A 42-year-old missing person case has finally been solved, though many questions remain unanswered. When someone disappears, families and police typically search for years before cases grow cold. But this time, investigators discovered the missing woman was alive all along, living quietly in plain sight.

The mystery began in the 1970s when Flora Stevens worked at The Concord resort with Robert Stevens, who appeared to be her husband as they shared the same last name. Robert reported Flora missing after driving her to a medical appointment in a nearby town. When he returned to pick her up, she had vanished without a trace. Robert died in 1985, never learning what happened to his wife.

Decades passed until the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an investigator seeking living relatives of Flora Stevens. He had discovered skeletal remains and wanted to attempt a DNA match. The Sheriff’s Office began searching for family members, hoping to help identify the remains.

What they found instead solved the mystery in an unexpected way. Flora was not among the dead—she was alive and residing in an assisted living facility called CareOne. She had been living there for years, her whereabouts unknown to authorities and her former life.

Due to her dementia, police cannot determine what happened during those 42 missing years. An employee named Festus Mbuva, who cared for Flora, noted she rarely discussed her past. Her favorite phrase was “none of your business,” suggesting she intentionally left her previous life behind.

Investigators believe Flora may have taken a bus from near the hospital where she had her appointment. She had recently been paid and likely carried money with her when she disappeared, possibly starting fresh somewhere new.

Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff expressed satisfaction with the outcome despite the lingering questions. “The main thing is that we know that Flora is safe,” he explained, accepting that some details will forever remain a mystery.