Susan Libby Marable

Marable, circa 1991; John L. Robinson in 2017

  • Missing Since 04/23/1991
  • Missing From Yakima, Washington
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 05/09/1956 (68)
  • Age 34 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'0 - 5'2, 90 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A denim jacket, blue jeans, tan clogs with white soles, and a single silver unicorn earring.
  • Medical Conditions Marable was addicted to heroin at the time of her disappearance. She also suffers from anxiety.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Maroon pickup truck
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Marable has scars on both upper arms, on her neck and on her abdomen. She has a homemade tattoo of a star on her left hand between her thumb and index finger. Her ears are pierced. Marable's nickname is Sue, and she may use the last names Hernandez and/or Shortt.

Details of Disappearance

Marable was last seen in Yakima, Washington at 9:30 p.m. on April 23, 1991. She had gone out with friends to the Sports Center Tavern. The bartender saw her getting into a maroon pickup, which he recognized as owned by Bill Robinson. She has never been heard from again.

According to her sister, Marable got involved with drugs after she graduated nursing school, and wound up losing her nursing career and custody of her daughter due to drug abuse. By the time of her disappearance, she was a street prostitute. She was abducted and raped by a stranger in 1990, and suffered from anxiety after the attack. The parking lot where she was last seen was the same lot she was abducted from.

The attacker, John L. Robinson, was convicted of first-degree rape and kidnapping in Marable's case. He had taken her to a remote area, held her overnight, raped her and told her he would kill her. Although her wrists and ankles were bound, she escaped from him the next morning when he briefly left her alone and she was able to get out of his car and got the attention of two men she saw on the roadside. They rescued her and took her to the police.

During his sentencing in the spring of 1991, John threatened Marable and her family in open court. Marable disappeared a few weeks later.

A photo of John is posted with this case summary. He was civilly committed as a sexually violent predator after his release from prison in 1997. John was released from the commitment center in February 2019 and went to live in the Tacoma, Washington area, but was returned to the center a few months later after violating the terms of his release. He died in 2020.

John was in jail at the time of Susan's disappearance, but it's worth noting that it was his brother Bill's pickup truck that Susan was seen getting into on the night of her disappearance. The police never interviewed Bill about Marable's disappearance, and he died in 1992.

Marable last saw her family in February 1991. She was acting uneasy and told her family she wanted to turn her life around. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance, but there have been no solid leads in her case in decades.

Investigating Agency

  • Washington State Patrol 360-704-4227

Updated 6 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated May 25, 2024; details of disappearance updated.