Update: The skeletal remains of Anneliese Heinig were discovered near I-295 just north of the Presumpscot River, found by a kayaker on September 13, 2021. I have been in contact with Anneliese’s mother, Anne, and I ask that we all hold Anneliese, her parents and sister, and Anneliese’s children close to our hearts.
A passing driver caught only a glimpse as the woman, wearing all black from her shoes to her hat, walked away from a black SUV parked on the side of 295 in Falmouth, Maine. That was the final sighting of 37-year old Anneliese Heinig. It was November 26, 2019.
Though her family is still waiting for her to return and her name is listed on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, you won’t find Anneliese’s case on a Maine Missing Persons list. Anneliese’s disappearance has fallen into a category of missing persons cases with an unofficial conclusion — that she is missing of her own accord, but that conclusion could be distracting from the truth.
A car on the side of the highway, a nearly empty gas tank, a car towed, pages from her journal, divers searching the mouth of the Presumpscot River… The investigation of the case points to anything but a concrete answer. Until she is found, no one can, or should, say for sure what happened to Anneliese.
NOTE: These photos were shared with me by Anne Heinig and are not to be used without her permission. Thank you for respecting the Heinig family.
Episode Source Material
Thank you to Anne Heinig for trusting me with Anneliese’s story
- Missing Richmond woman struggled with mental health, substance abuse by Jessica Lowell, Kennebec Journal, 9 Dec 2019
- Letter to the editor: Details of missing Richmond woman’s medical, police records didn’t belong in news story, Portland Press Herald, 28 Dec 2019
- Maine trooper failed to follow policy when he had missing Richmond mother’s car towed by Matt Byrne, Portland Press Herald, 06 Dec 2019