Runaway Train: Wilda Benoit
Our next Runaway Train case is another with precious little detail. Wilda Benoit went missing from a very small town in Louisiana. She wasn’t exactly in a state of mind to plan to run away, so why was she classified as doing so? Let’s explore.
Who Is Wilda?
I wasn’t able to find anything regarding who Wilda was as a person prior to her disappearance. If you knew her, please feel free to comment on this post or email me. I would love to put more information out there. Wilda should be known as more than the day she disappeared. What I do know is that Wilda was born on January 13, 1978. She was around 5’ tall and weighed around 100 lbs at the time of her disappearance. Wilda has brown hair, blue eyes, and dimples. Her ears are each pierced once.
The Disappearance
Wilda was last seen in her home in Creole, Louisiana on July 23, 1992. She had just been released from a nearby hospital after suffering an injury to her shoulder. She was still wearing the gown from the hospital, and she was under the influence of painkillers that sedated her and affected her cognitive function.
via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
The Investigation
Again, Wilda was ruled a runaway right away (we’re seeing a pattern here, right?). Despite the fact that Wilda had just been released from the hospital. Despite the fact that she was under the influence of prescribed painkillers. Despite the fact that she was wearing only a hospital gown. Despite the fact that she took nothing with her. It makes no sense. Her family never believed that this was correct.
Theories
It seems that there are two theories here – either Wilda wandered away voluntarily or was lured away while under the influence of the painkillers she was prescribed for her shoulder injury. If she was under the influence of truly strong painkillers, she would have been out of it, and really anything could have caught her attention outside. She could have easily gotten lost after wandering away. From there, it’s possible that the wrong person saw that she was vulnerable and took advantage. It’s also possible that she lost her life as the result of an accident – looking at Creole, there are several waterways that she may have stumbled into. Or perhaps someone knocked on the door and she answered it, dressed in her hospital gown, and they realized how vulnerable she truly was. It’s truly impossible to tell with what we know.
via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
Investigating Agencies
If you or someone you know has information about what happened to Wilda Benoit on or after July 23, 1992, please contact the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office. They can be reached at 337-775-5111 in reference to case number 923239. Wilda’s National Crime Information Center case number is M580197779, and her NamUs case number is 4049. Wilda has been missing for nearly 30 years. It’s time to bring her home, in whatever way possible.
Sources
- https://charleyproject.org/case/wilda-mae-benoit
- https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/420dfla.html
- https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/4049
- http://api.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/770743
- https://www.johnsonandbrownfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Thomas-Benoit/#!/Obituary
- http://identifyla.lsu.edu/profile.php?id=115
- http://missingin.org/reg2377/wilda_mae_benoit.htm
- https://www.missingalert.com/Louisiana/Wilda_Benoit
I have lived 60 miles north of this area my entire life and have never heard of this girl. Why hasn’t the family advocated this missing girl? If this was my family member, her name would be all over social media, billboards, until I got answers. This tells me one thing-the family was involved and this girl was murdered. Please read the comments in the FIRST social media post about this girl and it only took 30 years. The sister is blaming the uncle, who she was living with at the time of her disappearance. This entire case is fishy.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid05d6vCoTLXTykfQriicxcTGJdSCo38wZctVtSLiehSxPMyCDxmsY6k3zTA8RvjSyhl&id=99603912791
Wow, interesting comments on that Facebook post. Thank you for showing me!
Wilda Mae was a spunky, fun loving teenager. She loved music and boys a little more. She’s my cousin and I spent a few summers together before she went missing. Certain members of the family have kept deceptive narratives going for years about her running away which lead to them classifying her as such. Luckily by 2005 they classified her as Endangered Missing – but nothing has ever been done about it. I’ve requested FOIA again this year. I never receive anything and when I have called the sheriffs department has always says the files were destroyed in (various) hurricanes. I will never stop looking for her.
He was married to the woman she was staying with at the time (due to soooo much abuse she was taken from various homes) and yes – many people – family included think he had something to do with – especially with the allegations she had just made before she disappeared.
I am Wilda Mae’s younger cousin. We spent a few summers together before she went missing. She was spunky and so much fun. She loved music and boys even more. Wilda Mae had one of the hardest “childhoods” anyone could imagine and although she had run away before they just labeled her a runaway immediately and never changed her to an endangered missing case until 2005.I’ve been requesting documentation for 5 years from various law enforcement through FOIA – with zero response. I started calling Cameron Parish in my early 20’s and have received the same information – The case was lost in a Hurricane. Which Hurricane that was changed with the various people I spoke with. I randomly search her name online and will never stop looking for her.