Katharina Buczek
In June of 1999, Cynthia Rearden was a thirty-one-year-old single mother to her eight-year-old son. They lived together in a small trailer in Monroe, Washington, near where Cynthia was employed as a housekeeper for a local motel.
The mom worked hard to support her son and, during her free time, loved fishing and going on walks. She was also engaged to be wed in two months’ time and had already picked out her wedding dress.
Then, on June 20, tragedy struck. Cynthia left her son with a babysitter to visit the Hayloft Saloon– a local bar less than one mile away from her home. The mom was last seen leaving at about 11:30 p.m. and was never heard from again.
Some bar patrons reported she left with men, while others claim she left alone. Nonetheless, Cynthia’s car had not been working– so she either got a ride home or walked home alone.
Cynthia remained missing for eight whole months. Her parents had no clue what to tell her son and refused to believe that Cynthia had just left her family behind.
Facebook; pictured above is Cynthia
“I know my daughter. I know she would not leave her son like that,” said Larry Lane, her stepfather.
Officials followed up on hundreds of leads and launched numerous searches over the months before finally discovering human remains in a marshy wooded area about five miles away from the Hayloft Saloon.
Five days later, the remains were positively matched to Cynthia using past dental records.
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