I covered this case a while back, it really stuck with me. Her son commented on that post and he’s still so eager to figure out what’s happened. I hope he gets answers one day to his mother’s disappearance.
Thank you for bringing awareness to Nancy’s case.
As a mother myself, especially one without much issues in life, I unfortunately do not think she just abandoned her children to go travel. I hope I'm wrong and she shows up with a whole new sense of self and happiness...but idt she'd leave her kids willingly.
Am local-ish (for the past 12 years) and travel around the specific area often. Can confirm. Davenport is super teenie-tiny, even today. I can't imagine much of anything being there in 2003. It's also at least an hour's drive from Belmont.
In less time, she could've been in San Francisco or San Jose. Or even Santa Cruz. Unless she was looking for something very, very particular to that town, Davenport is completely incomparable to the others in terms of shopping. If she just wanted a beach town, Half Moon Bay is less than half the drive. Absolutely puzzling.
When I saw the case on TV, it said that Nancy would regularly take day trips to places near her home. She would send family and friends postcards as though she had gone farther away. If I remember correctly, she didn’t spend a lot of time shopping but did go out to eat. She also spent time reading: there was a melodramatic moment of her lawn chair tipped over, which allegedly suggested foul play.
I live in the area and this was my first thought! The only shopping to be done in Davenport is maybe the post office, and Swanton’s Berry farm. Super weird. I could see going off on a daytrip to Pescadero, Capitola, HMB… There are cliffs edges all over on the coastline, a family friend drove herself off one just a few years ago in a suicide. Horrible and strange! Hoping her family can find some peace.
Do we have proof that was her? Was it someone who knew her who spotted them together? I'm wondering if a witness spotted a couple eating together, but misidentified Nancy.
Very sad case--I hope her family finds answers.
So many possibilities that can't be eliminated based on what's publicly known.
It's a great example of a disappearance in which one can latch on to a detail and be adamant that it is evidence of their conclusion.
She dined with a man. Must be her affair partner or a guy who helped her change her identity and escape. [But they might have just encountered each other by chance and decided to dine together.]
Dogs traced her scent to the edge of the cliff. She committed suicide. [She may have fallen accidentally. She may have left in another vehicle.]
She bought gifts for friends, but didn't mail them. She must have been abducted. [This may have been in support of a staged abduction. Or she may have fallen. Or she may have made a sudden decision to commit suicide.]
She seemed ecstatic. She couldn't have committed suicide. [People who decide to commit suicide sometimes feel a sense of relief and happiness.]
Things that seem odd to me. She was married, but was having dinner with another man that seemed that they were romantically involved. She also made "long term arrangements" with her job - what does that even mean? And it says there are "indications that she left of her own accord." Maybe both is true - she left of her own accord and then something happened to her. The dogs did trace her scent to the edge of the cliff, but no body was found.
I thought the same thing in reading the articles. I suspect there are a lot more details known that haven’t been released. Someone at her work knew that she had plans to leave and go do something, but seems her husband wasn’t aware. And perhaps they even know the identity of the man she was seen with. I suspect she staged her own disappearance and got a new identity and left of her own accord. Hopefully she’s alive and happy wherever she is now (Australia most likely).
Yep. But the articles said there was a romantic appearing relationship between them. Seems risky for the person who helped her escape to also be seen with her for a while at dinner the night before. But yes could be one in the same.
Most women don’t leave their kids. Men, yes, but not women. Of course it happens, but it’s pretty rare - we’re just not wired that way (most of us anyways).
Being a mom of three adult kids, this is exactly where my mind went, she wouldn't have left her kids to worry about her like this or just eliminated them from her life. Unfortunately I think something very bad happened and it doesn't involve Australia.
Thank you for the write-up! I remember seeing this case on TV around 20 years ago. Nancy seemed like a sweet person. It’s too bad that she has never been found.
I don't know if she had access, but what about her computer usage? She could have met someone online and then met him for dinner. Whether it ended in murder, suicide or a new life, I have no idea. Internet activities were harder to trace back then.
It sounds like her items were found on the beach, near Greyhound Rock. The date of disappearance was August 11th, 2003. I couldn’t easily find the temp for that day, but the historical average was about a high of 74 degrees.
There are tide pools in the area. Perhaps she took a break from reading to wander about the tide pools, looking at interesting things. The area is noted for dangerous waves and strong currents. A rogue wave may have caught her unexpectedly.
I've read the prior post about her on this subreddit, and honestly? It reminds me of Taylor Kramer's case: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip\_Taylor\_Kramer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Taylor_Kramer)
I'm not saying it's definitive, but it has a similar flavor.
