Linda Louellen Reynolds, age 30, went missing from Fort Smith, Arkansas on May 17, 1982.
At 10:00pm, Linda finished work at Bandito’s Restaurant, where she was a waitress.
She arrived home at 10:30pm, but left again a half hour later to go to a nightclub. The following morning, her parents found a note from Linda stating that she was going to spend the night with friends and would return in time to be at work at 5:00pm. Her car was also left at home, which suggests that Linda returned at some point during the night, then left again in someone else’s vehicle. She took nothing with her, except her purse. Her paycheck was never claimed.
Her family became alarmed when they were notified that Linda had not shown up for work that day.
They quickly started sifting through her things – particularly notebooks and other items which might contain contact information for friends or acquaintances. Unable to find anyone who had information on her whereabouts, they contacted police on May 20.
One of the department’s detectives happened to know Linda. They weren’t good friends, but they had attended high school together and frequented some of the same clubs. As a result, he also had ideas of where she liked to hang out, and with whom.
Linda loved going to any bar or club that featured rock bands, and the one she went to most often was located at the Arkansas/Oklahoma border. It has since closed. She also surrounded herself with band members.
No one is certain which club she had gone to on the night of her disappearance. One friend of hers recalled seeing her at Harry’s, a club between Moffett and Roland, OK that she frequented. This friend said Linda had been upset because a man she was interested in was showing interest in someone else. Linda may have left with another man as a result, and possibly went to the Country Kitchen on Towson in Fort Smith, AR with him. Other accounts differed, so nobody is really sure where she was last seen.
It’s a real shame that nobody seems to remember seeing her. It’s rather suspicious, too. It’s known she made it back home at some point, so unless there was a freak stranger abduction in front of her house, someone followed her home and transported her away. More than likely, this person followed her from the club.
Linda’s mother received a phone call from a man who claimed to have found Linda’s purse underneath a building. She was so caught off guard that she didn’t get the man’s name. She had assumed the caller was a detective at the police department, but the police knew nothing about it. She later stated she believed the caller was a plumber.
Although Linda had left without warning for short periods in the past, she had always contacted her family to let them know she was okay. At the time of her disappearance, she was excited about an upcoming visit from her sister’s children.
Linda’s mother passed away in April 2019 without answers as to her fate. Linda’s father and sister continue to wait for that one piece of information that will lead to her whereabouts.
Sources:
AY Magazine
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I am a Spanish native and I have a doubt: it is mentioned that she liked rock bands and later it is said that “She also surrounded herself with band members”. Does this mean that she associated with rock band members or “criminal” band members? Sorry, I just don’t get it.
Hi! They are referring to musical band members.
Thank you.