Linda Zapata

Years passed.

Decades passed.

These Zapata children grew up and moved out.

Peggy Weakley moved away from Madison, but she never forgot about her best friend.

I wish she was still here.

Take your time.

In November 2004, more than 28 years after Jean disappeared, Peggy decided there was something she had to do for her friend.

So she contacted the Madison Police.

And I said, do you have a cold case department like they do on TV?

And she said, no.

The case landed on the desk of Detective Marianne Flynn-Statz.

So you read it and what did you think?

I immediately was struck that more could probably be done with the case.

She didn't believe that Jean had simply run away as her husband had claimed for all those years.

Detective Stats contacted every agency she could think of inquiring about Jeanette Zapata.

Had she used her social security number or tried to renew her pilot's license or get a passport?

They even tried Interpol.

You did a fairly exhaustive search and concluded what?

I concluded that she was most likely no longer alive.

Detective Stats started talking with anyone involved with the case back in 1976.