What Ever Happened to Mary Day? | Full Episode

[@dc3174]

She doesn’t remember the dog getting poisoned because she didn’t poison it. She probably had no idea why he was beating her that night since she didn’t do anything wrong

[@EvergreenElvish]

it probably bite a cane toad outside

[@celestialstar8115]

This could be completely true. Such people often beat you for NO REASON. If they don't have a reason to beat you then they will create a reason.

[@cynthg9547]

That's exactly what I think

[@con9tessa]

She did absolutely nothing to hurt that dog. Stepdad just enjoyed beating the crap out of her.

[@frankG335]

The father set her up. Either he poisoned the dog or it got into something.

[@deloreshickman4184]

My mother was horribly physically, emotionally, mentally abusive to me and my 5 siblings. Teachers reported it, but we were never removed from the home. When our 15 yr old sister went missing, my mother refused to report it to the police, and said she was glad my sister had disappeared because she had never wanted any of us anyway. She also told us, we must never talk about my sister. I was scared and didn’t know what had happened to my sister for 10 years or more, when she suddenly contacted me. She had been married twice by then, had lived in several different States, using different names. After marrying for a third time, she settled in Texas, where she still lives a reasonably “normal” life. My mother is 93 now, in excellent health, and believes with all her heart, that she was/is a wonderful mother, a lie she tells herself, while she verbally berates my 3 siblings, that still have contact with her. I’m 73 now, have MS, PTSD, other illnesses, and survived breast cancer a few years ago. For the sake of my own mental health, I have no contact with my toxic mother.

[@TheBourbonStreet]

The abuser will always deny their wrongdoing and blame others. Good, that you don't have contact to your mum. I wish you a wonderful live, make the best of it, Delores ❤

[@MizzKeamz]

My mom loved me but was abusive to me physically emotionally and mentally. Not extremely physical but enough to have me scared of her. I’m 31 and she’s 50. She also doesn’t admit to her wrongdoings and asks my older sister and I what is wrong with us as if she didn’t expose us to her and my step dad’s DV incidents for many years. I’m not talking with her currently because I can’t forgive someone who never consoled me nor ever apologized for traumatizing me. I know I need to learn forgiveness but she also needs to learn that she can’t control me anymore. Ugh the trauma!!

[@christinastjohn3704]

I'm glad u and your sister reconnected. I was 4 when my sister ran away because my dad was sexually abusing her and dhr got involved and b4 my mom could find out y she ran away my dad lied and said we was going to visit family in another state for the weekend and never went back for her and after 18 years she found my mom and told us what happened and my mom was still with my dad at the time and after she found out she left my dad and we still try to stay in contact with my sister but she has mental issues from the abuse but we all cut my dad off after we found out and he's hasn't seen my daughter since she was 6 and I never told my daughter what he did and when she got older I left it up to her if she wanted to see him and she said no he made her uncomfortable and she ended up finding out not long ago and I told her if u ever want to visit him I will take u but won't leave your side she said no she didn't want anything to do with him and even tho she's 13 I respect her wishes and let her make her own decisions on who she wants in her life and who she don't

[@raybuggy11]

They deny it and act like it never happened bc they were an adult and it was just a normal day for them nothing memorable but for you it was your CHILDHOOD the most memorable part of your life if someone treats you wrong

[@donaldhudson9610]

There are no words. I'm speechless.😪💔❤️‍🩹🙏

[@tangerinefizz11]

What makes me especially angry about Charlotte Houle is that she allowed her husband to abuse her children. Allowing your child to be abused is the worst form of betrayal.

[@lisastewart5885]

Yes, I thought the same, & to stay with that abuser all these years makes me hate her even more. 😡

[@aquaseahorselove3939]

I had an aunt that stayed with an abusive man and he also abused her daughter. He even knocked my aunt unconscious with a cast iron skillet one time. She always stayed with him. I believe the reason is because she was slightly mentally ill. A mentally healthy person wouldn’t stay in something that toxic. I also think it’s because she had really low self esteem. He would tell her no one else would want her and she believed it and she didn’t want to be alone. My aunt passed away from cancer, but her daughter grew up to be abusive towards others.

[@lisastewart5885]

@@aquaseahorselove3939 Omg such a sad story, & one of millions of women. May your aunt RIP, and her daughter get the help she needs. 🙏🙏🙏

[@Lorimars319]

I agree. Betrayed and beyond evil. How could you do that to your own children! Breaks my heart

[@janetduncan87]

I'm only half way through this and want to know how was the DNA a match if it wasn't her?

[@LindaLoma-v2k]

Can we give Charlotte Day the "Worst Mother in Town" award, now?

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Agreed 👍

[@sistaonthemove]

Yes we can

[@miirax393]

Town would be an understatement

[@spiritwalker9903]

YAR HOW BOUT PLANET

[@skhumbuzomashati5576]

nobody including you is perfect our faults vary in degrrees and significance

[@basil6060]

the fact that they didn’t have a funeral for her is heartbreaking. she was still a person and a sibling.

[@abdulrahmanalshamrani5007]

Well said

[@reneesmith983]

She was still their sibling but not Mary. Somebody was buried at those houses. If her mom knew about her, she wasn't secret though. That mom is good at keeping secrets.

[@nancywhite6165]

The DNA can’t lie! If it said it was a relative, then it was, MY theory is that he killed a DIFFERENT, younger sibling, hence the tiny shoe….

[@reneesmith983]

@@nancywhite6165 wouldn't the sisters have known about a younger sibling? I guess it could be after Mary but before her sisters?

[@nancywhite6165]

@@reneesmith983 it could be…it has to be really, DNA does not lie

[@TY00000]

When she said “so I’ll be better off if I’m just dead so y’all can do all the investigating” very sad now knowing she was sick and died. She must have felt so lonely her entire life. What a family full of loons she escaped from! She was absolutely Beautiful btw. May she finally have peace.

[@sarahassan2067]

Absolutely correct And So sad! :'(

[@Rando_Shyte]

Yeah such a crazy and sad case. And yes she was a beautiful young lady. RIP

[@lorikennedy1127]

I'm sure she made family out of friends she met. Sometimes perfect strangers are better than a toxic abusive family

[@whiskeylullaby5707]

​@@lorikennedy1127But the people she met in her life never said anything about her?

[@jtarantula3390]

The mom never thought: why is my daughter running away? Some people do NOT deserve to have offspring

[@no_peace]

She knew why. Why didn't the police ask that instead of constantly bringing her back?

[@eww7340]

Kids will run away due to rules they don’t like at home too . They want to be free of rules and order just to do what they want . Not saying that’s the case here but it’s not always due to abuse that children run away . I have seen multiple reasons . Just giving info that may be helpful

[@bambinaforever1402]

Mom was on it with her husband, hallo

[@con9tessa]

But who would get to make that decision. I don't trust anyone that much.

[@jtarantula3390]

@@abubomom2 that shipping part lol Also, what you wrote is incredibly true. I meet people who are desperate to have a significant other, which is terrible. Happiness is found within.

[@baileighrene]

The woman investigator really has my respect. You can tell she’s genuinely sympathetic. Kudos to her for believing mary❤

[@Rando_Shyte]

Hawt

[@mikerivera7509]

She is legit

[@carriemclachlan6756]

Hi there can you guys hear me about your family name

[@globetrotting2628]

The photo of the young and older Mary was spot on. Even the nose was slightly crooked. The ears, eyes, everything was the same. Poor girl was treated like trash by her mom, and stepdad. The accent can rub off in little to no time when you are around people who talk like that. I don't remember much of the things I talked about when I was 10 years old either. RIP Mary. You deserved a better family and life.

[@mrssparkles6488]

My mom's accent sometimes change because of hanging with her best mate who was from Birmingham, so she sometimes pick up the brummy accent

[@92cgray]

Exactly!! She was living on the streets and no one was keeping up with her dialect. I didn’t hear a southern accent but for example when I see white girls dating black men they always have this distinct accent they think black ppl sound like and they mimic it. It’s not hard to believe Mary mimic the street dialect.

[@robertcolfack26]

So true about the accent I was a long haul truck driver for nearly 30 years... And if I spent a month down in the southern states people would ask me where I'm from they thought I was from Alabama or Georgia....It took me awhile to get back my midwestern Nebraska accent...

[@genkiferal7178]

I also noticed the crooked nose and thought one of her eyes was slightly off in both photos, too.

[@oceanbreeze1897]

Thank you. That made it so obvious. The exact same asymmetry I’m the nostrils and their earlobes were the same. You can see it there.

[@nubiankhaleesi2945]

Even in death, still rejected. No funeral. Wow. This story is just.... no words. RIP Mary

[@walkawaycat431]

It's terrible. Bad sisters for not giving her a funeral. Horrible family.

[@jenniferlawrence9473]

@@walkawaycat431 Did anyone ever consider the fact she might have said she didn't want a funeral? I have a relative that said that before they died. I love how everyone just assumes the family is horrible.

