Rosario Teresa Gonzales
Gonzales, circa 1984; Christopher Wilder
- Missing Since 02/26/1984
- Missing From Miami, Florida
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race Hispanic
- Date of Birth 09/27/1963 (61)
- Age 20 years old
- Height and Weight 5'6, 115 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt with "Mejoral" printed on the front, red shorts, beige shoes and a diamond engagement ring. Carrying a gray purse.
- Associated Vehicle(s) Blue 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass (accounted for)
- Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Gonzales's nickname is Chary. She was born in Cuba.
Details of Disappearance
Gonzales was last seen at the Miami Grand Prix racetrack, where she was working at a temporary job distributing samples of aspirin for a pharmaceutical company. She was paid $200 a day. Witnesses states that she left the Grand Prix track between noon and 1:00 p.m. on February 26, 1984 with a Caucasian man in his thirties. Her blue 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass was found parked near Dupont Plaza.
Gonzales was supposed to return home between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., and she usually called whenever she was going to be late. She has never been heard from again. She resided with her parents in Homestead, Florida, twenty-three miles from Miami.
Gonzales is not thought to have left of her own accord. She was born in Cuba and moved with her family to Massachusetts, via Spain, in 1973. In 1979 they moved to Miami, where they had extended family members. She was engaged to be married in June of 1984 and had dreams of a career as a model. She never picked up her last paycheck. Christopher Wilder became a suspect in Gonzales's disappearance in March 1984.
Photos of Wilder are posted with this case summary. He was put on probation in 1980 after pleading guilty to attempted sexual battery towards a teenage girl. While on a visit home to Australia that same year, he was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting two teenage girls. His parents bailed him out of jail and he flew back to the United States, promising to return for his trial which was set for April 1984.
Wilder has been linked to at least a dozen disappearances, rapes, murders and/or attacks of women in the early to mid-1980s, including the disappearances of Mary Opitz, Elizabeth Kenyon, and Tammy Leppert. He sometimes attempted to lure young female victims by offering non-existent "modeling sessions" or other tactics.
Gonzales was an aspiring model at the time of her disappearance and had participated in the Miss Florida beauty contest along with Elizabeth Kenyon. In addition, Wilder was a race car driver who frequented the Miami Grand Prix racetrack and was reportedly present there the day Gonzales disappeared.
Wilder went on a killing spree later in 1984 where he traveled across the United States, abducting, raping, torturing, and killing women along the way. He was killed in a struggle with police officers in New Hampshire in the late spring of 1984 and died without ever divulging what he might have known about Gonzales's disappearance. Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
- Coral Gables Department
Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated July 28, 2013; middle name and date of birth added, distinguishing characteristics and clothing/jewelry description updated.