Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 08/23/1979

Missing Since:

Missing Since 08/23/1979

Missing From:

Missing From Garden Grove, California

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 04/09/1954 (70)

Age:

Age 25 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’4, 110 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Black hair, brown eyes. Bealer’s two upper front teeth are false. She wears eyeglasses with rounded brown plastic frames. Bealer’s maiden name is Fox. She may use the alternate date of birth April 9, 1955.

Details of Disappearance:

On August 23, 1979, Susan Bealer vanished from Garden Grove, California. Her car was found abandoned on a freeway with its lights on. Later that day, she called her brother, saying she’d been kidnapped and a $100,000 ransom was demanded.

Larry Donald Smith, who knew both Bealer and her brother, said he picked Bealer up. He, along with two other men (“Jack” and “Ray”), were charged with threatening violence related to the ransom. Smith claimed Bealer was involved in the scheme, which was revenge for Bealer’s brother allegedly stealing over a million dollars from Smith and his associates. Smith said he took Bealer to Lake Arrowhead, then to Dana Point. Jack and Ray forced Smith off the boat; they left with Bealer, but returned without her.

Blood on Smith’s shirt matched Bealer’s, and police believe he dumped her body in the ocean. He was convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1980. Bealer’s body has never been found. She was from Fontana, California, graduated high school in 1972, and had recently divorced. Some records might incorrectly list her disappearance as happening in Los Angeles.

Agency:

Federal Bureau Of Investigation

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