The case, which authorities and the FBI believe remains unsolved to date, turned more and more peculiar as the years went by. Shocking revelations kept emerging, suggesting that there may have been more to the case than what appeared to be plain on the surface. Allen’s case remains one of the most head-scratching mysteries, given that the search for her remains continues.
This article will further discuss a few of the significant questions and facts that surround Heidi Allen’s decades-old disappearance case ahead of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered’s upcoming episode, scheduled to air on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at 7:00 pm ET on Oxygen.
Five key facts about Heidi Allen’s decades-old case
1) Heidi Allen’s boyfriend was there with her on the morning she disappeared
Allen reportedly opened the convenience store where she worked as a part-time employee at around 5:45 in the morning. Her boyfriend was with her at the time but left as soon as others started to show up.
2) Authorities immediately knew that foul play was involved in Allen’s case
The convenience store’s cash register’s last documented activity was at 7:42 a.m. The sheriff’s police vehicle was stopped outside the store at roughly 8:15 a.m. by a bystander who claimed that the store was open but unattended. A lengthy search ensued, leading authorities to believe that Heidi Allen had mysteriously vanished from her shift.
Allen’s maroon station wagon was left untouched in the parking lot and her jacket, handbag, and car keys were left behind at the store. Furthermore, nothing was missing from the cash register or counter, indicating no attempted robbery, leading authorities to conclude that Allen was kidnapped from the establishment.
3) Richard and Gary Thibodeau were the last customers to have visited the store prior to the disappearance
Richard Thibodeau, accompanied by his brother Gary, was reportedly at the store at around 7:30 am. He claimed he bought two packets of cigarettes and left. Both men were later arrested and charged in the case. They were the only people who had seen Allen alive before her mysterious disappearance. They were also driving a van that was seen outside the store during the incident.
4) Gary Thibodeau was found guilty one year after Heidi Allen’s disappearance
Gary Thibodeau was found guilty of first-degree kidnapping in Allen’s case in June 1995 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Richard, on the other hand, was cleared of all charges in September of the same year. Gary later tried to appeal his conviction in 1999 but was turned down by the courts. He, however, maintained his innocence throughout the years. Gary eventually died in 2018.
5) Allen was working as a teen drug informant at the time of her disappearance
Heidi Allen was working as a teen drug informant with a deputy, who unintentionally dropped an identification card with Allen’s name and photo, identifying her as an informant, on the ground at her workplace, prior to her kidnapping. Authorities believe this may have played a role in her disappearance. This information was also used to file an appeal against Gary’s failed retrial.
Heidi Allen’s strange case airs on Oxygen’s Dateline: Secrets Uncovered this Wednesday at 7 pm ET.
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