Bernadette Caruso was 23 years old when she vanished after finishing her shift at Shaw's Jewelers inside Eastpoint Mall on September 27, 1986, and on the 40th anniversary of her disappearance, Baltimore County investigators said they still believe someone out there knows what happened to her. She was separated from her husband and locked in a custody battle over their 3-year-old daughter at the time she disappeared, and those closest to her have long insisted she would never have willingly abandoned her child.
According to the Dundalk Eagle, Caruso drove a green-gray Chevrolet Cavalier with the license plate FYW097 at the time she went missing, and neither the car nor Caruso herself has ever been located. Her bank accounts remained untouched after she disappeared, and she has not been heard from since. The Baltimore County Police Department's Homicide Cold Case Squad believes she was the victim of foul play, and detectives have said someone knows what happened to her.
The morning after she vanished, Bernadette failed to appear for a scheduled custody exchange of her daughter with her estranged husband, according to a Baltimore County Police Department post marking the case. Bernadette reportedly told a coworker that her husband had called and she planned to meet him after her shift, according to the Bel Air Patch.
A Timeline Motive and a Troubled Marriage
A Timeline Motive and a Troubled Marriage Her estranged husband, Michael Caruso, was a Baltimore County police officer who was fired after her disappearance following a prisoner-abuse conviction, according to WBAL News.
Family members and supporters privately raised funds to bring in specialized underwater sonar equipment to search Baltimore-area waterways for Bernadette's missing Cavalier, the Bel Air Patch reported, though the vehicle has never surfaced.
Bernadette's Daughter
Bernadette's daughter was 3 years old and at the center of the custody dispute in 1986.
Caruso's Case Remains Unresolved
Caruso's case remains unresolved 40 years after her disappearance.
Anyone with information about Bernadette Caruso's disappearance or her missing vehicle is asked to contact the Baltimore County Police Department's Homicide and Missing Persons Unit at 410-887-3943, or send a text tip to 443-862-9426. Tips can also be emailed to [email protected] or submitted anonymously through Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP, which offers eligibility for a cash reward. Investigators say even seemingly insignificant information could help determine what happened to Caruso nearly four decades ago.
