Starlight
Diane Louise Augat disappeared sometime in April 1998 from Pasco County, Florida. She had a troubled past, marked by episodes in mental hospital to treat her bipolar disorder. Prior to her disappearance she struggled with addiction and, although she had medication to help treat her mental illness, she seldom took it consistently. According to her mother, Diane was very trusting of people, especially men with money.
It’s hard to say if any of that had to do with her disappearance, but what we do know is rather terrifying, to say the least. A few days after Augat disappeared she called her mother, who was away from the house at the time. Augat left a phone message for her mother, saying she needed help. The recording then sounds like the phone receiver was taken from Augat by another person, who said “Hey, gimme that,” before hanging up. The caller ID said “Starlight” and when her mother later tried to call back, no one picked up.
Then, two days after the phone call a part of Diane’s middle finger was found on the highway that five days prior she had been seen walking down. A week after that her clothes were found inside a bag at a convenience store.
The story doesn’t quite end at her 1998 disappearance, though. In 2000, the Florida newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, ran a story about her disappearance. The day after the paper was published, Augat’s brother’s girlfriend discovered a plastic bag left at a Circle K convenience store in Pasco with “Diane” written on it. The bag contained lipstick, eyeliner, toiletries and the like.
Diane has been missing without further trace since then.
For our next unsolved mystery, we cross America to the west coast…
Great read……wish it was longer. Good work