Gone Without a Trace at Edison Mall
- Mollie Long
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Somewhere in a Southwest Florida parking lot in the early months of 1981, two young women vanished. No struggle. No witnesses. No answers.
Edison Mall sits in Fort Myers, Florida, unremarkable on the surface, the kind of place you visit, forget, and frequent as a local. But in late January and early February 1981, two young women walked through its parking lot and were never seen again. Not together. Not on the same day. And yet the same shadow seems to fall over both of their disappearances. Decades later, the cases remain open, the parking lot still stands, and somewhere out there, the truth is still buried, waiting to be unearthed.
Mary Opitz was a spirited 17-year-old with sparkling hazel eyes and lovely brunette hair, brimming with potential. Residing in Fort Myers, Florida, she was dedicated to transforming her future by studying for her GED after leaving high school in 10th grade. Mary's journey was just beginning, and her vibrant energy touched everyone around her.
On January 16, 1981, at 6:30 p.m., Mary went to the local mall with her mother, Nancy, and brother. She shopped around and bought a few things, one of them being a pretzel. About an hour later, Mary went out to the car to wait for her mom and brother. While Mary went to the car to wait, on the way out, Mary's mom ran into a friend, and they stopped to catch up. A little while later, Mary's mother and brother made their way out to the car in the parking lot, only to find Mary missing; the only trace of her was her recently purchased items and her pretzel left on the hood of the car.
The car was parked in a well-lit area near one of the mall's entrances.mall's were no visible signs of a struggle at the spot where Mary vanished, leading law enforcement to believe she was a runaway. However, Mary’s family strMary'sdisagreed with this theory. At the time of her disappearance, Mary was actively saving money to buy her own car, looking forward to getting her braces removed soon, and had recently redecorated her room, none of which were typical activities for someone intending to run away. When she disappeared, Mary had no extra clothes with her and had left her purse behind, which contained her savings and ID.
On February 11, 1981, at 8:15 PM, 18-year-old Mary Hare also went missing, last seen in the parking lot at the Edison Mall in Fort Myers, almost a month after Mary Opitz vanished from the same location.
Mary Hare often drove to the Edison Mall around the same time to pick up her mother, Muriel from work, where she typically arrived by 8:30 PM. Her mother went to the parking lot to meet Mary at about 9:05 PM, but Mary was not there, only her car. Mary's car was in the parking lot, unlocked, but Mary was no where in sight.
When her mother reported her disappearance to the authorities, they speculated that she was a runaway just like the girl who went missing less than a month ago. Mary had a job and a paycheck waiting for her, none of her personal items were missing, and her father, Don, stated, "She was 18, she didnt have to run away. If she wanted to leave, she could have just packed her bags and left. We couldn't have stopped her. She was old enough to do what she wanted."
In June 1981, Mary Hare would be found, after 5 months of no answers on where she was. Mary's body was found, fully clothed and severly decomposed. Her body was recovered from a ditch in a field near Highway 82 in a remote area of Lehigh Acres, Florida, approximately 15 miles away from the Edison Mall.
A medical examiner determined the cause of death had been stab wounds to her back. Her killer had not attempted to cover or even bury her body. Given the decomposed state of her body, it could not be determined if she was sexually assulted or not. Following the grisly discovery of Hare's body, authorities began to suspect foul play was involved in Opitz's disappearance, but it has been unsuccessful in finding any evidence to prove this.
Despite the Similarities between these two cases, there is no direct evidence linking them. I personally disagree with this statement since both women went missing from the same location, within a month of eachother. In addition to the circumstantial similarities, both Opitz and Hare physically resembled one another, attended the same highschool, resided in Long Island, New York, during their childhoods, spoke with a slight, regional New York accent, and shared the same first name. Hare also frequented the restauraunt where Opitz worked; however, there was no evidence to suggest that the two were acquainted.
Sources used for Reasearch:
Mary Opitz – The Charley Project. (2018). Charleyproject.org. https://charleyproject.org/case/mary-opitz
Missing from the Edison Mall: Detectives search for teen who vanished in 1981. (2021, January 15). WBBH. https://www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/missing-from-the-edison-mall-detectives-search-for-teen-who-vanished-in-1981/46729825
to, C. (2026). Mary Opitz. International Missing Persons Wiki; Fandom, Inc. https://int-missing.fandom.com/wiki/Mary_Opitz
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