Before heading home to Connecticut, Regina called her best friend, leaving a chilling message: if her parents hadn’t heard from her in four days, something was wrong. If her friend still couldn’t reach her after two more days, it meant her estranged husband, Willis, had done what he’d threatened.

The next day, Regina’s dog barked incessantly, prompting a neighbor to call the police, but nothing came of it. She missed a lunch date and work. Her worried parents contacted her best friend, who discovered Regina’s home empty except for her dog, a mess, and a bag of dog food from an unfamiliar store—left there by Willis, who claimed he’d been in town for a dental appointment that day but couldn’t recall anything else.

Regina’s car was found a week later in Manhattan, with the keys in the ignition and child seats in the back. Importantly, she’d left behind most of her belongings, including her ID and a $1000 check.

Regina and Willis were in a bitter divorce marked by domestic abuse allegations. Willis, a senior pilot, had been barred from their home but still visited the children. He even forcibly took the children to Connecticut before a judge ordered their return to Texas. During the divorce proceedings, Willis falsely accused Regina of drug use and affairs. A friend testified that Regina feared Willis.

The judge ruled in favor of Regina’s family, citing Willis’s abuse. Although considered a “person of interest,” Willis was never charged. He spread false stories about Regina being sighted abroad. A TV documentary implied his guilt, leading to a lawsuit he lost.

The police investigation was slow and incomplete; their search of Regina’s house was delayed for six weeks, and a later search of land Willis had rented yielded nothing. Willis also owned a small private plane, whose flight records were insufficient to determine his whereabouts on the day of Regina’s disappearance.

Regina’s case remains unsolved, foul play is suspected, and she was declared legally dead in 1995.