One of Missouri’s Most Baffling Missing Person Cases Remains Unsolved 35 Years Later

This past Saturday marked a somber 35 years since one of Missouri's most chilling and highly publicized missing persons cases unfolded.

On Apr. 4, 1991, 20-year-old Angela Hammond was abducted from a payphone in Clinton, Missouri. What made this abduction all the more horrifying was the fact that her fiancé, Rob Shafer, heard the abduction as it was happening over the phone.

Adding another element of tragedy to this unsolved case? Shafer saw the kidnapper taking her away. And if not for the worst stroke of luck, he might have saved her.

Hammond, who was four months pregnant at the time of her abduction, dropped Shafer off at his home on that fateful evening. She stopped at a nearby payphone to speak with Shafer.

During the call, Hammond noted that a strange man was wandering the parking lot, according to Unsolved Mysteries, which aired the case in 1992.

Though the suspicious man told Hammond he didn't need to use the payphone, Shafer abruptly heard her scream. He jumped into his vehicle and raced in her direction, he recalled telling Unsolved Mysteries that he heard someone scream, "ROBBIE."

Shafer immediately put his car into reverse. Unfortunately, the transmission failed, causing his vehicle to break down. Shafer watched Hammond and the unknown kidnapper drive off into the night, never to be seen again.

Despite Airing on 'Unsolved Mysteries', Few Leads Have Emerged on Angela Hammond's Disappearance

Hammond's case gained national attention when it aired on the popular NBC series, Unsolved Mysteries. With few leads to work on, authorities had hoped the public would break the case open.

Unfortunately, authorities never got that one key tip that would have solved the case. And over the years, authorities haven't offered many updates on the investigation.

In Apr. 2021, 30 years after Hammond was abducted, the Clinton Missouri Police Department offered a new theory on Hammond's case. After receiving a tip, investigators looked into a theory that her abduction may have been a case of mistaken identity:

"A confidential informant played a crucial role in disrupting a significant illegal narcotics operation by testifying in a court proceeding. When the informant’s identity was disclosed during the case, he received a cryptic letter composed of cut and paste characters in the style of a ransom letter one might see in a movie about a kidnapping.

The letter addresses the informant by the number that had been assigned to him to protect his identity before the court proceeding. It also mentions the informant’s estranged wife by first name. The letter was postmarked April 4, 1991, the exact date that Angela Hammond was abducted late that evening. The informant’s wife and his daughter- also named Angela- were living in Clinton, MO at that time."

After speaking with several people of interest and potential witnesses, the theory developed by investigators is that, in retribution for the informant providing information that led to the prosecution and disruption of this criminal enterprise, a person or persons involved in the criminal enterprise planned and executed the kidnapping of the informant’s daughter. Some mistake was made as to the identity of the targeted “Angie”, who had some physical resemblance to Angela Hammond, resulting in Hammond’s abduction."

Authorities said they were unable to "refute" the theory up to that claim. They also pleaded for a tipster to come forward after providing potentially valuable information, but it's unclear if that person came forward again.