Ilonka Cann

Ilonka, circa 1970

  • Missing Since 05/26/1970
  • Missing From Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Age 22 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 130 pounds
  • Medical Conditions Cann was pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Cann's nickname is Tootsie. Her hair was long at the time of her disappearance.

Details of Disappearance

Ilonka was last seen at her home in Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania on May 26, 1970. Her husband of two years, Charles Cann II, saw her at 7:20 a.m. before he went to his teaching job at the Berwick Junior High School.

hen he returned home at 3:30 p.m., Ilonka was gone and the couple's fifteen-month-old son was alone in the house, crying in his crib upstairs. She has never been heard from again. Charles reported her missing the next day. An extensive search of the area, including a dive team checking a nearby pond, turned up no indication of Ilonka's whereabouts.

In 1971, the year after Ilonka's disappearance, Charles began seeing another woman, Grace P. Brown. Grace moved into the home he'd formerly shared with Ilonka and took Charles's last name, and the couple lived together until 1987, without Charles ever filing for divorce from Ilonka or trying to have her declared legally dead.

In 1987, Grace filed for divorce, saying her cohabitation with Charles made him her common-law husband. Charles claimed they had never been legally married and he was still married to Ilonka; Grace said they were presumed married in 1972.

Ultimately, the court ruled that Grace and Charles had entered into a common-law marriage on June 1, 1982 and that Grace could proceed with her divorce action. The divorce was granted in 1990. Charles appealed, and the appeals court ruled that, even though he had never tried to have her declared legally dead, Ilonka was presumed deceased as of 1977, seven years after her disappearance.

In the summer of 2022, authorities searched a pond and a wooded area near Cann Road for evidence in Ilonka's case. This location was on the property where Ilonka went missing. Investigators haven't said whether their search turned up anything of value.

There has been no indication of Ilonka's whereabouts since she went missing, and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear.

Investigating Agency

  • Pennsylvania State Police 570-542-4117

Updated 8 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated September 22, 2022; details of disappearance updated.