Selena Edon

A woman disappears after a horrific motorcycle accident leaves her physically impaired.

Missing: Gender: Female DOB: 3/17/62 Height: 5’7” Weight: 110 lbs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Defining Characteristics: Walks with a limp

CASE DETAILS

When she graduated from high school in 1980, Selena Edon was everything a parent could ask for. She was president of the student body and of the senior class. But Selena had always marched to her own drummer. After a brief stint in the Air Force, Selena became a journeyman construction worker in San Francisco. She joined the teamsters and bought herself a motorcycle. On November 29, 1989, Selena Edon was driving home from the union hall in downtown San Francisco when she collided with a truck. She was admitted to the hospital as Jane Doe. Her I.D. papers had disappeared in the aftermath of the accident and seven days passed before her mother and brother were tracked down in San Diego. According to her friend Laurie Gallagher, Selena had lost a significant amount of her memory:

“After the accident, she was in a coma for six weeks and she had some brain damage. She had a long way to go. She appeared to be like a child again. Like she didn’t know too much anymore… like a child.”

Selena’s left eye had been permanently damaged. She suffered painful headaches. Her left thigh was crushed and a severe head injury caused fluid to build up around her brain. Still, Selena began a demanding regimen of physical therapy. According to her brother, Dion Edon, Selena was eager to regain her health:

“She challenged herself to the max and it was like a lot of things that she just couldn’t do and I guess she just wasn’t ready to accept the fact that she wasn’t well yet.”

Two months after the accident, Selena moved to San Diego to live with her mother, Clarissa:

“You know, when she was living with me, she started having more confused episodes. There were a lot of changes and she was having a lot of headaches.”

Soon, the headaches gave way to general confusion. Physically, Selena was getting better. But according to her mother, Selena’s mental state was worsening:

“Things like that would upset her. That’s when I noticed her frustration more and more. And she wanted to be on her own, but the more she pushed it, the more confused she was becoming.”

With her recovery stalled, Selena decided to return to San Francisco in May of 1990. She hoped that the familiarity of old friends like Laurie Gallagher would help her recovery:

“She was very happy to be in San Francisco and to be around her friends, but she didn’t appear healthy enough to be on her own. She was very unaware of a lot of things. I think she definitely needed somebody to be with her you know, to help her.”

Despite her erratic behavior, Selena had been in the habit of calling her mother regularly. Finally, in October of 1990, nearly one year after the accident, Clarissa Edon received a phone call she would never forget:

“She was evasive with me and that wasn’t like her. She would tell me everything you know. I said, Selena, what you need to do, you need to come back home. And she said well don’t worry if you don’t hear from me in a month or two. And then she said I’ll be calling you soon, and hung up and that’s the last I’ve heard from Selena.”

Selena’s family hired a private investigator to search for her. Even after she told her mother she was leaving town, she was sighted in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. The investigator followed up on all the leads, but never found her. Selena’s family and friends continue to believe she’s alive somewhere in the United States, most likely lost and confused. Selena Marie Edon was born in 1962. She stands 5’7” tall and, at the time of her disappearance, weighed 110 pounds. Selena also walks with a limp.

Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season six with Robert Stack and in season eight with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu.