Wanda Jean Mays - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

OriginalNightstalker · 07-21-2005, 01:28 AM

Anybody have new info about this?
Case overview:She disappeared from her aunt/uncle's house in the middle of the night. The window on the outside door to her room was smashed with the glass broken from the inside. Her bloody nightgown was found on a boatdock the next day. There were sightings of a wet woman fitting her description walking along a two lane highway with oversized jeans and shirt. It happened on May 12, 1986 in Alabama, was aired on May 25, 1987. Haven't seen it since.

crystaldawn · 07-21-2005, 10:34 AM

Actually I was in contact with someone from the newspaper in that area last week. She said the man who covered that area recently died but she would make a few phone calls and get back to me. I'll pass on any information I get.

DarkDante · 07-23-2005, 02:51 AM

Is this what you are talking about Crystal - Apparently this ran in 2004

More bones found
at site of skull find

Several rib bones and a vertebrae believed to be human were found Saturday at a site off the Chalakee Road where a partial human skull was discovered earlier.

Tests are underway on the skull to see if it might be a match to long-missing Wanda Mays, who disappeared 18 years ago. Sheriff’s investigators said the bones found most recently will be sent to a state lab for testing along with the skull.

About 30 or 40 searchers from the sheriff’s department, Guntersville Rescue Squad and HEMSI search dog team conducted the search Saturday. It was the third search of the area in recent months.

This search focused mainly on areas that the search dogs had alerted on earlier. Investigators said the bones were above the soil, but underneath the mat of leaves on the forest floor.

Two hikers walking through the woods found the skull some time back. They were inspecting a broken-down moonshine still along a creek deep in the woods when they found it.

Only the top portion of the skull remained, with no jawbones or teeth intact. The hikers alerted the sheriff’s department.

The skull was sent to noted Tennessee forensic anthropologist Bill Bass of “Body Farm” fame. He and his staff ruled that the skull was not Indian or prehistoric. Judging from the bone density and the size, they said it likely came from a woman between the ages of 30 and 50.

Miss Mays was 26 when she disappeared.

Other bone fragments were later discovered, also using HEMSI’s search dogs. The case remains under investigation.

Miss Mays was spending the night at the lakeside home of her aunt and uncle, the late Betty and Ty Dorman, when she disappeared in the middle of the night on May 12, 1986. A broken window and a night gown, both with blood stains, were all that she left behind, along with some blood stains in a canoe found floating in the lake.

She’d been dieting and it’s thought that she may have had a chemical imbalance that could have caused her to have a panic attack in the middle of the night.
A massive land and lake search by the Rescue Squad and other agencies failed to turn up anything immediately following the disappearance. The place where the bones have been discovered is outside of the original search zone.

Details of the disappearance have aired twice on national television on the program “Unsolved Mysteries.”

Her parents, Jim and Dot Mays, have spent thousands of dollars on private investigators over the years and have tracked down leads themselves in several states, without ever coming close to finding her.

The Dorman home where she disappeared from is only a few miles away, as the crow flies, from where the skull was found in rugged territory roughly a mile off Chalakee Road.

That site apparently wasn’t included in the original search zone because officials at the time had information that Miss Mays had been seen walking in the other direction, back towards Warrenton.

Kemistry · 07-23-2005, 09:38 AM

This case was profiled on the Pre-Stack special with Karl Malden I remember it, and is one of the segments I'm working on to put on my site.

crystaldawn · 07-23-2005, 10:33 AM

Yes, thanks DD thats probably the article that Kane posted some time ago. The lady I spoke with initially said there were no updates but then she said she would make a few phone calls which kind of contradicted itself. Nonetheless I always appreciate when these people take the time to respond and try to help us out. I will definitely let you guys know if and when I hear back from her and if anyone can find a more recent article about her, please post.

I'm looking forward to having that one from the PSS on Echoes as well as the one of Donald Kemp.

Alabama · 08-02-2005, 01:13 PM

Wanda Mays was my mother's cousin. I am only 20 years old so I did not know her. I have been watching unsolved mysteries for a while because i've never seen the show about her. As far as i've heard the bones found did not match, and there has not been any information since the 80's.

crystaldawn · 08-02-2005, 01:18 PM

Hi! Thanks for posting the information. Does your mother or Wanda's family have any theories about what happened to her? You won't be able to see Wanda's story on Lifetime as it is on the pre-Stack specials. I do think that story will be added to Echoes website in the future so you can watch it there.

