8-year-old Ann Marie Burr was last seen in her home in the 3000 block of north 14th Street in Tacoma, Washington on August 31, 1961. She shared her bedroom with her three-year-old sister, who had a broken arm at the time. In the middle of the night, Burr brought her sister to their parents' room because she was crying. Their parents told them to go back to bed. Burr has never been heard from again.
Burr's mother got up at 5:30 a.m. The front door had been locked and chained the evening before, but Burr's mother found it open. A small living room window which had been closed but not locked the night before was also slightly open, and a wicker bench underneath the window had been overturned. A faint footprint was found outside the open window. It had been distorted by the previous night's heavy rainstorm, but authorities believe it was from a Keds sneaker, size 6 or 7. A small man or a boy would have feet that size. There was no sign of Burr anywhere and no sign of a struggle in her bedroom. Her sister and her two brothers who slept in the basement had not been disturbed, and the family's Cocker Spaniel dog had not barked.
In early June of 1962, there were reports that Ann Marie was seen with two women and a man at a service station cafe in Portage La Prairie, Canada. Unfortunately, this lead turned cold.
Investigators took another look at Ann Marie's case when serial killer Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy came into the spotlight in the 1970s. Bundy lived near Burr's home at the time of her disappearance, and he apparently knew her, though accounts differ as to how well. He was only 14 years old when she disappeared and was not considered a suspect in this case until his killings came to light over fifteen years later. It is worth noting that although Bundy confessed to many murders he had not been charged with, he denied involvement in Burr's presumed abduction. Nonetheless, many people believe she was his first victim.
Thank you to the Charley Project for providing part of this summary.
