Nancy Macduckston (52) vanished from Davenport, California on August 11, 2003. She remains missing to this day and would now be 75 years old. Nancy left behind some belongings and many people have questioned if she may have staged her disappearance.
In 2003, Nancy worked as a nursery school teacher – she was the director of the Carlmont Parent Nursery School. Nancy was married to Bruce and they had two adult children Allison and Brian. The family had lived in Belmont, California since 1979.
Nancy was said to be organised and a nature lover. She loved exploring back roads and isolated areas.
On Monday, August 11, 2003, Nancy left a note with her workplace. She said that she would be taking a trip to Davenport, California. This trip would have taken her around an hour – 50 miles. Davenport is a small town on the Californian coast line, with a population of around 550.
The last member of Nancy’s family to see her was her adult daughter and that was at around 8.30am on that day. Nancy also told her that she would be going to Davenport.
Bruce later spoke of Nancy’s plans. “It was perfectly normal for her to go to the coast and recharge her batteries,” he said. “She had been there many times before.”
Nancy did make it to Davenport. She was seen at a store there at around 10am, and she was later seen at the post office between 1.30 and 3.30pm. Some reports say that she mailed postcards to friends from there.
She was also seen at a bakery in Davenport at some point during the day.
Nancy was seen again between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, at the New Davenport Cash Store and Restaurant. She was said to have been eating a vegetarian meal and was accompanied by a man. The man was described as Asian or Polynesian, was around 5’6 and 160 lbs. He was said to be aged between his late 30’s to early 50’s.
According to the Charley Project, he and Nancy appeared to have a romantic attachment to each other.
When Nancy did not return home, Bruce reported her missing at 9am on August 12, 2003.
Nancy’s minivan (a 2001 tan Mazda MPV) was found abandoned later that day, near some cliffs and a beach on Highway 1, near Davenport. The vehicle was found around 5 miles away from the restaurant where she had been seen with the man. Nancy’s family said this location was one of her favorite spots.
Gifts that Nancy had purchased were found inside the van. Her wallet containing $84 in cash, plus credit cards was also found in the van. Some of Nancy’s belongings were also found near the vehicle – a folding chair, a blanket, a book about travel in Australia, sunglasses and a bright pink sun hat near Greyhound Rock were found about a hundred yards from the van.
The book was called ‘In a Sunburned Country’ by Bill Bryson.
His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity.
Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path. Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful book.
After finding her belongings, authorities said it appeared that Nancy had been reading on the beach.
Police searched the area by boat and aeroplane, in case Nancy had somehow entered the water – either by suicide or drowning if she went for a swim. Nothing was found. Dogs did track her scent to the edge of a cliff.
Police also asked witnesses for more information about the man that Nancy was seen with at dinner.
The waitress claimed that Nancy had ordered a salad, had appeared “ecstatic,” and that the two seemed very comfortable in one another’s presence, as if they were romantically involved. The two paid for their meal with cash, before leaving the restaurant together. Despite the description of the man, no one in Nancy’s life had any idea who he was. The man has never come forward, either.
“We don’t know what the man’s relationship is to the missing woman. And we very much want to talk to him,” Sgt DeSmidt said. “He’s our best lead right now.”
“There is no shortage of theories in this case, and that’s why we want to talk to the man in the sketch so much,” Sgt DeSmidt said. “We really haven’t been able to rule anything out, which makes it so difficult for the investigators.”
Authorities also revealed that Nancy had made ‘long term arrangements’ at her workplace before she disappeared.
Nancy was said to have left notes on the year-round, day-to-day operation of the school. They were “laid out in a very obvious manner at the school,” as if she intended for colleagues to find them.
“She left administrative arrangements that a person would not make if they were planning on returning,” he said.
Friends said that should not be considered surprising or evidence that she planned to leave.
“Nancy took her role at the school very seriously,” said Mike Aydelott, a longtime friend who is acting as the family’s spokesman. “It would not have been unusual or uncharacteristic for Nancy to leave detailed instructions about what to do (at the school) in her absence.”
Mike said police inferring that the school instructions suggest a premeditated disappearance “is a stretch.”
But Sgt DeSmidt said, “When you break it down, it’s either a suicide or a voluntary missing.”
“We don’t believe it is foul play at all. She made long-term arrangements before she left at the nursery school where she worked that would only be necessary for a long-term leave,” Sgt DeSmidt said. But, he said, “she is still a missing person, and we need to find her.”
Bruce was cleared as a suspect early on in the investigation. He appeared on shows such as ‘Good Morning America’ and ‘The Montell Williams Show’ in order to raise awareness about his wife’s case. While on the Montell show, ‘psychic’ Sylvia Browne appeared and told Bruce that Nancy was alive and had joined a cult.
Sylvia’s abilities were later debunked – she had told the mother of Ohio kidnapping victim Amanda Berry that her daughter was dead. Amanda and two other women were found alive after being held captive for years by the same man.
Bruce has said that he did not believe Nancy would have left of her own accord as she was not having problems at work or home, and that she would be unlikely to leave her granddaughter, Alani. She also had no known history of mental illness so he thought that suicide was an unlikely scenario.
“If she committed suicide then why isn’t there a note,” Bruce said. Then again, “who knows what’s going on in someone’s mind.”
“She was very laid back,” Bruce said. “She loved animals and little kids.”
“I’ve run through a thousand different possibilities,” he said. “Until you actually know what happened, you never know. That’s the hard part. I may never have an answer.”
Two of Nancy’s friends would later receive the post cards she had sent.
On one of the postcards, she wrote “Hey, I’m finally taking that vacation, a day trip.”
The family set up a website for a period of time – findteachernancy.com
SOURCE LIST
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=124826&page=1
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/search-intensifies-for-missing-educator-2595151.php