Katharina Buczek
And as the day turned to night, the Hall family knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
Joan was known to be a very reliable young woman. She did not smoke or drink, was having no problems at home or at school, and Joan’s parents knew that she would not have just run away.
So, authorities immediately suspected foul play, and police officers from several agencies got involved in the hunt for the teen.
Despite numerous intense searches and interviews with Joan’s classmates, though, the Hall family never gained any conclusive answers.
One of Joan’s female classmates claimed that she had seen Joan get into the car of another young man shortly after being dropped off at the Mini-Mart.
But, this classmate later retracted her claim and said that the girl getting into the car was not Joan.
Three of Mike’s friends also claimed to have seen Joan with him in his car at about 4:00 p.m. that afternoon– well after Joan was supposed to meet her aunt Ruth.
But then, all three of Mike’s friends changed their stories and stated that they had misidentified another young woman as Joan.
These lackluster leads and the countless questions surrounding Joan’s disappearance ultimately tore the Hall family apart.
Joan’s father, Melvin, had a heart attack just days afterward. Then, in 1994, Melvin and Joan’s mother, Mary, died two months apart.
Still, three of Joan’s remaining siblings– Chuck, Jeff, and Becky– have continued searching for their sister over thirty-nine years later.
