In the story of Flora Stevens, police investigators used modern technology to solve the mystery of disappearance in Monticello, New York. Back in the 1970s, Flora Stevens was dropped off by her husband to her doctor’s appointment. When he returned to pick her up, she was nowhere to be found. Despite their best efforts, the detectives assigned to her case back in the 1970s could not confirm whether Flora was dead or alive. Along their journey to find Flora Stevens, the detectives reach a point where they found human remains that were a potential match but later discovered they were not the remains of Flora. Due to the lack of advances in technology, the case could only be taken so far, but interestingly enough, Flora Stevens was found recently safe and unharmed by Detective Richard Morgan of the Sheriff’s Office in Sullivan County New York. Through this detective’s hard work and determination to close this case, his best efforts were rewarded. The story of how this missing person’s cause was solved is staggering.
Detective Morgan accessed advanced forensic science tools to run a report of Flora Stevens’s social security number. After some extensive digging, he was alarmed to find that her results matched up with a woman living at a Senior Living Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, approximately 245 miles away from where she was initially reported missing. Her birthday was a direct match to the missing woman and astoundingly her first name still remained the same; however, her new last name was Harris. Upon sending a qualified investigator to the senior living center, their suspicions were confirmed. Flora Stevens had been found. Although she had aged significantly from the time of her disappearance and her hair was white as snow, she was indeed the same woman who had vanished so mysteriously after being dropped off for a doctor’s appointment so many decades ago.
While the mystery of where Flora Harris was has been solved, the questions still remain as to how and why she never appeared for her husband when he showed up to get her from her doctor’s visit. Flora is a dementia sufferer and she has no recollection of what happened to her on that mysterious day in New York State. She also cannot recall any of the past events that have led up to her Senior Center Care admission. She did recognize herself in the picture that the detectives had shown her of when she worked as a waitress in Catskills. The best thing to an explanation was that Flora had suffered from psychiatric problems leading up to the days of her mysterious disappearance. This interesting story highlights just one instance of cold cases that are being uncovered today due to technological advances and virtual tools in hopes of many more happy endings like this one. It is a proud moment for a detective to close a 42-year-old missing persons case and provide much-needed closure to beloved family members.
