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Every piece of official documentation ends with my mother in 1991. She never renewed her driver license.

She never filed taxes again. She, you know, more recently now a few years ago, she would have been able to file for Social Security. She just basically disappeared in that winter of 1991.

I know we'll probably never know, but I also, in my heart, know something bad happened to her.

You know something horrible happened, but you don't really want to accept that something horrible happened.

So you invent stories or scenarios in your head. I mean, I spent a significant portion of my childhood thinking that she was okay someplace.

I lost living her life somewhere because I didn't want to accept the fact that she was gone or that something horrible had happened to her needing to believe that she was alive.

Judith Garen was last seen in late January of 1991 in Sodus Point, New York.

Judith had unexpectedly lost her husband in 1988 and she was left to care for their five children by herself.

After her husband's son death, something shifted within Judith. The once doding mother was overwhelmed by grief and began drinking heavily to ease her pain.

This caused her to drift away from her children emotionally and physically.

At one point, Judith left her children to seemingly fend for themselves. Her daughter Amy eventually got custody of her younger siblings, while Judith lived with her boyfriend Curtis.

The relationship between Curtis and Judith was toxic.

According to those who knew her at the time, Curtis was significantly younger than her and was only with her due to the money she had obtained after her husband's death.

Curtis was abusive towards Judith. Judith had sporadic contact with her children while living with Curtis.

However, during her last contact with her children, she seemed to be embarrassed about her recent actions and indicated that she wanted to come home and be with her kids.

After this conversation, Judith's children never heard from her again. All of her belongings were left behind. The only thing missing was Judith.

When asked in regards to her whereabouts, Curtis claimed that Judith had left him to move to Florida. The police, with no reason at the time to suspect foul play, believed this story.

Judith Garen seemed to disappear without a trace. She has never reached out to her family or friends and has never accessed her finances or used her social security number.

Over time, police began to investigate Judith's case and attempted to question the only person of interest in her case, her former boyfriend Curtis.

But he has refused to cooperate. So what happened to Judith Garen in 1991?

Did she decide to leave her life of grief behind and start over somewhere else? Or did she fall victim to a horrible act of violence?

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