Mindi Chambers
Mindi, circa 1982; Age-progression to age 55 (circa 2020)
- Missing Since 10/19/1982
- Missing From Tempe, Arizona
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race White
- Date of Birth 05/28/1965 (59)
- Age 17 years old
- Height and Weight 4'10, 86 pounds
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Sandy blonde hair, brown eyes. Mindi had prior orthodontic treatment. Her braces were removed in 1980, two years before her disappearance.
Details of Disappearance
Mindi was last seen in Tempe, Arizona on October 19, 1982. She left her home in the 2100 block of east University Avenue and walked her two stepsisters to school.
When her stepsisters returned home, Mindi was gone and the front door was open. There were no indications of a struggle, and her purse, identification and other belongings were left behind.
The last person known to have seen Mindi was a clerk at the Circle K convenience store on the corner of University and Price; the clerk saw her make a phone call and leave. The clerk said a green and tan station wagon pulled into the parking lot and the driver grabbed Mindi, pulled her into the vehicle and drove away. She has never been heard from again.
Mindi's mother, Mary Xenos Chambers, was murdered in 1968, drowned in her bathtub at her apartment in Yonkers, New York. Mindi was two years old at the time. Police suspected her father, Allen Chambers, in Mary's death, but he was never charged for lack of evidence.
Mindi lived with her paternal grandmother and then with an aunt while Allen was serving time in prison unrelated charges of assault and attempted rape. When she was seven, Allen was released from prison and took her back into his care.
Mindi was a student at Mountain View High School in 1982. Three days before her disappearance, she told the police that Allen had been molesting her for the past five years. Child Protective Services (CPS) immediately placed her in the custody of her stepmother, who was in the process of a divorce from Allen. Then she disappeared.
No one reported Mindi missing until 1995. Her relatives stated she had a history of running away and they thought she had simply walked out of her life to escape her problems. CPS apparently dropped their investigation into her father a short time after Mindi went missing.
Allen died in a car accident in 1994, leaving behind six children besides Mindi.
Foul play is suspected in Mindi's disappearance. It isn't clear whether police consider Allen to be a suspect in her case, but Mindi's half-sister stated their father drove a green and tan station wagon, like the one driven by Mindi's apparent abductor. Her case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Mesa Police Department 480-644-2211
Updated 9 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated April 9, 2023; age-progression updated.