Maria C. Procopio

• Missing Since 09/24/1999
• Missing From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 10/01/1964 (59)
• Age 34 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3 - 5'4, 129 - 160 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A gold ring with marquise-, round- and baguette-cut diamonds with a total weight of one carat. A picture of the ring is posted with this case summary.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Red 1990 Pontiac Sunbird coupe (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Procopio left work at QVC, where she was an accounts receivable specialist, in West Chester, Pennsylvania at approximately 5:10 p.m. on September 24, 1999. She told her coworkers she was planning to meet someone after work.

She was last seen near the Newton Shopping Center in the vicinity of Route 3 and Route 252 at approximately 7:00 p.m. that day. She never arrived home and has never been heard from again. She was reported missing by her sister on October 5.

Procopio's vehicle, a red 1990 Pontiac Sunbird coupe, was located behind Chick's Tavern in the 200 block of Front Street in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania on October 7, two weeks after Procopio disappeared. It was legally parked, the anti-theft device was in place, and the driver's seat was adjusted to Procopio's height. It had been wiped completely clean of fingerprints.

After Procopio's disappearance, authorities discovered that she had been secretly working as a dominatrix, using the name Mistress Maria. She had her own 900 number and hundreds of clients. Her family and friends knew nothing about it. It is unclear what, if anything, the dominatrix work has to do with her disappearance.

Procopio's loved ones believe her boyfriend, Andrew Charles Thomas, physically abused her prior to her disappearance, but this has not been confirmed. Procopio was the one who had tipped authorities off to his criminal activities, just days before she disappeared.

When police searched Thomas's apartment for evidence in her case, they found counterfeit cash, night-vision equipment and fake identification. He was found guilty of welfare fraud and counterfeiting after Procopio vanished and sentenced to prison.

In September 2012, Thomas committed suicide after fatally shooting a police officer in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania. Although he maintained his innocence in Procopio's disappearance to the end, he was and is the prime suspect in her presumed murder. A photograph of Thomas is posted with this case summary.

Procopio resided in the 2400 block of south Opal Street in Philadelphia at the time of her disappearance, and frequented West Chester and Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. She was declared legally dead in 2006.