Laurie Jean Depies

• Missing Since 08/19/1992
• Missing From Menasha, Wisconsin
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 09/17/1971 (53)
• Age 20 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 115 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A sleeveless black rib-knit turtleneck with horizontal stripes, black and white striped spandex shorts, black slip-on leather shoes, a silver watch on her left wrist, and multiple silver necklaces, bracelets, anklets and earrings.
• Associated Vehicle(s) Gray 1984 Volkswagen Bug or Volkswagen Rabbit (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Depies has a tattoo of an Indian art form that resembles a squid on her right ankle. She may have been wearing brown-tinted contact lenses at the time of her disappearance. Her ears are triple-pierced and her nicknames are Loriella and Ella.

Details of Disappearance

Depies was seen entering her gray 1984 Volkswagen Bug or Rabbit at the Fox River Mall in Grand Chute, Wisconsin on August 19, 1992 at approximately 10:00 p.m. She apparently arrived at her boyfriend's apartment complex in the 300 block of west Wilson Avenue in Menasha, Wisconsin between approximately 10:15 and 10:30 p.m.

Depies's boyfriend had been waiting in his apartment with his sister and a friend. They heard her car pull into the lot, and went looking for her when she did not arrive at the apartment. They found her locked vehicle in the complex parking lot, but no sign of her. Eventually they notified police.

A Styrofoam cup of soda was found on the hood on Depies's car, but there were no other signs of her at the scene. No one saw her walk away from the parking lot or get into anyone's car. Her overnight bag and purse were left inside her vehicle.

There are few clues in Depies's disappearance. Authorities believe she was taken by someone she knew, as it would be uncharacteristic of Depies to willingly get into a car with a stranger, and there is no indication that she was forcibly kidnapped. They think she may have gone willingly with someone she trusted and was harmed afterwards.

The cup on the hood of her car had an unidentified thumbprint on it which police believe may have been from the abduction suspect. Judging from the size of the print, it was probably although not definitely from a man.

In 2010, Larry DeWayne Hall confessed to kidnapping and killing Depies. He is currently serving a life sentence in a North Carolina prison for kidnapping 15-year-old Jessica Roach, whose body was found in an Indiana cornfield in 1993. A photo of Hall is posted with this case summary.

Authorities stated he became a suspect in Depies's disappearance in 1995 and is a suspect in the disappearances of other girls and young women. He confessed to kidnapping and murdering Tricia Reitler, who disappeared from Indiana in 1993, and implied he was involved in the 1988 disappearance of Paulette Webster from Illinois. Police believe he may have killed thirty to forty women, but he hasn't been charged in any cases besides Roach's. Investigators searched the area where Hall said he'd buried Depies, but they were unable to find her body or any physical evidence to substantiate his confession.

No arrests have been made in Depies's disappearance and her case remains unsolved. There has been no activity on her bank accounts or Social Security number since she went missing. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance.