Mystery of missing mother-of-two who disappeared with her boyfriend in 1968 when she was just 25 years old is finally solved after almost six decades

The mystery of a missing mother of two who disappeared with her boyfriend in 1968 when she was just 25 has finally been solved after almost 60 years.

Mary Alice Pultz, who grew up in Rockville, Maryland, became estranged from her family after eloping with John Thomas Fugitt, according to the St Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

The last time her family saw her alive was in 1968.

But last week, in a stunning turn of events, the sheriff’s office revealed that skeletal remains had been discovered on Crescent Beach, Florida, in 1985 by construction workers and had now been positively identified as Pultz.

An initial investigation indicated that the remains belonged to a white woman between the ages of 30 and 50, but the case grew colder over the years and the remains remained unidentified until January this year.

Pultz’s boyfriend, John Thomas Fugitt, has been named as a person of interest in her death, but he died in prison after being convicted of murdering his male roommate in Georgia in 1981.

Mary Pultz’s remains were examined by medical examiner Dr. Wendolyn Sneed, who discovered she had suffered multiple injuries. Three surgical burr holes had also been drilled into her skull

In 2011, the victim’s skull and jaw were sent to the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Science at the University of South Florida, where experts performed a facial reconstruction to see what she might have looked like.

The image gave the detectives some leads, but the case again reached a dead end and remained unsolved.

That was until last year, when the remains were sent to Othram, a Texas laboratory that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy.

High-tech equipment in the lab allowed potential relatives of the victim to be identified, the sheriff’s office explained.

Pultz’s living relatives – son Norman Jenkins of Yuma, Arizona, and her sister Patricia Allamong of Winchester, Virginia – were located and agreed to submit to DNA samples.

Sergeant Gene Tolbert went on a trip to meet those family members and after taking more DNA samples and conducting further testing, authorities were able to positively identify the remains in January 2024.

Further examination of the remains by medical examiner Dr. Wendolyn Sneed revealed that the victim had suffered a series of injuries, including fractures to the nasal bones, multiple ribs and to the lower legs – some of which had healed.

Three surgical burr holes were also drilled into the mother’s skull, according to the sheriff’s office.

Detectives investigating the case discovered through conversations with her family that the holes were likely drilled after she disappeared from her home in the late 1960s.

‘Dr. Sneed advised that these injuries, in addition to the surgical drill holes, are indicative of serious trauma that would have required hospitalization, such as being involved in a car accident or being struck by a vehicle,” the statement said.

Skeletal remains found in a shallow grave on Crescent Beach, Florida in 1985 were positively identified as Pultz in January of this year

St Johns County Sheriff’s pictured on St. Augustine beach in 1985 when the remains were first discovered

In 2011, the victim’s skull and jaw were sent to the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Science at the University of South Florida, where experts performed a facial reconstruction to see what she might have looked like.

Details about how the mother died remain unclear, but her death is currently being investigated as a homicide and detectives have named boyfriend Fugitt as a person of interest in the chilling case.

“Although a significant amount of time has passed, detectives are hopeful that the information developed thus far will result in a lead that will provide final closure to the family,” the sheriff’s office said.

Fugitt, who went by Tommy, also had an alias: Billy Joe Wallace.

“We don’t know if Tommy has anything to do with Mary Alice’s appearance, but he is certainly at the top of our list when it comes to persons of interest,” Tolbert said in a Facebook video the sheriff’s office made about the case . .

But officers learned he had been convicted of the 1981 murder of his male roommate in Georgia.

He was sentenced to death in that case but died in prison before he could be executed, the sheriff’s office said.

It is unclear whether Pultz moved to Florida with Fugitt, as there are no recorded addresses or jobs she may have held between 1968, when she left Maryland, and 1985, when her remains were discovered.

“This investigation sets a powerful example that we will never give up,” St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said in a news release.

“The combination of highly skilled detectives and advanced DNA technology has given Mary Alice’s family some answers about her disappearance nearly four decades ago.”

Pultz’s son, Norman, who was young when she left, said, “I’d like to know if anyone ever saw her or knew her.”