Katharina Buczek
During the early 1900s, Oakdale, New York, was a gilded region of Long Island known for its grand estates and famous residents.
But, by 1969, Oakdale– along with other parts of Long Island– was changing rapidly.
The businessmen and railroad pioneers were swapped out for suburban nuclear families. Local newspapers began sharing tales of boating trips, school boards began to quarrel against local town politics, and a sense of community emerged among residents.
On July 17, 1969, though, the Suffolk County News put out a headline strikingly different from the more pedestrian suburban happens.
“OAKDALE GIRL STILL MISSING. No new leads for police department,” the headline read.
This girl was Cynthia Dawn Constantine, a fifteen-year-old who was last seen on the evening of July 11, 1969.
That night, Cynthia put on a white shirt and black shorts before leaving her Montauk Highway home to take her beloved dog for a walk.
She and her pup first headed toward a wooded area near the Oakdale Long Island Railroad station. This was confirmed by three young boys who saw her enter near the train station’s north end.
NCMEC; pictured above is Cynthia
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