Mindi Chambers

Left and Center: Mindi circa, 1982

Right: Age Progressed to age 47

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: October 19, 1982

Missing From: Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona

Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Date Of Birth: May 28, 1965

Age: 17 years old

Height and Weight: 4’10” and 86 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Sandy Blonde hair, Brown eyes, Mindi had prior orthodontic treatment on her teeth prior to her 1982 abduction and she had braces which were removed in 1980

NCMEC Number: 804019

Details of Disappearance

Mindi was last seen in Tempe, Arizona on October 19th 1982. She left her residence in the 2100 block of east University Avenue to walk her two stepsisters to school that day. She had also helped them get ready that morning. She disappeared by the time they came home and she was never seen or heard from again.

When her stepsisters and stepmother came home, they discovered that the front door was left open. Mindi was nowhere in the residence but all of her personal belongings were left behind. Mindi was not reported missing when she initially disappeared and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance were unknown for quite some time.

Mindi was reportedly last seen by the clerk at the Circle K convenience store on the corner of University and Price. The clerk said she made a phone call before she left. The clerk stated that he observed a green and ran station wagon pull into the parking lot. The driver abducted Mindi by pulling her into the car and sped away.

Mindi was reported missing by her aunt, Carin Brauer, on April 17th 1995. She was not originally reported missing because Mindi previously ran away and her family felt she had done so again in order to escape the various problems in her life. They believed she had relocated to Utah after she went missing.

On May 7th 1968, Mindi’s mother, Mary Xenos Chambers, was found murdered in her apartment in Yonkers, New York. She was drowned in her bathtub. Mindi was only 2 years old when her mother was killed. Her father, Allen Chambers, is considered the primary suspect in Mary’s death. On the day Mary was found, Allen showed up to the door of a detective who was married to Mindi’s aunt.

Allen had several scratches on his arms and face that he couldn’t explain. Police and family suspected him at the time of the murder but they lacked enough proof to file charges against him. Soon after the murder, Allen assaulted another woman and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He sent Mindi to live with his mother in Chandler, Arizona while he was in prison.

After Allen’s mother passed away, Mindi was sent to live with Carin in Phoenix, Arizona. When Mindi was 5 years old, her father was released from prison and he demanded her to be back in his custody. Carin had no legal authority to keep Mindi away from him so she gave her back to him. Allen became controlling and shut out family members, contact between Mindi and her aunts stopped as a result.

On October 16th 1982, Mindi went to police and told them that Allen had been molesting her since she was 12 years old. Child Protective Services immediately removed Mindi from her fathers custody and sent her to live with her stepmother, Pat Chambers, who was in the process of divorcing Allen at the time.

Pat told investigators she remembers Mindi helped her get her children ready for school that day and was gone by the time she returned home. Investigators have since debunked the possibility that Mindi ran off since she left all of her personal belongings behind at the home. She disappeared 3 days after she made the allegation.

On October 22nd 1982, Child Protective Services called Allen regarding the molestation and he hung up the phone. The investigation into Mindi’s allegations soon ended. Investigators and the family suspect Allen of involvement in Mindi’s disappearance. Her half sister stated that Allen drove a station wagon that matched the one driven by Mindi’s kidnapper.

Whatever Allen knew about Mindi’s case he took with him to his grave. Allen was a long haul trucker when he was killed in a truck accident on December 13th 1994. He fell asleep on the wheel and his truck flew off a rain slicked highway in Virginia. The accident burned Allen’s body into ashes. Investigators found no evidence he was involved in his daughters case.

Mindi was student at Mountain View High School at the time of her 1982 disappearance. She was originally born in New York. Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.

Other Victim(s):