper" on the day before she went missing. In a particularly unusual event, she had taken a taxi to a local grocery store and purchased a very large amount of groceries and liquor, telling people she was planning a party and a press conference to announce her findings. However, she had not mentioned these plans to her family or made any arrangements with the media. Her brother had reportedly come to the island concerned about her mental state, telling police she was "very upset and in a somewhat confused state."
Several days after she vanished, a perplexing discovery was made in a clearing about a mile from her home, in an area that had been previously searched. A neat pile containing her passport, checkbook, summer sandals, and a wallet with $100 was found. Nearby, a clean brown long-sleeved blouse, believed to be hers, was found rolled up and placed under some brush. This discovery only deepened the mystery of her disappearance. Theories about what happened to Margaret Kilcoyne have varied widely over the years. Some, including her own family, believe she may have taken her own life by walking into the ocean while in a delusional state. Other investigators have considered the possibility that she staged her own disappearance to start a new life, or that foul play was involved. Traces of what might have been blood were later found in her bedroom and bathroom, though the results were inconclusive. Despite the lingering questions and the enduring mystery that haunts Nantucket, Margaret Mary Kilcoyne was declared legally dead in 1989. Her case remains one of the island's most baffling and unsolved mysteries.Last Seen: Jan 26, 1980
