Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 08/17/1996

Missing Since:

Missing Since 08/17/1996

Missing From:

Missing From Myakka, Florida

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 02/18/1964 (60)

Age:

Age 32 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’6, 125 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes.

Details of Disappearance:

On August 17, 1996, Debra Fledderman was last seen at a bar in Myakka City, Florida. Later that day, her boyfriend of eight years, Jefferson Blanton, was found shot dead at their home. The murder weapon was never found, and there were no signs of a struggle. Fledderman vanished without a trace.

Because of the circumstances, Fledderman was initially the prime suspect in Blanton’s murder. Police couldn’t charge her with murder due to lack of evidence, but they did issue a warrant for her arrest for abandoning her four-year-old son. Fledderman and Blanton had a volatile relationship with a history of domestic violence.

However, investigators are now considering the possibility that Fledderman was a victim herself. She had a good job and was described as a loving mother, making her disappearance very unusual. Her family reported her missing.

A man named Larry James Parks, who was also at the bar the night Fledderman disappeared, is a person of interest. Parks was later convicted of a triple homicide in 1999, and his fingerprint was found in Fledderman’s truck. While he’s a suspect in both Blanton’s murder and Fledderman’s disappearance, no charges have been filed.

Despite being declared legally dead in 2001, Fledderman remains a person of interest in Blanton’s death, and her own disappearance remains a mystery.

Agency:

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office 941-747-3011

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