[@walkawaycat431]

@@jenniferlawrence9473 Nope. Never considered that fact. Did you hear that she didn't?

[@michelleprieur1]

​@@walkawaycat431 Did you hear her say that she did?

[@michelleprieur1]

I'm confused as to the comments assuming that her sisters didn't give her a funeral; it didn't say that. I've watched several news reports about this, and that's never even been implied. I have stated my wishes to my family that I don't want a funeral service.

[@katdelrio5316]

Why wouldn't the sisters have a funeral for her? Even if they didn't believe she was Mary, she still tested as a sibling. Even in her death she was unclaimed, unloved, and alone. No wonder she ran away. Poor lady. 💔😥

[@johntube7554]

Simply it was a disfunctional family all the way through. No one to blame. This is their lot in life. Be grateful for what you have.

[@charliesmith_]

Toxic family. Denialism. Dissociation. Trauma bonding. They simply _would'nt_ face it.

[@tessahall797]

They didn’t bond with her. There was no connection. Just because someone is blood related doesn’t mean you owe them anything. She sounded really unstable. Even when she was finally in a good home she ran away after a year and chose to live on the streets. She was probably mentally ill and it was said she was an alcoholic so must’ve been difficult to get along with.

[@thomasreed49]

So upsetting it just seems to have been a wasted life of a good Person I know like most people if anything happens to one of the family all the Cousins turn to support Each other. There is no doubt in my mind this is a dysfunctional family all the way through.

[@carolinelaronda4523]

I was looking for this comment because it would’ve been mine. I completely agree ..how heartless was her entire family to not give this poor woman a proper burial and recognize her as their own when the DNA proved she was.

[@helenas.3192]

The woman who came forward was Mary Day! There was no reason for her to claim otherwise, like her mom actually cared enough to plot an imposter? Her mom never cared and that’s the whole reason she left in the first place. Absolutely heartbreaking.

[@zoebo18]

I agree

[@lauriedefelice8132]

agree. same eyes, same lips

[@ace-of-bats]

I don't understand any argument that she ISN'T Mary Day - her state ID photo is the spitting image of her childhood photos - same eyes, same upturned nose, same narrow mouth with fuller bottom lip. And her DNA matches both parents! As for why she spoke strangely, the poor woman had an alcohol problem *and* at least one very severe childhood head injury (the night she left). Her brain has suffered trauma; it makes sense that speech would be impacted. I do wonder, though, who was buried in that yard. My guess is a younger child.

[@tropistan7735]

​@@lauriedefelice8132 forget the eyes and the lips. The asymmetrical nostril for chrissakes!!!!!! That's the first things I noticed. How do you fake that? Then I went back and looked at everything else and those lined up as well. Even if the detective wants to claim the wide set eyes and lips were inherited traits, how on earth did he look at that nose and explain away that they had the exact same asymmetry?

[@KatieS-o3o]

agree

[@michellekern8134]

Poor Mary, she suffered almost her entire life and then in the end just didn't exist again 😢 What a heart wrenching case

[@greglee8788]

This gotta be one of the most bizarre stories ever.

[@evolutionofmoeco]

I agree

[@myssilightful]

After everything Mary went through and no one gave her a funeral? That's really messed up..

[@triciastewart5529]

What happened to her $60,000 inheritance?

[@tankthearc9875]

well she is not dead

[@heleneconte330]

The ppl who made this documentary should have paid for her funeral.

[@TheDutchessOfCornville]

@@triciastewart5529 honestly, if she was a severe alcoholic AND going through cancer treatments, I’d bet that money was long gone pretty quickly after Mary got it. When you have nothing your whole life and then suddenly get a large sum like that, people tend to blow it. Add addiction issues to the mix and there’s no way the money lasted long. Poor thing. She had such a crappy life.

[@thrifikionor7603]

@@tankthearc9875 She died in 2017

[@stacycarnahan01]

I am just beyond words that even in her death, she was rejected. No funeral? What the hell? Poor woman. Rest in peace now Mary.

[@kerrynight3271]

A funeral is for the survivors, not the person who died. If the survivors didn't care enough to pay for a funeral, it didn't hurt Mary.

[@sarastrype5961]

@@kerrynight3271 True 😕

[@hennylo68]

That's not the real Mary.

[@Livingtheinvisiblelife]

@@kerrynight3271seeing as dead people can’t talk, how do you know that they don’t need a funeral? While yes the biggest benefactors are the alive people, but I tend to believe their soul is there too saying goodbye to all their friends and family. It just boils down to is showing respect and that’s never a bad thing nor is it pointless. It doesn’t even have to be a traditional funeral, when my sister died we went out to her favorite national park as a family wrote notes to her sending them off in balloons and having a picnic.

[@jackiearnolds]

​@@hennylo68 There is literal DNA evidence that she was

[@NiNitosix]

You can 100% tell it was her. She had that exact nose in both pictures. She had a hard life. RIP Mary

[@MrNickpeck36]

Yah, I noticed that as well. What a tough story this one was and really makes me fully appreciate having fantastic parents.

[@catherinejared9384]

Yes I agree it’s here without hesitation 🙏

[@singergurl1807]

The eyes as well

[@constancedampier915]

It was her eyes for me. I could tell the eyes were the same

[@Sketcher93]

The dad admitted he may have killed her. And the kids weren't allowed to play in that area of the back yard. And the dogs made a positive I.D. for a corpse. Hmm🤔

[@krazykdon]

Being abused as a child changes you to your core. Allowing someone to do that to your child is disgusting. My heart breaks for them. She prob was jealous of her own daughter.

[@7eyesopenwide168]

It definitely changed me. But where I stand now I know everything I’ve gone through brought me to this point. We can process and move beyond it and to the point it doesn’t touch us anymore. That’s my experience anyway. We all have our choices. (Though I decided I didn’t have a choice but to process it rather than give it any more of myself than it had already stolen. But I built from there.

[@carynmartin6053]

It definitely happens

[@carynmartin6053]

@@7eyesopenwide168 good for you for putting yourself first; somebody's got to!

[@Onelightoftheworld]

@@7eyesopenwide168 Great comment! I agree that trauma changes you. Ultimately we decided what path we want for ourselves. Have a blessed day.

[@lisamariealaniz7538]

Agree 💯 u are right

[@lisadougherty5999]

Charlotte was a horrific Mother, I lost track of how many children she actually gave birth to. Rest in peace Mary,you deserved better.

[@hummingbird4129]

😂😂😂😂

[@thisisaperson660]

makes me wonder if those spots the dogs hit on might have been abortions or something that Charlotte buried in the yard or something

[@blue_0.0]

​@@hummingbird4129 whats funny??

[@SmellyMellyization]

Amen! Charlotte was awful and should be ashamed of herself!

[@byunniq9060]

​@@blue_0.0syau

[@sela800able]

A child of no one. It's such a horrific case. Rest in peace Mary

[@MargaretFlack]

I am an author and I couldn't have written a plot twist this crazy. I find it interesting how it seems Mary was criminalized more than the scumbag parents.

[@ladyhotep5189]

Exactly!

[@wisdomseeker3362]

I wish Mary would've sued her mother for cashing her checks from social security from her biological father after his death that went to her but her mother cashed her checks all of those years. That's fraud.

[@clwilliams9276]

I'm an author as well n omg I need a sequel wtf is that ending? I now have to google who tf was buried in those yards cuz they probably made a second vid on it n didn't link it. I googled n I realize I should've checked the date of publication before anything else. If I had, i would've understood y there isn't a sequel yet. When I googled all the stuff popping up was from between 2020 and 2022. Except for the wikipedia page ofc. *sigh* my memory sucks so I won't remember to keep an eye out for a vid about the backyard body. So ig i'll give a theory. They had another child together but it was killed n they had even less record of that child. Or it's the dog's corpse cuz i'm guessing their dog didn't survive that night. So another secret child, or the sick n likely deceased dog.

[@marivipalomino6975]

She wasn't criminalized. Given all the circumstantial evidence they had it was only natural for the investigators to doubt Mary's identity. I also thought of a twin sister given away or something. It is not unheard of. Also certain memories stick to you specially if they are good or on the contrary if they are traumatic. The dying dog that started her father'soutrage against her, the inheritance code she had with her sister, the sisters' own doubts.

[@a.evelyn5498]

@CL Williams No body was ever found in the backyard. The cadaver dogs signaled remains in the next house the stepfather lived in as well. But nothing beyond the shoe was found. If he buried the dog, its remains would have been found there.

[@melanie7781]

It was her. The child looked like the adult. She was very confused. I grew up in foster care. I knew a girl in the group home who had run away, hid her true identity until she was 18. She probably had a concussion when she ran away, then on the streets for years and years. Probably suffered some permanent brain damage, then you add drinking and probably drugs too, she was lucky to remember her own name. I believe it was the real Mary.

