Missing
Esther Mae Gesler
Gesler, approximately 1976; Glenn Bagley in 1979; Bagley, approximately 2009
Date and time person was reported missing : 03/13/1976
Missing location (approx) :
Auburn, Washington
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 05/16/1938 (83)
Age at the time of disappearance: 37 years old
Height / Weight : 5'8, 155 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A red t-shirt with the words "ATHLETE'S FOOT" in white lettering, a black leather coat with a fur collar and red and white checkered pants.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Gesler has a Cesarean section scar on her abdomen. She may use the last name Bagley.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Gesler was last seen in Auburn, Washington on March 13, 1976. She left her husband and children at home in the 400 block of north Prospect at 11:00 a.m., saying she was going to rent a hotel room so she could be alone and study for an upcoming college final exam; she was taking night classes to become a paralegal secretary. She was driving a metallic blue 1973 Mercury station wagon. She said she would return the next day.
Gesler kept a hairdresser's appointment in Auburn, Washington that day. She never returned home and has never been heard from again. After her disappearance, her car was found abandoned in a municipal parking lot at 1st Street northeast and B Street in Auburn.
Authorities believe Gesler was murdered by her ex-husband, Glenn Allan Bagley. Photos of Bagley are posted with this case summary. It was his car Gesler was driving on the day of her disappearance, and phone records prove he called her a few days before.
Investigators believe he was responsible for the 1973 disappearances of Althea Blankinship and her son Jeffrey as well; they lived in a small rented apartment inside Bagley's home in Port Townsend, Washington, and he was the last person to see them.
Bagley moved to the Philippines shortly after Gesler disappeared and worked as a civil engineer in the capital city of Manila for many years. He never spoke to Washington police again, although over the years they tried to build a case against him for murder.
He maintained his innocence in all three cases and claimed he was building a cat house in his garAge at the time of disappearance: on the day Gesler went missing. His then-girlfriend supported his story, but in 2004 she recanted and told the police Bagley had threatened her life. He supposedly said if she ever revealed anything he'd told her, she would "end up in the same culvert in Quilcene as Esther."
Bagley died of cancer in the Philippines in February 2016. Gesler's case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected. Kent police are investigating her disappearance.
Other information and links : ncy
Kent Police Department
253-856-5800
September 2021 updates and sources
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
