Ylva Annika Hagner

Hagner, circa 1996; Hagner's car

  • Missing Since 10/14/1996
  • Missing From Belmont, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 08/04/1954 (69)
  • Age 42 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'5, 110 pounds
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Black 1992 Honda Civic with the California license plate number 2BBS966 (accounted for)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, blue eyes. Hagner has a fair complexion. She is a Swedish national and speaks Swedish, German and English and has a Swedish accent. Hagner's first name is pronounced "Eel-vah." At the time of her disappearance, her hair was very long, past her shoulders.

Details of Disappearance

Hagner was employed as a software marketing manager at a small company called Ixos Software in 1996. The business was located in an office building at Sixth Avenue in Belmont, California at the time, fifty yards down the hall from the Belmont Police Department administrative offices; it has since changed locations.

Hagner was last seen at her office at approximately 9:30 p.m. on October 14, 1996 by an executive who headed out for home, leaving her alone there. She has never been heard from again. Her black 1992 Honda Civic with the California license plate number 2BBS966 was discovered abandoned on October 17, 1996, three days after she initially disappeared.

The vehicle had been parked south of the Belmont/San Carlos border in California on the corner of El Camino Real and Spring Street in front of the Days Inn motel. This location is a mile and a half away from Ixos Software. The car was unlocked and the keys were still in the ignition.

There was no sign of Hagner at the scene and her purse was also missing. A photo of her car is posted with this case summary. No sign of forced entry was found at the office, and there was also no blood or evidence of a struggle there or at her car.

Hagner usually turned off her computer and straightened up the items on her desk when she left; however, on the night of her disappearance, her computer was left turned on and papers were strewn across her desktop.

Hagner was a resident of Palo Alto, California in 1996. She was studying for a master's degree in liberal arts at Stanford University at the time she vanished. Her loved ones describe her as outgoing, cultured and "Bohemian," but responsible. She is well-traveled and enjoys the outdoors.

Hagner's family and friends have stated that it is uncharacteristic of her to disappear in such a manner voluntarily. They stated that she was being harassed and stalked by a male acquaintance prior to her disappearance and also that he failed a lie-detector test about her case.

Hagner's parents and brother lived in Sweden at the time she disappeared; her father has since died. She had no relatives in California at the time she went missing. She is a Swedish national and had been living in the United States for about twelve years prior to her disappearance; she was a legal resident of the U.S.

Authorities believe Hagner was abducted by someone she knew and trusted, such as a family member or friend. Her case remains unsolved.

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 25, 2016; picture added.