(FreedomBeacon.com)- The husband of a woman who disappeared in 1984 after claiming she ran an errand has been arrested in Pennsylvania.
According to local news reports, Maryann Bagenstose, a 25-year-old nurse’s aide in Pennsylvania, was supposed to meet with her estranged husband to trade in her car and buy a new one.
Jere Musser Bagenstose told Pequea Township police he arrived at his wife’s home to pick her up, but she wasn’t ready. Jere said he took his son to Long’s Park, and when he returned, Maryann had left a note saying she had walked to the Turkey Hill store.
Jere never reported his wife missing, but her mother did on June 7.
Reports reveal that on June 8, 1984, a police officer examining Jere’s garage noticed cardboard covering freshly dug dirt. On June 13, a search warrant didn’t find Maryann’s body but found a note that read; Had to run a quick errand, be right back.
Maryann’s mother, Geraldine Engongoro, told reporters her daughter wouldn’t have walked to the store because she had a limp from a previous car crash and wore a lift in one of her shoes.
Maryann and Jere’s custody hearing was set for June 15, 10 days after she vanished. Jere got custody of their son when Maryann didn’t show up. Jere also moved back into the home.
Workers at Long’s Park and the Turkey Hill store said they never saw Jere or Maryann on the day she disappeared. Jere had an unexplained arm injury for which he gave inconsistent statements.
Police suspected Jere of killing his wife, but he insisted she was still alive. He claimed people had seen Maryann and received postcards from her, which he never gave to the police.
Local reports show that investigators and a private detective hired by Maryann’s mother sent Jere the postcards. They were meant to provoke a new investigation. If she’s still alive, you would want to tell someone, Lancaster County DA Heather Adams remarked in 2022.
Maryann’s case was reopened in 2018, with investigators focusing on the 1984 note. Investigators determined Jere wrote the note. He has been held without bail since December 22, 2022.
Maryann’s body has not been found.
