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== Identification == |
== Identification == |
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| − | The remains were sent to the FBI's DNA lab in Quantico, Virginia for testing. In January 2008, the remains were positively identified as Mays'. It was determined Mays had died from accidentally falling off of the cliff where she was discovered, and that Mays had left on her own accord |
+ | The remains were sent to the FBI's DNA lab in Quantico, Virginia for testing. In January 2008, the remains were positively identified as Mays'. It was determined Mays had died from accidentally falling off of the cliff where she was discovered, and that Mays had left on her own accord. |
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| + | On the day Mays disappeared, her father noted her showing signs of emotional distress, which were caused by a "chemical imbalance" due to her dieting. Mays had also suffered from frequent panic attacks, which her brother suggested may have attributed to her death. |
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== Media appearances == |
== Media appearances == |
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Revision as of 08:09, 21 September 2020
Wanda Jean Mays (August 19, 1959 - May 12, 1986) was a young woman whose skeletal remains were found in 2003 after disappearing 17 years prior. She was identified in 2008.
Disappearance
On the evening of May 11, 1986, Mays stopped by her aunt and uncle's house on Georgia Mountain near Guntersville Lake in Marshall County. Mays decided to spend the night there rather than drive back to her apartment, where she went to bed around 10:30pm.
The next morning around 5am, her aunt and uncle discovered the window of the room Mays' slept in was broken from the inside and covered with blood. The bed did not appear to be slept in and Mays' personal items were found on the nightstand. Mays' torn nightgown was discovered on the boat dock near the lake.
Investigation
During the initial investigation, it was believed that Mays had drowned and divers were sent to search for her body. The lake was also dragged, but nothing was found.
During the search, an empty canoe was found in the water, which was found to have blood inside of it. Testing had determined that the blood found in the canoe matched Mays' blood type.
Discovery
In October 2003, a hiker searching for ginseng plants discovered skeletal remains at the foot of a 150 foot cliff, about 1.8 miles from where Mays' was last seen in Guntersville.
Identification
The remains were sent to the FBI's DNA lab in Quantico, Virginia for testing. In January 2008, the remains were positively identified as Mays'. It was determined Mays had died from accidentally falling off of the cliff where she was discovered, and that Mays had left on her own accord.
On the day Mays disappeared, her father noted her showing signs of emotional distress, which were caused by a "chemical imbalance" due to her dieting. Mays had also suffered from frequent panic attacks, which her brother suggested may have attributed to her death.
Media appearances
- Mays' case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries in 1987.
Sources
- Wanda Jean Mays on Wikipedia