[@vanessaamesty6739]

she probably didn't have an easy life, sad that she didn't have her sisters aat the end either.

[@paulguapo5808]

i believe she was the real mary also

[@PinkGrammarGirl]

But she survived it as a young kid. She was plucky.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

This exactly. The stepfather choked her and bashed her head against the bathtub the day she ran away, of course she’d have trouble remembering things.

[@tdanielle23]

My aunt left home at 15 and didn't speak to her family again until in her 40's. My grandma was abusive and she couldn't handle living there any longer. Nobody reported her missing, nobody looked for her until My mom asked my dad to look for her in early 2000's. They found her, met her, then she said she couldn't have a relationship with any siblings because it brought back memories of her childhood. Haven't heard from her in 20 years.

[@yellowdayz1800]

This is one of the best 48 hours episode! I believe it was Mary. I almost wanted to cry for all her suffering she went through.

[@kaseybrewer545]

I was in an abusive relationship, and I have forgotten SO many things he did to me, during our marriage, and we were married 10 years ago. We separated in 2016, and lived apart, and I STILL have to be reminded of things that happened in 2016! Trauma does strange things to your memory. It's not surprising she had no memory of a lot of things. 🤷🏼‍♀️ She was treated worse than I was, so I'm not surprised she blocked that stuff out. She probably didn't do it intentionally. This poor girl suffered, and I can't believe her mother didn't report her missing!

[@Tlynn1980]

Absolutely, it’s our Brains way of protecting us. Sad but true, people that experience abuse, especially at a severe level will normally block out big parts of it.

[@carolynhoechst3201]

So wrong. So sad. 😢Children should never suffer abuse or neglect.

[@cayennepepper242]

If she reported her missing the social security check would have stopped

[@selfesteem3447]

Makes me think of Michelle Knight who was one of the 3 (4 actially) found alive, kidnapped victims in Ariel Castro's Cleveland home found, I believe the year was 2012. Michelle Knight changed her name to Lillian Rose Lee after she found her freedom, but Michelle Knight or Lillian lee, her mother had never reported her missing no one had ever looked for. Castro, while he had her kidnapped and would assault her would also rub it in/'taunt her/ bullying- saying no one cares about you, they didn't even report you missing no one's looking for you.

[@selfesteem3447]

@@cayennepepper242 yes and what a shame knowing that her daughter was out in the world on her own and needed that money from 1981 till I guess it was about 2004 till the investigation her mother absconded that money and she was so lost in the world and lost to abusing alcohol she probably didn't even know that that money was there for her and her mother and her mother's husband also probably didn't tell her about it when she was a little girl.

[@neveragoodgirl]

the fact that the older Mary’s DNA was a match to the mother and her bio-father, seals the deal. Also considering young Mary was horrifically abused by her step dad, it’s makes sense why she wouldn’t remember a lot of her child hood in her older age because her brain blocks it out. In psychology it’s called “dissociative amnesia”, or “trauma blocking”.

[@bbjjbb61]

Yep. I've got this issue.

[@vickilark2547]

Same here. I have friends who can't believe how much I don't remember of my younger years.

[@redacted2275]

37:10 Why are you repeating what the video says like you were the one discovering that information?

[@neveragoodgirl]

@@redacted2275 because people in the comments seemed to have missed that part of information in the video since they only mention it for like 2 seconds. people are still speculating that she should be able to remember her childhood when there’s a perfectly scientific/psychological explanation as to why she wouldn’t. So that’s why I brought it up. it’s a comment section after all.

[@dianabishop2558]

I blocked out my mother poisoning and killing our neighbor when I was 14. Just remembered when I was 60. I never believed you could block something out before but yes, you have to to survive!

[@n.l.vannstallings4664]

They should be charged for not reporting a 13 yr old missing.

[@melissafriel5311]

Her last memory of her childhood was getting her head bashed on a bathtub and coffee table. Brain damage could very well explain Mary's speech and memory being off. No one had any empathy for this poor woman. All she wanted was to find peace.

[@littlegirllost2654]

No

[@fadyahalzaidi1260]

She was betrayed by her mom when she was a child, then let down by her sisters when she tried her best to convince them that she was indeed their sister. What a horrible family!

[@Ashleyyyy_xx]

Then the sisters have the audacity to cry...

[@amelian9677]

💯

[@FloresSisters3]

and than give her no funeral… 😢

[@whitedragoness23]

This is similar to the horror movie called lake mongo where the family is dysfunctional. And the girl killed is lost and forgotten even though they talk about her. They don’t actually care about her.

[@StephRich888]

Very horrible family fake evil sisters

[@IDKJEJEHRBEHEH]

The computer recognizes her face with 99% accuracy, and she matches the father and mother’s DNA. And the investigator still won’t change his mind. Wow, wonder how many innocent people have been imprisoned because of him.

[@tiggzr9744]

What if hes right tho. Who did they bury?

[@CoopersHoopties]

@@tiggzr9744 officers have admitted they can make there canines false call, one reason why that can’t be used as evidence in many states.

[@debt4717]

@@tiggzr9744 They buried the dog. Frequently, cadaver dogs will 'hit' on animal bodies (google it), and remember the stepfather was angry because he thought Mary killed his dog. The dog may have been buried there and then dug up by another animal, or even someone gardening. DNA doesn't lie. The adult woman IS Mary, and I don't think anyone blames her for running away from that house of horrors.

[@mariamaria2751]

Did they have a face expert to look at her pictures

[@mariamaria2751]

And the age is the same .. shoes doesn't match with a 13 year old ..maybe they had a another daughter there beat and k*lled ..it's definitely Mary. C'mon. She was at a person's house that took care of her and then she left that house. It's her. How ridiculous

[@thepickledfish3631]

The fact alone that her parents didn't even care to look or find her is a reflection of what horrific life she has had to deal with knowing that the one's who are supposed to love you just don't give a crap.

[@imaramblins]

For sure. The sad fact is back then some parents would just give up on their kids who ran away several times. Even if (or especially because) the parents who are the ones who caused them to run away in the first place. Both kid and parents were fed up, and a police report would just be a hassle, with the cops probably not caring either. My mom and uncles had a friend (back in the 60's) who would couch surf, and would stay with them here and there because his dad beat the crap out of him all the time. No cops ever came looking for him. His parents just didn't care. He ended up dying relatively young.

[@teijaflink2226]

Even if I was happy that Mary was not murdered the ending was absolutely heartbreaking, totally abandoned by your family and your own sisters doubting your their sister. And then that police who can't give up that he was wrong, to me she totally looked like the young Mary. That she didn't have a funeral I really hope that was her own choice and not because she had no one.

[@qorinhaq9294]

@@imaramblins bless your friend soul

[@JC_HasMyHeart]

Very very sad

[@wisdomseeker3362]

@@teijaflink2226 That was very sad to me also. Her entire life with no moma , daddy, grandma or a grandfather . It really makes me angry how she was treated. I would have sued my mother for the money she received in my name for those checks from her biological father that came from social security all of those years ! Her mother and her stepfather could've faced prison time for fraud .

[@michelle7377]

You absolutely would remember filing a missing persons report on your child. Some people dont deserve the air we breathe!!!!

[@ledeelotus9529]

The universe dealt Mary a bad hand her whole life. May her soul RIP.

[@rgo583]

Really Sad story. I believe 100% she's the missing Mary. It really touched my heart. She already suffered during her childhood. Escaped from parents abuse. She got no permanent place to live in. And when she's adult she suffered Cancer. Died at early age. Until her Death she's been denied and rejected. Rest In Peace Mary 🙏

[@natalya2473]

I agree. I have lost a lot of memories from my childhood/ teenage years after being abandoned at the age of 14. Trauma erases past memories, both good and bad

[@timothywilliams1359]

I grew up in a very abusive home and blocked out a great deal of my childhood. There are many things about precisely where I lived and when that I have only vague memories of. My life really began at age 17, when I moved out for good and never looked back. It is easy for me to imagine that someone like Mary Day would forget much of her past. Forgetting is sometimes the best psychologcal defense we have.

[@spacepanda9037]

Same apparently I even remember certain things differently and I was told it was my minds way of protecting me from the trauma

[@janiegtz7806]

And she could’ve gotten an accent to change who she was as a child. She couldn’t disassociated herself from her childhood long ago. I feel so sad for her 😢

[@bicuriousdirtbikeboi2594]

I hope you're doing okay now man

[@hollyholly3172]

I’m sorry you went through that. Forgetting they say in these cases is the brain’s way of protecting the self. A coping mechanism. I’m hoping you’re doing much better now and wishing you the best and a fulfilling life

[@davidcopperfield-notthemag397]

Me too....

