She missed several planned social events, which was out of character. She’d told a friend she had a last-minute engagement and her business manager she was meeting a man, but gave no details. Police believe she disappeared sometime between 8:00 and 8:45 pm. Because she lived alone and friends initially assumed she’d gone away, her disappearance wasn’t reported for days.

A strange detail: her gardener said a mysterious man in an expensive car had been watching her house for a week before she disappeared.

Days before, Boomhower told her furrier she needed to discuss an order with her “husband” (who had been dead for years) then corrected herself to “family,” which was odd. Police investigated if she’d eloped, but found no evidence.

A week later, her purse was found in a phone booth at a supermarket with a note saying it had been found on the beach the night she disappeared (though it wasn’t wet or sandy). Her belongings were inside, but she was gone.

The disappearance happened the day before the sixth anniversary of her husband’s death, leading police to consider suicide, but they found no evidence.

Boomhower was known as a social, fun-loving woman who seemed wealthy, but was actually struggling financially. She’d taken out loans, pawned items, and was selling possessions below value. While having money problems, her lawyer stated she wasn’t bankrupt or depressed.

A judge unusually declared her legally dead just eleven days later to settle her estate, but reversed the ruling months later. She was declared legally dead again seven years later, after her estate was largely depleted.

Police believe Boomhower was murdered, but the case remains unsolved with no named suspects.