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Nancy Grace

Lori Boffman Vanishes, Car Still Running

Aired February 15, 2011 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Vanished into thin air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look for her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just need to find her.

GRACE: So many cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re still looking.

GRACE: So few leads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing.

GRACE: Missing person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s our duty to find her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The witness seen the suspect on the NANCY GRACE show.

GRACE: There is a God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NANCY GRACE show was out there for us.

GRACE: Found alive, 50 people, 50 days, 50 nights. Let`s don`t give up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has never happened before. It`s not in her nature to disappear. It`s not normal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missing mom Lori Boffman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lori Boffman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori Boffman left a family picnic August 5th, 2006. She went out for a drive, leaving her purse and identification behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the last time anyone saw her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no sign of Lori.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And hasn`t been seen since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lori`s car was found early the next morning in Youngstown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori`s car found abandoned and still running the next morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say Lori`s vehicle may have been in an accident, but investigators have found no clue leading to the 45-year-old woman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know what happened to her. Don`t know if she`s all right or not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody`s concerned and worried and fearing for what the problem might be because this has never happened before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the family waits for answers, the FBI and Liberty police continue to investigate Lori`s disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori`s daughter reportedly said her mother acted out of character in the days leading up to her disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The change, she says, could have been connected to new diabetes medication her mother had been taking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were afraid that she`d maybe have an interaction with the new medication mixed with her old medications, and being that she has diabetes, she has passed out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, Lori`s family is still hoping for answers as to what happened to her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Lori Boffman?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Every day, 2,300 people go missing in America, disappear, vanish, their families left waiting, wondering, hoping, but never forgetting. And neither have we -- 50 people, 50 days, 50 nights we go live, spotlighting America`s missing children, boys, girls, mothers, fathers, grandparents. They are gone. But where?

Tonight, to the heartland, Liberty, Ohio. A beloved mother of three, Lori Boffman, heads out in her car August, 2006, leaving behind her purse, her ID, and diabetes meds. She`s never seen again. The car, a `92 blue Mercury Sable, found the very next day near a library one town over, apparently part of a fender-bender. But mysteriously, the key still in the car, the ignition, the engine still running. Also adding to the mystery, family says Lori had just won the lottery the night before she goes missing. Her children still waiting for Mommy to come home. Tonight, where is Lori?

Jean, what happened?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Nancy, you`re not going to believe this, but she did win some lottery money. And she was so excited. She had so much to live for. And it was the morning of August 5th, 2006, actually, early in the morning. She went to the big supermarket because she was going to have a picnic that day with her relatives and her children. And she bought a lot of stuff because she had money. She`d won about $1,000 from the lottery.

I want to go out to Phil Trexler, joining us tonight from "The Akron Beacon Journal," reporter there joining us from Ohio. She went on and had that picnic that day with her friends and family. What happened after that?

PHIL TREXLER, "AKRON BEACON JOURNAL" (via telephone): That`s the, you know, part of the mystery here, Nancy (SIC). Good evening. She was -- left the party. Now, the people express some concern about her mood. She was adjusting to this new medication. But she was -- left the party, driving with a friend who was so concerned with her driving that he asked to get out of the car. That left her alone.

At some point after dropping off her companion, she crashes her vehicle. And again, the vehicle was found, engine still running and no sign of her. Her purse -- she left the house without her purse, without her cell phone. It`s not the type of person who would just vanish and leave, and you certainly don`t leave those valuable possessions behind. But it`s a heartbreaking mystery, and again, a family who has no closure here for nearly five years.

CASAREZ: One of the things that absolutely separates this case out from every other missing persons case that we`ve had thus far is that her car was found less than 12 hours later, running, with the keys in it and the door was open. It was still on. What does that mean?

I want to go to Natisha Lance, "NANCY GRACE" producer. Let`s look at the timeline here because on August 5th, 2006, there was this big barbecue and party at the park. How long did that take? And really go through with us what police believe happened after that.

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: After that, police believe that Lori, according to her family at least -- that she drove to a friend`s house to drop off the excess food that was from this barbecue. She had a friend who was with her. She dropped off the friend at that house. And she said, I`m going to go home and change clothes. I`ll be back here to get you.

Now, there`s also another theory that her family believes, and that is that she may have -- as Phil pointed out, that she may have had another friend who was with her. She was driving a little too fast. The friend asked to get out of the vehicle. And that may have been the last person who saw her.

