Marie Blee

According to Missing & Murdered Indigenous Relatives Task Force of Colorado, Marie attended a Hayden High School and was a good student at the time she disappeared. She was also a former girl scout and helped manage the school wrestling team. The summer of 1979 was an exciting one for Marie Ann Blee. She was 15 years old, had her driver’s permit, and had a lot of friends. Marie was excited to get her braces off that August. In September, her family took a vacation and traveled to Europe, visiting Germany and Switzerland. In November of 1979, Marie was looking forward to a Thanksgiving break from school. The day before Thanksgiving, November 21, there was a dance at her school. Marie went with 18-year-old Monty Doolin. After the dance, there was a party at Mountain Shadow Mobile Home Park that many of her friends were going to in Craig, Colorado. Craig is a 20-minute drive from Hayden, almost 17 miles. Some of Marie's friends were there and left when they found out most of the guests were male and drugs were being taken. Marie protested so all but one of her friends left. After the party, she told her friend Monty that she had a ride with an unidentified driver back to her hometown in Hayden, Colorado between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. on November 21. Monty said this was the last time her ever saw her. Some witnesses stated they saw her in a convenience store in Craig in the early hours of the morning. Many of the witnesses statements contradict each other so it is unclear when Marie was truly last seen. Initially, police thought Marie had ran away but her parents said this was very uncharacteristic of her. Later on, police admitted they had mishandled the initial investigation and that some possible suspects were not interviewed. A week after Marie's disappearance, her friend Monty Dean Doolin, was arrested for extortion. He admitted to calling Marie's family and demanding $5,000 for her safe return. He has said he had only made to call to give her parents hope that she was alive. Later on, he was convicted of a sexual assault, unrelated to Marie's disappearance. He has maintained his innocence throughout the case. In 1999, officers from the Moffat and Routt County Sheriff Department, the Craig and Hayden Police Departments, and the FBI formed a task force with the goal of finding Marie Blee. Since then, at least two suspects connected with the case have been arrested and the task force searched three sites near Hayden for signs of Marie. Over the years, several wells, suspicious mounds or other possible hiding places have been exhumed by local law enforcement. But the case remains open. Foul play is suspected.