[@shreyakanojiya4744]

I believe that she was the real Mary day. What her family and the detectives did was unacceptable and horrible. No one supported her. No one threw a funeral or was there for her. I can't imagine her painful life. I hope she is at peace now. I wish the best for her soul. She did not deserve this

[@powerboatguy2308]

Exactly, I was expecting her sister to ask her for forgiveness at the end for doubting her, but she most likely died alone, without any kind of send off.

[@seepassthebs]

The parents not reporting her missing tells me everything I need to know...RIP Mary we love you

[@stassilawrence9859]

We love you Sweet 😇. Thank you for your resilience and tenacious nature lol. U will live peacefully and forever in our hearts 💕

[@lanabills4498]

Absolutely 100 percent she was Mary Day. Absolutely heartbreaking she had to try and prove what had already been proven. Feel bad for her sisters, I hope they recognize the additional unnecessary pain they added by doubting her. DNA is science. Inarguable fact. No words for the mother. I hope Mary is at peace. This world was cruel to her.

[@pamelafrye4667]

AMEN 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

[@danni1993]

@@pamelafrye4667 🙄

[@terredee]

DNA proved she was A daughter of that strange woman, not the daughter the cops were looking for. That said, her nose was distinctive and even before they went into the whole DNA thing I knew it was her.

[@tankthearc9875]

the cops wanted to fit a narrative . in a court of law he would have been acquitted as soon as the court found out mary was still alive

[@emilyli6757]

I also think so, her eyes look the same too

[@michiganjfrog366]

I truly believe that Mary is not an imposter. What a tragic life she had. Rest in peace Mary 🙏.

[@KhaiFirst]

I'm with you... Rip Mary.. world so cruel.

[@carol.braden1231]

@@KhaiFirst lp

[@jodievukmir3187]

She was her sister who was given up at birth...this was not Mary Day. mMary Day was killed by her step father

[@bouncedatazz4122]

Probably gave her to someone else to raise her or something like that

[@randallsmerna384]

Why would Mary be an impostor? Mary was killed.

[@AngelaDavis-zr8nb]

This was one of the most interesting stories I've ever heard, great job!

[@JadedLady]

Mary is remembered each time someone watches this video. I just wish there was more wonderful things to remember her by. I wonder what made her heart happy? What put a string in her step? What made her laugh? Rest Peacefully Mary, I am so sorry.

[@Stridonjerome]

She’s alive

[@jmwjrsmom]

@@Stridonjerome Dead... Did you even watch til the end??

[@belladonna5904]

That was imposter Mary.

[@Stridonjerome]

@@jmwjrsmom you need to watch it again

[@nap163020]

DNA matches; case closed. The sisters need to take into account that a horrible childhood and an adulthood living off the grid changes a person. She's not going to be the same 13 year old that ran away.

[@keepitforreally4501]

And accents can develop when you want to forget where you came from

[@susan-1love]

Agree case closed & then she was seemingly thrown away again 😢sad unfortunate life of a beautiful little girl

[@asherrogers2687]

@@feitme Exactly. My 2 stepsisters moved from California to Massachusetts and the other to North Carolina. They were in their 20's. I barely recognized either of their voices after just a couple of years. To say we only change accents during younger years seems a bit far fetched.

[@13juniper]

And the sisters were even younger than Mary was when she disappeared... then add 20plus years... it's easy to mis-remember things or to have built up things in your head to be something they actually weren't. Life and time change people... I feel bad for Mary that her sisters just decide she's not actually Mary because they remember her a different way

[@blackdogslivesmatter1568]

Not necessarily case closed. They could have killed an infant since the mother had alot of affairs. Just a complete overall mess made by stupid rotten humans.

[@millsmoore24]

I feel ill. I cannot get my head around how depraved 'mom' is allowing herself to be and still have the nerve to defend her evil, sorry self. 😳

[@Addwater4444]

Both those parents deserve punishment, they destroyed that poor girl

[@selfesteem3447]

Narcissist, they hate everyone especially their own children.

[@briankane3905]

The whole family seemed "off"

[@righteverythingafterthisis2758]

I really struggle trying to understand mothers, who choose not to protect their children but instead, kiss up to their lovers who are abusive. Such cowards.

[@dianaveronicakambanis9690]

Yes how cruel She didnt care the husband looked like a School boy

[@PrecursorLegend]

I reluctantly believe she was the real Mary, but the cadaver dogs, the dug up shoe, the sister saying nobody was allowed to go near that part of the yard, plus the father essentially confessing to killing her is all extremely confusing and suspicious.

[@danielleschiazza6172]

Exactly! This whole case was crazy! The lady detective at the end didn't really prove much. She claims Mary had help from someone with getting her birth certificate because she was sick and needed medical treatment but that could have just been an excuse to get ahold of it if the parents no longer had it. I believe she is a child of Charlotte but not Mary.

[@HobbyOrganist]

The shoe was too small for a 13 year old's foot

[@1225pong]

The parents probably murdered someone else.

[@1225pong]

And DNA don’t lie!

[@sallywalton5375]

I believe it was Mary. Poor little girl❤

[@mikeypotter5218]

This is by far the craziest disappearance/homicide case I've ever seen/heard of/watched in my life. I live for these types of shows and this is the FIRST time I've been left speechless and haven't even a clue of what the truth is.

[@FilmSpook]

Possibly a genetic clone. Super convenient that this ''Mary" suddenly shows up just after the case is reopened, and even if it were her, there are still MAJOR mysteries, such as the cadaver dogs picking up scents of a body at TWO LOCATIONS that the family had lived at. A body WAS moved, this is very certain, using common sense. Those dogs DO NOT make mistakes like that.

[@dannyhernandez2203]

That was the real Mary and they probably killed another sibling where the dogs scented a dead body. OK, now I don't know what to believe cuz that sounded wild

[@1225pong]

I believe Arizona Mary is the real Mary Day. DNS don’t lie.

[@RR-hb7nj]

@@dannyhernandez2203 I'm thinking it might have been the remains of a miscarriage. Some people bury those if they miscarried at home. It would be normal to tell children not to play in that area of the yard if it's a solemn space like this. It might also explain why there are no fragments that could be found by detectives but still a scent a dog could pick up on.

[@mayarodriguezsrensen6904]

Dear Mary, I believe you, and from what I can tell, everyone who has viewed this episode also believes you. I'm so sorry that you weren't given a chance in life. I'm so sorry that you were betrayed by the people who were supposed to love you the most. And I'm so terribly sorry you weren't given the proper funeral you deserved. For whatever it's worth, you're in my thoughts. May you rest in peace.

[@joejoe9566]

😔

[@CJ-dg3bm]

She's dead so this is weird.

[@slicedbread5692]

@@CJ-dg3bm yep. super weird.

[@marysstilllearning5803]

That was beautiful, well said. Not weird, I get it,

[@BlindRedWolf]

Beautifully written 💜💐

[@alyssa6375]

That's sad. Mary lived all those years alone because of 2 abusers. Then the investigator couldn't let it go after dna proof so she died alone with her sister not convinced it was her. Terrible.

[@salinadomingo8223]

Mary Day mom collected a check for her 18 years. She should be charged with fraud

[@OtterUnderwater]

This case is nothing short of tragic. Nobody was ever on her side. Poor Mary, I hope she's found peace in the afterlife.

[@alunchurcher7060]

There is no afterlife grow up,, we are biological entities and once our brain is dead the body dies, if buried the microbes just keep of= eating our bodies until the insects find a way into the coffin.

[@johnnyalonso]

I know this just breaks my heart. Life was so hard and cruel to her. I hope shes found peace. This is such a sad story.

[@daphnepierre1038]

Wow I wonder why was she even treated that way innocent child

[@swiater1]

If Mary believed that Jesus Christ is her Lord and Savior, she has found peace in the afterlife🙏

[@OtterUnderwater]

@@swiater1 now, these comments are the types I find asinine.

[@Dovietail]

An adult soldier assaulting a petite 13 year old girl is not "a fight." Good Lord!

[@KatieS-o3o]

Assault. Child abuse. It is punishable by a law but the man who worked in the prison, pay taxes so possibly untouchable.

[@UnknownUser-j3n]

Yes that sounded do off "fight"

[@blostin]

I wonder how many soldiers are like Mary's stepfather. It's a chain, traumatized people hurt other people.

[@kristenjustkristen9462]

Cops with tunnel vision are terrifying. Poor Mary, what a sad life she was given. I hope she's finally at peace now..

[@Biden666]

Imagine how many innocent people those detectives have thrown in prison unjustly!? I couldn’t believe the incompetence of them, and the ignorance/stupidity of the sisters

[@kristenjustkristen9462]

@@Biden666 Exactly my thoughts!! I was baffled by their ignorance and arrogance.. Even with undisputable evidence, they STILL wouldn't admit they were wrong!!

[@tankthearc9875]

case closed and still spent money to prove they were right when they were wrong ,

[@briancleveland6115]

@@Biden666 Cops don't throw anyone in prison, they make arrest, the courts throw them in prison.

