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A young beauty queen mysteriously vanishes.
CASE DETAILS Tami Lynn Leppert was an uncommonly beautiful child. She entered her first beauty contest when she was just four years old. By the age of 16, she had already competed in more than 300 beauty contests and had taken home 280 crowns. Her mother, Linda Curtis, a theatrical and modeling agent, guided Tami’s career:
 At 16, Tami had won 280 beauty contests Wing Flannagan was a close family friend. He and Tami were like brother and sister:
In July of 1982, Tami landed a part in the teen exploitation film, “Spring Break”. When the movie completed filming, Tami went un-chaperoned to a weekend party. She came back a different person. According to Wing, Tami’s behavior began to take on paranoid overtones:
 After filming Spring Break, Tami changed According to her mother, Linda, she even thought someone was trying to kill her:
 Tami feared for her life A steady retreat into isolation soon followed for Tami. Linda and Wing had no way of ascertaining which of Tami’s fears were real and which were paranoid delusions. After two weeks of virtual seclusion, Tami Lynn was offered a small part in the big budget Al Pacino film, “Scarface,” which began shooting in Miami in March of 1983. She stayed with a family friend, Walter Liebowitz. According to Walter, all went well until the fourth day of filming:
 Tami smashed a window in her home Tami Lynn quit the film and went back home. At her mother’s insistence, Tami did talk to the local sheriff, but apparently never mentioned that she felt her life was in danger. Even with her family, Tami’s paranoia ran rampant. According to Wing, Tami was now convinced that someone was trying to poison her:
Then on July 1 st , Tami finally snapped. She began smashing all the windows in her house and started attacking Wing. It was at that moment that Linda knew something was seriously wrong with her daughter:
 She was last seen in Cocoa Beach, FL Tami’s mother checked her into a mental health center for a complete physical and psychiatric evaluation. Doctors found no evidence of drug or alcohol use. After 72 hours of observation, Tami was released. The following day, Tami and a friend drove to the local beach, when according to Detective Jim Skragg of the Cocoa Beach, Florida Police Department, they started to argue:
Tami’s friend said he dropped her off about five miles from her house. She was barefoot and carried no purse. According to Detective Skragg, it was the last time Tami Lynn would be seen alive:
Tami Lynn Leppert is five feet four inches tall, and at the time of her disappearance, weighed 103 pounds. She has blonde hair and hazel eyes. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season five with Robert Stack and in season five with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
STC
This case is organized on Solve the Case at https://www.solvethecase.org/case/1983-1/tammy-lynn-leppert
EXPERT3000
it sounds like she HAD SOME FORM OF JUVENILE ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA AND WAS PARANOID, SHE PROBABLY WANDERED OFF INTO THE ADJACENT SURROUNDING, SUCCUMBED TO THE ELEMENT AND DIED. IT IS DOUBLFUIL ANY DRUG LORD WAS LOOKING FOR HER AND KILLED HER.. A THOROUGH SEARCH OF THE AREA MAY EVENTUALLY REVEL HER REMAINS
Mick Shoup
Paul Land: https://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2017/12/todays-blind-items-killed-by-her.html
Whiskers
This is one of the most baffling things on unsolved mysteries. A girl growing up into modeling and beauty pagents. Then she gets her break..In a movie called “Spring Break”.
She was probably thrilled getting roles for movies. Then getting invited to a weekend party. She was unchaperoned. So the questions are “Where was the party”?, “who was there”? “Could something have happened to her at the party”? Her change in behavior could’ve been from something happening at the party she wasn’t supposed to see or know about. It’s the film industry and there are so many sharks and young women like Tami that become targets. Her break down on the set of scarface indicates that she was suffering from some form of trauma. People say schizophrenia but I don’t buy that. They did a 72 observation on her and never mentioned any form of mental illness. Her friend thst drove her to coca Beach said thary had an argument. Then he drops her off by the Glass Bank. Supposedly 5 miles from her house.”What were they arguing about”? According to unsolved mysterious had no shoes, no purse. She so wasn’t plan on being gone to long or leaving on her own. I think someone see must have seen her around the glass bank and the gas station. Or saw something. Maybe she hitched a ride and met with foul play. Nobody ever see her again. So If she was schizophrenic and wondering around. There would be sighting of her and that goes for if she runaway. The police probably didn’t do much at the time because they chalked up to a runaway theory. They did interview her friend though but no leads there. Her case should’ve be looked into more with her involvement with films especially “spring break movie”. Asking more questions about the weekend party. Unfortunately something or someone scared her. So much so that it affected her mental state. The film industry especially back in the 80’s was about networking. Going to parties meant opportunites for those breaking into the business, lots of important people, producers, writer, actors and etc. Unfortunately it allowed young women like Tami get into situations that they got taken advantage of and /or exploited. The police should looked further into the details and done more research . There are alot of scenarios
Could she have had a mental breakdown
And decided to leave?
Could her friend that dropped her off
Knows more Then they are telling?
Or did he have something to do with her disappearance?
Did she hitch hike and met with fowl play?
Did someone kidnap her?
Was someone following her?
What happened at that weekend party?
Who was at that party?
This world is dangerous and especially young up and coming models getting movie roles.
Something very dark and sinister happened to her
It’s so sad incredibly sad …
Andrea
So sad…. What happened to Tammy??? We need answers. Why wasn’t it looked into more? You have so many good points.
Anonymous
The Slidell Jane Doe is still unidentified. Most transient ladies can’t afford a $10,000 Rhinoplasty.
jd
She was ruled out according to wikipedia page.
Anonymous
Thank you for eliminating that.
Franky
Boyfriend got away with murder. His lame I Love You is outrageously fictional. You have an argument and leave her stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home or help? Ridiculous, bogus story (again).
Get this guy in prison as soon as possible
Anonymous
I actually believe him. Even though little is kniwn about him. He shouldn’t have left her stranded. He was very straightforward about the drama. Even her own family dealt with that. So he wasn’t exaggerating.
Windy Cat
The drama wasn’t exaggerated. It’s his “I love you” story that seems made up. I think he should be looked into deeply.
J
I agree wit u.. his story just don’t make sense
Extededfamily
Wasn’t really the middle of nowhere and he was cleared.
Andrew
When I saw the on Unsolved Mysteries, my theory is that she entered the witness program. I believe that she really did see something she wasn’t supposed to see. The day before Tami disappeared, she told her best friend Rick that she loves him, and that she might be going away for a while. Also when her friend Keith arrived to pick her up and honked the horn, as Tami opened the door, she knew she was probably never going to see her mother again, because she said to her mom, “MOM, I’LL BE BACK IN A LITTLE BIT, I LOVE YOU’ BYE.” Not only that but it was the way she said it to her. I believe Tami purposely started that verbal argument with Keith when she asked him to take her to Fort Lauderdale. She had no intentions of going to Fort Lauderdale. I believe she told Keith to drop her off at the Glass Bank like she specified because law enforcement was waiting to pick her up and take her into witness protection.
Lynn
But she never testified in any court proceeding, so why would she need witness protection?
Pavlov’s Dog
You need a psychiatrist.
Andrew
This is my theory of what happened! From watching about Tami’s disappearance on Unsolved Mysteries, I believe she entered the witness protection program. The reasons I believe that is because the day before she disappeared, she went out to church with her best friend Rick, who she really trusted. When Rick dropped her off at her house, they both got out of the car and Tami looked at him and said “RICK, I LOVE YOU”, and he said he loved her too, then she told him, “I MIGHT BE GOING AWAY FOR A WHILE”, which to me means that she knew she was going away. Another reason was when her friend Keith pulled up in her driveway and honked the horn, and right before she walked out the door, she said to her mom, “MOM, I’LL BE BACK IN A LITTLE BIT, I LOVE YOU, BYE”, To me, that’s an indicator that Tami knew she was not coming back, even by the way she said it. Also, if you listen the actual video of Tami which was recorded at her final beauty pageant in 1983, her exact words were, “NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I WOULD LIKE FOR THINGS TO TURN OUT FOR THE BEST, IT SEEMS LIKE THE BEST AREN’T THE BEST, AND THINGS THAT DON’T SEEM SO GOOD, ARE THE BEST, BUT I’LL DO MY BEST NO MATTER WHAT.” I believe sometime in between after she returned home from the filming of Scarface, Tami started talking to law enforcement, from there, law enforcement agreed to provide her with protection after she told them what she witnessed, They agreed to let Tami join the witness protection program because they were probably convinced Tami was in danger. She agreed to meet up with law enforcement on July 6th at a certain time frame. I believe it was Tami’s plan all along to have Keith drop her off at the Glass Bank, she asked him to take her to Fort Lauderdale but she knew he would never take her there, she made it up to start the heated verbal dispute between them, I believe that when she arrived at Glass Bank, law enforementwas waiting for her and picked her up and from there she went into witness protection!
