The disappearance of peggy johnson
36 year old Peggy Johnson was last seen in Murphysboro, Illinois on August 9, 1995. She was last seen at the Hardee’s restaurant on Walnut Road.
Disappearance
On the evening of August 9, 1995, Peggy Johnson shared several drinks with two local men at Gene’s Tavern in Murphysboro, Illinois.
When the men got up to leave to head to a co-workers house, Peggy asked if she could tag along. According to the men the three of them left together in a late 60’s Buick and rode to their coworkers home in DeSoto.
Once they arrived they state that Peggy continued drinking until the point she passed out. One of the men decided to take her home in the Buick, while the other two returned to Gene’s Tavern.
During the ride Peggy reportedly woke up and wanted to get some food, so they ended up at the Hardee’s restaurant on Walnut Street.
The man says Peggy paid for their food and they pulled around the building to park and eat. The man says Peggy then saw one of her friends walking towards the car, so she got out and he returned to Gene’s Tavern.
He states Peggy was so drunk she could barely walk, and that he last saw her leaving with her friend.
Investigation
On the morning after her disappearance, a man dropping his wife off at work at a local unemployment office noticed a man with long hair sitting in an older model car, with his head down as if he was looking at something.
When the man came back outside the car was gone, but Peggy’s purse was found lying in it’s place on the ground.
Investigators interviewed the three unnamed men Peggy was with on the night she disappeared multiple times, and noticed discrepancies in their stories.
The last man who saw Peggy alive states she was so drunk he had to carry her to his car to put her in the backseat in order to take her home. He also stated that she took her purse with her when she got out of the car at Hardee’s.
The other two men state Peggy walked to the car and got into the front seat when they were leaving their co-workers home in DeSoto. These men also state that the man who last saw her alive arrived back at Gene’s Tavern around 12:30-1:00am, while he states he made it back to Gene’s around 10:30-11:00 pm.
Whether or not Peggy even made it to Hardee’s that night is unknown. When asked by KFVS if he believed Peggy walked off with a friend at Hardees, cold case detective Laughland said no.
“I believe that something bad happened to her, that they never made it to Hardee’s. Where they ended up, I don’t know. Something bad happened between the time she left the house in DeSoto and the time she was supposed to arrive back at Gene’s Tavern in Murphysboro,” Laughland said.
The man who last saw Peggy is considered the main suspect in her case, and investigators believe was the victim of homicide.
Appearance
White female born on June 10, 1959. Peggy has brown hair, brown eyes, stands 5’4, and weighs 120-125 pounds. She has noticeable scars on the bridge of her nose and left arm.
Clothing & Accessories:
Peggy was last seen wearing blue shorts, white socks, and white tennis shoes.
