Diana Braungardt
Real Name: Diana Jane Braungardt
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Crystal City, Missouri
Date: March 11, 1987
Bio[]
Occupation: Store Clerk / Student
Date of Birth: January 31, 1969
Height: 5'6" to 5'7"
Weight: 108 pounds
Marital Status: Single
Characteristics: Caucasian female with dark blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her ears are pierced. She has three scars on her forehead and one on the right corner of her mouth.
Case[]
Details: Eighteen-year-old Diana Braungardt worked as a cashier at the Venture store in Twin City Plaza in Crystal City, Missouri. She was also a senior in high school. She vanished after leaving work on March 11, 1987. She told her coworkers that she needed to go home and study for a test. She was last seen at 10pm, walking to her car, but she never arrived home. Her car, a 1982 Ford Escort, was later found in the parking lot, but she has never been located. Authorities believe she was abducted before she reached her car. There is a $10,000 reward for information in this case.
Sketch of possible suspect
Suspects: Witnesses saw Diana talking to an unidentified man in the parking lot shortly before she vanished. He was described as Caucasian in his early twenties (in 1987), about 5'10" tall with brown or black hair and a medium build. He was wearing a gold necklace. When Diana's coworkers saw the sketch, they recalled that the was the last person in her checkout line before she left.
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired as a part of a missing persons special alert on the October 25, 1989 episode along with those of Julie Weflen, Stefanie Stroh, Kyle Clinkscales, Carlos Alvarez, David Tyll and Brian Ognjan, John Simmons, Lily Mae Huff, David Thies, and Susan Cappel.
- It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the Robert Stack episodes.
Results: Unsolved. In 2007, police interviewed a person of interest in this case. He matched the description of the unidentified man and currently is in prison for an unrelated crime. He has not been ruled out. Interestingly, he has since been identified as Marvin Chaney, one of Trudy Darby's killers.
Diana has never been located. Sadly, her parents have since passed away; her father, Marvin, in 2012 and her mother, Jane, in 2017. In Jane's obituary, she is listed as having pre-deceased her. Her brother is still hoping for answers in this case. If she is still alive, she would be in her early fifties.
Links:
- Diana Braungardt on the Charley Project
- Diana Braungardt on the Doe Network
- Diana Braungardt on NamUs
- Diana Braungardt on True Crime Diva
- Diana Braungardt on Whereabouts Still Unknown
- Police fearful about missing Festus student - March 15, 1987
- Parents still hurt 25 years after daughter went missing - March 9, 2012
- Festus teen's disappearance still a mystery 25 years later - March 11, 2012
- Teen's 25-year-old disappearance still baffles - March 12, 2012
- Diana Braungardt went missing after leaving her job in Crystal City - December 14, 2017
- Jane's obituary
- TapTalk Discussion forum
- Websleuths Discussion forum