Anonymous
Schizophrenia is considered early onset when it starts before the age 18 or 19 I bet it was Onset schizophrenia
Rachel
I was very surprised schizophrenia was not looked in to deeply here or other psychiatric issues weren’t examined to a much larger extent. This is a very sad story for Tammy and her loved ones.
Ryan
I have a brother with schizophrenia and I was surprised this was never brought up. He started showing signs of it around 18-19 and it’s progressively got worse over the years. Her symptoms sounded very similar to me. It doesn’t mean she wasn’t met with foul play, but maybe the “people being after her” was because of the schizophrenia
James McGinnis
That’s my theory, too. I think she was experiencing the beginning of schizophrenia and either committed suicide or accidentally died and her body was never found. She may have found a secluded section of beach and swam out until the currents pulled her under. Her body could then have been swept out to see and eaten by sharks, which is why no remains ever washed back ashore. If she fell or jumped into an inland waterway or lake, alligators could have eaten her. Not everyone who commits suicide leaves a note.
Anonymous
She may have had some of that. I’m not a doctor. But I believe she had a very traumatic experience and showed symptoms of possible Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD)
Luigi
That’s what I thought too after she came back from that party and had changed. I think that she was probably raped.
Key
The only person who is to blame is the mother. Due to an excessive number of beauty pageants as a adolescent cause a PDST response as an adult. In way as in adult she subconsciously believes the world was a pageant too; every one on the earth would be a judge or an audience looking and judging. It just increased into schizophrenia after long periods of delusions
Wendy
I agree. Every symptom she was exhibiting are early red flags for schizophrenis. She was paranoid and delusional.
Unsolver
Behavior is aligned with schitzophrenia. The idea that she was sent into Witness Protection is unrealistic. She would’ve had to testify in a court of law and these are usually done with plea bargains.
CB
I agree with the Schizophrenia theory also and I wonder if she was misdiagnosed. If still alive, she could be wandering the streets as another nameless, homeless person and would likely be unrecognizable. She would be 59-60 years old now in 2024. I do feel sorry for the family.
Sheila
I agree with Tims post I worked with Tammy on spring break she was fun, sweet and seemed very happy. I know for a fact that she hooked up with Paul Land he told me on the
set it was a one night stand while he was shooting spring break for someone to say that Paul Land had something to do with her murder is disgusting!
Paul was a great guy I knew him and spent time with him in New York City after the film ended.
I truly believe that she was killed by hitchhiking She got into the wrong car It happens all the time to pretty young girls I don’t believe that there’s some sort of conspiracy going on here. It’s a very sad story The saddest part is that the family gets no closure RIP Tammy
Susan
you don’t know he didn’t, that’s just your opinion.
jd
She’d know more than you would having known the both of them.
John
So he hooked up with her while she was underage? Doesn’t sound like a good person to me.
jd
It isn’t 18 in all areas especially back in 1983.
Jason
How do you know how old he was??
Martin
Well that was irresponsible of you.
Not one person mentioned the name
of the guy, until you did.
Why would you do that?
And then say whoever thought it was
him is disgusting.
Wrong!
No one knows this person.
Not enough info on anyone to do
anything but make assumptions.
None of us knew this person.
My take is you’re name dropping this dude, that you knew him.
Otherwise why name the guy when not even the mother or sister did?
Btw, saying it’s impossible it was him because you hung out with him a bit, doesn’t hold a lot of credibility.
People have been married for 30 years
and the spouse finds out they’ve been a serial killer for decades, when the cops bust them.
Interesting reading, I wouldn’t make any speculation with this little of info.
Could be the last guy to see her. Something at home might’ve happened.
I worked as a P.I long time ago.
You learn to question everything everyone says.
Because someone says something of what happened, doesn’t mean it’s true.
AT
I wonder if her and Tiffany sessions disappearances are related to each other? They look strikingly similar so it’s just a thought.
Anonymous
That is good thinking. That case is almost solved. Florida doesn’t just stack unsolved cases like that. They are very serious about their death penalty cases.
Karen R Hansen
I new tammy,she lived on my street in Merritt island,she dated her own cousin,he went by the nick name hollywood and drove a trans am, that’s who dropped her off at the glass bank never heard ANYBODY mention anything about him, possible suspect?
Laura
Funny how the friend was her own cousin who let his distraught relative out near a beach. She could have been picked up by some killer or walked into the ocean.
Anonymous
Those Southern states are something else. It would make perfect sense for her to get away from all of that. But that is very dangerous. More so with her possible mental conditions. But I don’t think the guy who dropped her off is hiding anything.
Fatboy
Maybe she had witnessed a Murder at that party she went to, and was threatened to be killed if she ever mentioned it to anyone, which would explain why she freaked out on set when they did the scene where somebody got shot.Her paranoid behaviour started straight after that party she went to
Jim
She didn’t kill herself as her body would have been found. No one finds a suicide and then covers it up. One would only cover up a homicide.. Based on evidence that appears to be accurate, she was having some mental problems. She broke down at home and starting smashing windows in the home. Her mother had here committed for observation for 72 hours at a mental health facility. She was then released after observation which found no evidence of alcohol or drug abuse. The mental health facility deemed her not to be a threat to herself or others.
She went for a ride with a male friend who dropped her off around 5 miles from her home. She probably had another break down and wanted out of the car. Much has been made of the guy dropping her off and
leaving but when a personal with mental issues is having a fit and wants out of the car, you let them out. She was an extremely good looking girl. If she began hitchhiking and there are reports of her being picked up hitchhiking, she was probably picked up by some sexual predator who raped her and killed her. In Florida, there are many swamps and areas to dispose of a body where the environment or local wildlife will make the body disappear very quickly. Just the heat and sun would speed up decomposition very quickly.
The conspiracy theories here and on other websites are very unlikely to have occurred. What happened to her is probably the simplest explanation. She was picked up by a predator never to be seen again.
A young good looking girl like her would be offered many rides in a manner of minutes. She got in the wrong car. A predator just trolling for a young girl like Tami.
Pat B
This is the one Unsolved Mysteries case that haunts me. I grew up watching this show as a kid, I always remembered this case. I believe that Tami is unfortunately a victim of foul play. I do think she came across some illegal activity on the spring break set and she found out somebody was involved in money laundering. However, I think most likely, after Tami’s friend dropped her off near the glass bank she was later picked up by someone who may have been a predator. It is interesting to nite, after Tami’s friend dropped her off, Tami made three calls to get Aunt, who at the time was out of town. Tami left messages on her answering machine and according to the Aunt, Tami had said somebody was going to kill her. I don’t see Tami willingly getting into someone’s car, especially when she thought her life was in danger. I believe most likely, Tami was abducted and most likely possibly raped and murdered. I don’t believe she ran away. I do unfortunately believe Tami is a victim of foul play.
Patty
I believe that is exactly what happened to her she got hooked up with the wrong person for sure so sad
Rich
Rumors for years about her relationship with Paul Land, an actor whom she made a film with. He’s deceased and has been for quite some time but supposedly he was involved in some heavy drugs and shady types which might’ve been why she was acting so weird.
Something she saw him involved with scared her straight and supposedly he silenced her. Take that with a grain of salt but it’s been out there for a while. She clearly had mental issues which is obvious so it could be something where she succumbed to the elements, but being that attractive and alone it does cry somebody grabbed her.
Theres the beauty pageant killer who is always mentioned but the Paul Land one is interesting and not talked about as much as maybe it should be at least to rule that theory out once and for all.
Anonymous
I don’t want to go into accusations. But women get highly traumatized after being sexually assaulted. It was a party. And it may have not been that guy in particular. But it could of been some big named that blackmailed if any information was made public. They didn’t have any “me to” movements back then. Women were less comfortable with coming forward with things like that. It is related to her behavior leading up to her disappearance. But it is not directly responsible for her disappearance. (Only a contributor.)
