It’s been 50 years since Sandra “Sandy” Horwath, 33, disappeared without a trace after tucking her three girls to bed. Since then, Horwath’s family and the Ann Harbor Police Department have remained resolved in their quest to find her.
“I remember I always wanted to sleep with her. So we got home that night. She put us to bed and I remember saying, ‘Can I -- can I just please sleep with you?’ And she’s like, ‘No,’ you know, ‘Sleep in your room.’ And so we went to sleep,” said Horwath’s daughter, Robin Horwath, reported NBC News.
Horwath, who was originally from Philadelphia, was living and working in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On Oct. 1, 1973, Robin vividly remembers her mother had taken her and her siblings to Briarwood Mall a day prior for shopping at Sears. However, when she woke up, her mother was not in her bedroom, and her car was still outside. Robin, who was 8 years old at the time, felt her mother must have gone to the local hospital where she worked as a clerk. Then, she called the hospital and was surprised when she was told her mother never arrived at work. Next, she called her babysitter, who rushed to get her and her siblings ready for school.
According to the FBI, Horwath took a call from a male friend on that fateful day around 9 p.m. before the babysitter reported Horwath missing to Ann Arbor police the next day. Upon arrival, they searched the entire house but found nothing amiss. However, the flowerbeds outside had been disturbed. In addition, her clothes that night, including her purse and checkbook, were missing from her home. Though Horwath was divorced, authorities zoomed in on her ex-husband as a suspect since he only lived an hour away, However, he had an alibi and passed a polygraph test, eliminating him as a suspect.
In April 1975, the Washington Police Department in Seattle contacted the Royal Oak Police in Michigan about a homicide case they were working on since the perpetrator had a violent history of shooting at women and a series of arrests with the department. Soon, they discovered the case in Washington was eerily similar to that of Horwath. The perpetrator’s name was Gary Addison Taylor.
Later, it was determined, though an old acquaintance of Horwath at a model home development where she worked to pick some extra hours, that he had introduced them to each other. At the time, Taylor had confessed to authorities of killing four women and had buried their bodies on his property. After a massive search of his property, two female bodies were identified. However, Horwath’s body was never found.
Investigators continued interrogating Taylor, but he only admitted knowing her but denied killing Horwath.
Though Taylor had been sent to a mental institution many times, he was often released due to a Michigan law that bars individuals with mental health issues to be held indefinitely. However, Taylor has been serving a life sentence at a Washington penitentiary since 1975 for the murder of a young woman named Vonnie Stuth.
Horwath’s family believes strongly that Taylor knows what happened to their mother. They described her as an amazing mother full of happiness and laughter.
If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office.
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