She Was Only 13 When She Vanished From Her Father’s Car — And No One Has Seen Her Since

On August 5, 1989, 13-year-old Amy Sue Pagnac spent the afternoon helping her father, Marshall Midden, at the family farm in Isanti County, Minnesota. They worked for several hours before beginning the drive back to their home in Maple Grove.

They were only about two miles from home when Marshall stopped at a Holiday gas station in Osseo to use the restroom. Amy stayed behind in the car.

It should have been a quick stop.

But when Marshall returned only minutes later, Amy was gone.

At first, he reportedly assumed she had gotten out of the car to use the women's restroom. He waited outside, but when an older woman eventually came out, Amy was nowhere to be found. A search of the nearby area failed to locate her.

Amy had disappeared in the few minutes her father was inside.

Authorities initially considered the possibility that she had run away. She had reportedly left home several times that summer, but she had always returned. This time was different. She never came home, never contacted her family and has never been seen again.

There was another possibility investigators had to consider. Amy had a medical condition that caused occasional seizures, and authorities have said she may have suffered one, become disoriented and wandered away from the vehicle. But there has never been evidence establishing that this is what happened.

Over the years, the case changed dramatically. Amy is no longer considered a runaway, and her disappearance is classified as a non-family abduction. At the same time, investigators have never identified a suspect or found conclusive evidence explaining exactly what happened to her.

In 2014, nearly 25 years after Amy vanished, investigators conducted searches at her former family home and later at property near the family's farm. Nothing of value was publicly reported from those searches.

Today, Amy would be 50 years old.

But the mystery remains the same: how could a 13-year-old disappear from a parked car during what should have been an ordinary stop, only two miles from home, without leaving behind a clear explanation?

Amy's family has spent decades waiting for an answer—and after more than three decades, she still has not been found.