Rosemary Diaz, the 15-year-old girl who mysteriously vanished from Danevang in 1990
DANEVANG, Texas (KTRK) -- Over the last month we've brought you our Eyewitness News original series "Finding Rosemary" - the story of a 15-year-old girl who was missing for 25 years, a teen who was only found after a tip from a relative of the man authorities call a "person of interest."
Reporter Kevin Quinn explains how only now - after our series has aired - has a member of that man's family come forward to defend his name.
Rosemary Diaz could have been anyone's daughter.
On November 24, 1990, the 15-year-old was working her first job, all alone at a country store in the little Texas town of Danevang, about 90 miles southwest of Houston, when she vanished without a trace.
Townspeople said it was as if she had walked off the face of the earth. There was little evidence left at the scene. No eyewitnesses of a crime.
For decades, a whole community waited for answers while holding out hope that the studious, bright young girl would reappear.
The case eventually grew cold. Only later, many years after her disappearance would there be a break in the case. It would come in the form of a tip from a perfect stranger which would lead right to Rosemary, 25 years to the day after she went missing.
For a much more in depth look at the case that you won't see on television, immerse yourself in Finding Rosemary.
Immerse yourself in the mysterious disappearance of Rosemary Diaz.
FINDING ROSEMARY: PART 1 -- VANISHED
The town of Danevang, Texas remains haunted by the disappearance of Rosemary Diaz. To understand the case, we look into the background of the hamlet located southwest of Houston.
FINDING ROSEMARY: PART 2 -- SECRETS
They were too scared to come forward and so they kept what they knew secret. For 25 years, a family secret ensured Rosemary Diaz would stay buried in a shallow, unmarked grave until someone came forward with information about the person-of-interest in her mysterious disappearance.
FINDING ROSEMARY: PART 3 -- ANSWERS
She admits she had information which could have helped Rosemary Diaz's family avoid decades of uncertainty after Diaz vanished more than two decades earlier. Racked with guilt but fearing for her own life, she kept that information secret so she too wouldn't end up in a shallow grave.
FINDING ROSEMARY: PART 4 -- FOREVER FIFTEEN
On November 24, 1990, the 15-year-old was working her first job, all alone at a country store in the little Texas town of Danevang, about 90 miles southwest of Houston, when she vanished without a trace.