AB
I think Tammy had a thing for her manager in her acting career and He tried to turn her away. Because she wasn’t getting what she wanted, they got into an arguement and He dropped her off. During the arguement, she threatened to accuse him of raping her so He hired someone to murder her deep in the woods.
Anonymous
That is a good theory. But there have been unconfirmed sightings of her along the gulf coast. So the trail didn’t go cold from there. I agree with her being raped however. That is a traumatic experience for a lady like that.
Anonymous
They interviewed him on Unsolved Mysteries. He was very sincere. I agreed with him 100 percent about her needing help. Most managers would have probably continued filming her. (Hollywood can be exhausting and brutal.)
Just a Hunch
Tammy said something about money laundering while filming Scarface, said she had seen something she wasn’t supposed to see, lived in and disappeared from the Broward-Palm Beach-Miami-Dade area, and had been to a weekend party that changed her.
Given the recent news on Epstein, is anyone else wondering if that party was somewhere in the Caribbean? Who was the ‘friend’ that dumped her in the bank parking lot? I am wondering if bank surveillance cameras show an older man? Too old for a 17-18 yo…
Ricky
Wow. Just really sad. What if she is suffering from Schizophrenia? Maybe that would explain her condition, and why she hasn’t been found yet. It is a possibility.
Jami
That’s exactly what I was thinking it sounds so mu
ch like schizophrenia
Hawkeye
I totally agree I have worked with some schizophrenic people in the past and the behavior is consistent
Chris in LA
I believe that Tammy Lynn Leppert was shown a ‘snuff film’ and freaked out. A very pretty girl who just disappeared off the face of the earth. Question: Why didn’t this Keith Roberts give her the purse and her shoes after she got out of his car?? Then, the next question: whose car did she get into after? My belief is someone who had a badge, a fake uniform, and he told her that he was going to take her home, and get her purse and shoes back. She got in his car………………………….and, the rest is history. RIP TAMMY LYNN LEPPERT 🙂
Sharon M.T.
Yes, It sounds like schizophrenia, onset is usually in young adulthood, too.
Anan
Guys, her skeletal remains were found. Just google her name it pops up. Its on wikipedia
a family friend
She did not disappear from the Broward-Palm Beach-Miami-Dade area. She disappeared from Cocoa Beach, which is 200 miles north of Miami. I had *heard* from my parents that the party was actually in Atlanta, but I there is a lot of rumor out there, and I don’t want to add to it. However, your premise is still relevant – that maybe this is tied up in human trafficking and whatnot. It’s certainly possible.
I don’t believe the bank had surveillance cameras in 1983, and at that point I’m not even sure if it was still a bank (I grew up in that area, but all this happened before I really was old enough to know what was going on). I believe that if this had happened in this day and age, we definitely would have more information.
Sharon M.T.
Not sure, it isn’t confirmed – but someone here commented that she had fooled around with a cousin who happened to drive a Trans Am and that was he who dropped her off by the bank.
Sharon M.T.
PS, I meant to delete this above comment as now I remember Keith Roberts (in a Trans Am) was the last guy to see her and said so. I don’t think he is her cousin, is he?
Sandy
Just a theory, is it a possibility that Tami felt like her mom was living her life through her with the modeling & beauty pageants? If so, maybe she couldn’t take the pressure & didn’t have the heart to tell her mom so she staged her disappearance to escape?
kelli collins
That is a huge possibility… many parents do that. but i think she would not have disappeared and not have been found 37 years later without a trace. Sounds like she had psycothic issues that were never addressed and it took her to her abduction and death.
Bc1369
I just heard of this case today, and have been reading essentially the same article over and over about it. These are a few things I am finding quite strange… Tammy was a very successful pageant winner and model. So why am I only seeing the same few photos again and again? Shouldn’t there be dozens of pictures showing Tammy with an array of different looks?
Beautiful, popular, 18 years old… going to a weekend party ALONE?? The 18 year old girls I knew (I am the same age as Tammy), would not ever have done that. Not out of fear, but because 18 year old girls were attached at the hip with their pals… and it seems a girl like Tammy would have had a bit of an entourage of friends around her, supporting her and good god!! ON THE PHONE WITH HER CONSTANTLY!! Where are Tammy’s girlfriends in all this? She’d have had at least one friend that would have known anything and everything that was going on with her. This girl was NOT a loner!
Accounts say that the young man who was last with her and last saw her spoke to police twice on the telephone and did not show up for two separate in person interviews with police… yet is not considered a suspect… When he didn’t show for a scheduled interview, it seems police would have seen it as a huge red flag and hauled him in! Yet it seems there was little interest in this guy that she was supposedly “scared of”. Have investigators ever seriously interrogated this person?
I realize it was a different world back then, but this girl was not a hooker, not a delinquent, she was heading for success and was well known! Yet it seems it was treated very casually…. anybody else think this seems very strange?
a family friend
I agree with you – it has always bothered me and my parents that such a high-profile person (at least locally) could disappear so completely.
As far as girlfriends, remember, this was 1983 – there were no cell phones. Friendship looked a lot different then. And additionally, being a beautiful girl meant that there would be girls who would be jealous of her. In my parents’ recollection, she was quite popular with males, but not with females.
Concerned Person
a family friend,
I am from Brevard County and even though I am 12 years younger than Tammy Lynn Leppert, I am very familiar with this case. In fact, while in Law School I happened to come across this case again when looking up something else and it peaked my interest again. I have researched this heavily over the years and I keep coming back to Keith Roberts. The guy has a substantial criminal record and most of his criminal activity began after Tammy’s disappearance. I find it very strange that this guy was not looked into further, especially considering she was scared of him. The guy beat his wife on multiple occasions and has a criminal wrap sheet a mile long. I just believe that his actions are very clear and also the fact that so many other girls that went missing in the area around that time.
Peter Kåwe
Agree…but dont know all about what the detectives done or not done.
Ice ice baby
Yes. I was thinking the same thing. And if he was any kind of friend,as suggested that he was. Why didn’t he take her all the way home. Why did he let her out 5 miles from the house. So many questions.
David
I agree with everything you’ve said. The police definitely dropped the ball in this case sadly. Why wasn’t the guy who dropped her off in the bank parking lot, why wasn’t he made to take a polygraph test?! I think he is the most likely suspect! And why didn’t Tami’s mother pursue that? It seems to me that her mother didn’t care enough, to pursue many avenues available to her in the investigation!
Luigi
That’s because the police were probably in on it. Or a Police officer was in on it.
Dean
No guy will just tell a hot girl to get out of his car no matter how annoying she is being…….amazing they to my knowledge have never looked hard at him….after all he was the last to see her…….and normally the last person to see the victim is the person who did something.
Chris in LA
I believe that Tammy Lynn Leppert was shown a ‘snuff film’ and freaked out. A very pretty girl who just disappeared off the face of the earth. Question: Why didn’t this Keith Roberts give her the purse and her shoes after she got out of his car?? Then, the next question: whose car did she get into after? My belief is someone who had a badge, a fake uniform, and he told her that he was going to take her home, and get her purse and shoes back. She got in his car………………………….and, the rest is history. RIP TAMMY LYNN LEPPERT 🙂
Luigi
Your wrong. Speak for yourself. Not for the rest of us.
Carl
It seems very obvious to me that Tammy was sliding into a schizophrenic-like mental illness. Persecutory delusions (delusions where the person believes that they are being hunted/harassed/stalked) are the most common type of delusion experienced by the people suffering from this ailment. In this situation, the person can never actually explain who is targeting them because it’s a confabulation that never completely materializes. It is always simply a mysterious “them”. “They” are everywhere – an ever-present threat looming above and lurking in every shadow. “They” have done something (fraud, money laundering, murder) – something that the person somehow has knowledge of (despite NEVER explaining where, when, and how that knowledge came to be). People in this state do not usually know that they are experiencing anything unreal. They believe completely in the thoughts they’re having, and are driven by terror. People can experience this in manic and depressed states (and even mixed states), which explains why some days Tammy “almost seemed normal/happy” and was otherwise “withdrawn and isolated”.