Alabama · 08-02-2005, 01:20 PM

Wow, that was a quick reply! They really don't know, they've been praying for her all these years. --what does pre-stack mean?

DarkDante · 08-02-2005, 06:10 PM

The "Pre Stack Specials" are episodes of UM which aired prior to Robert Stack taking over as the host. There were 3 "Pre Stack Specials" - one hosted by Raymond Burr and the other two by Karl Malden. The Wanda Jean Mays segments airs on Special #2 hosted by Karl Malden. These specials will likely never air on "Lifetime" due to the fact that for "Lifetime" to air them they would have to pay money to the estates of Burr & Malden.

Later.

justins5256 · 08-02-2005, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDante

pay money to the estates of Burr & Malden.

Malden's not dead. Just thougt I would point that out.

DarkDante · 08-03-2005, 12:23 AM

Ah yes sorry about that Karl is I believe 93 years young as of today. He was actually a pretty good host for the show. One thing I like about the specials he hosted as compared to the series itself is in Special #2 the illusion is never broken.

What I mean is you see Karl walking around what seems to be a town - First on the dock of a lake (for Wanda Jean Mays), then in a barn (for John Burns), in a park (for the amnesia victim Kyra who was attacked in a park) on a street with condos (for the professional female thieves who would target rich men) and finally near a resturant (for Robert Weeks)

While Stack continued to do this for the most part once the series began I think the way Special #2 was filmed in this aspect in that you almost felt as the show moved in a constant flowing motion was a very nice touch!

Later.

Callie · 01-05-2006, 12:02 AM

Just checking in on this and hoping that one of you will see this and reply. It's now 2006 and I'm wondering if there has been anything new on this case?
I understand that the guy who headed it has retired and I wondered if it had just vanished or if anyone back in Alabama kept it alive in any way.
For instance if you even try and google Wanda's name and Arab, Alabama nothing comes up. Even if you add in the word "missing" you get nada.
Is this normal in the case of a missing person?
No photo or anything?
I think about her quite often through out the year -- typically when I see someone with long blonde hair on the street with her same body type and I wonder if it could be her.
Still hoping that she's wandering out there with no idea of who she is and that someone who grew up with her will come across her in a grocery store or something.
It might help if a photo was on the Internet wouldn't it?
Who is in charge of missing person cases like this one? Over the years I've checked on line and come up empty handed and tonight I've decided to do this post to ask total strangers for your advice.
Do you guys know?
And yes -- I did grow up with her and 20 years later I'm not sure I would know her if I saw her today. A photo would be nice -- I get age generated ones of kids all the time in my mailbox --why not one of her on a site?

mozartpc27 · 04-03-2007, 01:10 AM

I just saw this case for the first time, and I have to say the most striking thing about it is that Wanda's aunt's family knocked on her door at 5AM (that's 5 IN THE MORNING) to let her know that it was "time to get up," and then proceeded to KICK HER DOOR DOWN, enlisting the help of their GRANDSON because she didn't jump spryly from the bed. This must have been no later than 6:30 IN THE MORNING! Who summons help to kick down a door because someone isn't up at the crack of 5? Maybe that's what gave her the damn panic attack!

Also, why did she have to break a window to leave? The door was locked from the inside, presumably, which is why her aunt and uncle needed to break the door down... Couldn't she have just left by the front door? Or did they lock the house so that she couldn't get out at night?

Something weird was going on with that family, and I'm not sure I wouldn't have broken a window to get the hell out of there, and leave it as far, far, far behind me as I possibly could.

That said, the chances for a lone, half-naked girl wandering around without money or any way of supporting herself don't seem good to me, and a premature death for her seems likely.

microeconomia · 04-03-2007, 04:19 AM

[QUOTE=I do think that story will be added to Echoes website in the future so you can watch it there.[/QUOTE]

Is there a website known as "Echoes" where one is able to watch old UM episodes??

crystaldawn · 04-03-2007, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by microeconomia

Is there a website known as "Echoes" where one is able to watch old UM episodes??

There used to be but it was shut down over a year ago.

