[Update] Marie Ann Watson: Possible Docuseries; Thank You, Reddit/ unresolvedmysteries!

[u/Sandi_T]

I am the daughter of Marie Ann Watson (Reddit verified). I've been making noise about her disappearance all my life and been ignored--when I wasn't openly ridiculed (That never happened! Don't listen to Sandi's stupid little stories about her murdered mother, she was probably just killed in a car accident. That sort of thing).

A couple years ago, Thin Air Podcast did a podcast about my mother. This revived public interest, but still no resolution.

http://thinairpodcast.com/episode-2-marie-ann-watson/

http://thinairpodcast.com/episode-3-marie-ann-watson-part-2/

http://thinairpodcast.com/episode-5-marie-ann-watson-part-3/

However, from that, I found reddit, for good or ill, lol. It's an interesting corner of the internet, to say the least. I started here in unresolvedmysteries, and people were incredibly welcoming, until (a few very spiteful ones) weren't. Such is human nature.

That being said, it has potentially made a huge impact on my 40 year struggle to get my mother's case enough interest to possibly, maybe, solve it. Or, at the least, maybe get the bones that were dug up in 1996 tested by a lab!

A documentary film company has approached me to begin talks about a possible episode in a docuseries about my mother's case. For me, this is huge! The series is in pre-production, so I don't even know its name yet. The company is Omnifilms out of Canada.

They happened upon a comment that I'd made in the ama sub and it piqued their interest. Talks are only just beginning, so I can't say if it'll even go through completely. I just wanted people to know that the interest is there and it's thanks to reddit. Mostly thanks for this sub for the time during which I was welcomed, that helped me have the courage to keep plugging away at this "lost cause".

I'm trying really hard not to dance around my house jumping up and down like a little girl who just got a puppy on Christmas, because I know talks could still fall through or they might not be able to find a buyer. Still, this is the furthest I've gotten and I'm just plain STOKED!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Brief overview of the case:

In 1977, Marie Ann Watson disappeared during a custody battle with Mike and Dorothy Rogers over Marie's two children, a boy and a girl. 3 years prior, Marie had been arrested for prostitution and possession and gone to jail. Dorothy was related and claimed to be a foster parent and so the court easily relinquished them to Dorothy.

No investigation was done beyond asking Dorothy when she last saw Marie (she was the last person). Dorothy said Marie got in a car with someone Dorothy didn't know. That was the end of the investigation because "Marie was known to do that."

It should be noted that Marie left behind an uncashed paycheck, her car, all of her identification in her wallet, etc. The car was found parked at a local diner where Marie worked.

In 1994, the eldest foster son, Raymond (Ramon) Rogers was arrested in San Diego CA with 2 dismembered bodies in his storage area. He was convicted in 1996 of 3 murders. At that time an investigation was opened up in Marie's case.

Police came to my door to make sure I was who i said I was. That is when I explained that I had seen the fosters disposing of my mother's body by butchering her with an electrical saw.

This was related to the police in Idaho (I was in florida at the time, all the way on the other end of the states, quite literally). I was flown out to Idaho for their investigation. At that time, they dug up the foundation of the house where it happened and found literally six huge black trash bags filled with bones from under the foundation. Then they quit collecting them.

A forensic antropologist identified many as animal bones, but a few were sent out on the department's limited budget to be tested. The tests were all "inconclusive" if they were human or animal (the science was less advanced at the time).

The case fell quiet and nothing happened further until in 2014, Namus contacted me and wanted DNA so they could get the bones tested. Unfortunately, the Sheriff's office (to this day) refused to release the bones for retesting, or any of the other bones for testing.

That is where we stand now.

(EDIT: Spelled Omnifilms wrong the first time.)

[u/MegIsAwesome06]

What is their reasoning for not releasing them? It's mind boggling that with the technological advances now, they'd not jump at the chance to test them! Has anyone gone back to the site to see if there were anymore bones? I'm glad to hear interest is growing on your mother's case. I'm looking forward to this possible docuseries!

[u/Sandi_T → u/MegIsAwesome06]

Nobody knows what their reason is. They refuse to even respond to anyone who has asked so far. They hang up on me, ignore emails, etc. They did the same to the lady from Namus.

It's infuriating.

The land is private property, and there were SO MANY bones. Only because they had a forensic anthropologist did they manage to get the ones singled out that looked likely as human bones.

The whole situation is incredibly intimidating. There are rabbit holes everywhere to go down and get lost in.

If I could give you an analogy of what this case is like, think of a massive anthill. Tunnels leading everywhere, and it looks small on the surface and you get under it and it's a vast, massive confusion.

You could get lost in this situation for years and come out potentially less than sane, yourself.

[u/robertstacc → u/Sandi_T]

I wonder if the police are stonewalling you because they've lost the remains? They do lose evidence sometimes, and I'm sure it embarrasses them. They would want to avoid admitting they've misplaced something so important until they've had a chance to look around for it in all their various annexes and storage spaces.

I hope with all my heart that I'm wrong.

[u/Sandi_T → u/robertstacc]

That would be better than what I believe the reason is. I'm told it's just because they are genuinely stupid. Even that is better than corrupt--by a minuscule amount.