Missing
Ada Jane Groomes
Ada, approximately 1988
Date and time person was reported missing : 10/07/1988
Missing location (approx) :
Scottdale, Pennsylvania
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 04/08/1934 (87)
Age at the time of disappearance: 54 years old
Height / Weight : 5'7, 150 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A size 8 peach-colored jacket, blue jeans and possibly a pearl ring on her left ring finger.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Ada has a surgical scar on her abdomen from tubal ligation. She wears eyeglasses.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Ada co-owned Groomes Transit Company in East Huntington Township, Pennsylvania with her estranged husband, Donald Arthur Groomes, in 1988. She drove to the company's headquarters on Route 819 on October 7, 1988 during the morning hours.
Ada requested that one of the company's mechanics inspect her vehicle upon her arrival at work. A witness told authorities that she appeared to have an argument regarding the inspection at approximately 10:30 a.m.
She apparently drove her vehicle to her residence in Scottdale shortly afterwards. Her car was parked on a side street near her home later in the day, but there was no sign of Ada.
Donald was allegedly the last person to see her that day. He told investigators that he saw Ada between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. and stated that Ada drove a 30-foot mobile home owned by the couple away from the residence. All of her other belongings, including recently purchased groceries, were left behind.
Donald said that he believed Ada drove to Arizona and joined a cult organization. She has never been heard from again.
Ada was supposed to visit her mother in Butler, Pennsylvania that day to celebrate her mother's birthday. She also planned to go square-dancing the following weekend. She never arrived at her mother's home and never went square-dancing. Her mother and her adult daughter reported her missing.
The couple's mobile home was discovered in Tampa, Florida in 1989, approximately one year after Ada disappeared. There was no tEthnicity : of her at the scene. Authorities believe the mobile home had been driven to Tampa by John R. "Bud" Neckerauer and Linda Gettemy. They were later charged with concealing evidence, but the charges were dismissed before trial.
Ada and Donald had been married for 34 years and four children together, but they separated in 1986, two years prior to her disappearance. They were in the process of a complicated and bitter divorce which included allegations of infidelity.
The Groomes children stated Donald wanted complete control of the family business and Ada was opposed to this. Ada claimed that Donald physically abused her and obtained protection orders against him in both Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Ada's case is officially listed as a missing person's file, but authorities believe she met with foul play. The missing persons investigation was reclassified as a homicide in December 1, 1988, less than two months after her disappearance.
Investigators believe Ada was killed in the office of Groomes Transit and her body was stuffed in a cardboard container and taken away in the back of Donald's pickup truck. They have not found most of the physical evidence, however, including Ada's body and the cardboard container her body was allegedly put in.
In 1992, Ada's disappearance was brought before a Pennsylvania grand jury, but no indictments were issued. The case was reopened in 2000 as part of a cold case investigation process in Pennsylvania.
Several of Ada's family members believe she was murdered and buried at an unknown location, but investigators lack the evidence necessary to prove this theory. His second wife said they had had no problems during their marriAge at the time of disappearance: and she described Donald as a brave, kind and generous man.
Ada was declared legally deceased by a Pennsylvania court in October 1996, at the request of her daughter. Donald was given control of the couple's assets, worth over a million dollars. He died in 2011 at the Age at the time of disappearance: of 78; he was never charged in connection with Ada's disappearance and always maintained his innocence. Ada's case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Pennsylvania State Police
724-832-3288
September 2021 updates and sources
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
