Missing Since: 1977-02-28 Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Evitts was last seen between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on February 28, 1977 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was during her lunch hour. She had her watch adjusted, browsed several stores on the Country Club Plaza, drove to a drugstore on Main Street and Westport Road, and bought coffee and an umbrella. Evitts’s yellow 1970 MG sports car with the license plate number JOE 4869 was found back in its customary space in the Plaza Center Building’s parking garage that afternoon, with the umbrella she’d bought in the front seat, but there was no sign of her and she has never been heard from again. Her husband didn’t realize she was missing until 6:00 p.m., when Evitts’s supervisor called him to ask why she hadn’t returned to the office after lunch. Her purse and some other belongings were found ten days later, under a bridge in southeast Kansas City, near Unity Village. Evitts was employed at a law firm at the time of her disappearance; she’d only been working there for a month. Her loved ones stated she was very attached to her car and it would be uncharacteristic of her to walk anywhere when she could drive. She was born and raised in Coffeyville, Kansas and was a former queen nominee at Kansas State University, where she studied clothing and retailing. She lived in Overland Park, Kansas at the time of her disappearance, was happily married and was not having any personal or financial problems. She is described as a meticulous person, both about her appearance and her possessions. Three weeks after Evitts disappeared, a 34-year-old man from Grandview, Missouri was arrested for her kidnapping. The charges were dropped for lack of evidence, however. The suspect has not been publicly identified. Evitts’s disappearance is considered suspicious, but little evidence is available in her case. Her husband had her declared legally dead seven years after she was last seen. He has never remarried and still hopes for answers in her disappearance. Investigating Agency Kansas City Police Department 816-234-5136 Source Information The Kansas City Star NamUs The News and Observer Defrosting Cold Cases Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 31, 2018; three pictures added, details of disappearance updated.