Missing
Marie Ann Watson
Watson, approximately 1977
Date and time person was reported missing : 11/21/1977
Missing location (approx) :
Gem County, Idaho
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 12/03/1949 (71)
Age at the time of disappearance: 27 years old
Height / Weight : 5'7, 110 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A blue jacket with sheepskin lining, a t-shirt and jeans.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Watson may use the last name Roach.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Watson was last seen in Gem County, Idaho on November 21, 1977. She has never been heard from again. At the time of her disappearance, she was involved in a custody dispute over her two children, Age at the time of disappearance: d eight and six. They had been living with foster parents, Michael and Dorothy Rogers, and Watson had visitation.
The Rogerses, who also cared for five other children, changed the children's names and had them refer to Watson as their aunt. She repeatedly tried to regain custody before she disappeared, but the Rogers family wanted to adopt the children.
Dorothy is the last person known to have seen Watson. She said she saw her get in a car and drive away. Watson's purse and other personal belongings were later found in a vehicle at the Rogers home, but there was no sign of her.
In the aftermath of Watson's disappearance, her parents, Leon and Lucille Baxter, fought for and obtained custody of her children. In their custody petition they accused the Rogerses of causing Watson to vanish.
In June 1978, Michael was charged with raping his fourteen-year-old adopted daughter. He and Dorothy fled, taking Watson's children and two of their other children with them. They were later located in Arkansas, the Rogerses were arrested and the children were taken into protective custody. Michael subsequently pleaded guilty to the rape of his daughter, and he and Dorothy divorced. There were allegations that they abused their other foster and adopted children.
Authorities believe the Rogerses may have been involved in Watson's disappearance, but there is insufficient evidence to charge them. Curiously, their son Ramon, who was seventeen years old in 1977, grew up to become a serial killer. He was convicted of murdering two of his girlfriends and a former roommate in California in the 1990s. He was sentenced to death.
After his arrest, police tried to link Ramon to Watson's disappearance and dug up his former home in Idaho, but they could not prove he was involved. Until the California murders were discovered, he had never been a suspect in Watson's case.
Watson's case remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance; investigators think she was taken against her will.
Other information and links : ncy
Gem County Sheriff's Office
208-365-3521
September 2021 updates and sources
Idaho Bureau of Criminal Investigation
Porchlight International for the Missing & Unidentified
The Los Angeles Times
San Diego Magazine
The San Diego Union-Tribune
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
