23-year-old Elizabeta Héderváry was a strong-minded and well-liked woman of Hungarian origin. She lived by herself in a house willed to her by her late grandparents and worked full-time at a local retail store within driving distance of her residence.
On the night of September 14th, 1982, Héderváry was assigned to close the store with her coworker Ryan Smith. After closing the doors at 9:30 p.m., Héderváry finished her shift and drove off in her red Ford Cortina. When she failed to show up for her shift the following day and couldn't be reached by landline, her employer grew concerned and contacted authorities.
Police conducted a wellness check at her address, finding neither Héderváry nor her car. Upon investigating her residence, her passport, purse, and valuables were left at home suggesting she didn't run away. Instead, it seems she never made it back to her house, as there was no evidence anyone had stopped in during the past 24 hours since she had left for her shift the previous day. Neighbours didn't report any disturbance, instead, one elderly neighbour recalled not hearing her car pull up while he was watching his nightly programs. He didn't think anything of it at the time as the lack of sound didn't register as anything to worry about. However, he did comment that she usually arrived home at the same time every night and never varied. Elizabeta wasn't known to make plans after work.
In an interview, her coworker Smith stated that work had been busy and exhausting during the day, saying she repeatedly commented she 'couldn't wait to go home' and showed no indication of planning to go anywhere else. He added that she was exceptional at her job and took it seriously. He stated that Héderváry wouldn't dodge a shift without notice, a sentiment backed by her coworkers and employer.
Only two employees were at the store at the time of close; Smith and Héderváry. The security cameras at her place of work show Héderváry driving off in her car at 9:32 p.m. while Smith stayed behind until 10:05 p.m. Her residence is a 10-minute commute from her workplace by car. Her car was within range of the security camera and throughout the day no foul play was recorded. No one followed Héderváry from the store.
Detectives concluded she intended to return home without planning on stopping, so whatever happened to Héderváry occurred immediately after departing the store en route to her house.
The previous detective then noted his methods of investigating and leading theories:
Héderváry's regular demeanour suggests that she did not take off of her own free will, instead, it is most likely that Héderváry was taken against her will. But that leaves the question of how. Was she taken with the car or without? If without, what could've caused her to stop the car and get out of it? She did not naturally reach her destination and stop at her residence as her neighbour didn't hear her arrive at all. She would've had to stop en route. If so, then what happened to the car if she was taken to a second location? How many people were involved? If there were two people, one could've taken Héderváry while the other disposed of the car. If both she and the car were taken, was she made to stop so someone could get in and make her drive?
As both Héderváry and her car went missing, finding the car would likely lead to Héderváry.
Police searched the entire greater area of the city, searching through junkyards, second-hand sales, newspaper listings, known dumping locations, and even broadcasted the vehicle over the news with a cash reward for information. Unfortunately, no information was uncovered. There was the possibility that the car had been otherwise destroyed if someone committed a crime and believed it was damning evidence. Junkyards were notified to report any car matching the description before taking it in. However, even under the circumstances that the car was taken out of the city and burnt, its shell would be enough to identify it. Unfortunately, neither method of investigation led anywhere as nothing fit the description.
Car repair businesses were told to report any vehicles taken in that had dents with red paint scratched on them under the possibility that Héderváry was forcibly stopped by another vehicle colliding with hers. Any reports made were eventually cleared as vehicles in accidents had witnesses and the contact details of the other person involved.
Photos of Héderváry and her car were initially printed in the local paper and broadcasted on the news along with requests for information but no new knowledge was brought to light.
No individuals were identified to have a grudge or otherwise motive against Héderváry. Anyone likely to have known of her whereabouts that night -friends, family, coworkers- all have alibis and had not heard from her on the night or since. She had never left the impression that she was being stalked or had a stalker to her knowledge. Detectives ruled that if someone had taken her, it was someone unknown to her. That does not determine if the crime was spontaneous or pre-mediated.
Unable to find the whereabouts of either Héderváry or the car, the investigation grew cold as new theories couldn't be proved or disproved. After three months, the case was deemed cold and shelved.