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Above on the left is what Annette Sagers looked like when she went missing on October, 4, 1988. On the right is what she may have looked like in 2010 at the age of 33.
Yesterday we looked at the disappearance of Annette’s mother, Korrina Sagers. This case ties in very closely with that one.
The last time Annette Sagers was seen was around 7a.m. on the morning of October 4, 1988. She was standing with her dog at the bus stop in front of the Mount Holly Plantation and was waiting to go to school. Twenty minutes after this sighting the bus arrived and Annette was no where to be seen. Since her mother had gone missing a little less than a year earlier Annette was under her step fathers custody, Steven Malinoski. He did not realize she was missing until that afternoon when she did not come home from school.
Once Steve realized she was missing he went out to look for her. What he found at the bus stop was puzzling but instilled hope of Korrina still being alive. He found a note written by Annette that said,
Dad, momma came back. Give the boys a hug.
However, no one reported seeing Annette being picked up or Korrina picking her up. There has also been no sign of ether of them since. Police and handwriting experts have concluded that this was Annette’s handwriting but are unsure if what the note said is true. There is the possibility that Annette was forced to write this note. And that leaves us with a few different theories.
Theory 1
Korrina did come back for Annette and they are happy and healthy somewhere today. Some still try to believe in the happiest of the theories. If Korrina did in fact leave of her own free will a year earlier than it is plausible she came back to get Annette. Korrina could’ve waited until she was established in a job and life somewhere to come back and get Annette, but then why did she not take her other two children? Well, one explanation for this is that Korrina was so scared of Steve that she did not want to interact with him and that would be the only way to get the boys. Annette was on her own, waiting for the bus so she would be easy to pick up.
Theory 2
Steve killed Korrina and Annette. Some believe that in one of their arguments Steve got too violent and killed Korrina. Afterwards it is possible that Annette found the body or found out about what happened and Steve killed her to keep her quiet. There are numerous examples of people killing again to cover up what they did in the first place. This would mean that Steve forced Annette to write this note. If this is so than the bodies may never be found unless Steve himself leads detectives somewhere.
There was an article that got a quote from one of Annette’s brothers (who was put in foster care and adopted after his mother’s and sister’s disappearances.) He stated that once when family was over Annette was motioning for someone to go upstairs but no one realized it until far after. Could Annette have known evidence of her mother’s murder was up there? Did she want someone to find out and help her?
Theory 3
Annette ran away on her own. There have been some reports that physical and sexual abuse could’ve been happening in the home. One of Annette’s teacher’s stated that Annette always seemed happy but it seemed like a mask, there was something off about her right away. Many believe that this could point towards Steve sexually abusing Annette. With his record of being violent this is not a far stretch. Annette may have had enough of it and wanted to get away. If so, she was smart enough to leave a note to throw people off her track. However, it is probable to think she died of exposure or of foul play from someone who saw her alone after running away.
Theory 2/3
This is the theory that maybe Korrina did leave on her own but did not come back for Annette. It is thought that Steve could have killed Annette due to the sexual abuse. About a week after Annette disappeared was the court date for custody of her, which was going to go to Korrina’s family. Steve may have wanted to silence Annette, aka not have her tell anyone about the sexual abuse she had endured, and decided to kill her to do so.
Theory 4
Someone aware of Annette’s family situation kidnapped her because she was an easy target. The most plausible explanation for the note in this theory would be that whoever kidnapped her told her they were friends with her mom and would bring her to her mother. This would make for the note in Annette’s handwriting and would make it easy for the kidnapper. After which we don’t know if Annette is still alive somewhere or if her kidnapper killed her after taking her.
There are many other theories on this case ranging all over the place. However, these are the four main ones. Which one do you think is the truth?
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