Episode 49: The Murder of Mary Tanner
18-year-old Mary Ellen Tanner was the youngest of four siblings in a hard working family in Kennebunk, Maine, and she was described as being “everyone’s little sister.” She was a majorette in the school band and was going into her senior year of high school with many friends and her boyfriend who she had been seeing for over a year. Mary had also just recently found out that she was pregnant.
On Friday, July 7, 1978, Mary had gone to a town parade before going to a bowling alley where she met up with some friends, and together they all hitchhiked to a party spot they called “the hill”. After the party, Mary had gone to the beach with two of her friends before they parted ways at an intersection in Lower Village Kennebunk. Mary reassured her friends that she would hitchhike the rest of the way home, as this would not be the first time she had done so.
Mary was last seen crossing the Mousam River bridge just before midnight by some friends passing by. She had asked them for a ride, but they told her they were going the opposite way. They soon felt guilty for leaving her behind and turned around to get her, but when they came back, she was gone. Two days later, Mary’s partially naked body was found at the end of a grassy runway of a small airstrip at Gracie Evans Field in Lyman, Maine, just a town over from Kennebunk. She had been beaten and her body was already in the process of decomposition, so autopsy was limited and authorities weren’t able to determine if a sexual assault had taken place.
Mary’s boyfriend was initially thought to have been a suspect but he was in Massachusetts preparing for the funeral of his brother, the funeral Mary was also supposed to attend. There have been hundreds of tips but none have led to anything substantial, and this case is still unsolved.
Anyone with any information on the murder of Mary Tanner is asked to please call the Maine State Police at 207-657-3030.
Image sources:
seacoastonline.com - “‘Girl on the Bridge: The Mary Tanner Story’ documentary trailer premiere”
bangordailynews.com - “43-year-old Maine cold case killing examined in new documentary”