Maria Bozi

• Missing Since 09/01/1999
• Missing From Boulder City, Nevada
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 46 years old
• Height and Weight Unknown
• Associated Vehicle(s) Ford Thunderbird (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Dark brown hair. Bozi was born in Bucharest, Romania. She is a naturalized British citizen.

Details of Disappearance

Bozi married David Kent Fitch in England in April 1999. Photos of Fitch are posted with this case summary. The couple relocated to the Boulder City, Nevada area shortly after their wedding. They resided in Lakeshore Trailer Village, which is part of the Lake Mead National Recreational Area.

Fitch was convicted for manufacturing counterfeit currency and selling marijuana in Arizona in 1991. Authorities are uncertain if Bozi was aware of her husband's criminal record.

Bozi was last seen at her residence between September 4 and September 9, 1999. She phoned the caretaker in England on September 4. This is the last time anyone heard from her. Fitch did not report her missing and told their neighbors and her British caretaker that Bozi traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He told park rangers that Bozi returned to Romania to visit her mother, who resided in the country. In the aftermath of her disappearance he disposed of most of her belongings, including her clothes and car.

Citibank attempted to contact Bozi at her home in England during mid-September. The bank was concerned about a series of $1000 withdrawals from her account which started on September 7. All the transactions took place in Hendersonville, Nevada. Authorities were summoned shortly afterwards and Bozi's trailer was sealed, since she disappeared from federal land.

Fitch was pulled over for a speeding violation in Hendersonville in February 2000. He was driving Bozi's Ford Thunderbird at the time. Fitch allowed authorities to search the vehicle, as well as two storage units he maintained in the 4100 block of South Boulder Highway. Investigators discovered firearms and ammunition inside the units, as well as books on how to kill people and how to change your identity.

Authorities arrested Fitch after finding these items; he is not allowed to possess firearms due to his previous felony convictions. Fitch admitted that he made the transactions from Bozi's account after she disappeared. He also stated that he cashed Bozi's check for $40,000 in September 1999.

Authorities learned that Fitch traveled to England in January 2000 and married Patricia Molano Gutierrez, a Colombian national, under the name David Lee Krause. He was still legally married to Bozi at the time of the marriage. Gutierrez was located in England shortly after Fitch's February 2000 arrest. Investigators were initially concerned for her safety, since Bozi vanished after her wedding to Fitch.

Fitch used numerous aliases, including Dr. David, Dr. DK Fitch, James O'Callaghan, Daniel Joseph O'Hare, Michael Bozi and Mario Bozi. Fitch also used the alias David Lee Krause. (He paid the real Krause $200 to borrow his identity.) Papers with Bozi's forged signature were also located in the units. Investigators believe that he attempted to coerce others into posing as Bozi for phone calls in an effort to steal cash from her accounts.

Fitch pleaded guilty to ten counts of firearms possession and fradulent document charges in July 2000 and sentenced to eight years in prison. After his release, he was charged with bank fraud, money laundering and unauthorized possession of Bozi's credit card. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 22 years in prison, nearly seven times the amount suggested by sentencing guidelines. The judge said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that he had killed Bozi, although he'd never been charged in her case.

Fitch's father told the media that his son often lied about his lifestyle and career. His family believed that he was working aboard an overseas oil rig at the time he was arrested in Nevada in 2000. Fitch's father said that his son has been married at least three times and has at least five children from previous relationships.

Fitch has never ben charged in connection with Bozi's disappearance, but he remains a suspect. He has maintained his innocence in his wife's case, which remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected in Bozi's disappearance.