But Jean, what you`re pointing out here is about the car. And that was the next day, on August 6th. Now, what police say is that they received a phone call at 4:18 AM in the morning. There was a disturbance with these vehicles in the neighbor`s back yard. They said that there was a big ruckus that was going on. When police arrived on the scene about 10 minutes later, they found Lori`s vehicle. A door was open on the car. There was damage to the passenger side of the car. It appeared as if the car had either hit a tree or hit a library because the car was in the lawn of a library -- keys still in the ignition and car running.

There were also glasses that were found in the car. There were nine keys that were on a key chain in the car. And also, there were some miscellaneous papers that were in the car.

Police were able to clear that scene by a little bit after 5:00 AM, and that means that at that point, when they were able to clear the scene, that the car had been towed away and impounded. Lori`s family did receive the car back back in October, and police did say that they processed the vehicle on October -- excuse me, August 8th. They were able to dust for prints, but they didn`t find anything in the car of evidentiary value.

CASAREZ: All right. Joining us tonight very specially is Chief Richard Tisone. He is of the Liberty, Ohio, Police Department, joining us from Youngstown, Ohio. Chief, thank you very much for joining us. I want to ask you, when you found the car, it was literally in the front lawn of the library?

CHIEF RICH TISONE, LIBERTY POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Yes. Actually, thank you for having me. The vehicle was found in a neighboring jurisdiction of ours, in Youngstown, Ohio. And they did find the car at approximately 3:12 in the morning. They towed it to the local tow yard, and the next day is when her niece came to our station in Liberty and reported her missing.

CASAREZ: So you say it appeared as though the car had been in an accident. And where was the damage on the vehicle?

TISONE: Well, the vehicle -- actually, the damage -- it went through some yards. It damaged a swing set. It did some yard damage. And it hit the side of the library.

CASAREZ: So do you think it was a one-car accident, the person driving the car was hitting...

TISONE: Well, there again, there were some witness that also heard some commotion, as well, just prior to the accident. We do believe it was a one-car accident in Youngstown.

CASAREZ: OK. And it`s those residents that actually called you, then, to go to the scene.

TISONE: Well, actually, they called the Youngstown Police Department, who responded and did, in fact, tow the car at that point.

CASAREZ: It`s been four years now, going on five years. She had a history. She had gone away before, right? But this is much, much different.

TISONE: That`s correct. There were a couple of instances, where we talked to family members, where she had disappeared for short periods of time, but never, never like this, obviously.

CASAREZ: What did you find -- where was her purse? And did she have a cell phone?

TISONE: Actually, her purse was left back in her apartment located here in Liberty, which our investigators did go to the residence right after the report was made on August the 7th. We checked the residence. There didn`t appear to be any signs of foul play there. But the purse and her belongings were still in her apartment.

CASAREZ: Had she just gone on that new medication for her diabetes? And wasn`t she just diagnosed with diabetes a little bit before that?

TISONE: According to her family members, that`s correct. She was under some different medication. And quite possibly -- they were concerned, you know, for her medical wellbeing.

CASAREZ: Talk to me about the grocery store that she went in that morning. She wasn`t alone, right? She was with someone else?

TISONE: That`s correct. She was with a gentleman -- we got a -- somewhat of a partial description. It was 4:00 o`clock in the morning. She had gone in there and ordered several hundred dollars worth of food because her daughter was in town from being away at college.

CASAREZ: Right. Right. But she actually didn`t go back to pick up all that food? Is that correct?

TISONE: That`s correct. She had ordered it. The bill came to about $500, and she never returned to pay it.

CASAREZ: All right. We are taking your calls live tonight. Barbara in North Carolina. Hi, Barbara.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. My question is, was there any insurance money left for her children?

CASAREZ: Insurance...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the policy?

CASAREZ: Insurance money for the children. Or how are the children doing? To Chief Richard Tisone joining us tonight. How are the children? Now, the children are older, so they`re really on their own, right?

TISONE: That`s correct. At the time -- she has two daughters and a son. And basically, the one daughter was in college. Actually, two were in college at the time. So they are older now, and they`re basically on their own at this point.

CASAREZ: All right. To Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. What I just can`t stop thinking about, Marc Klaas, is a car that is running with a door open and the key`s in the ignition and body damage to the car. Somebody was acting fast for some reason.