07-21-2005, 01:28 AM	#1
OriginalNightstalker Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 21, 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 78	Wanda Jean Mays Anybody have new info about this? Case overview:She disappeared from her aunt/uncle's house in the middle of the night. The window on the outside door to her room was smashed with the glass broken from the inside. Her bloody nightgown was found on a boatdock the next day. There were sightings of a wet woman fitting her description walking along a two lane highway with oversized jeans and shirt. It happened on May 12, 1986 in Alabama, was aired on May 25, 1987. Haven't seen it since.
	__________________ Some people are so stupid. Use your brian morons! Last edited by OriginalNightstalker; 08-03-2005 at 09:51 PM.

07-23-2005, 02:51 AM	#3
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Mysterious Bones May Provide Final Chapter On Wanda Jean Mays Is this what you are talking about Crystal - Apparently this ran in 2004 More bones found at site of skull find Several rib bones and a vertebrae believed to be human were found Saturday at a site off the Chalakee Road where a partial human skull was discovered earlier. Tests are underway on the skull to see if it might be a match to long-missing Wanda Mays, who disappeared 18 years ago. Sheriff’s investigators said the bones found most recently will be sent to a state lab for testing along with the skull. About 30 or 40 searchers from the sheriff’s department, Guntersville Rescue Squad and HEMSI search dog team conducted the search Saturday. It was the third search of the area in recent months. This search focused mainly on areas that the search dogs had alerted on earlier. Investigators said the bones were above the soil, but underneath the mat of leaves on the forest floor. Two hikers walking through the woods found the skull some time back. They were inspecting a broken-down moonshine still along a creek deep in the woods when they found it. Only the top portion of the skull remained, with no jawbones or teeth intact. The hikers alerted the sheriff’s department. The skull was sent to noted Tennessee forensic anthropologist Bill Bass of “Body Farm” fame. He and his staff ruled that the skull was not Indian or prehistoric. Judging from the bone density and the size, they said it likely came from a woman between the ages of 30 and 50. Miss Mays was 26 when she disappeared. Other bone fragments were later discovered, also using HEMSI’s search dogs. The case remains under investigation. Miss Mays was spending the night at the lakeside home of her aunt and uncle, the late Betty and Ty Dorman, when she disappeared in the middle of the night on May 12, 1986. A broken window and a night gown, both with blood stains, were all that she left behind, along with some blood stains in a canoe found floating in the lake. She’d been dieting and it’s thought that she may have had a chemical imbalance that could have caused her to have a panic attack in the middle of the night. A massive land and lake search by the Rescue Squad and other agencies failed to turn up anything immediately following the disappearance. The place where the bones have been discovered is outside of the original search zone. Details of the disappearance have aired twice on national television on the program “Unsolved Mysteries.” Her parents, Jim and Dot Mays, have spent thousands of dollars on private investigators over the years and have tracked down leads themselves in several states, without ever coming close to finding her. The Dorman home where she disappeared from is only a few miles away, as the crow flies, from where the skull was found in rugged territory roughly a mile off Chalakee Road. That site apparently wasn’t included in the original search zone because officials at the time had information that Miss Mays had been seen walking in the other direction, back towards Warrenton.

07-23-2005, 09:38 AM	#4
Kemistry Mysterious Intrigue Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 16, 2005 Location: Outside Your Window... Posts: 339	This case was profiled on the Pre-Stack special with Karl Malden I remember it, and is one of the segments I'm working on to put on my site.
	__________________ Kemistry

07-21-2005, 10:34 AM	#2
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	Actually I was in contact with someone from the newspaper in that area last week. She said the man who covered that area recently died but she would make a few phone calls and get back to me. I'll pass on any information I get.

07-23-2005, 10:33 AM	#5
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	Yes, thanks DD thats probably the article that Kane posted some time ago. The lady I spoke with initially said there were no updates but then she said she would make a few phone calls which kind of contradicted itself. Nonetheless I always appreciate when these people take the time to respond and try to help us out. I will definitely let you guys know if and when I hear back from her and if anyone can find a more recent article about her, please post. I'm looking forward to having that one from the PSS on Echoes as well as the one of Donald Kemp.

08-02-2005, 01:13 PM	#6
Alabama Member Forum Cub Join Date: Aug 02, 2005 Posts: 2	Wanda Mays was my mother's cousin. I am only 20 years old so I did not know her. I have been watching unsolved mysteries for a while because i've never seen the show about her. As far as i've heard the bones found did not match, and there has not been any information since the 80's.