One of my best friends experienced this kind of mental break. He suddenly began to talk about property fraud being committed by businessmen who were targeting him because he knew about it. When I pressed him for details on who these people were or what they had done, he would never say. He felt certain that if “they” could not get to him directly, they would break into his house and poison his food. He kept a storage unit but would not tell anyone where it was or what was inside; he wanted to live there to hide from his tormentors, but obviously could not.
After a 3am incident not too unlike Tammy’s window-smashing, my friend was committed to a hospital for observation and showed me the list of medications that he was being asked to take – all neuroleptics/antipsychotics. I always had to schedule my visits with him so that he would know when to expect me. One day I was 15 minutes late and when I got there he hugged me and would not let go. He was absolutely certain that “they” had gotten to me so as to “punish” him and “silence” him.
I think that after the 72 hour observation period, Tammy may have realized something was very wrong (especially if she had taken drugs that would bring her back to a more stable state of mind). I think that she may have taken her own life to escape the grief and terror of her own delusions. That is what happened to my friend. These kinds of illnesses are heartbreaking because the person is suffering so greatly. They live in fear 24 hours a day; fear of things they do not understand and cannot explain. Things that never leave them alone – that live inside their heads.
Rocky
I agree. My sister’s illness really became noticeable at 18 yrs old. Tragic illness.
David
Carl I agree with you completely. I’ve known people also with schizophrenia . Some was organic and some complicated by drug use. It is a horrible illness period, especially if left undiagnosed and without proper medication. Here is simply what I think happened…I think Tami was vulnerable to schizophrenia to begin with. And I think that someone at the party she attended, slipped a drug such as LSD in her drink. And it completely messed up her mind. That 72 hour hospital observation, where they stated no drugs were found in her system? Well that was weeks to months later. And any LSD from the party would be long eliminated from her body. But it still had a bad effect on her psychological state…On top of that, I do think the last person to see her alive, the guy who dropped her off in a parking lot, he is the most likely suspect! And both the police and Tami’s own mother seriously dropped the ball in her disappearance! The guy was never subjected to a polygraph! And if that were my child? I would have followed that guy around 24/7 after Tami’s disappearance! But her mother never did any of that! I think Tami was definitely schizophrenic. And I think the guy ( they say his name is Keith Roberts) took advantage of her situation and harmed her. Maybe he made a sexual advance and she not only rebuffed him , but threatened to go to the police, and she became belligerent and he killed her. Who knows? But all of these people talking about snuff films and Tami knowing about illegal business dealings? I think that is a bit much in the way of conspiracy theories…
James
Did the police check the friends car who supposedly dropped her off? Check for blood spatter or for the scent of a dead body? Are they sure the friend really dropped her off? Wouldn’t the bank have a camera back then? Could have been some footage of him dropping her off. If he is telling the truth.He said they got into an argument. He could have stabbed her or choked her and killed her in the car. Sounds suspicious. That’s a likely story that most of the time is a cover up amfkr a murder. Since he knew the mom saw his car and him pick her up, he knew he would have to come up with a believable story. Chances are, he killed her. Unless there is some other info they aren’t telling viewers.
Natey
This is a strange case mostly because the UM segment appears to be leaving out way more details than usual. They don’t name the friend who dropped off the day she disappeared which is somewhat unusual but not completely unheard of. They also say nothing about what the doctors who observed Tami for 72 hours thought other than “there were no signs of drug or alcohol use/” Ok, that’s great but were there any signs that she had a psychological disorder that she may need help for. And this party she went to…..why didn’t anybody (police, private investigator) try to find out who else was at the party and what happened there, if anything. The Liebowitz guy suggested her mother have Tami talk to the police – did this happen? Is there any indication, in other words, whether she was delusional or whether someone was after her or what? In fact, the only people UM talked to in that segment is her mother, that Wing Flanagan guy and the Liebowitz dude. There’s no indication that any authorities are even involved in the case. It’s very strange and indicates there’s a lot more to this story than was told in this segment
Thalia
There is a reason that she wanted to leave home so desperately. She thought someone in her own home was trying to kill her. She was afraid of her step father and the family made up the story of money laundering. Her mother had her committed to an institution once. She ran away to be free. I don’t know if she survived.
a family friend
There was no stepfather.
Lilu
I just saw this on Amazon video.. I was hoping that when I searched for her I would find an update. To my dismay there is none. I hope they find what happened to her.
Everyone keeps forgetting the money laundering..she was afraid to be killed because she knew about someone laundering money..so when she saw that scene at the set ..she most likley freaked out because all she could think of was someone killing her..
Gossip girl
Go to Crazy Days and Nights and look for the blind called Her Boyfriend Killed Her with today’s date. That’s your update.
a family friend
That sounds like the most plausible and detailed explanation I’ve read to date. I’d only amend the post in regards to when she was dropped off by her ex: it was not “the middle of the night”, it was mid-day, broad daylight. But…it doesn’t really matter because if someone she knew came along right behind and picked her up with no drama, I think nobody would have really noticed.
Misty
This is an intriguing case. I have read many sites about this case and watched the UM episodes about it. I have included many of the items I have read below but I have no idea what has been proven or not so this is pure conjecture on my part. I also read the most recent blind post on redditt referred to above which was curious. As an amateur armchair detective my questions would be: why did it take her mother 5 days to report Tami missing? You can read the police report online that her mother Linda Curtis made on July 11. That just does not seem right to me. Tami Lynn just got home from a mental institution and was in a fragile state. She gets in a car with a guy her mother says her daughter feared and she waits five whole days to report her missing? Also, why did Tami call her aunt Ginger three times and a friend Ron Abeles (morbidology.com) for help that afternoon but not her mother? Did her mother drive? Maybe she did not own a car. In fact, I read that Linda Curtis was in a car accident in 1983 (crimeblogger1983.com) and was disabled by it. Was the accident before or after her daughter’s disappearance? That might explain why she could not pick her up or get down to the police station. If I were her Mom I would be frantic after 24 hours and running down to the station. I read that Keith Roberts, the friend that dropped her off near an Exxon station ( and used the pay phone?} and glass bank, that he wanted to drive her home but she refused and that was what the argument was about. (See link at end of post). Tami wanted Keith to drive her to Fort Lauderdale but he did not have time. So the fact that she made those phone calls pleading for someone to pick her up backs up the story that Keith dropped her off. The police must know what time she made the calls, it must be in a report somewhere. Was it after 1PM when Keith said he dropped her off? When I first read about this I admit that I also thought it must have been Keith until I read about the phone calls she made that afternoon. Also the fact that she called her aunt and a friend for help and did not want to go home according to Keith. I can understand why Tami would be mad at her mother for putting her in a mental ward etc… I would leave to. Are we sure she didn’t call her mother? Wouldn’t an old phone bill show that? She might have good reason to be upset with Tami after quitting a movie like Scarface after four days and then making plans to leave for CA. Was Linda losing control of her? And also, who did she know in Fort Lauderdale? Why did she ask Keith Roberts to take her there? And also did she actually date Paul Land from Spring Break? Was he living in Fort Lauderdale at the time? Was he a drug dealer? Could she have witnessed him kill someone like it says in the Redditt post? Was he the one she wanted to see in Fort Lauderdale? Hard to believe after what she had witnessed if the redditt post has any truth. Lots of angles here and unanswered questions. Sounds like a great case for Kelly Siegler on Cold Justice. Lastly, I think the outbursts could have been from PTSD. I wonder how much was known about this condition back in the 80’s. This can be a very serious mental condition.It makes the most sense after her response on the set of Scarface. My former boss went through it after a trauma and and the symptoms can vary quite a bit from case to case. Finally, I don’t see how she could have just run away. She was trying to reach out and call someone to come get her. Who else would she have called that day? Maybe the very next person she called did come get her and that person is responsible.
Anonymous
That was part of the movie. I had a friend with similar mental conditions. He told me about his dog toto and why he was afraid of tornadoes. (I just went along with it trying not to laugh.)
blowme
She faked her disappearance so she could restart her life as a man. 🙂
Anonymous
There are some cases where you actually have to look both genders for a Doe. (But this is not one of them.)
Anonymous
What a beauty, good to know Hollywood actually used real born women in their films and not just the male to female trannies we are exposed to and become accustomed with.