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: And she was having a bad day. She was moody. She was driving erratically later that evening, despite the fact that somebody had just come home, despite the fact that it should have been a good time for her. She was on new medications.

I think that a possibility exists that this lady may have just had an episode that sent her off. She may have, for whatever reason, decided that she didn`t want to interact anymore. I know that`s hard to fathom, but it certainly does happen. There are hundreds of thousands of homeless people all over the United States who, for whatever reason, have decided to simply drop out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it`s just really stressful not to know where your loved one is and not to know what`s going on or when it`s going to come to an end and when we can tell the kids something that`s going to give them some peace of mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mother of three vanished without a trace. It`s left her family worried and scared. Her son just returned from his vacation. Family members say something is not right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scared because I don`t know what happened to her, or whatever. Don`t know if she`s all right or not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody`s concerned and worried and fearing for what the problem might be because this has never happened before. It`s not in her nature to disappear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lori`s car was near this library on Shehite (ph) Street on Youngstown`s east side, the key still in the ignition. It was the last time she was seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Family members have posted these signs all over the city, hoping someone knows something about Lori`s whereabouts. And they say her situation is very serious. She`s diabetic and needs her medication.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re afraid that she may be having an interaction to the new medication mixed with her old medications. And being that she has diabetes, she has passed out. And our main concern is that she may be passed out somewhere and can`t get help for herself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez. Lori Boffman was really at a good point in her life because he children were back in town. Her daughter had been in college and she was back visiting. Her son that was staying with relatives in Cincinnati was back in town. And there was a big party, a celebration. It was a happy day for Lori Boffman.

I want to go back out to Chief Richard Tisone, joining us tonight from the Liberty Police Department in Youngstown, Ohio. I know you`ve interviewed over 20 people. Did she have any enemies? Were there any issues that she was having at that point with others?

TISONE: Nothing that we could determine from any of the interviews. You know, obviously, we contacted all the health care facilities immediately, and we did interview, like I said, several dozen people. But we were unable to pinpoint anyone in particular and we did not hear anything negative about her at that time.

CASAREZ: Well, talking about what Marc Klaas just said, do you feel that this was foul play, or do you feel that she`s alive somewhere, part of the homeless population or someone that just had to get away?

TISONE: Well, you know, based on the fact she did not take advantage of any of her finances over the past five years, we`re basically thinking there was some foul play involved. However, that -- the other scenario is obviously a consideration.

CASAREZ: How much money had she just won from the lottery?

TISONE: It`s my understanding $1,000, just prior to this event.

CASAREZ: That`s a lot of money. Taking your calls. Chrystina in Tennessee. Hi, Chrystina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I was trying to find out if she -- well, she has no ID because she didn`t bring her purse -- if there was anyone that checked in to either the psychiatric hospital or -- because she was on different medicine, she might have acted strange and somebody picked her up because she wandered off from her car, and if someone without an ID went to a local hospital or somewhere?

CASAREZ: That`s a very good question. Chief Richard Tisone joining us from Ohio. Did you check the hospitals, mental facilities, anything like that in the surrounding areas?

TISONE: Yes. In fact, when the report was made on the 7th, that was one of the first areas that we check whenever we`re looking for a missing person. Obviously, we checked every hospital and we did not get a positive response at that point.

CASAREZ: OK. To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler," joining us from Washington, D.C. What are your thoughts on all of this? The You know, neighbor that called police originally because of the disturbance and that`s how they found her car still running -- they said vehicles in the area were causing a disturbance. So possibly more than just hers was involved in all that.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Yes. Actually thinking it`s a bit of a manic thing going on. We`re seeing that she both (ph) had some psychological issues earlier. She`d disappeared earlier. She`s on new meds and she was acting strange that day. She`s out very late in the morning, running around, buying $500 worth of groceries. I don`t think I`ve bought that much for just one person coming to town. So she may have been out with other people. Maybe her car, another car was behind her, she was running around and something did go wrong. She crashed her car and went off with the other people, or they took her off. I also think there`s some foul play involved at some point. Where, I don`t know.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the family waits for answers, the FBI and Liberty police continue to investigate Lori`s disappearance. The family is concerned that Lori may have had a bad reaction to a new medication she was taking for her diabetes. Where is Lori Boffman?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She last seen August 5th, 2006. The Ohio native went for a drive around 6:30 PM that night. She did not take her purse or any form of identification. Lori`s car was found early the next morning in Youngstown and appeared to have been in an accident. Lori`s car was still reportedly running, but there was no sign of Lori.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori`s daughter fears her mother could have suffered a negative reaction to medication she had recently started taking for diabetes. Police say Lori`s vehicle may have been in an accident, but investigators have found no clue leading to the 45-year-old woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Look at this face, Lori Boffman. Look at it. Study it. She lived in Liberty, Ohio. Her car was found with the engine running in Youngstown, Ohio. Her two pair of glasses were left in the car. She needs her glasses. She wears glasses.

