Episode 21: The Abduction of Tammy Belanger
November 13th, 1984 in Exeter, New Hampshire started like any other day in the Belanger household. 8-year-old Tammy ate breakfast and set off on her usual 10 minute walk to school, wearing her red backpack and her tan jacket. She always took this route to school; usually her friend Scotty was with her, but today he stayed home sick, so Tammy was going to make her trip alone. At around 8am, Tammy left her house. Neighbor Betty Blanchette happened to look out the window at the exact moment Tammy skipped across the street (something she saw every day of the week) and thought nothing of it. Turns out, Betty would be the last person to ever see Tammy Belanger.
The school day ended and when Tammy didn’t come home at 3:30pm like she always did, Patricia Belanger became worried. She called the school, asking if her third grader was still there. Patricia was horrified to learn that Tammy had never made it to school that day. Panicking, she called the police and a massive manhunt began, as this kind of horror didn’t happen in quiet, sleepy Exeter.
The search for Tammy involved police officers from neighboring towns, the fire department, the Coast Guard, helicopters flying overhead, and volunteers. Every inch of Exeter was searched; thousands of tips came into the hotline within the first 2 days of her disappearance. To Tammy’s parent’s persisting- she most certainly did not run away. It became clear very quickly that this was a non-family abduction, and hope was growing dim for Tammy. To this day, she has not been found.
Only one suspect was ever named in her disappearance, a man named Victor Wonyetye. Convicted of raping his step-daughter from the ages of 8-14, as well as other offenses such as larceny, housebreaking, and peeping, Wonyetye lived in Exeter at the time of Tammy’s disappearance, and also called out of work that day. His car was also seen in the area that day, which was distinctive due to its color and broken taillight. Wonyetye is also suspected of the abduction of another 8-year-old girl, Marjorie “Christy” Luna, in Greenacres, Florida. Christy went missing just 6 months before Tammy when Wonyetye resided in the very town she lived in as well, and she has never been seen again.
Victor Wonyetye was sent to prison in Florida in 1992 on unrelated charges, and admitted to 11-12 inmates that he was responsible for abducting, raping, and murdering Tammy Belanger and Christy Luna, although he was never convicted. He died 8 months after being released from prison in 2012.
Image sources:
rccmcc.com - The Resource Center For Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases
wmur.com - “What Happened to Tammy Belanger?”