[@briancleveland6115]

@@tankthearc9875 They spent money to find the truth, and they did.

[@diveintothemystery4163]

How could you not report your child missing? Goes beyond hesrtless

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Soulless 😮

[@gbolt1403]

This story broke my heart. Poor little lost girl. May she be fully embraced in love and peace in the afterlife 💔🕊

[@pamelafrye4667]

AMEN 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

[@wompppwompwomppp]

If i cant find my dog within 3 minutes i start panicking, i cant imagine your own baby leaving the house and just not caring.

[@GabrielleHayes1921]

Lost my daughter for less than a minute when an AC guy was here, she went inside and just disappeared, girl gave me a heart attack while hiding under the kitchen table silently laughing and then when I found her was like "I tricked you, I tricked you, you couldn't find me" 🤦🏻‍♀️ don't even get me started on why I don't want to play hide and seek outside anymore, horrifying, wasn't more than 5-10mins, but I know it doesn't take long for a child to disappear, shoot I was that child, cops, neighbors, family couldn't find me... I was hiding under laundry the whole time just 3yrs old, I had fallen asleep and been gone for hours, mad that my mother loved me and wouldn't let me play with the gardening shears lol. If my children ever truly went missing like Mary, you couldn't stop me from calling the police for help, I'd be calling everyone scared.

[@carriemclachlan6756]

Okay thanks

[@junelovejoyofficial]

This is such a frustrating episode. The detective is shameful and the family isn’t empathic in the slightest. Accents change so easily. I grew up all over the US and have a messed up accent despite my mom speaking with a southern accent. Also memory issues is so common with abusive victims. This was painful to watch. Mary Day, I believe you.

[@belladonna5904]

You aren't empathetic either. I don't envy what those sisters had to go through or what they are still going through.

[@belladonna5904]

I don't believe she's the real Mary.

[@davidcastoe2190]

@@belladonna5904 she clearly is. her sisters and the cops just wants to make money off a crazy story.

[@babyturkey8342]

Those sisters were also abused tho...why is there abuse not as recognized as Marys?? And the main reason why the detectives don't believe her is because theyre dogs...4 of their k9 dogs hit on body decomposition scent and they found a child shoe buried in their yard.. I genuinely think that have that map in the case they would have definitely believed mary was who she said she was. It's weird a

[@cruisepaige]

Agreed. I grew up with a strong Boston accent but altered it at University and later to be better understood. Most people cannot detect it today.

[@danielleschiazza6172]

Her mom threw away her pictures and belongings?? That is disgusting.

[@whitedragoness23]

Her mother didn’t want her but wanted the checks.

[@carolechetwynd-bryant534]

What a sad story! There are so many lost souls in this world. Poor Mary, I hope she is at peace.

[@14pbear]

That woman is absolutely the missing girl! I'm shocked these detectives are so set on proving she isn't the real Mary. The photo alone looks exactly like the little girl. And that little girl has some very unique features...

[@feliciamusic7945]

That picture of the step-dad with his arm possessively wrapped around Mary was very telling. Mary's adult picture is Mary, her eyes and nose are the same as in the young picture. And her abuse I would believe would cause her to block out many parts if her life, a protection mechanism.

[@nicolemclaughlin5980]

This is the most amazing story I have ever seen on 48 hours

[@ashy.aquarian]

Poor Mary. Good lord. I cannot imagine being abused so badly, only to not be believed when you're finally found.

[@belladonna5904]

It wasn't Mary

[@Ashleyyyy_xx]

​@belladonna5904 yes it fkn was u carnt

[@oceanstaiga5928]

I kept thinking I can only remember certain events from when I was 13 but put alcohol or drug abuse into the mix and I can see why she would 20 years later have a harder time remembering. She’s strong for surviving so long on her own, but I’m sure it’s a hard life dealing with the trauma of her family life and then having to get through as a teenager by herself.

[@flamechick6]

Right! I don't have any trauma I'm trying to forget either and I don't remember all that much from being 13. She probably doesn't even want to remember

[@hedagabriel5935]

true the subconscious also has a role to play ...its gonna block out some of the worst memories..as a way of protecting one's self....or just another theory...Mary day & Mary pheonix are indeed 2 people..these woman were twins...1 is gone since 1981...thats the sis..who clearly due to everything shes been through was brainwashed/manipulated beyond repair ...

[@tomcat5151]

Glad to see sense in the comments! Also, I'm wondering who their language experts are. I don't know if it's my neurodivergencies/masking, but one week around people with an accent, any accent, and I have it too.

[@kj.5561]

Mikeik Miiiii❤

[@theresarasche3173]

And add chemotherapy brain to the mix and it would be hard to remember stuff too😢

[@Jenniferamu]

The adult Mary looks EXACTLY like the childhood picture of her! How this was questioned even after the DNA testing was done is 🤯🤯🤯!

[@lql1094]

Because SIBLINGS can look like twins, even when they are years apart. There was A LOT to doubt in this case, especially sice it was being investigated 20 something years later. I understand the detectives' doubt.

[@Gorilla_Jones]

No it doesn’t lol

[@Aspasia2929]

RIGHT! This case is nuts; those sisters didn’t want to share the inheritance, at least the EXTREMELY HOMELY blonde sister! She didn’t show up and try to collect on her inheritance she was discovered. It was easy to get a fake identity in the 80’s and 90’s but after 9/11 and every things was computerized so she finally had to use her real identity. All the nonsense about accents and “CODE WORDS” she forgot from her traumatic childhood… all that BS trumps DNA… W T F F! That poor woman… hopefully she is finally at peace!

[@karlisagomez1108]

@@lql1094 siblings (unless identical twins) will ALWAYS have different DNA Markers

[@joez.2794]

"Oh her mother was known to sleep around so it's obviously a daughter she gave up for adoption." More DNA testing matches the father, too. "But muh dogs don't lie! Who being handled by people who already know exactly where to look. This is EXACTLY how innocent people get locked up and stay that way!

[@user-ys6sh1ws5r]

The fact that she was totally abandoned by her family is so tragic and miserable. 😭😭

[@57clc]

The sad part is that Mary Day, the innocent child, probably did die that day when her father beat her near death. What survived and came next was, in essence, a different person. Children are to be protected. Even in the harshest environments such as state penitentiaries, this is a valued law. Sad story.

[@ItsMe-ic7on]

You mean her stepdad don't you? For real dad died and she was getting social security checks due to his death mommy kept cashing them even after she was gone. That girl was nothing but a paycheck for her mother

[@jaclynmccann4138]

well said!

[@ysy4805]

Thanks to the intelligent woman detective that didn't put her personal beliefs and own story forced into this case.👏👏👏

[@donnakemp3903]

Its amazing to me how quickly everyone got on the wagon of "she's lying". Her siblings didn't see or hear from her for 20 years. There is no way they would know what she sounded like. Doubt sewn in their minds by overzealous investigators. This happens a lot more than people realize. I don't know what demons Mary was running to or from, but I do hope she found peace somehow.

[@kristinstrickland1038]

Well, she was running from an abusive, toxic, evil family. No mystery there.

[@donnakemp3903]

@@kristinstrickland1038 Possible..

[@lauries.nicewaner3876]

It's also a perfect example of how many people today are unwilling to change their opinion even after being presented with the facts.

[@princesaa__]

This❤ thank you

[@laurenmay2098]

I can’t understand how they didn’t believe the DNA test, why?

[@honeyclover80]

Her eyes remained the same, from a child, as a teenager and as an adult... Rest in peace Mary.

[@pro-touch7055]

There are NO winners in the entire scenario. May the lady Rest In Peace.

[@pamelamorris3148]

The fact that they didn't believe Mary although DNA matched to her mother. She's been hiding out for 20 years under an alias. For the sister's to not know her own sister's is also heartbreaking. Her DNA matched her sister's and her bio parent's so there's no way she wasn't Mary. The girl's face and especially eyes match the young girl's face so she's definitely the young lady who ran away.

[@sandrafreeman515]

Unless Mary had a twin that had been given away or another daughter of Mary's mother and perhaps even her bio-dad too. It is rare, but it has happened before that people have a child, give it up for adoption, and later get back together and have more children, especially if the first child was conceived and born before they were of legal age. Either way, Mary or another sister, it's a very sad story for all of the children. The incubator (mom) and step-monster should be ashamed of themselves and definitely should be prosecuted for social security fraud!

[@Kt-cn2rq]

@@sandrafreeman515 I doubt it. Your just coming up with crap to make this whole thing sound better. She is Mary there is no twin.

[@DetroitDawn]

@@sandrafreeman515 I just commented the same about a twin which would explain the matching DNA .Are they just gonna forget about the soil containing properties of a decaying body? I see similarities but I also see a slight difference that aging wouldn't of changed . Very intresting and extremely sad .