We are taking your calls live. Syler in Nebraska. Hi, Syler.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?

CASAREZ: I`m fine. Thank you for calling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a question. Could it possibly be amnesia?

CASAREZ: Amnesia. Interesting. To Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. After covering so many of these cases -- she did have issues -- do you believe amnesia or another medical issue could have caused all of this?

KLAAS: Well, I believe perhaps a medical issue might have caused something. I`m not qualified to speak on amnesia one way or the other. I`m sorry, I just can`t go there.

CASAREZ: To Chief Richard Tisone. Did you look at the medical issues that she could have had? And you`re saying that she didn`t cash her checks, she didn`t renew her driver`s license, and that has led you down the road of foul play, rather than voluntarily leaving her home.

TISONE: That`s correct. You know, we -- like I said, we obviously look into the medical condition first whenever somebody goes missing. The family did inform us that she had some issues. But being that it`s been five years, I would have -- we were hopeful by now we`d have heard something, but we -- as of right now, we do not. So we do suspect foul play at this point.

CASAREZ: Ray Giudice, defense attorney joining us from Atlanta. What are your thoughts on voluntarily leaving or foul play? Because look, if she hasn`t cashed her Social Security checks, I understand that, but she didn`t take any ID. She left her purse and everything in her apartment, so how could you cash a check if you don`t have ID on you?

RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Jean, I`m old-fashioned and believe that middle-aged women -- this woman was almost 50 at the time -- don`t just disappear and leave their life and family. I agree with the chief. Being a diabetic, she could have gone into a diabetic shock, which might have made her a victim of a crime where she was unable to protect herself, disoriented, and became a victim of harm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Vanished into thin air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look for her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just need to find her.

GRACE: So many cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re still looking.

GRACE: So few leads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing.

GRACE: Missing person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s our duty to find her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The witness seen the suspect on Nancy Grace.

GRACE: There is a God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nancy Grace show was out there for us.

GRACE: Found. Alive. 50 people, 50 days, 50 nights. Let`s don`t give up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has never happened before. It`s not in her nature to disappear. It`s not normal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing mom, Lori Boffman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lori Boffman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori Boffman left a family picnic August 5th, 2006. She went out for a drive leaving her purse and identification behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was the last time anyone saw her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no sign of Lori.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And hasn`t been seen since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori`s car was found early the next morning in Youngstown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori`s car found abandoned and still running the next morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say Lori`s vehicle may have been in an accident, but investigators have found no clue leading to the 45-year-old woman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know what happened to her or whatever. Don`t know if she`s all right or not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody`s concerned and worried and fearing for what the problem might be because this has never happened before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the family waits for answers, the FBI and liberty police continue to investigate Lori`s disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lori`s daughter reportedly said her mother acted out of character in the days leading up to her disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The change, she says, could have been connected to new diabetes medication her mother had been taking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were afraid that she maybe had an interaction to the new medication mixed with her old medications, and being that she has diabetes, she has passed out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, Lori`s family is still hoping for answers as to what happened to her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Lori Boffman?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Every day, 2,300 people go missing in America, disappear, vanish. Their families left waiting, wondering, hoping, but never forgetting, and neither have we. Fifty people, 50 days, 50 nights we go live, spotlighting America`s missing, boys, girls, mothers, fathers, grandparents. They are gone, but where?

Tonight, to the heartland, Liberty, Ohio, a beloved mother of three, Lori Boffman, heads out in her car, August 2006, leaving behind her purse, her I.D., and diabetes meds. She`s never seen again. The car, a 1992 blue Mercury Sable, found the very next day near a library one town over, apparently, part of a fender better, but mysteriously, the key still in the car.

The ignition, the engine, still running. Also, adding to the mystery, family says Lori had just won the lottery the night before she goes missing. Her children still waiting for mommy to come home. Tonight, where is Lori? Jean, what happened.

JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": You know, Nancy, it was a good day. It was February 5th, August 5th, 2006, and it was a day of a picnic, and she just won over $1,000 in the lottery. Her daughter was home from college. She was getting groceries to take to the picnic. She had the picnic with her family and her friends. I want to go to Phil Trexler, reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal joining us tonight from Ohio. Phil, who was the last person that we know saw her alive?

VOICE OF PHIL TREXLER, REPORTER, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL: Well, you know, the details were kind of sketchy there. Obviously, she was with her family there at the picnic. There was this companion that they spoke of who drove with her to take the food back to her home. That appears to be the last person. Now, there were some sightings in the days after she was reported missing. None of those have been confirmed.

That`s a common problem or phenomenon, so to speak, with missing person cases. That there are a lot of sightings, but very few of them prove to be founded. So, it`s a little sketchy as to who was the last person with her. Obviously, her family, when she left the barbecue, the picnic, and then, the man who was supposedly with her that night, but again, it`s a mystery.

CASAREZ: All right. To Natisha Lance, NANCY GRACE producer, first of all, do we know who that man is that was last seen with her?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: We don`t. We don`t know who that man is, and we also don`t know who the man is who was with her at the grocery store. Police have yet to identify that man as well, too.

CASAREZ: All right. Natisha, she was last seen August 5th, 2006. When was she reported missing?

LANCE: She was reported missing on August 7th. Now, what her family says is that her children went on August 6th to Youngstown Police Department to try to report her missing there. They were told, according to the family, that they should wait a little bit longer, and also, that they would have to report her missing in the town that she lived in, which is Liberty. Then, on August 7th is when her niece went to Liberty Police Department and made the report to file her missing at that point.

CASAREZ: And with us tonight is Chief Richard Tisone, who is joining us from the Liberty Police Department. Chief, thank you, once again, for joining us. She had won, you said, about $1,000 in the lottery. What I want to know, when her apartment was searched and her purse was found in the apartment, was that $1,000 there?

VOICE OF CHIEF RICH TISONE, LIBERTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: No. We did not find any substantial amount of money. There were no signs of any foul play in the apartment. There was no forced entry, and basically, the one daughter had been living there. So, there was nothing of any evidentiary value that we found there.

CASAREZ: Did you find through any bank accounts at all that that money had been deposited?

TISONE: No, we did not.

CASAREZ: You did not. So, that`s a missing element right there, the money she`d won from the lottery.

TISONE: Quite possibly, yes.

CASAREZ: All right. To Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, joining us from New York. Dr. Saunders, the thing that just -- I can`t get out of my mind is this car with the engine running and the car door open and her glasses are still in there. Two pairs of glasses are still in there. I mean, that tells me that somebody had to get out fast.

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Very fast. I think this might be a mixture of medical psychiatric vulnerability and that someone took advantage of her, some predatory person. It was said that she had a chemical imbalance and diabetes. Sometimes, chemical imbalance is a euphemism for bipolar disorder, Jean, or what used to be called manic- depressive illness, spending $500 for food and crying to her kids that she had no one to take care of anymore at the picnic suggest that she might have had truly unstable moods.

Whether that was secondary to the diabetes, which is possible, or the diabetes was secondary to psychiatric medications, I don`t know, but this was someone who I think made a profound decision based on her instability to leave her life, and somebody may have helped her leave her life and exploited her.

CASAREZ: And the question is, could she still be alive if she decided to leave her life there in Youngstown, Ohio? Or is she the victim of foul play? Everybody, Lori Ann Boffman, 45 years old when she went missing in 2006, 5 feet 9, 180 pounds, black hair and brown eyes, and she wears glasses, and she had a scar on her abdomen. May go by the name of Lori Ann Stubs. To Zana in Ohio. Hi, Zana.

ZANA, OHIO: Hi, how are you tonight?

CASAREZ: I`m fine. Thank you for calling.

ZANA: I had a question about the male companion. Did her family members know the male companion? And also, I had another question about the money. I just heard the officer say that he didn`t find the money in the house from her winning the lottery. Is it possible that they could have been linked to the male companion with her not coming back, the purchase, the food and it being so expensive, could it have a possible link to him, with him, taking the money, and perhaps, doing something?

CASAREZ: A lot of good questions there. To Chief Richard Tisone joining us from Ohio. First of all, the last few people that she was with, were they part of the group that you interviewed?

