Missing
Frances Hatadis
Hatadis, approximately 1997
Date and time person was reported missing : 07/23/1997
Missing location (approx) :
South Lake Tahoe, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 03/02/1929 (92)
Age at the time of disappearance: 68 years old
Height / Weight : 5'0, 105 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Gray hair, blue eyes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Hatadis was last seen in South Lake Tahoe, California sometime on July 23 or 24, 1997. She has never been heard from again. At the time of her disappearance, she was staying at the Shamrock Inn near Stateline, California.
Her son got concerned when he didn't hear from her, and went to the hotel to check on her. He found her room in disarray, and a computer and other items were missing. Hatadis's vehicle, a blue 1988 Dodge Dynasty with the California license plate number 2KZC391, was gone, but there were no indications that she'd packed her belongings.
Her son reported her missing on August 4. When he checked her room more thoroughly six days later, he found a moderate-sized bloodstain on the underside of her mattress.
Later that month, Edward T. Hawkins was stopped in Morgan County, Colorado, driving Hatadis's car and in possession of several stolen credit cards.
He was a convicted bank robber who was released from prison a month before Hatadis disappeared, and at the time he was stopped in Colorado he was warranted for armed robbery in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Colorado state trooper who stopped him arrested him for parole violation after running the car registration.
When questioned about Hatadis's disappearance, Hawkins said he'd never met her and had bought the car from an unknown person.
Foul play is suspected in Hatadis's case; it is being investigated as a homicide.
Other information and links : ncy
South Lake Tahoe Police Department
530-542-6110
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
North American Missing Persons Network
The Tahoe Daily Tribune
October 12, 2004. November 30, 2016; date of disappearance corrected, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map