Missing
Maria Socorro Kimbrell
Maria, approximately 1991
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/19/1991
Missing location (approx) :
Huntsville, Texas
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Hispanic
DOB : 05/13/1963 (58)
Age at the time of disappearance: 28 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5, 190 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Hispanic female. Red hair, brown eyes. Maria may dye her hair brown. She has a gold-filled window crown on one of her front teeth, and her ears are pierced. She is a native of Belize and her maiden name is Bobadilla.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Maria lived in Huntsville, Texas with her husband, James Kimbrell, at the time of her disappearance. He told her family she left for a trip to Honduras with a friend on June 19, 1991, in order to do some research for school. She was a criminology student at Sam Houston State University at the time of her disappearance.
Maria has never been heard from again. There is no evidence that she actually went to Honduras, and she left all her personal belongings behind, including clothes, toiletries, credit cards and her car. She had previously taken three-day trips to her native Belize, but would always say goodbye to her young son. This time she left without a word to him.
Shortly after Maria disappeared, James took their son and moved. They lived reclusively after this; they had no phone, no credit cards, and James and Maria's son was home-schooled. Family and friends were allowed to visit, but were not allowed to mention Maria.
Maria was well-known to the security forces in Belize; she had led protest parties there supporting the United Democratic Party, which was in opposition to the ruling party, the People's United Party. She and James were also involved in other activist groups, such as the Belize Humanitarian Alliance. There was a theory that Maria's disappearance was a politically motivated kidnap/murder, but there is no evidence to support that.
James died in 1998. His daughter by a prior relationship believes he probably murdered Maria, but he was never charged in her case or named as a suspect. Maria's case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Huntsville Police Department
936-291-5477
September 2021 updates and sources
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.
The Huntsville Item
October 12, 2004. February 8, 2019; Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: and Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
