Dorothy Jeanne Pitcher

Dorothy, circa 1993

  • Missing Since 05/23/1993
  • Missing From Sunizona, Arizona
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 09/24/1945 (78)
  • Age 47 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'3, 145 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A white short outfit with a duck design.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Old van with Colorado license plates
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Dorothy wears eyeglasses and dentures, but both of them were left behind.

Details of Disappearance

Dorothy attended church on the morning of May 23, 1993 and afterwards walked to The RV Park Store on the corner of Highway 666 (now called Highway 191) and Highway 181 in Sunizona, Arizona. She was accompanied by her daughter, Danielle Pitcher, at the time.

Along their route they stopped at the residence of one of Dorothy's daughters and invited her to walk with them. She declined, but invited them to dinner after they finished their errand.

Danielle and Dorothy arrived at the store to purchase cigarettes for Dorothy's husband. It has been established that the women also purchased ice cream cones and made a call from the store's pay phone before departing for their residence, which was located approximately three miles from The RV Park Store. The Pitchers' home didn't have a phone.

They were last seen by friends who drove past the Pitchers on their route home. There may have been an old van with Colorado license plates nearby. Neither Danielle nor her mother have been seen again. They left all their belongings behind at home, including Dorothy's dentures, eyeglasses, purse and driver's license.

Search dogs picked up the Pitchers' scents at the store and approximately one and a half miles into their route home along the highway. The scent disappeared close to the road; a vehicle may have picked them up at that location. There was no other indication of Danielle and Dorothy's whereabouts.

John Pitcher, Dorothy's husband of 27 years, was ruled out as a suspect after he passed a polygraph.

The police investigated a Flint, Michigan man whom Dorothy had had an affair with while he was in Arizona, but he had moved back to Flint by the time Dorothy and Danielle disappeared, surveillance conducted at his residence showed no indication that the Pitchers were there, and he told police he hadn't heard from Dorothy recently.

Dorothy's children said they didn't think their mother would have run away with another man without letting the family know. Investigators stated they had two suspects in the Pitchers' disappearances, neither of whom have been publicly named.

John and Dorothy had fourteen children in all at the time of the Pitchers' disappearances, two of whom were from John's earlier marriage. Six of the children, including Danielle, were still living at home by 1993. John died in 1998, but Dorothy's children continue to search for her and Danielle.

The Pitchers' cases remain open and unsolved. Foul play is suspected.

Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 9, 2017; distinguishing characteristics and details of disappearance updated.