Anon
The hell is wrong with you?!
Anonymous Coward
Don’t know what wrong with them, some folk are just too f_cked up to make sense of. Hopefully they spend all their time on the internet and don’t go outside to screw around with the general public.
Jason
What does your comment have to do with the disappearance of Tammy? Or anything for that matter?
Jen
Check your math before calling someone am idiot. She disappeared at 18 yrs old in July of 1983… That was 34 years ago, so she wouldn’t be 20 or 30 something.
no
AZ
Tee
It’s obvious something terrible happened at the party for Spring Break…. the question that so many have asked and I concur Knowing she was in this mental state why would a “friend” drop her off 5 miles from home? Even though there’s a possibility their argument could’ve made her want to get out of the car, it doesn’t justify a reason in leaving her that far away from home just doesn’t sound right.
Bonita Jordan
I agree. And she was barefoot. No I don’t think so
Silverleaf
How does that have Anything to do with someone’s mental state or capacity? You’re reaching way too far. We don’t even know if that’s what really happened without more witnesses.
Jason
Idk, I think her Mom knows more than she lets on. She was put into a mental institute for 72 hrs and she possibly wanted to run away from home. BUT, I think someone gone this long, especially a celebrity, she was probably killed. She was barefoot, penniless, 17 yrs old and gorgeous, dropped off somewhere in Florida. A very easy target. I hope she is happy and peaceful wherever she is.
luke james
i dont know where to take this but ive been researching tammy and i have no clue about her heritage or body marks but ive also been researching my state jane does and one of them in my county has almost everything matching to her. the westchester county jane doe pretty much matches everything. hopefully this will be solved
Anonymous User
just out of curiosity, where do you live? also did you contact the police?
Leonardo Di'Marco
I think when I first saw this story about Tammy, they were referring her to Tammy Lyn Lebowitz,and kept l Iooking up for that name and I couldnt find any results.I remember they kept saying she was in 300 beauty pagents since she was a baby. So I find it kind of hard that they would let her in a movie “Scarface” when they can easily see she is way too young to be in such a violent movie.Like if you were Tami’s mother you would worry so much about her. I read that Scarface was actully rated x, because there were so many super violent sceenes, that eventually had to be cut out ,because they wouldnt let it be in the movie theatres.Plus Tami was only in the movie for abou 1-2 minutes. Plus every scene was super violent and there were no children in the movie,nobody was actually younger then Tami. Maybe one of the stagehands kidnapped Tami, perhaps they are really addicted to cocaine,and got her addicted ,too. For exampl the movie is three hours long and there isnt one teenager ,besides Tami in the whole movie,maybe the actors are really giving Tami lots of cocaine ,thats probably why she went beserk Alot of young women who are addicted to drugs , run away to Hollywood ,back in the 80’s. Maybe she was really convinced that she was a famous movie star all ready ,perhaps she was an alcoholic ,too,and she thought that she was going to have the lead role as Tony’s wife instead of Michele Pfeiffer. Maybe she was scared because in “Spring break” the actors are really her own age, in ” Scarface” they are around 40 years old and they have Rolls Royces and banks in Switzerland ?
Silverleaf
Are you really that stupid?
Brian
Homeless shelter
anonymous
be kind.
Shaunna
Did anyone check the photos that convicted murder/rapist William Richard Bradford had taken? They released photos of 54 women he took pictures of (some who were murdered, some raped, most unidentified.) I think that #4 looks a lot like Tami, only with brown hair.
Here’s the link if anyone wants to take a look. He was arrested in 1984.
http://www.officialcoldcaseinvestigations.com/showthread.php?12708-Photo-collection-of-54-women-linked-to-Serial-Killer-named-Bradford
Leo
And what if she just left the country somehow
Anonymous
She would have been better off. Celebrities when they get paid are unpredictable. It’s looks like she willingly went away. But the detectives would have known if she left the country. I mean she was not a known criminal. Then you would have to get more advanced. (Look at Mexico and Canada airports and boats.) But she was just a nice person with no sense of direction.
edward
Maybe the killer was the same person who admitted to the Jon Bennet Ramsey murder in 2006. They said , Tami was in 300 beauty contests as a child” and so was Jon Bennet. Maybe he was on vacation in Florida and was watching her and became very jealous. Lots of people go there for spring break also. John Mark Karr could easily afford to go to Florida .if he could afford to go to central America and Thailand. Why would he admit to killing Jon Bennet, then as soon as he goes to court he denies everything? Maybe he wanted to go to college in Florida and somehow met Tami on the beach?
Anonymous
The medical examiner and the first detective can privately tell you exactly what happened to Ramsey. But millionaires can’t even be talked about without lawsuits including defamation.
Petaa motex
Sad story and likely a sad ending knowing how long ago this was.
abm
it was the friend and the family should think that to or are they involved
Rob
Something happened to her at the party, bad enough to change her, she could have been gang raped and the friend who dropped her off barefoot should be interrogated sternly! The friend dropping her off was probably a lie! They all say we/I dropped them off! I have heard of people who were partying and someone put LSD in their drink, and they were never the same! She could have been drugged then raped!
Elijah
Anybody think this person is still alive i think it’s very possible
Anonymous
That is like a steak in the middle of an ocean full of sharks. Her craziness may have intimidated people from her for awhile.
Sherlock
New Blog featuring the case
http://crimeblogger1983.blogspot.com/
Karina
Have they found her yet
MIke
There really are only two theories here. One is a suicide, which is unlikely, since she cared so much about her appearance I doubt she would harm herself. The other and most probably is that she was a vicitm of the “Speed Freak” serial killers who killed dozens of women looking like Tammy in California around the time. They often lured vicitms with promises of modeling jobs or taking photos, etc. This for me is the most probable outcome, they hit the bones way out in the mountains so Im sure no remains will be found. Tracing her final steps and badgering the guy who let her out of the car are useless, since you are looking at the probable victim of a serial killer
Holmes
Nothing in the case points to it being the work of a serial killer as of yet. As for “badgerring” Keith Roberts. He failed to show up for 2 face to face Police meetings. Can you spell RAT? 😉
Julie celona
I think that Tami may be my biological mother. I was born on October 14th 1982 in south Carolina however my birth mother listed a woman by the name diane w davis with a florida number as her emergency contact and under father she put down unknown. Maybe her mood swings we’re pregnancy related. Under mother it says Tami l hope however there is a chance that she lied about her last name on my birth certificate, well by using a fake last name if she was in fear for her life would make sense . If she was terrified for her life that would also explain why she listed my father as unknown and also for why she put me up for adoption. I’ve been searching for my mother for most of my life. If any of this information rings any bells for any of you guys…..please email me at celonajulie@gmail.com.
Go Away
LOL
Mindy
Familial DNA. I know she still has family looking for her.
Luigi
Have your DNA checked against hers. The authorities have Tammy’s DNA. Might help the case too if you are her daughter.
Faith
Maybe she just disappeared on her own I mean being famous puts a lot of stress on people so she probably just wanted to get away
Jason
Idk how famous she was. She was in just a few movies and a TINY role in Scarface as an extra, basically. I think she was taken before her career could take off. She’d surface somewhere by now. Especially someone that won almoat 300 beauty pageants
Anonymous
It is very dangerous not to communicate with anyone. I’m afraid she did initially attempt to embark on an unknown venture.
K'leigh Barrett
I am finding her information and information on others who were around her around the time she disappeared. I am looking into getting her actual case File to try and find her. It has been 32 years since she has been with her family and that needs to change. If I spent 32 years away from my family I don’t know what I would do. So me and a few of my friends are going to look into her file find out what happened to her. I’m terribly sorry for her family and close friends.
Tony Zenken
Something bad happened at that party.
