Texas True Crime: The Riddler

BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) -- 40 years ago, an 11-year-old girl went missing from her Baytown apartment complex on Halloween night. When she was found murdered, it was shocking - not just because of who died, but because of who did it.

Mary Stiles went to school that day in 1985 dressed in Care Bear pajamas that served as her Halloween costume. But after she got off the school bus that afternoon, she was never seen alive again.

Nine days after Mary vanished, Baytown police received a mysterious coded letter with a map. It led them to a wooded area near her apartment complex, where Mary's body was finally found. She had been stabbed and asphyxiated.

The strange letters kept coming to police, and the killer suggested that if they didn't find him soon, he would strike again.

In our latest episode of Texas True Crime, ABC13's Tom Abrahams sits down with those who saw this case unfold, including Mary's sister, who remembers the frantic search and how it finally came to an end days after she disappeared. A retired Baytown Police detective also recalls how investigators finally tracked the killer down - and when they did, it was someone no one was expecting.

Watch Texas True Crime: The Riddler wherever you stream ABC13.

Watch Texas True Crime on your favorite streaming devices, like Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and GoogleTV. Just search "ABC13 Houston."

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