Amidst a fierce summer tempest in August 1961, eight-year-old Ann Marie Burr disappeared from her Tacoma, Washington residence. Over the ensuing decades, a chilling hypothesis emerged. Some speculate that Ann fell victim to abduction and homicide at the hands of a 14-year-old neighbor: Ted Bundy.
Bundy, undoubtedly, evolved into one of the most infamous serial killers in American history. Before his execution in 1989, he confessed to the murders of 30 women between 1974 and 1978, hinting at even more victims. However, the question lingers: Was Ann among them?
While Bundy explicitly denied involvement to the Burr family, he insinuated to investigators and scholars in interviews that he once abducted a young girl from her home, assaulted her in a nearby orchard, and disposed of her in a ditch.
This narrative delves into Ann Marie Burr's life and vanishing act, alongside the conjectures surrounding her fate in August 1961.
Who Was Ann Marie Burr?
Ann Marie Burr, born on December 14, 1952, was raised in Tacoma, Washington, alongside her parents Beverly and Don, and her three younger siblings: Julie, Greg, and Marie. Growing up, Ann and her siblings enjoyed friendships within the neighborhood, guided by Beverly's belief in the inherent goodness and safety of the world.
Unraveling Ann Marie Burr's Disappearance: Ted Bundy's Alleged First Victim"Ann was so trusting," Beverly later told the Seattle Times, noting she regretted not warning Ann about the world's evils. "It was a big mistake. We taught her everyone was good. We didn't teach them that people could be bad. I still think [her abductor] was probably someone she knew."
As the summer of 1961 drew to a close, Beverly began readying her four children for the upcoming school year. Ann, set to enter third grade at Grant Elementary School, requested permission to spend the night of August 30th at a friend's house. Beverly declined, aiming to instill a routine in preparation for the return to school, as reported by History Link.
That evening, around 11 p.m., Beverly and Don secured their residence on the 3000 block of North 14th Street. Don placed their cocker spaniel, Barney, outside on the kitchen landing, while Beverly ensured the front door was firmly locked.
As a summer storm raged outside, Don and Beverly retired to bed, oblivious to the fact that it marked the final night they would ever see their eldest daughter.
Inside Tacoma's Most Enduring Mystery
Just once more before Ann Marie Burr vanished, Beverly laid eyes on her daughter. In the middle of the night, Ann escorted her younger sister, Mary, to their parents' room, seeking relief for Mary's bothersome cast. After a brief exchange, Beverly bid them both goodnight and sent them off to bed.
At approximately 5 a.m., Beverly stirred from sleep with a sense of unease. Upon checking on the children, she noticed Ann was missing from her bed. While the household slumbered, Beverly made a troubling discovery: a window in the living room, typically left slightly ajar for a TV antenna wire, stood wide open.
To her heightened concern, Beverly found a garden bench positioned beneath the window. Adding to the distress, the front door, securely locked before bedtime, now hung partially open.
With urgency mounting, Beverly awakened her husband, initiating the search for Ann Marie Burr.
Unraveling Ann Marie Burr's Disappearance: Ted Bundy's Alleged First VictimNumerous tips flooded in swiftly. According to History Link, three neighbors asserted they had witnessed someone peering into the Burrs' windows. Additionally, Don and Beverly recalled hearing peculiar sounds in their yard on that summer night.
Moreover, law enforcement officers examining the premises recorded a relatively small footprint, akin to that of a teenage boy, on the overturned bench discovered beneath the window outside. Additionally, they gathered red thread from the windowsill as evidence.
Despite interrogating thousands of individuals and initiating Tacoma's largest manhunt, Ann Marie Burr remained elusive.
"When I first saw that window open, I knew I would never see her again," Beverly later said, according to History Link. "I knew I would never know what happened. It came to me, just like that. It was a strong feeling."
She added: "When they were searching, I thought, 'What's the point?' I knew she was gone, and we would never see her again."
Even with Beverly's passing in 2008, five years following her husband's death, the investigation into Ann Marie Burr's disappearance stagnated. However, various theories about Ann's fate surfaced, with one of the most unsettling implicating her teenage neighbor, Ted Bundy.
Theories About Ann Marie Burr's Disapperance
As time elapsed following Ann Marie Burr's vanishing, law enforcement explored multiple suspects. The Seattle Times reported on another local teenage boy who initially failed, then passed, a polygraph test. Additionally, there was an inmate from Oklahoma who claimed to have buried Ann. Lastly, there was a 14-year-old named Ted Bundy, who later became notorious as a serial killer.
Unraveling Ann Marie Burr's Disappearance: Ted Bundy's Alleged First VictimAt the time of Ann's disappearance, Bundy resided just two miles from the Burr household. According to Q13 Fox, Ann and Bundy were acquainted, with Ann frequently tagging along as the older boy delivered newspapers.
Following his apprehension in 1978, Beverly and Don Burr discovered, as reported by History Link, that Bundy had recounted a disturbing narrative to investigators involving the murder of a young girl in an orchard. Notably, at the time of Ann's disappearance, the Burr family resided adjacent to an orchard teeming with apple trees and raspberry bushes.
Beverly took action, reaching out directly. In a 1986 letter, she penned her suspicions to Bundy, accusing him of Ann's murder. "You have nothing more to lose in this world," Beverly wrote. "[W]ill you write to me regarding Ann Marie?"
Bundy swiftly responded and outright denied killing Ann Marie Burr. "First and foremost, I do not know what happened to your daughter Ann Marie," Bundy wrote. "I had nothing to do with her disappearance."
However, as highlighted by History Link, Bundy frequently offered a conflicting narrative. Dr. Ronald Holmes from the University of Louisville's School of Justice Administration stated that Bundy had confessed to stalking, strangling, and sexually assaulting his purported first victim—an eight-year-old girl.
Bundy further claimed to have buried her in a muddy pit near the University of Puget Sound. Coincidentally, Don Burr had encountered a suspicious young man near the same area, who smirked as he searched for his missing daughter. Don implored the authorities to investigate, but the ditches were soon filled in due to university construction.
Despite the Burr family's hopes for a last-minute confession, Ted Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989, without divulging anything further regarding Ann Marie Burr.
Since then, Ann's family has grappled with the haunting question of whether she was Bundy's inaugural victim. In 2011, some of Bundy's blood was tested against trace amounts of DNA found at the Burr residence. However, the Huffington Post reports that the results yielded no conclusive evidence.
As of now, Ann Marie Burr's case remains unresolved. Did Bundy perpetrate her demise, or was another individual responsible? Regrettably, the fate of the eight-year-old girl who vanished in the darkness may forever elude discovery.
