Missing
Star Michelle Palumbo
Palumbo, approximately 2000
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/26/2000
Missing location (approx) :
Reno, Nevada
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 03/29/1975 (46)
Age at the time of disappearance: 25 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4, 115 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A black leather jacket, a tank top, jeans and boots.
Medical conditions : Palumbo reportedly developed a drug addiction prior to her 2000 disappearance. She may have been disoriented at the time she vanished.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Palumbo has a birthmark on the right side of her neck. Her ears are triple-pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Palumbo resided in Tucson, Arizona with her family until 1999. She relocated to Reno, Nevada to live with her grandmother at that time. Palumbo was employed as a clerk in a pawn shop in 2000. She apparently became involved with drugs, namely methamphetamine, prior to her disappearance. According to her friends, Palumbo's income from her job in a local pawn shop no longer supported her drug usAge at the time of disappearance: . Authorities believe she may have turned to prostitution in early 2000 as a means of financial gain.
Palumbo called her mother on April 25, 2000 and was paranoid during the conversation. Her mother said that Palumbo believed she was being followed and that her telephone was tapped. Palumbo's mother also said that her daughter mentioned the possibility of moving back to Arizona soon and wanted to make a new life for herself.
An officer at Reno/Tahoe International Airport discovered Palumbo in a restricted area of the facility shortly after 12:00 a.m. on April 26, 2000. Palumbo told the officer that she was searching for her sister, who she claimed had run out on to the tarmac. The officer stated that he believed Palumbo was hallucinating at the time. He did not believe her story, but he dropped Palumbo off at the entrance to the Reno Hilton Hotel and Casino at approximately 1:30 a.m.
Palumbo was last seen near the entrance of the building by the valet parking area. She never checked in to the hotel and has not been heard from again.
Her vehicle was discovered illegally parked and abandoned at the airport on April 27, one day after her disappearance. The majority of her personal belongings were found inside the car, along with her cellular phone and her purse, which contained $600 in cash.
Palumbo left behind three emails addressed to the White House, stating she believed the federal government was attempting to murder her. A drawing of a woman fitting her description was also discovered in the vehicle, which depicted the female bound and gagged. Two books that specialized in changing identities were also found inside her car.
The owner of the Silver Dollar Casino in Elko, Nevada claimed that Palumbo was inside her establishment in December 2000, eight months after Palumbo disappeared. The owner told authorities that the woman became nervous when she saw a man peering through the bar's window during the evening.
According to the owner, the woman then departed from the Silver Dollar Casino with another female. Authorities have been unable to confirm if the unidentified woman in the establishment was indeed Palumbo.
Foul play is suspected in her case.
Other information and links : ncy
Reno Police Department
775-334-2155
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