[@teaspoonsofpeanutbutter6425]

@@DetroitDawn dna in a hole with a minute shoe, too small for a teenager? The shoe fits in the palm of a hand, how could that Possibly be Mary? And if you're claiming it's a twin of hers then the twin is also dead, long long ago, as an infant, so it wasn't any twin masquerading as Mary. It's her, look at the eyes. Dna confirms it.

[@yeetnama9094]

@@DetroitDawn WOULDNT HAVE changed

[@VictoriaWalters-g6q]

As a Mom ,no matter how many times my baby ran away I would not give up tell I found her.

[@lakama4965]

What a beautiful and betrayed girl she was! Absolutely heartbreaking. And the policeman not believing the DNA result but pushing his own theory is really scary.

[@dudemorris7769]

They do it all the time and this is just an example of how they tried to damage this lady more. Her sister was also horrible & why Mary actually left her home.

[@louloubelle1330]

But they believe the f'er for court cases

[@sjrlas]

Why? If another sister is tested it comes out the same. I actually believe that detective is right on. The step father confessed and the dogs hit twice on the burial sites. If the older sibling was in dire straights financially, was an alcoholic needing surgeries and these evil parents knew someday they would be investigated, it's not inconceivable they would prepare for this. They stayed in touch with this first sibling and gave her the birth certificate and SS card so they could be protected from prosecution and this imposter could claim the inheritance some day. Very believable if not probable. If only they could have found Mary's body.

[@lorimav]

It is not that the cop didn't believe the evidence, it was that the evidence only showed that she was a daughter of the mother. They didn't have DNA evidence of the 13 year old Mary to compare it with Phoenix Mary. It would have been the only way to conclude that they were the same people. The only exception would be identical twins. They have the same exact DNA. Although when they tested and found that she also came from the same biological father known to be her biological father it looked even less likely that she was an imposter.

[@abc-wv4in]

@@sjrlas Right. "Somebody" was buried in those yards. I'm not convinced that Mary wasn't murdered. And Mary didn't have that Southern accent.

[@ZombieSazza]

I believe you, Mary. I’m a child abuse survivor myself, some pets I remember clear as day as if they happened yesterday, other parts are blocked out, my brains way of protecting me. I’ve permanent nerve damage from beatings throughout childhood and got diagnosed with cPTSD & PTSD as a young adult, so the parts I remember clear as day are often like I’m standing there as it’s happening, but there’s lots of things I barely remember or just don’t remember at all. One of the most traumatic nights as a kid was when my parents announced their divorce, I remember my father beating my mother, trying to drag her up the stairs by her hair, pushing her down the stairs, and then suddenly I’m under the stairs with my dogs and brother hidden in the corner under dog blankets, holding a wood chopping axe to protect my dogs and brother. What happened during that period I’ll never know, but something obviously happened where a child aged 9 felt she needed to defend her younger brother and dogs with a literal AXE. Same goes for later childhood, my brother and mother became the abusers, I remember my mother telling me I was “the reason” she wanted to unalive herself, I remember some of the violent beatings my brother gave me, but there’s also huge periods of time I straight up don’t remember and can only assume my brain has protected me. A LOT of child abuse survivors go through this, the brain tries to protect you so you can try and live a somewhat normal life, and it sounds like Mary did what I did, she cut all contact with her family and made her own way in life, so she could truly be free and not fearful she’d be abused again. It saddens and angers me that after hearing she was actually Mary, that her DNA matched, they turned their backs on her. You’d think they’d be understanding, that she had to escape to ensure her own survival, but they turned their backs on Mary. That to me is pretty unforgivable. I changed my surname too, I just didn’t want associated with my abusers and wanted to move on at 18/19. It’s just mad that despite there being hard physical evidence she was Mary, they turned their backs on her and completely disregarded traumatic memory loss.

[@odessaknows3783]

Your story is alot like mine. I am now 42 and in my healing process and finally in therapy. Lots of abuse and trauma from my childhood! I wish you a happy life and healthy healing on your journey. We are warriors ❤️

[@nancystere3260]

T

[@pattiebates9143]

Uh

[@pattiebates9143]

Oh

[@UniveralLove]

So terrible your story.. dear girl .. I feel sorry for what you have been through. I hope you find strength and live a happy and wonderful life as possible! You are a special person! 💗

[@Frank-tj5de]

Maybe Charlotte had a birth at home which nobody knew about and they buried it a few times. Could be what the dogs detected.

[@freestylestuntkayak]

Exactly! Makes sense. This also what possibly happened in the Lucy Studey case. (Who claims her dad was a serial un-aliver)

[@aja.m.lareau]

I think it was really Mary. Between the photos and the fact that her blood showed the same birth mother and father as the other two sisters, I believe it. I feel bad that her sisters finally got her back just to lose her again. I don’t understand why no one held a funeral for her. The whole situation is just sad

[@rmarriott2]

sadly, funerals cost money, and often families just cannot afford to do anything like a "traditional funeral." then, if you factor in that the only people who would have come to a service, it makes more sense to have a loved one cremated followed by an intimate (and likely untraditional) funeral service for family and very close friend. it would probably look more like Thanksgiving dinner than a funeral, but she would be remembered and the family can get a sense of closure.

[@gNome_5]

I like how we depend so highly upon cadaver dogs, "experts" who said her accent couldn't possibly have been gained unless she'd grown up down south, etc. Once her DNA matched AND they thought maybe her body had been moved a 2nd time, I was like NO, now you're pulling at straws. That IS the Mary you've all been looking for. I think the biggest shame of this whole story is that her Mother and Step-father cared so little for her that they didn't even report her missing!! Instead they just STOLE her SSI money month after month even though she was no longer living with them!! They should be held accountable for that. Afterall, that was tax payer money!!

[@kknutsen49]

Ya, the case is solved. Shut it down. Quit spending taxpayers dollars on this.

[@502gurl]

They need to be charged for the fraud and for abuse of a minor child.

[@MYTB-rs5yz]

I thought the same after the “possibility” of the “body” being moved a 2nd time. It’s a shame to think that some detectives try to fit a person(s) to a crime, rather than have the evidence tell the real story.

[@moriyarose3587]

The dogs clearly hit on some kind of human remains. Even it wasn't Mary, so what? SOMEONE was there, and that person still deserves to be found and identified. I can also understand why the police were skeptical. Many people will do almost anything for money and/or attention. This wouldnt be the first time someone assumed the identity of a dead person to receive state and/or federal aid. They stated she needed financial help for a surgery. I don't think thst was the case here - I think Phoenix Mary was Mary Day, but I can completely understand why the detectives were so skeptical. Also - the accent thing is absolutely true. Our accents are pretty much set by the time we are 8 years old, give or take. We definitely adapt to our environments, though, and our speech will usually reflect that. I loved from MN to TX 13 years ago. Over time, my rate of speech has slowed down (but still faster than most Texans 😆) and some of words have become truncated. For instance, I no longer pronounce the "g" in -ing words, which is totally a Southern thing. Hanging is hangin', writing is writin', and so on. My vowel sounds have become shorter, as well. Where I grew up, most people use long vowels for everything. "No" is "Noh," "bag" is "bay-g," and so on. After living in the south, I pronounce my vowels like a normal person. 😉😆 My speech has adapted to my e environment - but I'll never have an actual Southern accent. And when I talk on the phone to friends back home, some of MN accent comes out. So yes - our base accent is set by the time we are around 8 years old, but we definitely adapt our language to fit those around us. We all do it. This is likely what happened to Mary. Her speech adapted as she traveled around the country. Because she was still pretty young (I was an adult, when I moved), she could have definitely picked up a slight accent. Her accent didnt sound super heavy, to me. The cops weren't wrong and neither were the experts - but linguistics is a bit more nuanced than what they explained. I've seen it in my own life, and I'm a linguist - so I know stuff. I dont think the cops had any malice. They needed to be thorough. If they hadn't been thorough and skeptical, and the woman turned out not to be Mary Day, y'all would be on here criticizing the police for that, too. Guve them the bend it of the doubt and assume they had the best intentions. Mary had a hard life and they have a hard job working on a weird case. No one had malicious intent, except for the mother and step-father.

[@mistybollinger3312]

I was thinking the same thing about the accent situation. That's just a stupid and backwards way of thinking. Any one at any age can very quickly pick up any type of an accent, I've seen it myself many times!

[@TheOneNOnlyNeptuneRose]

Honestly I think some cops have an issue with admitting when they're wrong. Sometimes it's the whole force that cannot admit that they're wrong. Ego issues, I believe that she is who she says she is. It's tragic that she passed away right after the interview.

[@melinakanak8771]

This was one of the most bizarre cases I've ever seen. Very sad for Mary, what a horrible life

[@GogetitApryll-q4l]

My mother lived in California and she was getting government checks for me and I did not go to school at all so I can believe California officials didn't do anything because I didn't go to school and they never checked on me . The system failed me !

