Helen Joyce Rawley

Rawley, circa 2003

  • Missing Since 06/04/2003
  • Missing From College Park, Maryland
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Age 75 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'4 - 5'5, 110 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A sweatshirt and slacks.
  • Medical Conditions Rawley has suffered two strokes which have impaired her speaking, writing, and hearing skills. She was also diagnosed with rectal cancer in the summer of 2002 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She is on several medications and cannot be without them for a long period of time, and she is often tired and weak. She has to wear a colostomy bag as the result of her condition. Rawley was, however, otherwise in good health and sound mind at the time of her disappearance.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. White hair, brown eyes. Rawley goes by her middle name, Joyce.

Details of Disappearance

Rawley was last seen between 6:45 and 7:00 a.m. on June 4, 2003, at her home in the 4600 block of Knox Road in College Park, Maryland. Her tenant, who had rented a room in her house for eight years, saw her sitting on the porch as he returned home from his job.

Rawley had lived with her adult son since the 2001 death of her husband, and she hadn't left home by herself, except to get the mail, since she had her strokes in February 2001. Her son returned home from his foreman job at 3:30 p.m. and found his mother missing.

The lights were off and there was no indication that there had been a robbery. Rawley's purse and wallet were left behind in her bedroom. She has never been heard from again. Police dogs tracked her scent out the front door, which her son says she never used, to the corner of the block, but they could not go further than that.

Rawley enjoys gardening, doing crossword puzzles, and reading novels and self-help books. She owns a beach house in Annapolis, Maryland, but has not been there since her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved. Foul play is not suspected, but police are unsure what happened to her.

Investigating Agency

  • Prince George's County Police Department 301-699-2601

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated July 5, 2017; clothing/jewelry description added, medical conditions and details of disappearance updated.