Mary Louise Day (February 19, 1968 - 2017) was an American teenager who, at age 13 in 1981, mysteriously disappeared from her home in Seaside, California. She was found alive in 2003, a little more than twenty-two years after her disappearance. Childhood Mary Day was born in Little Falls, New York on February 19, 1968, to Charlotte Day (né Pressler) and her husband Charles Day. She had two younger sisters, Kathy and Sherrie. Day and her sisters did not have easy childhoods; they were in and out of foster homes in their early years because their mother was often unable to care for them. At some point while the girls were in foster care, Charlotte divorced from Charles and remarried to a man named William Houle. In 1975 Houle enlisted in the United States Army, and Charlotte attained permanent and full custody of Mary and Kathy shortly thereafter. In 1978, the family moved to Hawaii due to Houle being stationed there. By this time, Sherrie had been legally adopted by one of her foster families (the Calgaros) and was thereby separated from her birth family. While in Hawaii, Charlotte gave birth to a son, William Jr., and a daughter, Billie Jean. Her biological father Charles Day was killed in an accident during this time, leaving inheritance money to Mary and Kathy. They would refer to this money as their escape plan and use the code word "Mohawk" when discussing it. In December 1980, Mary was removed from her mother and stepfather's care and taken into protective custody after it was discovered that William was physically abusing her. The family then moved to Seaside, California following a change in William's base, but Mary was kept in Hawaii until a few months later, when she was sent to live with the rest of her family in California. While Mary was in Seaside, she frequently attempted to run away from her home but would always be returned by police officers. Disappearance On or around July 15, 1981, Mary Day disappeared from her home in California. Her parents did not report her missing, and almost no one aside from them knew she was missing. In 1994, Sherrie Calgaro filed a missing persons report but by then thirteen years had passed and police did not launch an investigation. Sherrie sent information about Mary Day and a photo of her to the National Center for Missing