On Easter morning, April 3, 1994, 18-year-old Heidi Marie Allen disappeared from the D&W Convenience Store in New Haven, New York. She had opened the store about 5:45 a.m.; at roughly 7:50 a.m. a customer found the business unattended with lights and gas pumps on. Heidi’s car remained in the parking lot and her purse and keys were left on the counter. Described as a white female, 5 feet 11 inches, 145 pounds, with long curly light brown/blonde hair and blue eyes, she was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt with a plaid Syracuse University logo, white sneakers, and glasses or contact lenses.

An extensive search followed involving local and state police, the New York State Army National Guard, the US Army 10th Mountain Division, and hundreds of volunteers, but no trace of Heidi was found. Investigators later charged brothers Richard and Gary Thibodeau with kidnapping; Gary was convicted of first-degree kidnapping in June 1995 and sentenced to 25 years to life, while Richard was acquitted in September 1995. Gary maintained his innocence, his defense later presented alternative leads, and he died in prison in 2018. The case remains open and Heidi’s body has never been recovered.

Are there readers who remember New Haven on that Easter morning or who have information about Heidi’s last hours?