WILLOW STREET, Pa. — Update, Sept. 22: Lancaster County Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact State Police at (717) 299-7650 or submit an anonymous tip online.
Previously
State Police were seen searching a Lancaster County home where a woman went missing nearly 40 years ago.
Mary Ann Bagenstose was last seen at her Willow Street home on June 5, 1984, according to LNP | LancasterOnline.
On Tuesday, several State Police vehicles were spotted outside the residence, located at 167 West Willow Road. A spokesperson confirmed their presence there was part of an investigation, but would provide no further details.
Bagenstose, who was 26 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen by her estranged husband, Jere Bagenstose, on the morning she disappeared, the missing persons cold case website the Charley Project said.
Jere Bagenstose told police he visited the home frequently despite their estrangement. He was living with his parents at the time of Mary Ann Bagenstose's disappearance, the Charley Project said.
On the morning of Mary Ann Bagenstose's disappearance, Jere Bagenstose said he was there to take her and the couple's 2-year-old son to look at a new car.
When he arrived, Jere Bagenstose told police, Mary Ann Bagenstose was not yet ready to leave, so he took their son to Long's Park to feed ducks.
When he returned later that day, he said, he found a note from Mary Ann Bagenstose stating she was walking to a nearby Turkey Hill store after discovering her car wouldn't start.
The Turkey Hill is located roughly a mile from the home.
Clerks at the store, who knew her because she visited frequently, don't remember seeing her there that day, and Jere Bagenstose later told police he threw out the note, which was never recovered, according to the Charley Project.
None of Mary Ann Bagenstose's personal belongings disappeared with her, and her family said it would be extremely out of character for her to leave without her son or without informing relatives, the Charley Project said.
Her mother, Geraldine Engonforo, reported her missing two days later, police said.
