Missing
Joanne Williams
Williams, approximately 1978
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/07/1978
Missing location (approx) :
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
Age at the time of disappearance: 22 years old
Height / Weight : 5'2, 95 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A leotard top, a beige tweed jacket and blue jeans.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Williams was last seen on December 7, 1978. She left her residence in the 500 block of east Gibson Street in Scranton, Pennsylvania that day, driving her red 1977 Datsun 200 SX with white racing stripes, to go to an exercise class at her dance school. She left the dance school, which was located on Route 6 in Chinchilla, Pennsylvania, at 10:00 p.m. She never arrived home and has never been heard from again.
On December 16, 1978, nine days after Williams vanished, her car was found parked at Lafayette Street and north Everett Avenue. It was unlocked and inside was her paycheck and her purse with its contents undisturbed. There was no sign of her at the scene.
Frank Osellanie is considered a possible suspect in Williams's case. He was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering a nine-year-old Scranton girl in 1990 and has been in prison ever since. He is considered a person of interest in several other cases, including the 1986 disappearance of Michelle "Jolene" Lakey.
Osellanie says he did not know Williams. He maintains his innocence in all the cases and investigators are not sure whether he was involved. Her case remains unsolved. She was declared legally dead in 1991.
Other information and links : ncy
Pennsylvania State Police
Troop R
570-963-3156
September 2021 updates and sources
Pennsylvania State Police
The Scranton Times-Tribune
October 12, 2004. April 18, 2008; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
