The Missing – A Weekly Exposé of Lost Souls – Issue #36: The Criminal Report Daily : Investigation Discovery

September 16, 2009

Mary Lands The mysterious disappearance of Mary Denise Lands

In this edition of "The Missing," we revisit the disappearance of Mary Denise Lands, a 39-year-old resident of Marshall, Michigan, who went missing in 2004.

The mystery into Mary's disappearance began on March 12, 2004. According to her live-in fiancé, Christopher Luke Pratt, he and Mary got into an argument at about 10:30 that night and she left their apartment, located in the vicinity of the 1200 block of Arms Street, to "cool off." Mary left behind her purse, cell phone and car keys and was wearing only her medical scrubs and a brown leather jacket. She has not been seen since.

Residents of California, Mary's family was not immediately aware that she had gone missing. As a result, her disappearance was not reported until March 15.

When questioned by police, Pratt detailed the events of the night Mary went missing and told them that he had not reported her disappearance himself because it was not unusual for her to storm off during an argument. He said he was still expecting her to return.

Looking into Mary's background, police found no indication that she had been planning on leaving the area. In addition, her employers said she was not known to miss work and her bank accounts, which contained a substantial amount of money, had not been touched since the date of her disappearance.

A team of tracking dogs was brought in to retrace Mary's steps and they were able to successfully track her to a nearby hotel; however she had not formally checked in and there was no sign of her inside any of the rooms.

From the start, it was obvious to police that Mary was a victim of foul play. While they have been hesitant to call Pratt a suspect in her disappearance, they have called him a "person of interest." They have also labeled Mary's case a homicide,

"I'm personally very disgusted, I feel that people do have information in this case and it's very frustrating to me that more people are not coming forward with information and I would just like to ask the public if they know anything or if they are not sure if it's involved or related to the case at all that I would really like to know about it." Sgt. Scott McDonald from the Marshall Police Department said in an interview with WZZM 13 News.

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Interestingly, Christopher Pratt was arrested on June 24, 2007, after his most recent girlfriend accused him of assaulting her. He was later sentenced to between 4 1/2 - 15 years in prison on domestic violence charges. Pratt is currently incarcerated at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia. He will not be eligible for parole until Feb. 24, 2012.

While the mystery of Mary's disappearance continues, the search for her is far from over. The Michigan based search and recovery group Track Missing has headed up three recent searches for Mary and they are currently preparing for a forth search, scheduled to take place on Sept. 26, 2009.

"This [next] search may likely be the best chance ever to locate Mary's remains and we do need peoples' help if that is going to happen," said the group's organizer, Chad Scott.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the search can get more information at: www.trackmissing.org or www.marydeniselands.com.

Mary Denise Lands is described as a white female, 5'8" tall, 160 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Marshall Police Department at 269-781-2596.

Photo Credit: Mary Lands: Contributed; Christopher Pratt: Police File Photo

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