Left and Center: Tinze circa, 1984 and 1981
Right: Age Progressed to age 43
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: October 27, 1984
Missing From: Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: April 6, 1967
Age: 17 years old
Height and Weight: 5’5″ and 140 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Brown hair, Brown eyes, Tinze has a circular shaped burn scar on her left leg, Tinze may go by her middle name “Lucinda” and might use the last name “Mauldin”
NCMEC Number: 601768
Details of Disappearance
Tinze Huels was last seen in Tampa, Florida on October 27th 1984. Her family last saw her when she left her home to go to the laundromat.
At some point during the evening, Tinze went to a female friends residence and then they both went to the Char-Pal Lounge in the 3700 block of East Busch Avenue. They went their to get drinks. Tinze was seen talking to a man at the bar while she was there.
The man, Larry Moore, stated that he owned a sign making and cleaning job and asked Tinze if she would like to work for him. She agreed to start work on October 29th, 2 days after her disappearance. Eventually, Tinze’s friend left her at the bar with Moore.
The next day, authorities found Moore and another man asleep in their vehicle. They were arrested for possession of marijuana and for carrying a concealed weapon. Tinze was not with them and she wasn’t reported missing by the time the men were arrested. Moore was questioned by authorities when she was reported missing but he said he did not know her current whereabouts.
It’s unknown if Moore was ever viewed as a suspect in her disappearance. Tinze’s vehicle was located in the parking lot of of the Char-Pal Lounge the morning after her disappearance. Inside was clean and folded laundry but her keys were missing. Two weeks after her disappearance, her purse was found in the men’s bathroom at the Busch Gardens Zoo Camp Ground with her identification and other effects inside.
Authorities suspect that foul play was involved in her case. They initially suspected that she was abducted and killed by serial killer, Bobby Joe Long. Long admitted to killing 10 females in the Tampa area in Florida in 1984. He reportedly committed the crimes during an 8 month span. He denied being involved in Huel’s disappearance. He was executed on May 23rd 2019. He was never charged in connection to the case.
In April of 1992, Lucinda’s family received a phone call from a woman who claimed that she was Tinze and had run away to Arkansas to escape the responsibilities of being a wife and young mother. She stated that she was using the alias “Amanda”. The family invited the woman to move back in and live with them again.
The woman did physically resemble Tinze and seemed to know a lot about her family. She lived with them until September of 1992 when blood tests confirmed she was an Arkansas woman named, Amanda Dennis. She had runaway from home when she was a teenager. It’s possible that Amanda met Tinze after her disappearance based on the amount of details she knew about the woman.
Tinze’s disappearance remains unsolved and the circumstances of her disappearance are unclear. Authorities suspect that foul play was likely involved in her case.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office 813-247-8000
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children