Overview

Full name: Wanda Lee Ann Priddy

Other names: Wanda Lee Ann Miller, Wanda Lee Ann Lundin; nickname Wendy

Age when missing: 20 years old

Date of birth: January 21, 1958

Date last seen: August 29, 1978

Last known location: Residence in the 200 block of South Nueces Street, Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas

Case classification: Endangered missing person; foul play suspected

Current status: Unsolved; remains listed as missing

Primary investigating agency: Port Lavaca Police Department

Texas DPS case number: M8604005

NamUs reference: MP8072, reported in secondary case records

Circumstances: Wanda disappeared from her residence while her husband was working overnight. Her purse, keys, and vehicle remained behind, and she has not been heard from since.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Wanda Lee Ann Priddy: The Unsolved 1978 Disappearance of a Young Woman in Port Lavaca, Texas

On August 29, 1978, 20-year-old Wanda Lee Ann Priddy disappeared from Port Lavaca, Texas, leaving behind personal belongings, unanswered questions, and a mystery that has endured for nearly five decades.

Wanda, also known by the nickname Wendy, had recently graduated from high school, married, and moved to the Texas Gulf Coast. Her disappearance was especially troubling because her purse and keys remained at home, her vehicle was still there, and only a few pieces of clothing appeared to be missing.

Investigators have suspected foul play, but no publicly confirmed evidence establishes what happened to Wanda or who, if anyone, was responsible. Her disappearance remains an unresolved missing-person case.

Case Summary

Full name: Wanda Lee Ann Priddy

Other names: Wanda Lee Ann Miller, Wanda Lee Ann Lundin; nickname Wendy

Age when missing: 20 years old

Date of birth: January 21, 1958

Date last seen: August 29, 1978

Last known location: Residence in the 200 block of South Nueces Street, Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas

Case classification: Endangered missing person; foul play suspected

Current status: Unsolved; remains listed as missing

Primary investigating agency: Port Lavaca Police Department

Texas DPS case number: M8604005

NamUs reference: MP8072, reported in secondary case records

Circumstances: Wanda disappeared from her residence while her husband was working overnight. Her purse, keys, and vehicle remained behind, and she has not been heard from since.

Sources: Texas Department of Public Safety Missing Persons Clearinghouse, The Charley Project, and Uncovered.

Wanda Priddy’s Background and Life Before Her Disappearance

Wanda Lee Ann Priddy was born on January 21, 1958. She attended Harlingen High School in Harlingen, Texas, a city in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border.

According to The Charley Project, Wanda married and moved to Port Lavaca shortly after graduating from high school. Port Lavaca, located in Calhoun County along the Texas Gulf Coast, became the setting for the last known chapter of her life.

Wanda reportedly maintained regular contact with her mother in Harlingen, calling approximately once a week after her marriage. This routine provides important context for investigators attempting to understand her disappearance: she had an established pattern of keeping in touch with her family.

At the time she vanished, Wanda was 20 years old. Her husband worked overnight, and the couple lived in an apartment on South Nueces Street.

Publicly available descriptions identify Wanda as having brown hair and brown eyes, standing approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall. Historical sources disagree about her weight, with the Texas DPS listing 110 pounds and The Charley Project listing 120 pounds.

She also had several distinctive physical characteristics, including scars on her chin, above one eye, and on the top of her head. Her upper front teeth angled inward toward one another, a feature that could be important when comparing dental records with unidentified remains.

Source: The Charley Project — Wanda Lee Ann Priddy.

The Disappearance: August 29–30, 1978

The circumstances surrounding Wanda’s disappearance began unfolding on the evening of August 29, 1978.

According to The Charley Project, one of the last people known to have seen her was a coworker of her husband who picked him up for work that evening. The coworker reportedly described Wanda as behaving normally and appearing happy.

The same case account states that Wanda reportedly spoke with two people at her apartment later that day. The public summary does not establish their identities or provide enough information to determine whether either conversation was significant.

At approximately 6:30 a.m. on August 30, Wanda’s husband returned from his overnight job and discovered that she was gone.

The door to the residence was open.

Inside, Wanda’s purse and keys remained. Her vehicle had not been taken. An examination of her belongings indicated that only a pair of jeans and two T-shirts were missing.

Those details raised questions about whether Wanda had left voluntarily, intended to return, or encountered someone who prevented her from coming home.

Although the circumstances were concerning, the available public records do not establish precisely when Wanda left the apartment or whether she left on her own.

Wanda was never heard from again.

Source: The Charley Project — Wanda Lee Ann Priddy.

Investigation History and Evidence

The initial investigation

The Port Lavaca Police Department became the primary investigating agency.

The initial investigation focused on reconstructing Wanda’s final known movements and the circumstances at her residence. Her husband’s account, the observations of his coworker, and the reported conversations at the apartment were among the details later preserved in public case summaries.

The fact that Wanda’s purse, keys, and vehicle were left behind was especially notable. However, those circumstances alone cannot establish whether a crime occurred.

Public case summaries do not document a confirmed forced entry, a recovered weapon, or a forensic finding proving that Wanda was assaulted or killed.

Clothing and personal belongings

The clothing missing from Wanda’s residence has remained an identifiable detail in the case.

The Charley Project reports that a pair of jeans and two T-shirts were missing. A historical newspaper account discussed by researchers on Websleuths describes slogans on the shirts, including “Pleasure Seeker” and “Where the Hell is Milwaukee?”

