PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Surrounded by the mountains, desert, and their own fair share of snow, Mary Peters lives in relative anonymity. Most people here don't know her story; she prefers it that way.
“I don't want people to feel sorry for me anymore," she said.
WATCH: Deanie Peter's mother still holding onto hope for answers
She's 1,500 miles and 45 years removed from the cold, February evening in 1981 when her 14-year-old daughter Deanie disappeared.
Despite the distance, Deanie remains close to her heart. Mary has carried her daughter with her both mentally and physically for 45 years.
At 79-years-old, she still prays for her daughter every night. Even after several moves, Mary also maintains a room for Deanie. She made it clear though, it is not a tribute.
"If she comes home this is her room," Mary said. "She lives in our hearts every day, and I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it."
Unlike Mary's love for her daughter, the window to find answers is closing.
"I'm running out of time. I'm 79 years old. How many more years do I have left?" Mary questioned. "I have hopes for me, for us, for her brother, that we can just finally know what happened."
Mary and her husband John, Deanie's stepfather, welcomed us into their Arizona home in early January, to share memories of the girl who vanished from Forest Hills Central Middle School in Kent County on February 5, 1981.
Mary shared that Deanie loved animals and had a passion for laughter and life. Photo albums contain most of the pictures she keeps, as displaying them openly makes it difficult when people ask who's in the photos.
"I get to this point where I can't let it bother me every day, or else I cannot function," she said.
I asked Mary if she ever thinks about the life that Deanie would have had.
"I can only think up until she was 14," Mary said. "I don't have a life with her after 14."
And when asked to describe her daughter, Mary struggles with the emotions.
"I can't do that. I'm sorry," she said, pausing. "She was a beautiful baby. She was a beautiful child."
Mary remembers February 5, 1981, as if it was yesterday. The high temperature that day was 23 degrees, with a low of seven degrees.
"It was cold. I believe it," Mary said.
Around 4:35 p.m., Mary took Deanie, her son William, and a family friend to William's wrestling practice at the middle school. Mary stopped to watch an aerobics class with Deanie, who left there to go to the bathroom.
"Never came back," Mary said. "That's the last moment I know anybody saw her."
Previously unreported details from the Kent County Sheriff's Office however, revealed new information about that day. These include a conversation in the hallway about a nice car in the parking lot and boys outside looking for Deanie.
When we shared some of these witness accounts, Mary had never heard of them.
A detective investigating the cold case for the Kent County Sheriff's Office is now going back over that night, hoping someone remembers what might be a missing piece of the puzzle.
A witness sighting from around the time Deanie disappeared also includes details about four boys getting inside a car after closing a back hatch.
"Why was the hatch open and then somebody closes it? Did they take Deanie and put her in the back of that car? What happened?" Mary asked.
Detective Paul VanRhee didn't release the information suggesting they were answers to what happened. He hopes it can jog the memory of anyone who may have been there that night.
Now, 45 years later, she continues to hope for answers.
"I don't know, will I see her before I die? I mean, will they find her before I die? I don't know. That's the question you have to ask the police," Mary said.
Where is Deanie?
New timeline details in Deanie Peters cold case
Submit a tip
The Kent County Sheriff's Office is actively pursuing any information in the disappearance of Deanie Peters. If you have a tip, you are encouraged to contact detectives through the methods below.
- Call: (616) 632-6125
- Online form
- Silent Observer: (616) 774-2345 or online form
WATCH: FOX 17's full report on Deanie Peter's 1981 disappearance
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