There’s something about mysterious disappearances and cold cases that seems to intrigue people and capture attention.

Most of the time, they’re pretty gripping and thrilling, full of suspense, just like a good story. It’s also not hard to see why there’s a tremendous amount of police or missing person television series, there are just too many to name.

Tragically, the stories of people who go missing for a longer period of time rarely end up good, although it is important to keep looking for these people in the slim chance that they’re still alive or to give their loved ones some closure.

That’s exactly what happened to a woman who had gone missing 42 years ago. Over four decades later, she was finally found.

A woman named Flora Stevens once visited the doctor 42 years ago in Monticello, New York but has never returned home. She was dropped off by her husband, and there’s not a single clue about what happened to the poor woman next.

Of course, as you can imagine, forensic and digital techniques were not nearly as advanced back in the day as they are now.

Unfortunately, an investigation didn’t result in any leads or results, and the case had to be dismissed. Until now.

Detective Richard Morgan now works at the Sheriff’s Office in Sullivan County, New York, and has made use of modern technology to take another look at this cold case. Apparently, the detective was able to learn about the case quickly and he came to new insights thanks to current forensic technology and techniques.

At first, detectives first believed that they found her remains – but that proved to be false and clearly someone else.

Thanks to the current digital work where actual paperwork is now digitized, it makes certain aspects of a detective’s job much easier.

Nowadays, they could just track the person’s social security number to see if there was any activity – and that’s when they made an incredible discovery.

The social security number was leading to a senior care center in Lowell, Massachusetts. The information corresponded with the missing woman’s first name as well as her date of birth.

The detectives figured that they cracked the case, and immediately sent someone to the assisting living facility.

When they arrived, they met a kind-hearted and friendly white-haired woman, Flora Harris. A different last name, but most definitely the woman that had gone missing all those years ago.

The police officers showed her an old picture of the woman who had gone missing. The picture was taken at a Catskills resort where Flora used to work as a waitress and chambermaid.

Immediately, the woman responded with “That’s me”.

Unfortunately, Flora now suffers from dementia and nobody exactly knows what happened on the day of her disappearance 42 years ago. She couldn’t recall any details or motives because of her illness, and her memories remain lost.

“We really don’t know the circumstances of why or how she disappeared. She had psychiatric problems leading up to that point,” Detective Richard Morgan said in a video report.

Flora doesn’t have any living relatives anymore, which is why her disappearance has gone unnoticed for so long.

At this point, it’s also unclear what happened to Flora’s husband as no update was given. What we do know, however, is that the woman had been dealing with psychiatric issues and regularly received mental health care. She has been residing at the senior care center since 2001.

Some people believe that she vanished on purpose, or that something else entirely happened. Her husband Robert Stevens reported her as missing that day, and she seemed to have a normal workday at the resort before being dropped off at the doctor’s office near a bus stop. He recalls that she’d received a lot of tips that day.

Festus Mbuva, a former worker at the care facility, believes that Flora never wanted to be found and that something happened in her past she wanted to get rid of.

The mystery of Flora’s disappearance remains, but at least this cold case was finally cracked.

Be sure to check out this remarkable story in the video below.

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Source: YouTube – CBS Boston, Lowell Sun, Bangor Daily