Rebecca Pauline Gary

Case Details

Gary was last seen at her apartment in the 8300 block of Airline Highway in Baton Rouge, Lousiana on December 27, 1988. She called her sister that day and said things weren’t working out and she wanted to move back to Shreveport, Louisiana, where she’d lived before. She has never been heard from again. In the first week of January, Gary’s apartment manager called her sister to say the rent was due and Gary wasn’t answering the door. The manager left herself inside the apartment and found the lights and coffee maker on. The bathtub had been filled with water and there were two cups on the bar. Gary’s driver’s license, purse and car keys were in the bedroom. A packed suitcase was on the bed and family photos were spread across the bed. The manager wanted to put Gary’s belongings out in the street because the rent hadn’t been paid, but her sister asked her not to until the police came to investigate. When the manager checked a few weeks later, the lights were off but the suitcase and photographs were still on the bed. The rest of her clothes were hanging in the closet, and her car was parked in the parking lot. An autographed photograph of Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards was found torn up on a counter in her home. Gary has never been heard from again. The police never did come to the apartment, and eventually Gary’s brother went there to collect her things. She was reported as a missing person on January 20, 1989, three and a half weeks after she was last seen. Gary’s daughter, Jamie Williams, believes Edwards was involved in her mother’s disappearance. She claims Gary was “obsessed” with Edwards and that the two of them had had an affair. Gary reportedly was planning to end the affair at the time she went missing. When he was questioned about Gary, Edwards said he had no involvement in her disappearance and also denied having had a romantic relationship with her. His office did turn over several letters Gary had written him. In 2001, Edwards was convicted of unrelated charges of racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy and sentenced to ten years in prison. Gary was employed as a waitress at the time of her disappearance. She lived with Williams and was raising her alone; her daughter’s father was not a part of their lives. Gary had insisted Williams take a bus to spend the 1988 Christmas holidays with relatives in Shreveport. They had an argument about it at the bus station. This is the last time Williams saw her mother. Authorities describe Gary’s disappearance as suspicious. They stated her apartment appeared as if she had been packing to go somewhere and had been interrupted. For about a year prior to going missing, Gary had carried a large manila envelope. She hid it under her bed and told her mother that if anything happened to her, her relatives should open the envelope and examine the contents. The envelope was missing from Gary’s apartment after she vanished. Williams is still searching for her mother and believes there is a possibility that she left voluntarily in 1988 and is still alive. Gary’s case remains unsolved. Investigating Agency Baton Rouge Police Department 225-389-8617 Source Information The Doe Network The Detroit Free Press Louisiana Repository for Unidentified & Missing People Facebook Page for Rebecca Gary NBC News Capital Region Crime Stoppers Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 26, 2022; picture added.