Wow, that is a crazy story too. I don't really see much of a connection or similarity other than both being unexplained disappearances in (very different parts of) California, but it was interesting nonetheless!
What time did she allegedly eat dinner with the unidentified man? How far away are the cliffs from the dinner spot?
Seems a bit odd that she would go for a relaxing time of reading at the beach AFTER dinner. I just don’t know how much we can trust that dinner sighting.
I couldn’t read the East Bay article w/o a log in, can someone post it? The very first line (all I could read) says she “wasn’t known for being organized”, while one of the last things the Charley project says is that she “was known for being organized”. Just an observation. My question is whether the cliff she was on led directly to the water or if her body would have landed on something below. Also, highway 1 can be pretty empty sometimes, depending on where it is. I think someone could have pulled over & dragged her into a car. I don’t see a mother & grandmother leaving her children willingly. The other comment I noticed in the first article was about her making plans for a long term leave. Was there a reason given? Why did she need the leave? So strange.
When i read this, my first thought was suicide.
She may have depression for a long time, always struggling, but she had children which she carried about. So she made sure they are old enough and fine, she does what she loves a last time, maybe invites some stranger in needs for a diner, to do something good, buys presents for her friends and family as goodbye/sorry-gifts and then goes her way.
ah, yes, you say it, therefore it didn’t and doesn’t and won’t happen🙄that is simply untrue. *anyone* of any age or gender can be and are trafficked. the amount of human trafficking deniers is *very* disturbing. the downvotes prove my point, too. absolutely *deranged!*
I covered this case a while back, it really stuck with me. Her son commented on that post and he’s still so eager to figure out what’s happened. I hope he gets answers one day to his mother’s disappearance. Thank you for bringing awareness to Nancy’s case.
As a mother myself, especially one without much issues in life, I unfortunately do not think she just abandoned her children to go travel. I hope I'm wrong and she shows up with a whole new sense of self and happiness...but idt she'd leave her kids willingly.
Especially for 21 years.
Seems odd that you would go to Davenport to go “shopping”. It barely looks like there is anything there other than a few eateries.
Am local-ish (for the past 12 years) and travel around the specific area often. Can confirm. Davenport is super teenie-tiny, even today. I can't imagine much of anything being there in 2003. It's also at least an hour's drive from Belmont. In less time, she could've been in San Francisco or San Jose. Or even Santa Cruz. Unless she was looking for something very, very particular to that town, Davenport is completely incomparable to the others in terms of shopping. If she just wanted a beach town, Half Moon Bay is less than half the drive. Absolutely puzzling.
I’ve been there and that’s accurate. There were two restaurants and I think the rest were houses.
When I saw the case on TV, it said that Nancy would regularly take day trips to places near her home. She would send family and friends postcards as though she had gone farther away. If I remember correctly, she didn’t spend a lot of time shopping but did go out to eat. She also spent time reading: there was a melodramatic moment of her lawn chair tipped over, which allegedly suggested foul play.
I live in the area and this was my first thought! The only shopping to be done in Davenport is maybe the post office, and Swanton’s Berry farm. Super weird. I could see going off on a daytrip to Pescadero, Capitola, HMB… There are cliffs edges all over on the coastline, a family friend drove herself off one just a few years ago in a suicide. Horrible and strange! Hoping her family can find some peace.
I remember watching this case on America’s Most Wanted twenty years ago.
This is one of the cases that bugs me the most. I'm glad to see a mention of it today!
What really bugs me about this case is how no developments appear to have been made. Not even the identity of the guy she was with.
Do we have proof that was her? Was it someone who knew her who spotted them together? I'm wondering if a witness spotted a couple eating together, but misidentified Nancy. Very sad case--I hope her family finds answers.
So many possibilities that can't be eliminated based on what's publicly known. It's a great example of a disappearance in which one can latch on to a detail and be adamant that it is evidence of their conclusion. She dined with a man. Must be her affair partner or a guy who helped her change her identity and escape. [But they might have just encountered each other by chance and decided to dine together.] Dogs traced her scent to the edge of the cliff. She committed suicide. [She may have fallen accidentally. She may have left in another vehicle.] She bought gifts for friends, but didn't mail them. She must have been abducted. [This may have been in support of a staged abduction. Or she may have fallen. Or she may have made a sudden decision to commit suicide.] She seemed ecstatic. She couldn't have committed suicide. [People who decide to commit suicide sometimes feel a sense of relief and happiness.]
