Katharina Buczek
Diana Avera of Mount Vernon, Alabama, was born on May 15, 1960, and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. She was also a loving mother to her two sons.
But, at 22-years-old, Diana was reportedly arrested for disorderly conduct. This resulted in her being involuntarily committed to Searcy Hospital– which was once a state-owned and operated psychiatric hospital that closed in 2012.
After Diana was arrested and committed on May 21, 1982, she underwent ECT– or electroconvulsive treatments– in addition to other therapies.
Upon being visited by family members in the hospital, though, Diana’s loved ones recalled how she had been “like a zombie” and was nearly unable to walk or speak.
About three months after Diana entered Searcy Hospital, she also wound up escaping in August of 1982.
And since then, Diana’s loved ones have never seen or heard from her again.
At the time of her disappearance, it was thought that law enforcement or the hospital had reported Diana missing in 1982.
But, her loved ones found out more recently that she was actually never reported missing.
So, it was not until August 2020 that Diana was officially reported as a missing person. Around the same time, her family members submitted samples of their DNA for matching, and Diana’s case was entered into NamUs– a national database for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases.
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