John Stedman
I am currently researching the case of Natalee Holloway, which has some similarities to the Tammy Lynn Leppert story. Both were 18-year-old attractive blonde women who have disappeared without trace. Natalee went missing more recently, in Aruba in 2005, but in both cases the possibilities of involvement of organised crime are quite high, either involving human trafficking (probably to satisfy the lucrative Middle East market) or the adult film industry (primarily based near Los Angeles). In both cases these women had recently been involved in ‘Spring Break’ activities, which as well as being relatively harmless fun are also prime stalking grounds for the ‘spotters’ who try to solicit ‘talent’ into short-term vice-related opportunities. For many young women who have been brought up in a high-pressure performance-orientated but fundamentally conservative family environment, the idea of ‘going off the reservation’ is a very attractive experiment, and they are thus ripe for exploitation by some highly dangerous people who have little regard for human life. It is quite possible that Tammy and Natalee were seduced into the dark world of this kind of organised crime. If they were, and they survived, they would probably have resurfaced into normal society within two or three years in a ‘Prodigal Daughter’ scenario, sadder, emotionally scarred but hopefully wiser. The fact that they have not, after 33 and 11 years respectively, sadly strongly suggests that both are no longer alive. US Law Enforcement will never close such ‘Cold Cases’ until the victims would have passed their 100th birthdays, but the fact is that unless a perpetrator makes a credible deathbed confession, or the victims’ names come up in a Plea Bargain or other case, leading to the recovery of identifiable physical evidence, resolution of either case is highly unlikely. My sympathies to the families involved, but one must accept that many unsolved mysteries do remain unsolved for ever.
anon
Maybe she wanted to disappear. She could be out there still.
Anonymous
She was too dependent to be independent. She had to meet up with a lot of people willing to help her.
Autumn
I believe she was schizophrenic. ..not properly diagnosed or treated. Back in those days it was more difficult to treat mental illness. She more then likely committed suicide. End of story…her remains were left in the ocean and never found due to a never ending sea of water.
Ashley
If she thought someone was trying to kill her she would NOT have gotten out alone. Especially if she suffered from paranoia and anxiety.
Anonymous
So sad
Thalia Müller
I think this case was most definitely not investigated thoroughly enough. There are so many different theories on what could have happened and not one authority has made efforts to look into it. I think that because of new technology, the case should be reopened.
Adam
This is my theory and of course, it’s a theory. Ok, Tammy Leppert was feeling like a star and wanted to live like a star so she goes to this party after “Spring Break” filming and does a good bit of blow and ends up getting rapped by some scum bags there. they tell her that if she says anything they’ll kill her. So of course she’s going to be acting different because she was just rapped and she’s paranoid because I’m sure that these goes were watching her and waiting for her to slip up. Maybe the guys wanted more of her so they kidnapped her, maybe they were scared that she would snitch or maybe they just wanted to kill her. Either way, I think she met the people that murdered her at this weekend party or someone that was bad news and maybe the “friend” that dropped her off 5 miles from her home was part of the murder. Is there even evidence that this guys story is true?
taylor
I think she was being stalked, women who are stalked for long periods of time are known to get ptsd. She may have met this stalker at the shooting of her first movie i mean she was beautiful and this shoot would of brought attention, lots of it. He also may of raped her and afraid she would fess up he killed her. Gruesome stuff makes me sick but in my opinion that’s what this.
Anonymous SA
If it was confirmed that she was dropped off and still had time to go to the bank and hitch a ride back home then the friend has nothing to do with her dissapearence. Its been a very long time now, I doubt there is still evidence of anything, investigations are useless unless someone comes with a confession.
Anonymous
Scareface was a good movie. Hope you find her soon.
Dom
You know I read so many crazy stories of missing people, murders, and other violent crimes acted upon innocent people that happened during the 80’s and it quite disgusts me how none of the cases got justice, were ever solved, or police not investigating thoroughly or at all period. It’s just crazy to me. Considering the fact that police technology and skills weren’t that great back than either compared to now still doesn’t help because you always hear of them losing evidence on file or not remembering or there being none at all. I’d say the last resort would be to get a psychic involved that’s known for solving cases like this that can’t be solved by police or anyone for that matter, they actually take the time investigating and get work done the right away. It seems to me the cops didn’t care or pay much attention to tammys case and the fact they have no reports on her reporting to them what she knew, have no evidence or barely any rememberance about this case is just pathetic. Why wasn’t anything kept in file? Why isn’t there a name of the man who last seen with her and why wasn’t he interrogated long enough and let go? He obviously knows something or did something with having being the last one to see her. You can’t tell me there were no witnesses at all either, what bout the bank or gas station? Did they have any videos on tape of her if she was nearby the gas station or bank? Makes no type of sense. I pray for this woman and her family that has to suffer not knowing or being able to lay her to rest. I hope one day she is found and her family can officially be at ease. I’d say the last best resort is to really look into finding a psychic to help find Tammy might have a good chance.
Doug Masters
The facts and my personal opinion regarding the case is as follows:
1) I believe she may have been pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
2)According to my research UM didn’t get some of the things correct. From what I understand she DID have shoes on as well as had her purse. And the color of the car she was last in was white not black. (Not entirely a big deal from the reenactment aspect)
3) She apparently went from where she was dropped off to a bank. And that’s where she was last seen. If I remember correctly she cashed a check.
4) I DO NOT believe by any stretch of the imagination that the family had ANYTHING to do with her disappearance. Despite what a lot of lunatics have spread all over the Internet. There was NO KNOWN MOTIVE for her mother or family to want to do harm to her.
5) Now considering the fact that she was terrified to go out of her house. And the fact she from what we are lead to believe was terrified of being poisoned etc. And the fact that she may have been pregnant. One could speculate that it had something to do with the person who may have been the father of the child. Now this is speculation and I have yet to corroborate this with anyone related to the case. I have read forums that are out of date and other web threads. And I believe Suzanne has a Facebook page dedicated to Tammy. Who turned 51 in Feb. She disappeared a few months before I was born to give you an idea of how old I am. Yet this case is fascinating to me. It’s unfortunate that so many crazies can spread such BS about this case. One more note. I have read in a few threads that the family believed that Kevin was not investigated properly and he seemed to take his time trying to assist with the investigation. And I also read somewhere that he refused a polygraph. Now as I said. It’s hard to decipher a lot of the nonsense people have spread about this case. So that particular aspect may not be correct. Regarding Kevin. However personally I do believe he knows MORE than he let on. And I was not impressed by the interview he had for the UM segment. But thats me.
Doug Masters
I think of this case pretty often. I am a WebSleuth and I have tried contacting Suzanne and Wing Flanagan and anyone else I can find to see if I can help with the case. I can never seem to get a response. However I have noticed there is a lot of loonies that say they “know” things. I don’t understand why either. Some are on this page too. I have looked into and investigated many cases. I haven’t solved any or been involved in solving any. But I’ve yet to see the amount of loons posting crazy crap like I have with this case. So strange. The wild accusations. The people who say the “knew” her. I feel really bad for the actual family and friends who loved her and have to deal with the idiots spreading nonsense. Now I understand why I cannot get a response. If I were them. I wouldn’t either.
Marina
You didn’t even know she has siblings and admit that you have been involved in many investigations and have solved NONE…yet you insist on harassing this poor family with your subpar detective “skills.” They wont respond to you because they, unlike you, can tell you are no good at investigating. Again, you’ve been involved in many cases and haven’t been able to solve any, and two, she’s been dead over 30 years and in all this time you didn’t know she had a sibling. And again…you continue to harass these poor people. It’s weird. Please stop contacting her family.
Erica
How do you know that she’s been dead for 30 years?
Johnny
This was 1 of the most mysterious cases. A Young Woman who has beauty and success suddenly goes missing. Could be two theories. She disappeared into the mental health wards psych worlds somebody without any ID or knowing who she was. Or she was killed early on by a serial killer predator as she tried to start a new life. Heat wrenching story. Hope Tami is found alive.
Anonymous
That is every missing adult. Only one of two things. They either ran away or are dead. Or both. Some people don’t understand how dangerous it is to run away.
Trevor
Are their any new developments in this case
Nic
Not that I know of.
Dave
Here are the facts of her age progression and the remains of Jane Does.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Lynn_Leppert
Curious
I’ve always wondered if the reason she changed and went missing was because she saw a murder take place related to powerful gangs or organized crime. She changed and thought someone would kill her its mysterious I think she knew something she shouldn’t of.
It Don't matter
Facts:
It is uncommon for child actors/actresses to make the transition to adult actor/actress. Tammy was one of the common who fail.