Those specific shirt descriptions are drawn from a community discussion referencing September 1978 newspaper coverage and should be treated as historically reported details rather than independently verified physical evidence.

The Charley Project separately describes Wanda’s last-known clothing as a multicolored halter top, blue jeans, and brown shoes. The available public accounts do not fully establish whether this outfit was what she wore when she disappeared.

Sources: The Charley Project and Websleuths Case Discussion.

Possible connection to Kathryn Collins

Another missing-person case in Port Lavaca eventually became part of the discussion surrounding Wanda’s disappearance.

Kathryn Collins disappeared from Port Lavaca in 1981, approximately three years after Wanda vanished.

According to The Charley Project, investigators considered whether the disappearances might be connected. Police questioned a man who knew both women, but investigators did not establish sufficient evidence to link him to either case.

The man reportedly died in 1991.

The existence of a shared acquaintance does not establish that the two disappearances were connected. No publicly verified evidence reviewed for this article confirms that they resulted from the same crime or involved the same perpetrator.

Source: The Charley Project — Wanda Lee Ann Priddy.

Forensic identification and missing-person records

Wanda’s case has appeared in missing-person records maintained or referenced by the Texas Department of Public Safety, NamUs, and independent missing-person organizations.

The Texas DPS bulletin includes her identifying characteristics and an age-progressed image, providing resources that could assist investigators or members of the public who believe they have relevant information.

Historical community records also discuss dental comparisons and DNA information, including a reported exclusion involving unidentified remains. However, the available official Texas DPS bulletin does not independently document the underlying forensic testing or its conclusions.

No publicly verified identification of Wanda’s remains has been established in the sources reviewed.

There is likewise no confirmed public announcement of a genetic-genealogy breakthrough, a newly identified suspect based on DNA, or an arrest connected to her disappearance.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Several possibilities have been discussed over the years, but none should be confused with an established explanation for Wanda’s disappearance.

Did Wanda leave voluntarily?

One possibility is that Wanda left her residence intentionally.

The missing clothing could be consistent with someone preparing to leave, but that interpretation does not explain why her purse, keys, and vehicle remained behind.

Her reported habit of contacting her mother regularly also makes the absence of subsequent communication an important consideration.

Still, neither the clothing nor her communication habits conclusively establish what happened.

Was Wanda the victim of foul play?

The Charley Project reports that foul play is suspected.

The open door, belongings left at home, and lack of subsequent contact are circumstances that warrant concern. Nevertheless, the public record does not establish a confirmed homicide.

There is no verified public finding identifying a cause of death, a homicide scene, or a person criminally responsible for Wanda’s disappearance.

Could the case be connected to another disappearance?

The possible connection to Kathryn Collins remains an investigative theory rather than a confirmed finding.

Although police reportedly questioned a man acquainted with both women, there was insufficient evidence to connect him to either disappearance.

There is no basis in the available sources to publicly identify him as Wanda’s killer or to characterize the cases as proven serial crimes.

Questions that remain unanswered

The central questions are straightforward but significant: When did Wanda actually leave her apartment? Who was the last person to see her? What happened during her reported conversations on August 29? Why were only certain items of clothing missing? And could information overlooked or unavailable in 1978 now help investigators determine what happened?

These questions remain open. Answering them requires evidence rather than speculation.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

Research reviewed through October 18, 2026

Age-progression imagery and public awareness

The Texas Department of Public Safety continues to maintain an online missing-person bulletin for Wanda.

The bulletin identifies her as endangered missing and includes an age-progressed image with a picture update dated June 15, 2017.

An age-progressed image is intended to help the public recognize how a missing person might appear years after disappearing. Its publication does not establish that investigators have found new evidence or located the person.

The Charley Project’s case profile was last substantively updated on February 9, 2019, according to its published update history.

In July 2022, Uncovered, a community-supported cold-case awareness platform, recorded an update to Wanda’s case page. This represents public case documentation, not a verified investigative breakthrough.

Sources: Texas DPS Missing Persons Bulletin, The Charley Project, and Uncovered.

No confirmed recent breakthrough

As of October 18, 2026, no publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located in the sources reviewed.

Specifically, no verified recent announcement was found documenting an arrest, criminal charges, identification of Wanda’s remains, new forensic identification, or a confirmed resolution of her disappearance.

This does not necessarily mean that investigators have stopped working on the case. Police may conduct interviews, review evidence, or pursue leads without publicly announcing those activities.

The Texas DPS continues to list Wanda as missing, and the Port Lavaca Police Department remains the agency identified in public case records.

Conclusion: Remembering Wanda Lee Ann Priddy

More than 48 years have passed since Wanda Lee Ann Priddy disappeared from her home in Port Lavaca, Texas.

She was a young woman who had recently begun married life, maintained regular contact with her mother, and had a future that remains unknown.

The circumstances surrounding her disappearance have generated decades of questions, but suspicion and speculation are not substitutes for evidence.

Wanda’s case remains important not simply because of its age, but because the passage of time has not answered what happened to her.

Anyone who remembers unusual activity in Port Lavaca around August 29–30, 1978, knew Wanda or her acquaintances, or possesses information about her whereabouts is encouraged to contact investigators.

Even information that seemed insignificant at the time could provide context when evaluated alongside existing case records.

Anyone with information about Wanda Lee Ann Priddy’s disappearance can contact the Port Lavaca Police Department at 361-552-3788 or the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3243.

The department’s official contact page also provides instructions for contacting detectives.