Missing Since: 2005-03-10 Location: Foley, Missouri
Bianca was last seen at approximately 6:15 p.m. on March 10, 2005, when her mother dropped her off at McIntosh Hill Road in Foley, Missouri, about a mile from their home. She had been having anger management problems and had a tantrum about chores the night of her disappearance. Her therapist had advised her mother to drive her a distance from home and make her walk back alone to deal with her aggression. Bianca and her mother had tried the treatment only once prior to March 10, but it had been helpful, and Bianca requested that it be done again. She also asked to be dropped off further from home than she had before. She never arrived home and has never been heard from again. Her mother reported her missing at 8:20 p.m. Investigators at first believed Bianca became lost on her way back home. If this theory is correct she would have succumbed to exposure in a short time; temperatures in the area that evening dipped below freezing. However, since an extensive search turned up no sign of Bianca, authorities now think she may have been abducted. She has no history of running away from home. Her mother and her mother’s live-in boyfriend have both passed polygraph tests, her biological father was extensively interviewed, and none of her family members are considered suspects in the case. In 2007, investigators began investigating Michael J. Devlin for possible involvement in Bianca’s disappearance and in several other cases, including the 1991 disappearance of Charles “Arlin” Henderson, and the 1988 disappearance of Scott Kleeschulte. Shawn Hornbeck, a fifteen-year-old boy who disappeared in 2002, and William “Ben” Ownby, a thirteen-year-old boy who was abducted in 2007, were both found alive in Devlin’s house in January 2007. Ownby had been missing for five days and Hornbeck for over four years. Both boys had been held against their will by Devlin, who subsequently pleaded guilty to kidnapping and child molestation and was sentenced to life in prison. Authorities initially suspected Devlin could be linked to other missing child cases, and formed a multi-jurisdictional task force to investigate this theory. In October 2007 the task force dissolved; it couldn’t find any evidence that Devlin was involved with any other missing children. Bianca was an eighth-grader at Winfield Middle School at the time of her disappearance. She was in special education classes due to her short attention span and the fact that she had missed a lot of school due to her psychiatric illnesses. Her teachers stated she is artistically talented. Bianca’s father died in 2009, but her mother and sister are still alive and looking for her. Her mother now lives in St. Charles, Missouri. Bianca’s case remains unsolved. Investigating Agency Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office 636-528-8546 636-528-6100 Source Information The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Federal Bureau of Investigation KSDK NewsChannel 5 The St. Louis Post-Dispatch KMOV 4 St. Louis The Crime Library America’s Most Wanted The Missourian Unsolved in the News Updated 11 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 13, 2023; picture added.