TISONE: Well, we did that interview, like, I said, several dozen persons. We also interviewed her last known boyfriend, and there, again, we didn`t have any reason to suspect any of the people that we talked to. Actually, nobody could offer us any really solid, concrete information on her whereabouts.

CASAREZ: Did you do any polygraphing at all?

TISONE: No, we did not.

CASAREZ: What did the people -- who was at that picnic? Was it just family? Or friends also?

TISONE: Well, it`s my understanding that there were friends and family members there, and, there again, the last time that she was seen on August the 5th was at 6:30 p.m.

CASAREZ: 6:30 p.m. Wow.

Tonight, please help us find Andrea Parsons, 10 years old. She vanishes on July 11th, 1993. Port Salerno, Florida. White female, 4 feet 10 inches tall, 80 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes. If you have any information, call 772-220-7170.

If your loved one is missing and you need help, go to CNN.com/nancygrace. Send us your story. We want to help you find your loved ones.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Tonight, to the heartland, Liberty, Ohio, a beloved mother of three, Lori Boffman, heads out in her car, August 2006, leaving behind her purse, her I.D., and diabetes meds. She`s never seen again. The car, a 1992 blue Mercury Sable found the very next day near a library, one town over, apparently, part of a fender bender. But mysteriously, the key still in the car, the ignition, the engine, still running.

Also, adding to the mystery, family says Lori had just won the lottery the night before she goes missing. Her children still waiting for mommy to come home. Tonight, where is Lori?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know what happened to her or whatever. Don`t know if she`s all right or not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 6:30 p.m., mother of three, Lori Ann Boffman, set out for a drive in Liberty, Ohio. That was on August 5th, 2006. She had no purse, no I.D., and no cell phone. And since then, she`s never been seen again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mother of three`s vehicle found early the next morning, abandoned in a neighboring town, the engine still running.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family says Lori was taking a new medication for diabetes, and they worry it may have had something to do with her disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being that she has diabetes, she has passed out, and our main concern is that she may be passed out somewhere and can`t get help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her family says the last time Boffman was seen, she was dropping off a friend after a party at the park. According to family, Boffman had just won a couple thousand dollars in the lottery and bought most of the food for the picnic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody`s concerned and worried and fearing for what the problem might be because this has never happened before. It`s not in her nature to disappear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez. We spoke with the family of Lori Boffman. Her children are devastated as much today as they were in August of 2006. Their father recently passed away from cancer. Lori Boffman`s daughter`s birthday is tomorrow, and it will be the first birthday without either parent. So, the devastation is intense.

Out to Ray Giudice, defense attorney, joining us from Atlanta. What we`ve learned tonight, no polygraphs at all were given to any of the people that saw her very close to her disappearance. Should they go back to these people? Re-interview them? Even give them polygraphs?

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I agree with the first part. I think as any cold case review, these people should be re-interviewed, but I am not a big proponent of polygraphs, especially, when you don`t have a suspect. I think using a polygraph to get a suspect or to create a theory is inappropriate use of it.

Someone could come up negative for some small reason, and all of a sudden, now, they`re the suspect of a disappearance or a homicide. If you got somebody you want to target, that`s different, but I do think re- interviewing after maybe with some fresh eyes, a new investigator, that`s a great way to open up a cold case.

CASAREZ: Marc Klaas, agree or disagree?

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT & FOUNDE, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, I agree to some extent. I know that if many Ray`s clients were polygraphed, he possibly would never win a case. But you know, Jean, there`s a mysterious element here, and it`s something that Natisha brought up. It`s the idea that there was this mysterious man that was driving with Lori that got out of the car because he said that she was driving too quickly and too erratically.

Did that really happen? Who was that individual? Or was this simply a convenience to separate him from himself and the woman who would soon disappear?

CASAREZ: It`s a great point. It`s an excellent point. Out to Mary in Florida. Hi, Mary.

MARY, FLORIDA: Hi. My question is, did anyone check to see if she had purchased gas? Because I don`t understand how the vehicle could be running for 12 hours if she traveled to another town. Did she need gas?

CASAREZ: That`s a great point. To Phil Trexler, reporter from the Akron Beacon Journal. How far is Liberty, Ohio from Youngstown?

