Annette Michelle Craver Vail, a white female born on December 7, 1965, vanished in 1984 at the age of 18. Although her death date is often cited as October 22, 1984, some sources associate her disappearance with July 12 of that year. She was last seen in Tulsa, Oklahoma, not St. Louis, Missouri, and her remains have never been found. Annette had married Felix Vail, a man nearly three decades her senior, after meeting him at age 15.
Their relationship quickly escalated, and by 17, she had married him and begun traveling the country. Her mother, Mary Rose, grew concerned about the relationship, especially after Annette expressed a desire to leave Vail and attend college.
In the months leading up to her disappearance, Annette had inherited approximately $100,000 from her late father's life insurance policy. She withdrew the entire amount in cash, and her mother believed that Vail exerted control over the funds. Annette also transferred ownership of a house—originally co-owned with her mother—to Vail shortly before she vanished. Vail claimed that Annette had boarded a bus to Mexico, but this was never verified, and she was never heard from again.
Felix Vail was the last known person to see 18-year-old Annette, a white female, alive. He was later identified as a suspect in her disappearance, as well as in the deaths or disappearances of two other women: his first wife, Mary Horton Vail, who died under suspicious circumstances in 1962, and Sharon Hensley, who vanished in 1973. In 2016, Vail was convicted of murdering Mary Horton and sentenced to life in prison. Although he has not been charged in connection with Annette's disappearance, her case was used to support the prosecution's argument that Vail exhibited a pattern of behavior involving young women who later went missing.
Annette's mother, Mary Rose, played a pivotal role in connecting the dots between the three cases. Her relentless investigation led to renewed scrutiny of Vail's past and ultimately helped bring him to justice for Mary Horton's murder. Despite the conviction, the fate of 18-year-old Annette Craver, a white female from Texas, remains unresolved. Her mother continues to advocate for answers, holding onto hope that one day the truth will fully emerge.
