Susan Pearson

Susan Elizabeth Pearson (October 1, 1935 – disappeared March 13, 1966) is an American woman who went missing under mysterious circumstances in Missoula, Montana. A native of Portland, Oregon, Pearson was a graduate student and instructor at the University of Montana (UM) at the time of her disappearance. She disappeared days before she was scheduled to submit her doctoral thesis, as well as administer an exam for a business course she was teaching. Searches for Pearson proved unsuccessful, and her apartment was undisturbed. Her car was discovered abandoned in a business district of Missoula with her purse, keys, and other belongings inside. In 1970, bones were recovered in a rural area south of Missoula and initially suspected to be potentially be those of Pearson, but were subsequently determined to be animal bones. Pearson's disappearance is among the oldest cold cases in the state of Montana. Background Pearson was born October 1, 1935, in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of David and Agatha Pearson. Her father was a prominent insurance agent in Portland. She was the granddaughter of Democratic state senator Walter Pearson. She had one younger brother, David, and younger sister, Virginia. In 1966, then-30-year-old Pearson was working as a part-time instructor at the University of Montana (UM) in Missoula, Montana, and was working toward completing her doctoral thesis through the University of Oregon.