TREXLER: Liberty is essentially a suburb of Youngstown, but the caller, you know, does raise an excellent point about the gas issue but also raises the point, too, about the car. Obviously, if the last place that Miss Boffman was at, and I think is incumbent upon the police to process that vehicle, and there is no indication that the vehicle was processed for any trace evidence. No evidence of any combing for hairs or luminal testing for blood, and I think that`s one element of this case that is missing.

CASAREZ: Well, Chief Richard Tisone joining us from the Liberty Police Department. You told us early in the hour that you did process the car, right?

TISONE: That`s correct. After the report was given on the 7th, we did go the next day. Two investigators went out to the tow company. They did process the car. They dusted for prints. They generally looked around the car, and there, again, that`s assuming that she was in that car during that accident, but they were unable to determine anything at that point, and there was nothing of evidentiary value that we could obtain at that point.

CASAREZ: I want to go back to where the car was found, on the grass of the library, engine on, door open and a resident in the area had called because of a disturbance that she was hearing outside. Did she say it was cars, plural, that were involved in this disturbance?

TISONE: That`s correct. She basically said that there was a disturbance. She heard several cars, and she heard basely a crash.

CASAREZ: So, Lori Ann Boffman wasn`t alone then when her car ended up on the grass of the library.

TISONE: Well, there, again, we`re assuming that she was the driver of the car. We`re not certain that that was the case.

CASAREZ: And is it true also the report was that there were some cars including hers that were driving through the backyards of some of the residences?

TISONE: Just her car, apparently, had gone off the road, did some lawn damage, actually ran over a swing set and rested next to a library on Jackson Street.

CASAREZ: Wow. To Christy in Louisiana. Hi, Christy.

CHRISTY, LOUISIANA: I have a question. Due to the fact that it`s a possible, like, medical complication or something with the diabetes and with the car being left open, car door being left open, could she have, like, possibly stumbled out, got disoriented and gotten lost in the area? Has there been any, like, ground searches and stuff like that done?

CASAREZ: Natisha Lance, when this all happened, did searchers go out and look for?

LANCE: There were no searches that went out. In fact, police actually didn`t start investigating this case until nine days later on August 14th, and I think a large part that played into that is because the family said that Lori had disappeared before in the past. So, I think police were under the impression that perhaps she would show back up again, and there was that lag time before the investigation got under way.

CASAREZ: Chief, I`ll let you respond quickly. Why nine days?

TISONE: Well, there, again, the car was found in Youngstown. She was last seen there. We got the report on the 7th. It went to our detective bureau on the 14th. We conducted a parallel investigation with Youngstown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-five-year-old mother of three, Lori Boffman, last seen at a family picnic. Lori headed out for an evening drive August 5th, 2006, and never returned. Lori`s daughter reportedly said her mother acted out of character in the days leading up to her disappearance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: These are the faces of America`s missing. Every 30 seconds, another child, a sister, a brother, a father or mother disappears. Families left behind wondering and waiting. We have not forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Constance Anderson vanished from Mansfield, Louisiana in 2006. She was last seen at her home. She reportedly called a friend and said she would visit but never arrived, but the time of her disappearance, Anderson was 2 1/2 months pregnant.

Brandon Swanson was finishing his first year of college and out celebrating with friends the night he vanished in Minnesota. Nearly three years later, his family still has hope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We later found the car that he was driving in a field approach (ph). It was located at a county line, and unfortunately, this is an area where three counties merge. Oh my goodness. The complication of having three jurisdictions involved is almost monumental. There is a chance that Brandon`s alive. Why is there a chance? Because we have absolutely nothing that tells us he isn`t alive.

He was a very outgoing young man. He had a really warm personality to him. Friend was not a loose term for Brandon. Friend meant something more than just somebody that he knew and somebody that he liked. There was more of a connection to the person than that. He insisted that we recycle everything that could be recycled. You know, that we should value the natural resources that we have like our fresh water.

We advocated to improve the laws for missing persons. They passed. In 2009, Governor Pawlenty signed into law Brandon`s law. Brandon`s law requires that they take a missing person report without delay, that they follow-up with an initial investigation to determine if the person is, indeed, missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christopher Abeyta was an infant when he was taken from his parent`s bedroom in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You`re looking at a composite image of how we would look at the age of 23. If you have any information, call 1-800-the-lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: I`m Nancy Grace. See you tomorrow night, 9 o`clock sharp eastern. And until then, we will be looking. Keep the faith, friend.

END