[@caitlinm.b.6814]

It's crazy that they didn't believe her after a DNA test. She was still related to them and would be their sister, even if she was some secret "other sister". The detective was all like, "ok, you are their biological sister; But you changed your name for obvious reasons, and I just don't understand how you can be the same person". Me as the interviewer to his thought pattern: What? How? Are you ok?

[@belladonna5904]

Because she looks nothing like the real Mary and doesn't even know crucial past details.

[@belladonna5904]

It's common sense. You change your name, why? She could be running from something nefarious.

[@thefatherrabbit]

@@belladonna5904 She looked almost exactly like the real Mary. Are you blind? Trauma can cause someone to supress memories too, so that's not a surprise either. It's actually common. The DNA was a match to the parents.

[@brmbkl]

@@belladonna5904 "Because she looks nothing like the real Mary" except in every way. she looks exactly like an adult version of that kid's photo.

[@ams197610]

​@@belladonna5904 That's Mary. She looks like her. DNA matches from both parents. She doesn't remember details from 20 years ago after suffering head trauma, living life in survival mode for 20 years, and having addiction issues for many years. As for the accent, my brother moved to Texas when he was 13 and had a thick Texas accent within a couple of years.

[@trymenot81]

After a separation of at least 12 years, our eldest brother returned from the south with an accent so thick, that we literally could not understand him. I think some people are more susceptible to the influences of their environment and it might involve the desire to separate themselves from painful or traumatic memories . This could apply to our family situation. Our poor brother suffered greatest from a very young age, strong and harsh abuse at the hands of our father, who was practicing parenting in the prescribed manner of the times.

[@iamfree-ce7xd]

Cali and AZ are NOT THE SOUTH!!!

[@trymenot81]

@@iamfree-ce7xd I was referencing my personal example.

[@iamfree-ce7xd]

@@trymenot81 yes, you wrote that to try to explain why phoenix Mary would have an accent; but your experience and her's are not the same. You don't develop a deep southern accent living in the far west..... unless you're not from the far west bcz you're not who you claim to be.

[@trymenot81]

@@iamfree-ce7xd understood and agreed. However one can be misled by presuming someone's accent is indicative of where they come from as opposed to who influences them. Just a few days ago, I met a Michigander doctor with a pronounced Long Island accent. She was oblivious to it.

[@BrightSeaStar]

Poor kid. I hope his life is a bit better now.

[@bkaips]

I believe Phoenix Mary is Mary Day. The resemblance is uncanny and the mind has a funny way of going in to survival mode by forgetting highly traumatic events, especially with the added alcohol abuse. Her life, it seems, was consistently tragic. My brother (born and raised in Upper Michigan) moved to North Carolina, as a late teen adult, and lived there for 5 years. By the time he moved back home to the Midwest, I could barely understand his NC southern drawl!! It's not difficult to pick up a local dialect in a few years. I hope Mary has now found peace❤️

[@Guiseppe47]

I believe the same thing because the pictures don't lie. And trauma is different for each person.

[@danawelch3985]

Just disturbing to see her suffering and no funeral as if she never mattered. Should of used her last days of testimony for jailing the stepfather. What a huge tragedy.

[@paolavega2400]

I think so too. Besides, there is DNA isnt there?

[@morganablackwater2017]

Strangers may be similar... I belive the real Mary Day is dead

[@ryninabin3518]

@@morganablackwater2017 But DNA doesn't lie. She was Mary Day. People need to quit doubting. This poor woman spent the remainder of her life being doubted by the only family that cared enough to find her, only to not believe the truth when she was found. So sad.

[@shaz2806]

She looks exactly like she did many many years ago. How can you not see that?!

[@debbiemurphy2512]

What horrible parents!

[@samscarletta7433]

Sadly, the world is full of them.

[@citygirlingraham]

These two weren’t parents. They were donors and a uterus.

[@ebe5179]

I hope now Mary has the peace that she didn’t have in life!!! My heart broke for her , she had a miserably life and died alone. Now you’re free Mary!!!!!

[@belladonna5904]

That's not Mary girl...

[@_nnyF]

@@belladonna5904 what is wrong with you

[@MontanaDior]

Even if she isn't Mary, she's still their sister, and they treated her disgustingly, smh. There is a good chance that the family has one of their kids buried 😢

[@laurenmay2098]

How she can’t be Mary? The DNA matches her. So I don’t understand the doubt, even her own sister, my gosh, how painful it must have been for her.

[@RR-hb7nj]

I'm thinking it could be the remains of a miscarriage. Some people bury those if they miscarried at home. It would be normal to tell children not to play in that area of the yard if it's a solemn space like this. It might also explain why there are no fragments that could be found by detectives but still a scent a dog could pick up on.

[@SofiUk0319]

I strongly believe Mary is indeed herself, even the made up name she was going by were the same initials as her own, MD... I don't believe that is a coincidence. This woman basically had to survive on her own from a very young age. She had no savior or therapy to deal with her extensive and ongoing trauma. Her mom let her down ❤ God bless you Mary

[@erikaelyse8192]

​@laurenmay2098 the DNA matched the parents....doesn't mean her.

[@laurenmay2098]

@@erikaelyse8192 oh, it could be another daughter? Wow, didn't think about that.

[@MissysAngels]

Per an article I found: No funeral was held after Mary’s death. The people who were her neighbors never bothered to inform Mary’s family of her death and also refused to let Sherrie speak with Mary on the phone again after she had visited. Sherrie began to have doubts about the woman’s identity again after a 48 Hours episode about Mary aired and she learned more details of the case.

[@RAWSTYLUS808]

In 6th grade, a classmate of mine moved to Tallahassee. She visited us less than two years later and had a very thick southern drawl that we felt was bizarre yet it was genuine. Surprised linguists weren’t consulted to prove how people adapt to their local dialect.

[@iamfree-ce7xd]

Cali and AZ is NOT THE SOUTH!!!

[@suzey41180]

@@iamfree-ce7xd ummm..... arizona is Southwest..

[@purpledragonfly313]

Yes, people do that all the time.

[@debh3404]

Did not one person think that the reason she didn't remember things was because of physical abuse? Don't they think that maybe she had suffered a head injury or 10? Not to mention what the emotional trauma did to her.

[@MariaFernandez-yx7eg]

That lady detective at the end had more sense than all those old guys put together. It's amazing how the one dude was trying to fit a fantastic story to his theory, just so he wouldn't have to admit that he was wrong. No wonder so many cold cases never get solved.

[@frankG335]

In 20 years you can develop a dialect. I have picked up an accent from my relatives in Tennessee, just from spending the summer with them. Mary might have a dissociative disorder. DNA does NOT LIE. God knows what trauma this poor woman has been through. Maybe this family had 2 daughters who disappeared. Maybe Hoolenwas a serial killer of girls. Maybe Mary was so badly abused that she ran and chose to never come back, because she knew he had killed another little girl? DNA from the shoe will show that it's a different girl who was killed. Hoole is a serial killer.

[@Kt-cn2rq]

Poor Mary. Even though she is their blood they didn't even give her a funeral proves they didn't really care about Mary at all.

[@TentinQuarantino_]

Some people are natural mimics. Especially if they are on their own at a young age and they want to blend in or avoid attention. It’s in their best interest to talk like those they live among.

[@susan-1love]

So true the word detective doesn’t fit these old guys, detect to the story not story the detect!

[@CATNAPREAL1188]

True short story. Went from Kindergarten All the way through High school with the same 30 or 40 kid's. Graduated. Everybody went their own way. Twenty years later at our High School Reunion dude comes back to po dunk no where ( home ) and Nobody believed it was really Him ! Face was the same, a little older BUT man when he left he went to Texas and twenty years later he had such a Twang of an accent when he came back, Everybody laughed !!! So poop to the accent being developed in Youth theory, I Know better from First hand experience ! DUH !

[@magalylamadrid1573]

If DNA proved she was, how are they doubting it’s her? The women looks like the girl in the picture too. Do they not understand how trauma works??? If the girl disappeared for that many years, lived on streets, experienced trauma after trauma, why would she show up normal or even remembering what she went through?!?! Such a sad and disappointing story,

[@boughtbythecross]

I grew up in an abusive home. The youngest child, one night my mom, dad and I were home alone. My dad got mad at me and grabbed me around the throat, threw me on the floor and proceeded to choke me until my mom stepped in. I've wondered what would have happened if she hadn't or if he wouldn't have stopped. I believe they would have done this very same thing.

