traffic stop. The truck had stolen license plates, leading to the police collecting and examining the identifications of the passengers. One of the passengers was a woman whose Arizona state identification card bore the name Mary Day; this also contained the missing Mary’s birth date and other pertinent information. The woman was detained and when she was interviewed, she claimed she ran away from her home to avoid abuse from Charlotte and William Houle. Investigators were skeptical as to the credibility of her accounts, owing to the fact that she had a thick southern accent; Mary Day did not have such an accent. Police also discovered that her identification had been issued three weeks prior to her arrest, which is around the time the homicide investigation began. Investigators initially theorized that the woman was an imposter and took DNA samples in order to determine whether or not her claim was true. Her DNA was compared to that of Charlotte Houle, which revealed that the woman was a biological child of hers. The investigation into Mary's disappearance was closed and her two sisters invited her to live with them in North Carolina. Despite the DNA match, Kathy and Sherrie also had doubts of Mary’s true identity due to her southern accent. Kathy did not believe Mary since she did not remember much from her childhood, including the inheritance and the codeword "Mohawk,” whereas Sherrie noticed that Mary’s magazines were shipped to the name "Monica Devereaux" but seemingly did not notice that the alias shared initials with “Mary Day.” Mary Day died in 2017; no funeral was held. See also List of solved missing person cases References 1968 births 2017 deaths 1980s missing person cases Formerly missing people Missing American children Missing person cases in California