The Disappearance & Murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds
Since 1996, reports indicate several disappearances and murders involving young women along the US Route 29 Corridor, which begins in Pensacola, runs 248 miles through Virginia, and ends near Baltimore. While most of these cases may not be linked to the same perpetrator or the same location, the cases are haunting. This is one of those cases.
The first notable disappearance on Route 29 seemingly occurred on March 2, 1996. On 7:30 a.m., Alicia Showalter Reynolds said goodbye to her husband and got in her car, a Mercury Tracer. She was driving from Baltimore to Charlottesville, about 155 miles, to shop with her mother, Sadie.
Alicia, a John Hopkins University graduate student, never arrived at her destination. When too much time had passed, Sadie called Alicia’s husband, Mark.
Soon, Alicia’s car was discovered near Culpeper County. It was on the shoulder of the southbound highway. Apparently somebody had placed a white napkin on the car to indicate that she’d had car trouble. But upon inspection, nothing seemed to be wrong with the car.
On May 15, Alicia’s remains were found outside Lignum, about 15 miles from the location where her car was found. Investigators did not reveal how she died, but they did say she likely was murdered the day she was abducted.
