Name: Mary Leah Rodermund
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 2, 1978
Location Last Seen: Morgan City, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
Date of Birth: February 11, 1962
Age: 16 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3" - 5'5"
Weight: 110 - 115 lbs
Hair Color: Brown, shoulder length
Eye Color: Hazel
Nickname/Alias: Leah
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Brown shirt and sweater, khaki pants, brown loafer-style shoes
Jewelry: Gold chain necklace
Additional Personal Items: Burgandy or red/brown purse containing a wallet, driver's license, and Social Security card.
Mary disappeared on the evening of March 2, 1978. She drove to the K&B Drug Store at the Inglewood Mall on Victor II Boulevard to buy batteries for her radio. Mary made the purchase at the drug store at about 8 p.m. She didn't return home. Police believe she was abducted from the drug store parking lot. The family car was later located at the parking lot.
The following day Mary's parents received a call demanding $5,000 in ransom. The father was able to speak briefly to Mary, who told him, "Hi, I'm okay", but the call ended before the ransom instructions were given.
In May, police named Robert Carl Hohenberger as a suspect. When officers tried to arrest him in Tacoma, Washington, he committed suicide.
Robert had been arrested for kidnapping and rape in California before moving to Louisiana. He has been linked to five abductions in Morgan City. Three of those victims were murdered, their bodies found and identified. Mary and Bertha Gould, two of his suspected victims, have yet to be found.
Agency Name: Morgan City Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Sgt. Travis Trigg
Agency Phone Number: 985-380-4605
Agency E-Mail: t.trigg@cityofmc.com
Agency Case Number: FBI 7-1546-485
Agency Name: LSU FACES Lab
Agency Contact Person: Teresa Wilson, Forensic Anthropologist
Agency Phone Number: 225-578-4761
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: FBI 7-1546-485
NCIC Case Number: M051963539
NamUs Case Number: 23885
NCMEC Case Number: 1229982
NamUs
NCMEC
LSU FACES Lab
The Times (Shreveport, LA) - May 28, 1978
The Los Angeles Times - Feb. 11, 1979
Added: 9/22/17; Last Updated: 5/12/22 - By: Doe-NamUs-App
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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