Arlene Abbas Missing Person Case

May 06, 2009

Oct 25, 2022

Arlene

Abbas

73

36

65 inches

67 inches

150 lbs

170 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the winter of 1989, a 36-year-old woman named Arlene Abbas vanished from Brooklyn, New York, leaving behind a life marked by profound changes and personal struggles. Originally from Indiana, Arlene had built a life in New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and three children. During her marriage, she converted to the Islamic faith. However, her life took a different course in the mid-1980s when she and her husband divorced. Following the end of her marriage, Arlene moved to New York City, a decision that also meant leaving her young children in the care of their father in New Orleans. This period of transition was fraught with challenges, and her move to New York marked the beginning of a new and difficult chapter. Arlene's life in New York was complicated by significant mental health issues. In the autumn of 1988, she was hospitalized in New York City for schizophrenia. After receiving treatment, she was released to a halfway house in Brooklyn, a facility intended to help individuals transition back into the community. It was from this halfway house that Arlene was last seen on January 6, 1989. On that day, she walked out of the facility and was never heard from or seen again. At the time of her disappearance, she had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. It is believed that she might have been wearing traditional Muslim clothing when she left. The years following Arlene's disappearance have yielded no answers, and her case remains unsolved. The New York City Police Department's Missing Persons Squad was notified, but the investigation has never generated any significant leads. Her family has been left to grapple with the unknown, speculating that she may have been institutionalized somewhere without identification or that she is otherwise unable to make contact with them. The circumstances of her case paint a poignant picture of a woman facing a series of profound life changes and mental health battles who disappeared while in a vulnerable transitional state. The lack of information about her fate has left a lasting void for the family she left behind, creating a mystery that has endured for decades.

Jan 06, 1989

New York

New York

Kings County

2412

New York City Police Department - Missing Persons Squad

New York

New York

New York County

10039

2770 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, New York

2126947781

Local

Law Enforcement

New York City Police Department - Missing Persons Squad

7589

Blond/Strawberry

Blue

Blue

09/16/2026