08-02-2005, 01:18 PM	#7
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	Hi! Thanks for posting the information. Does your mother or Wanda's family have any theories about what happened to her? You won't be able to see Wanda's story on Lifetime as it is on the pre-Stack specials. I do think that story will be added to Echoes website in the future so you can watch it there.

08-02-2005, 01:20 PM	#8
Alabama Member Forum Cub Join Date: Aug 02, 2005 Posts: 2	Wow, that was a quick reply! They really don't know, they've been praying for her all these years. --what does pre-stack mean?

08-02-2005, 06:10 PM	#9
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	The "Pre Stack Specials" are episodes of UM which aired prior to Robert Stack taking over as the host. There were 3 "Pre Stack Specials" - one hosted by Raymond Burr and the other two by Karl Malden. The Wanda Jean Mays segments airs on Special #2 hosted by Karl Malden. These specials will likely never air on "Lifetime" due to the fact that for "Lifetime" to air them they would have to pay money to the estates of Burr & Malden. Later.

08-03-2005, 12:23 AM	#11
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Ah yes sorry about that Karl is I believe 93 years young as of today. He was actually a pretty good host for the show. One thing I like about the specials he hosted as compared to the series itself is in Special #2 the illusion is never broken. What I mean is you see Karl walking around what seems to be a town - First on the dock of a lake (for Wanda Jean Mays), then in a barn (for John Burns), in a park (for the amnesia victim Kyra who was attacked in a park) on a street with condos (for the professional female thieves who would target rich men) and finally near a resturant (for Robert Weeks) While Stack continued to do this for the most part once the series began I think the way Special #2 was filmed in this aspect in that you almost felt as the show moved in a constant flowing motion was a very nice touch! Later.

01-05-2006, 12:02 AM	#12
Callie Member First Time Poster Join Date: Jan 04, 2006 Posts: 1	Just checking in on this and hoping that one of you will see this and reply. It's now 2006 and I'm wondering if there has been anything new on this case? I understand that the guy who headed it has retired and I wondered if it had just vanished or if anyone back in Alabama kept it alive in any way. For instance if you even try and google Wanda's name and Arab, Alabama nothing comes up. Even if you add in the word "missing" you get nada. Is this normal in the case of a missing person? No photo or anything? I think about her quite often through out the year -- typically when I see someone with long blonde hair on the street with her same body type and I wonder if it could be her. Still hoping that she's wandering out there with no idea of who she is and that someone who grew up with her will come across her in a grocery store or something. It might help if a photo was on the Internet wouldn't it? Who is in charge of missing person cases like this one? Over the years I've checked on line and come up empty handed and tonight I've decided to do this post to ask total strangers for your advice. Do you guys know? And yes -- I did grow up with her and 20 years later I'm not sure I would know her if I saw her today. A photo would be nice -- I get age generated ones of kids all the time in my mailbox --why not one of her on a site?

04-03-2007, 01:10 AM	#13
mozartpc27 Vigilante Logician Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 09, 2006 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 924	I just saw this case for the first time, and I have to say the most striking thing about it is that Wanda's aunt's family knocked on her door at 5AM (that's 5 IN THE MORNING) to let her know that it was "time to get up," and then proceeded to KICK HER DOOR DOWN, enlisting the help of their GRANDSON because she didn't jump spryly from the bed. This must have been no later than 6:30 IN THE MORNING! Who summons help to kick down a door because someone isn't up at the crack of 5? Maybe that's what gave her the damn panic attack! Also, why did she have to break a window to leave? The door was locked from the inside, presumably, which is why her aunt and uncle needed to break the door down... Couldn't she have just left by the front door? Or did they lock the house so that she couldn't get out at night? Something weird was going on with that family, and I'm not sure I wouldn't have broken a window to get the hell out of there, and leave it as far, far, far behind me as I possibly could. That said, the chances for a lone, half-naked girl wandering around without money or any way of supporting herself don't seem good to me, and a premature death for her seems likely.

04-03-2007, 04:19 AM	#14
microeconomia Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 28, 2007 Location: mexico city Posts: 52	[QUOTE=I do think that story will be added to Echoes website in the future so you can watch it there.[/QUOTE] Is there a website known as "Echoes" where one is able to watch old UM episodes??