[@mykianatreasures5320]

I too grew up abusive by my own father. Beer bottle, degrading insults, beating my mother ,my step mom, making us put our hands our to chop off our hands, making me crawl naked age 6 in 100 degree sand...beat with a 4x4...Never told anyone because he was our sole provider. Police came, I hide the 10 knives..because who would feed us if he was locked up. Me and my 3 siblings would be separated. Yep .now 52..I have my own 4 kids and cherished them.. tell them I love them, every day. Teach them to work when they all turned 14 and to always give back. I haven't talk to my father in 30 yrs. I told him I forgave him. Because of him, brother committed suicide at 19. Never once he apologize. He doesnt deserve my children Now I have a be..MBA, 2 careers, retired. In America, you can over come such abuse and be better only if you want to. But yes, it takes strong will. My brother didnt.

[@melb.1906]

💔🫶🏻

[@melb.1906]

@@mykianatreasures5320 💔🫶🏻

[@tracywillis3431]

@@mykianatreasures5320 sad

[@handichick]

One thing that’s interesting about this case is when the detective doesn’t seem to understand why the parents never reported her missing. My take on this comes from my teen years I took off to live with this older guy when I was a sophomore in high school. I had never ran away before, I never had a curfew, I was very much a loner, but I lived with abuse my entire life to that point and I had just had enough. My first chance to get away I took it. I didn’t leave a note or any indication of wanting to run away at all. I just decided one day after school I wasn’t going back home. My birth father refers to me as a “mistake” and my mom (which my mom agreed I had ruined her young life; having me at 19). She had a lot of boyfriends whom either abused drugs or alcohol and I was often left in the care of people who ended up abusing me one way or another. My mom was very physically abusive and her last angry, I’ll say attack because that’s what it felt like, I was done. I was gone for two years until the guy I moved i with died of cancer and his family threw me in the streets literally with just a backpack of what I could grab of my clothes (taking everything else I had by that point). After a few weeks on the streets I had to call my mom because I had no other family in the state we lived in at the time. I asked her if she reported me. She never did nor did she worry. She assumed I was ok and I could take care of myself. I know that isn’t normal. I don’t have any kids and I would FLIP MY 💩 if my kid was missing. Some people just aren’t meant to be parents. That’s very sad to those who want or would make excellent parents, but it just wasn’t meant to be for them naturally. They really should have a way to really prepare people for parenthood. There’s so many kids out there with issues and/or have psychological issues that if found early or treated could have been prevented. They can stop issues from the root rather than wait until it’s too late. No kid deserves to be treated badly by anyone, especially those who created them and are expected to love and care for them more than themselves.

[@lamh5265]

Touching history. There was a way to teach offspring how to have a "good" family. Some, very few still follow it. It is called, having a family with the rules of an extended family. Good families generally are made up of more than just a mom and dad who pass on values. Not perfect families, but good. (Grandmother, grandfather with good character, mother and father, aunts, uncles and cousins who know each other and look out for each other in a unit and usually the neighborhood. The very old people used to pass on knowledge to the young. The same young families shared a culture and community which they learned via their grandparents. They knew each other in school, or church, the bank, supermarket etc. In that world, parents and grandparents and cousins lived in close proximity, or next door or the same home, and down the street. The key is that the entire neighborhoods used to be made up of extended families, all with similar values. They learn from each other and supported one another. For example, if a man beat his wife or children, he got a taste of cancel culture from the rest of the family. If he didn't change then he was kicked out of the community, but there were extended family members to pick up where he dropped out. It is a culture where wives like and accept a caregiver role and husbands like sharing life, not controling. Uncles, fathers and grandparents teach each other how to live better, women too. The culture also has religion or a "philosohy" that is practiced by the entire community with enjoyment and not out of obligation, it's a part of the big package. The other extension is corporate business people supporting healthy families by making sure a father and mother make a good wage to raise a family, or schools supporting education at home, not replacing it. Parents who teach good practices at home, bravery, reading, speaking talent, adds to good families thriving instead of neglect. It's all an order with rules. Most people don't want the old structured order of rules which work. Society has been slowly leaving behind a healthy extended culture and because of that children are left behind to guess what it means to have a healthy family. Just my opinion.

[@Banaly]

I am really sorry for all the things you have been through.. yet your heart is pure. I wish you the best in life, you are already above all those who have hurt you and in time they l will receive what they deserve so continue to be brave. You are a survivor make the best of the life you have. My heart breaks for those who lost their lives by their own parents and didn’t get a chance to live and know what love is.

[@handichick]

@@Banaly if it weren't for my grandparents who took me in when my mom wasn't able to care for me who knows what would have happened. They were very caring and nurturing people. My grandmother is still alive at age 97, but my grandfather sadly is not. I never want anyone to feel how I felt growing up so I try and not show the pain I feel everyday. So no one knows what struggles I endured.

[@gabrieleweaver1272]

@handychick - I am so sorry you went through so much hurt and pain. It appears you have a good head on your shoulders and took what happened to you as a lesson in what you would not do to another human being. Having a fair sense of right & wrong. I’m sending you a big hug across the miles and I wish you all the very best, but most importantly love and kindness 💐

[@daren5666]

With the overturn of Roe v Wade, I would imagine that many , many more cases like this will escalate! So very sad that women endure so much horror at the hands of abusive men & women who live with them!

[@KenyanBunnie]

The DNA doesn't lie. RIP Mary Day. What a sad story.

[@ExiledStardust]

A full sibling would have the same DNA, so no, it isn't definitive proof.

[@annetteb2432]

@@ExiledStardust they don’t have the same DNA, they may have have, but they don’t have the same DNA. Identical twins that’s the same sex has the same DNA.

[@annetteb2432]

Exactly, R.I.P. Mary. 🙏🏽💋

[@mysterymissingmurder3609]

@@ExiledStardust Siblings will share some dna but the dna won't be identical. the only way to get that is if you find a twin

[@RG-hf4et]

DNA doesn't lie but neither do cadaver dogs.......Something is very shady about the parents. At a minimum, charges should be brought against them for failure to report a missing child.

[@AccidentallyOnPurpose]

I wholeheartedly believe that the woman was mary. But I also wholeheartedly believe that there was a body buried at the house and moved to the other, especially with the child's shoe. It really needs to be looked into more. I'm wondering if there is something more the children had seen but were brainwashed to forget, like another younger child in the home.

[@cantocant2346]

I agree.

[@johnlewis3891]

The lady detective is proof positive of the contribution that women make to law enforcement and against people who say that women shouldn't be police officers. She was smarter than all the males working on this case.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

And she solved the case by listening and empathizing with another woman’s struggles instead of steamrolling her.

[@laurab9518]

Women are intuitive. As a woman felt a flash that told me she is Mary Louise Day. She’s not another daughter from another marriage. I asked tarot if it was her and temperance card came up. I feel that is a yes. Temperance card often represents alcohol and as an adult they said she had that problem. Still does not answer: what body was it that they found at the army base? If it’s not a switch who?

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

@@laurab9518 The lady detective said that the shoe they found was too small to fit a 12 year old. Maybe the child buried outback could have been a stillborn sibling or one who died as a toddler?

[@lawiwis882]

I’m glad for the last detective who actually did her job. The first detectives were trying so hard to fit their narrative they ignored poor Mary literally screaming, it’s me! RIP Mary, may you no longer suffer❤️

[@myopinion4108]

It makes me wonder about all the facts… Like cadaver dogs? Could they be smelling the family’s dead dog? And the dude that said he could have killed her is exactly that. He was in a drunken rage and can’t remember but sure “could have” and we know that in these interviews cops kind of lead you to what to say, give you words to say, especially 20 years ago. By all that I’ve watched.

[@pamelafrye4667]

AMEN 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

[@danni1993]

@@pamelafrye4667 🙄

[@jettanyx1]

Yea that first detective seems like he watches too many movies, secret extra daughter pretending like I be the missing one? What? That’s so absurd! Next he’ll be blaming a clone and really pin that demon possession idea

[@selfesteem3447]

@@myopinion4108 exactly.

[@maredithevans2595]

It’s so crazy that she reappeared when she did. I can see that it would be suspicious, but it was certainly her and it’s so sad that she had to run away and live the life she did because of abuse. Poor Mary.

[@riceball3497]

I could see her reappearing to show that she was alive and seeing that chance to come out and say I’m here

[@belladonna5904]

No way that was her.

[@Loudes012]

​@@belladonna5904 That's what that experienced cop was saying. Due to the step fathers admission.

[@matthewzaffran]

@@Loudes012 he didn’t admit anything!! He said maybe it was that demonic other person

[@indasandalscat]

That's was the weirdest coincidence. Especially, that she apparently claimed her inheritance after claiming her identity. Why didn't she do it before? This is what I don't understand. But I actually believe it was her. such a sad story.

[@SouthernSassyMama]

Wow, what a crazy case!

[@jramirez2068]

You know what’s messed up is that her sisters didn’t believe it was her and that she was lying about her identity when you can clearly tell it’s Mary and I’ve only know her for like 30 minutes.

[@sirib9609]

The sisters want 13 years Mary They don't think for a minute that shocks, age and distance change a person.