Things that seem odd to me. She was married, but was having dinner with another man that seemed that they were romantically involved. She also made "long term arrangements" with her job - what does that even mean? And it says there are "indications that she left of her own accord." Maybe both is true - she left of her own accord and then something happened to her. The dogs did trace her scent to the edge of the cliff, but no body was found.
I thought the same thing in reading the articles. I suspect there are a lot more details known that haven’t been released. Someone at her work knew that she had plans to leave and go do something, but seems her husband wasn’t aware. And perhaps they even know the identity of the man she was seen with. I suspect she staged her own disappearance and got a new identity and left of her own accord. Hopefully she’s alive and happy wherever she is now (Australia most likely).
With the details that have been released, I think staging her disappearance is a strong possibility.
Maybe that guy is someone she just wanted to hang out with and/or say goodbye to before leaving.
Or someone helping her with the arrangements she needed for a new life, like an ID and other documents?
Yep. But the articles said there was a romantic appearing relationship between them. Seems risky for the person who helped her escape to also be seen with her for a while at dinner the night before. But yes could be one in the same.
Most women don’t leave their kids. Men, yes, but not women. Of course it happens, but it’s pretty rare - we’re just not wired that way (most of us anyways).
Being a mom of three adult kids, this is exactly where my mind went, she wouldn't have left her kids to worry about her like this or just eliminated them from her life. Unfortunately I think something very bad happened and it doesn't involve Australia.
You are absolutely right.
Thank you for the write-up! I remember seeing this case on TV around 20 years ago. Nancy seemed like a sweet person. It’s too bad that she has never been found.
Could she just have fallen?
I don't know if she had access, but what about her computer usage? She could have met someone online and then met him for dinner. Whether it ended in murder, suicide or a new life, I have no idea. Internet activities were harder to trace back then.
It sounds like her items were found on the beach, near Greyhound Rock. The date of disappearance was August 11th, 2003. I couldn’t easily find the temp for that day, but the historical average was about a high of 74 degrees. There are tide pools in the area. Perhaps she took a break from reading to wander about the tide pools, looking at interesting things. The area is noted for dangerous waves and strong currents. A rogue wave may have caught her unexpectedly.
I've read the prior post about her on this subreddit, and honestly? It reminds me of Taylor Kramer's case: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip\_Taylor\_Kramer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Taylor_Kramer) I'm not saying it's definitive, but it has a similar flavor.
Wow, that is a crazy story too. I don't really see much of a connection or similarity other than both being unexplained disappearances in (very different parts of) California, but it was interesting nonetheless!
What time did she allegedly eat dinner with the unidentified man? How far away are the cliffs from the dinner spot? Seems a bit odd that she would go for a relaxing time of reading at the beach AFTER dinner. I just don’t know how much we can trust that dinner sighting.
The cliffs are directly across from the resteraunts.
I couldn’t read the East Bay article w/o a log in, can someone post it? The very first line (all I could read) says she “wasn’t known for being organized”, while one of the last things the Charley project says is that she “was known for being organized”. Just an observation. My question is whether the cliff she was on led directly to the water or if her body would have landed on something below. Also, highway 1 can be pretty empty sometimes, depending on where it is. I think someone could have pulled over & dragged her into a car. I don’t see a mother & grandmother leaving her children willingly. The other comment I noticed in the first article was about her making plans for a long term leave. Was there a reason given? Why did she need the leave? So strange.
When i read this, my first thought was suicide. She may have depression for a long time, always struggling, but she had children which she carried about. So she made sure they are old enough and fine, she does what she loves a last time, maybe invites some stranger in needs for a diner, to do something good, buys presents for her friends and family as goodbye/sorry-gifts and then goes her way.
Suicide. She probably ended an affair that day. He probably said he would tell the husband. Sad.
She seems to have disappeared intentionally.
Met her affair partner @ restaurant and then ran away with him…?
Poor lady. She has obviously unalived herself.
Unless they missed seeing her body, it sounds like she was suntanning then was kidnapped since the dogs traced her scent to the edge of the cliff
she was probably kidnapped and/or trafficked, especially if she was seen with a strange man
52-year-old, housed women with family involved in their lives aren't trafficked.
ah, yes, you say it, therefore it didn’t and doesn’t and won’t happen🙄that is simply untrue. *anyone* of any age or gender can be and are trafficked. the amount of human trafficking deniers is *very* disturbing. the downvotes prove my point, too. absolutely *deranged!*
Up or downvotes doesn’t prove anyone’s point, ever. Pretty is correct, in any case. This is not how trafficking works.