Katharina Buczek
When Frankie Darlene Horsley was just a little girl, her own mother tragically passed away in a car accident, and she was later raised by her aunt and uncle. But then, after having a baby of her own, Frankie mysteriously vanished, and her now-adult son has continued a decades-long search for answers.
It all began in 1983 when Frankie was just 18-years-old and living in Fayetteville, North Carolina. At the time, her son, Roger Sealey, was only 18-months-old, and she was no longer with Roger’s father.
On March 10, 1983, Roger became sick and started to run a fever. So, Frankie left and headed to a local pharmacy to buy some medicine. Tragically, though, Frankie never made it home, and she was never seen or heard from again.
After Frankie’s loved ones hadn’t heard from her for four days, they reported her missing to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
At that point, an investigation was launched, and a week after she disappeared, Frankie’s car was discovered abandoned on Interstate 20 West in South Carolina. It was located close to the 44-mile marker and headed toward Georgia.
The vehicle was reportedly locked, and inside, investigators found some of Frankie’s clothing. However, her car keys were gone.
“She disappeared under highly suspicious circumstances,” explained Senior Sergeant Adam Bean of the Cumberland Sheriff’s Office.
According to Sgt. Bean, it has been extremely difficult to investigate Frankie’s disappearance due to outdated police technology and practices that were used at the time she vanished. Additionally, finding witnesses in Frankie’s case – which is now over 41-years-old – has proved harrowing.
“One of the hardest things is family members have since passed away, and that the people who are alive now were young at the time, and their memories may have faded,” he said.
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