It is common practice for those going into the sex industry professional to change their name. This is generally a security and privacy measure for one past and family and friends. This particular case had the additional specific incentive regarding the fact Tammy’s mother had a child talent scout business
It is a fact Tammy’s mother was once a beauty queen herself, see history of miss have-a-tampa, she knew the business and as anyone with that many years in the business would have contacts or know who to contact with the dark side of the business. Walter Lebowitz was a friend of those involved, it was Walter’s place Tammy went to upon leaving the set of Scarface. Walter was/is a disbarred Florida Lawyer, busted for child trafficking. Hence the related advice on what to in this transition.
To change ones name requires a legal process before a judge and should the judge so chose, the judge may require evidence of sound mind and adult age, hence the 72 hr. psychiatric evaluation. Upon meeting the legal requirements of professional evaluation immediately went to the court house to finalize the identity change, which was walking distance from the glass bank.
Of course given the purpose of the identity change, there had to be a cover story and backup plan should it be publicly found out. That backup plan was that she would claim not remembering who she was.
In effort to build an illusion and in need of an explanation regarding Tammy’s mother’s position, with Tammy’s mother contacts and persistence her mother managed to get Unsolved Mysteries to do not one but two episodes.
Tammy’s mother was at one time under psychiatric observation where she became pregnant with twins. It was because of this the twins were adopted out at age one.
Suzanne is one of the twins. The other has and may still work in law enforcement.
Due to the adult choice Tammy made through legal means, law enforcement is bound to keep quiet about this. There is a statute of limitation as to how long law enforcement must keep the information locked away. its 50 years after the last person involved has passed away.
Tammy’s mother passed away due complications resulting from being Diabetic an d having Hepatitis C. It is possible and probable the Hepatitis contributed to an event upon which Tammy came to have a fear of blood, if such is actually true.
The supposed death threat was nothing more than a comment Tammy over heard regarding her failure to hang her cloths up on returning from California on a closet rod no more then three feet away, instead of just dumping them on some boxes.
In the identity transition she played on family and friends to generate the cover story support in the way of reactions by those she played. Publicity.
Doug Masters
I cannot confirm that Walter Lebowitz was disbarred for Child Trafficking. I was able confirm he was disbarred though. NOT for Child Trafficking. If I am wrong. Please shoot me a link. Otherwise I am assuming by your wild accusations that you’re a Loon. It is comments like this that make investigations more difficult.
a family friend
Agreed, Doug Masters.
Luigi
False. Tell that to all of the adult actors that were once a child star or actor before they became an adult star. Tammy wasn’t famous. At least not to me she wasn’t. Maybe in her own mind or social circle she was. No offense to Tammy,though. I think that there’s a lot of actors that started out in show business as kids. It’s a lot rarer for people to start out later in age.
Lg
Her behavior sounds like paranoid schizophrenia. The help available to family for an adult with this disease is close to none. Often they end up living on the streets or worse. This is a very sad story with no ending yet. Would love to see a happy ending.
Mark
The thing about her being dropped off 5 miles is way off. It is nearly 15 miles and two inter-coastal waterway bridges away from Rockledge. I’m from Orlando and was at the Beach that day. I actually spoke with Tammy and the guy she was with on the beach near Ron Jon’s Surf Shop. There were 4 or five others there and we chatted a bit about how poor the waves were that day. They said they were leaving and walked off toward where I assumed they parked. About a half hour later, I decided to leave and fueled up at the Exxon Station right by the Glass Bank Building and saw her hitching north, which would be the way for her to get home. When I went in to pay she was right in front of the station on A1A. When I came out less than 2 minutes later a Blue Maverick 4 door was pulling off of the side of the road heading north and she was gone. It was close but not close enough to see a passenger in the car. I thought nothing of it until I saw the report on the local news a few days later. I called the Cocoa beach police to inform them. A detective asked me a few questions, took my name and contact information and never heard back from them. In the fall of 1984 I enlisted in the Air Force and ended up stationed at Patrick AFB just south of Cocoa Beach in January of 1985. That summer there was a story in the Florida Today about Tammy near the 2 year anniversary of her going missing and I again contacted the police. I spoke to the same detective and he barely remembered my first call to him. It shows you how much interest the cops had in this matter.
Kym Pasqualini
Mark, would you be interested in sharing your full name so I can quote you in an upcoming article I am writing about Tammy’s disappearance on http://www.missingleads.com. It seems you are the most credible and last person to have seen her.
Kym Pasqualini
Please contact me at kym@missingleads.com if you are interested in sharing your name name with me so I may quote you in an upcoming article on http://www.missingleads.com. Clearly, you are the most credible witness out there and last to see Tammy.
Luigi
It’s because of her age. They probably assumed that she was a run away. They never assume the worst.
Mary
Is your name Lisa Geiger posting about Tammy ? If so, my name is Mary and you and I were high school Chums. You dated the brother Greg of my puppy love Rusty. Would love to hear from you. I’m in Suntree # 3216107319. Lisa I hope you get this posting. I know you and Tammy were great friends. Just so sad. Please no other contacts other than Lisa Geiger please. Just trying to reconnect with a friend and talk about whatever you know about whatever happened to Tammy. She was such a nice girl and I know how sad this was for you. Mama loves you and asks about you too. Hope to hear from you
Anonymous
This case haunts me I been doing research since I’ve seen it an nothings adding up.. from wing, to this mystery Tim guy an even this so called sister who belives her mom killed her an buried her in backyard in backyard!! I believe wing an linda know what happen.. an if Tammy was pregnant I believe it was wings child.I believe Tammy was abused in her own home.. either way I pray it all comes to light some day
Mary
Is your name Lisa Geiger ? If so , I was a high school friend of yours. You dated the brother of my puppy love , Rusty. I would like to be in touch with you. I have thought of you often and know you and Tammy were close. It’s such a sad thing what happened to this beautiful girl. Contact me please. My Mother still asks about you from time to time and loved so much how you shared a relaCtionship with God. We saw your husband Greg at a garden walk on River Dr in Cocoa. You can contact me anytime. 3216107319. I live in Suntree now. Moved back to In 2005. God bless you Lisa. Hope to hear from you : )
a family friend
This is absolutely disgusting. Wing and Tammi were like brother and sister. I can’t even…
samantha
She saw something she was not supposed to see, prob a drug deal or someone getting hurt. If she’s not dead then she eather left on her own with out seeking help or someone took her and is hidding her. She would be 50 year’s old by now. So I hope someone finds her soon.
AlwaysSearching4Answers
True. Her reaction to blood on the set could suggest that she had witnessed something traumatic like a murder at the party, if so her life could have been threatened in order to keep her silent. She could of had some off the wall sick n twisted stalker harassing her or she could have been raped at this party, hell it could be all three. I think she saw too much, knew too much or something terrible happened to her and some lowlife piece of crap killed her. I wonder if the police took a look, a real good look at this “friend” that just left her stranded five miles from home, shoeless with no purse. Apparently she wasn’t happy at home and was planning to leave according to close friends. Any one else find Wing the family friend creepy and what’s up with the whole starting beauty pageants thing at four and entering more than three hundred by the time she was sixteen. Did she love doing it or did her mother love her doing it. So many different variables to this case, so many unanswered questions. A part of me hopes that she just ran away and started a new life somewhere , happy and safe. I hope her loved ones one day find answers n have some kind of closure someday.
a family friend
No, I never found Wing creepy, and I grew up around him and Linda. He was very sweet and gentle and innocent.
Also, not defending the lifestyle, but I mean, it’s not unheard of for children to be in beauty pageants at that age and up.
Anonymous
It sounds like she witnessed something at the party, like a murder, if the sight of blood is what freaked her out on set.
Martha
I agree with you. The story said that she saw something, not that something happened that she didn’t want to talk about …
Shauna
I think she was raped at the party and then her life threatened if she told anyone. That would explain why she wouldn’t speak up and why she acted crazy. Anyone who had been raped and then their life threatened would act that way. I wonder if the “friend” that had picked Tami up was guilty for what had happened to her? I think he has something to do with her disappearance.
David
I think you’re right. Maybe she was raped at the weekend party. Which explains why she came back home as a different person and why she was having a breakdown. Her rapist must’ve threatened her that he would kill her if she says one word. When she refused to talk to someone on the phone, she must’ve thought it was her rapist on the phone.
