Disappearance of Tammy Rothganger
Quick Facts
Biography
Tammy Sue Rothganger (born August 10, 1968) is a missing woman who was last seen on May 16, 1984.
Disappearance
The last time that Rothganger was seen was in front of her school, Eldon High School, when she was getting into a blue Plymouth vehicle at about 7:45 am. The school was across the street from where she lived in Eldon, Miller County, Missouri. Rothganger was last seen wearing a sweatshirt, with a chain necklace, with an arrowhead pendant, with a leather wristband, and Nike shoes.
Investigation and aftermath
When an investigation was conducted, detectives were informed that Tammy’s mother was dating a man named Martin Priest who was living with her and Tammy for a few months when Tammy disappeared in 1984. It was revealed that in 1980, Priest had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of a 12-year-old Nevada, Missouri girl, but was released three years later when the verdict was overturned on appeal. In January 2016, Priest was charged with the murder of Rothganger, 32 years after her disappearance.
Priest was considered a suspect in the murder of a 15-year-old girl whose mother he had similarly befriended, and is also suspected of several other murders.