CLINTON, Mo. — On April 4, 1991, a woman by the name of Angela “Angie” Hammond went missing, leaving the community rattled. Hammond had just graduated from Montrose High School. She was popular and well-known in Clinton, Missouri. She was also four months pregnant and engaged. 

A 2010 episode of Unsolved Mysteries was about the case. Eleven years later, Clinton Police posted an update on its Facebook page involving Hammond’s disappearance. They shared new evidence, including a strange letter sent the day of the abduction.

Unsolved Mystery 

Clinton, Missouri, is a quiet town in the middle of the United States. In comparison to the big city, the peaceful area felt safer from crime in 1991. But that feeling of safety was shattered when a popular young woman went missing and may have been killed.

Angela Hammond and her boyfriend, Rob Shafer, got engaged after they found out that she was pregnant. He promised he would always take care of her. 

On April 4, 1991, Hammond dropped Shafer off at his parents’ house, so he could watch his little brother. Hammond had plans to call Shafer later and meet up. 

About an hour later, Hammond called Shafer from a pay phone in the middle of town, seven blocks away from his house. It was late at night, and there weren’t many people around.

Hammond saw a vehicle that didn’t look right. She talked to Shafer on the phone and told him about the truck. It was a green Ford pickup truck from the 1970s with a picture of fish in the back window.

Shafer describes in the Unsolved Mysteries episode what happened next. The mystery man, described as a “filthy bearded man,” used the phone next to Hammond, then went back to his truck and used a flashlight to look at something. 

Shafer told Hammond over the phone to ask him if he needed to call someone. The other phone might have been broken. Shafer said that he heard the man reply “no,” and Hammond and Shafer continued their conversation. 

Then, over the phone, he heard her screaming. He dropped his phone and ran out of the house.

He drove out to try to help her and passed his girlfriend in a green Ford truck as she was being driven away. Shafer says that Angie called his name from the truck.

Shafer’s car broke down when he made a U-turn to chase the truck. He watched as Hammond was driven away.

Hammond was taken from a pay phone at the corner of Second and Jefferson Streets. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

An update after 30 years

The Clinton, Missouri, Police Department posted on its Facebook page on the 30th anniversary of the missing person case.  They wanted Angela Hammond’s family to know that they are still looking for answers.

“There are still several active and open leads being considered,” the post read. “One of those leads originates from the Lake of the Ozarks region.”

A confidential informant’s testimony in court was a key part of stopping a big illegal drug operation. Police say that when the identity of the informant was revealed during the case, he got a letter with cut-and-paste characters. It looked like a ransom note from a kidnapping movie. The Facebook post had a copy of the odd letter with the wife’s name and the confidential informant number, which have been blacked out to protect their privacy.

The note addresses the informant by the number that was given to him to keep his identity secret before the court case. It also mentions the informant’s estranged wife by her first name. The letter was sent on April 4, 1991, the same night Angela Hammond was abducted. 

The informant’s wife and his daughter, also named Angela, were living in Clinton, Missouri, at that time. 

Investigators think that a member or members of a criminal organization took the informant’s daughter as payback.

The police said, “Some mistake was made as to the identity of the targeted ‘Angie,’ who had some physical resemblance to Angela Hammond, resulting in Hammond’s abduction.”

Someone who wanted to remain anonymous called the police and left a message about the Angela Hammond case. The Clinton, Missouri Police Department ended their Facebook post with this

“That person specifically mentioned two names. You did not provide a means for us to recontact you,” said Clinton police. “If that person is reading this message, please re-contact us so that we can speak with you in real time. We will protect your identity or assure your anonymity.”

Police are still looking for clues in this case. If you have heard a similar story or have any information, please contact Clinton Police.