Linda Zapata

She found Linda, the only one of the Zapata children still living in Madison, working as a nurse at a local clinic.

The receptionist came back and said, Linda, there's two police officers here to talk to you.

And I explained to her who I was and that the investigation into her mother's disappearance was reopened.

And I just, my gut dropped out and I thought, oh my God, did you find her?

I mean, is she downtown right now?

Is she out in the car?

You know, I thought they found her.

They said, no, but we're just going to reopen the case.

The next question was, did my dad have anything to do with it?

You asked them that?

Yeah.

It just came out.

And I said, I don't know why I asked that.

Madison, Wisconsin detective Marianne Flynn-Statz knew when she started investigating the disappearance of Jean Zapata that Linda Zapata might have to face a horrifying possibility.

It's remarkable that one of the first things you said to Detective Statz was, did my dad have anything to do with it?

You have no idea where that came from?

No, it was like the exorcist.

It just came out.

Ever since Jean vanished, when Linda was just 11, Linda not only believed she had been abandoned by her mother, she also believed she was to blame.

I overheard my brother and sister saying it was my fault she left because I was a brat.