What if it was her agent on the phone? When she disappeared, she could’ve been kidnapped or murdered. Or maybe ranaway from home. Which explains why she never went back home. What if her rapist had found her, took her away or killed her? She must be dead. Which explains why she’s nowhere to be found alive and well.
She should’ve gone back home. And she also could’ve reported a rape to the police.
Sam
I think you’re right. Something must’ve happened to her at the party. Maybe she was raped. Or maybe someone was stalking her. Which is why she thought that someone was going to kill her. She must’ve been kidnapped, or got lost, or ran away, or wondered off. Or maybe she’s dead. Which is why she’s no where to be found. Has anybody seen Tami wondering around the states? She would be 49 or 50 years old by now.
Colleen
First time I have read this. First thought I had was that she saw something happen really horrific at that party and she was scared to death. Maybe she was threatened if she told she would be killed. Or she was viciously raped and threatened. And I agree the friend who dropped her off with no shoes and no purse seems rather weird. I would never leave a friend 5 miles from home something isn’t right with this story.
Rachele
Many an obviously fruitcake psychopath garden variety sexual predator (societal termite), will stalk and threaten his victims so as to scare his victims to not call the police. These misogynists who are crazy beyond any repair and redemption threaten to rape sisters, mothers, grandmothers and kill them and dispose of their bodies where nobody would find them.
Ronnie
She would be 30 something or 20 something you idiot
klryker
Always the last person to see you alive. And why hasn’t anyone answered the real questions. Who was at the party with her? Did anything happen? What was she and the guy who picked her up arguing about? I heard she was pregnant 3 myths was that true? Not enough questions were asked
Sherlock
Sad story this family need closure. Her friend picked her up at her house, why didn’t he drop her off at her house, instead of dropping her 5 blocks from her house, knowing she had no shoes or her purse also seeing she was upset some friend he is. I wonder what could have happened to her? Has anyone else seen any other sightings of her since her friend dropped her off.
wireflight
[corrected] Not 5 blocks: 5 miles. And that (see info elsewhere on this page) is roughly a third of the actual distance (15 miles, 2 bridges).
I don’t recall who it was, but quite a while back, someone I was giving a ride got kinda nutso-paranoid and wanted out; I stopped and let that person out, then withdrew a short distance (but stayed in visual range) and kept an eye out while I notified LE and awaited arrival of a marked unit.
Of course, in 1983, I didn’t have a cell phone (or even a CB radio, for that matter), but I had a pretty good idea of how to get in touch with LE by phone, either directly or indirectly (stop someone and have them call the cops), plus I would have been armed and would have taken any necessary risk to ensure the safety of someone that had trusted me.
What freaks me out is when a cop or other official ends up being the perp.: those are supposed to be the people you can count on even when you neither have friends nor can buy any. They’re supposed to be utterly reliable helpers, the champions of the weak and the defenseless.
You don’t simply drop-off someone at an improper destination five miles from his or her residence, and then drive away. Examples of an improper destination include, but are not necessarily limited to: a business not frequented by the passenger, that isn’t either a hospital, police or fire station; a residence in which is not apparently sober and alert one or more of the passenger’s friends — or at least the adult nuclear-family member of such friend.
Anonymous
Why did her friend drop her off 5 miles from her house; with no purse and shoes?? I know they where arguing but if your their friend leaving someone stranded seems extreme. What happend during that long weekend? For her to change her behavior. Did she get a ride from a stranger and something horrible happen? Did someone see something after her friend dropped her off? I feel that the friend knows more then they are telling. What where they arguing about? Something bad happend to this poor girl.someone saw something or knows something. Someone at that party she went saw something. The police should have looked in that direction.. Where was the party? Who did she go with?? Why not ask the people who where doing the film spring break. What cause her break down?? If it wasnt drugs then what? People don’t change their behavior overnight. What happend to that poor girl???? Somewhere someone out there knows something…. I am still supicous toward her friend that dropped her off before she disappeared. I pray for answers expeically for her family
soulja
This person is definitely correct
tampamermaid
He dropped her off while they were on a trip to the beach. As someone who has been born and raised in Florida, it’s not uncommon at all for people to forgo shoes, and definitely a purse, when going to a beach – especially if you are a local and live close. No one brings a purse to the beach; if you do, you usually keep it locked up in your car or trunk, and that’s only for long day trips, which are usually planned. Most teenagers and young people go barefoot when at the beach or traveling there and back. With local beaches and causeways, you are parking either directly on or very close to the sand, and it’s very common to not have shoes on so you don’t trail sand and sea water in and out of your car/home.
There is nothing extreme or weird about what the friend describes. If she was having a paranoid fit, or even just an argument, she could have demanded to be let out of the car and refused to come in; being only five miles from home, the friend probably assumed she’d call someone for a ride (gas stations always have payphones) or just walk home, which, again, is not uncommon. Kids down here sometimes hang out again gas stations near the beach; many of them have little kitchens with food and places to sit. Maybe it seems weird to you, but for young Florida natives, there is nothing strange or curious about this part of the story. If she was so paranoid already, I seriously doubt she’d hitch a ride from a stranger – most women know this is incredibly dangerous. WHERE she decided to walk after the gas station is probably key to figuring out what could have happened to her next.
Jason
Thanks for the insight. Never been to FL, but what you said makes sense. Esp during the early 1980s.
anonymous
Exactly. Sounds like she had ptsd. The friend that dropped her off was probably at the party and knew what happened and killed her
The Dude
Actually people do change over night, its cslled schizophrenia.
Anonymous
I totally Agree With You. Something happen during that Spring Break Film. Something she witness. And her friend that droped her off, he knows more. Like maybe he came back a few seconds later and tried to convince her to go back with him and lead to an argument and that argument went from bad to worse and well you know he probably didnt mean to do what he probably did. Something like could have happened. But cmon no witnesses to anything. Im pretty sure someone knows something. Someone saw something. And they dont or cant talk. A lot of time has passed is time to stop and think. How about the cops? Dont they seem a lil useless? Like didnt they ask for the right questions to the right people. Like the ones from that weekend…
Danika
You guys have to realize this was the 80s. No video cameras on every block. I’m sure people didn’t pay attention to things like people do now since we’re more paranoid now a days. I’m sure if there were more evidence to this story, it has already been destroyed. All we can hope is she’s in a better place.
Donncha macbride
What’s to say the friend didn’t hand her over to someone in exchange for money or safety or perhaps it was all him
Cputter17
She probably did a bunch of cocaine and acid and lost her shit
Tee
I am suspicious of the friend who dropped her off as well.
callie
I often wondered two things about this case. One is the possibility she disappeared on her own. The other is, did she check into a mental hospital due to her issues with the belief that someone was trying to kill her. Just wondering
Wren
I think the people there would have told her family or something
Margaret Rodriguez
We are still so needing answers to what Happen to my Aunt Tammy. I have lived my whole life with this and our family just need some kind of closure. Not knowing what has happen gives us no peace. We all still look for her still today…..
gina
Why does everyone try and pretend they know the person? Where do you loons come from?? Cuckoo, cuckoo!
Child of God
Matthew 11:28
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
K'leigh Barrett
I am looking into her case with a couple of my friends. I am not a police officer but I do want to see her come home to you. I promise I will do as much as I can but for right now i need to look at everything she did at around the time she disappeared. I understand that she means very much to you and I’m very sorry that you had to grow up without her. But me and my friends are going to try our hardest to find her. I will let you know if I find anything. Here is my Gmail. hellokleigh24@gmail.com
Robert Duffy
I went to elementary school with Tammy. I feel terrible for her family and hope her case is solved soon!
K'leigh barrett
I am trying to solve her case with a few of my friends and I am looking into getting her file sent to my home. I will see what I can find. I will get into contact with the people she knew best. I have most of what I need. I promise I will try my hardest.
Stanley Jones.
I would like to know the progress of this investigation. Are her sisters/brothers and parents alive?
Any information?
Carol
I too went to Audubon elementary on Merrit Island. Last I saw Tammy her and her mother lived on river rd in Cocoa.
Carol
I too went to Audubon elementary on Merritt Island. Last I saw Tammy her and her mother lived on river rd in Cocoa.
dodo777
There was a series murderer around that time killing girls that looked just like Tamil , ssso sad . X
Roger
Yes. Christopher wilder..it is unfortunate he died before the exact number of victims (and location of remains ) were