Key facts
- Name: Nancy Kareen Moyer
- Born: November 22, 1972, in Olympia, Washington
- Age at disappearance: 36
- Last seen: March 6, 2009, 9:00–9:30 p.m. — a Tenino officer saw her carrying shopping bags from her car outside her home
- Location: Her home on the 700 block of State Route 507, Tenino, Thurston County, Washington
- Occupation: Financial analyst, Washington State Department of Ecology, Lacey (12 years)
- Children: Two daughters, Amanda and Samantha (Sam)
- Height / build: About 5 feet tall, about 115 pounds; brownish-black hair, brown eyes; tattoos; a scar on her right knee (per her family’s listing)
- Reported missing: March 8, 2009, around 5:00 p.m.
- Status: Still missing — a no-body homicide investigation; her remains have never been found
- Investigating agency: Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (cold case unit: 360.786.5500)
The last evening
Friday, March 6, 2009, ended like most of Nancy Moyer’s Fridays: she left the Department of Ecology in Lacey at about 5:15 p.m., drove a coworker home as they routinely carpooled, then stopped at the Thriftway Market near Tenino — paying by check at 6:45 p.m. Her daughters were with their father for the weekend.
Between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m., a Tenino officer running radar nearby reported seeing a woman he believed was Nancy outside the residence with shopping bags, apparently alone — the last confirmed sighting ever. Around midnight, a neighbor heard a hurried female voice and car doors slamming. Heating records spiked around 11:30 p.m. to midnight — consistent with a front door standing open on a cold March night, fixing the disappearance window at roughly 9 p.m. to midnight.
A house frozen in time
On Sunday, March 8, Bill Moyer drove the girls back between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. to find the front door ajar: TV and lights on, a half-finished glass of wine and a second empty cup on the coffee table, the bedroom lamp on. Nancy was nowhere — purse, wallet, ID, car keys, cigarettes, clothing, toiletries all still in the house; her white Honda Civic Del Sol out front. Reported missing around 5:00 p.m.
The house stood isolated on the 700 block of State Route 507, across from a railway yard. Deputies, volunteers, bloodhounds, and cadaver dogs found nothing: no forced entry, no struggle. She owned no cell phone; her cards and accounts have never been used since. Investigators came to believe she was the victim of foul play — a no-body homicide investigation, though no body has been found and no one charged.
Who Nancy was
Nancy grew up in Olympia, studied accounting, and met Bill Moyer interning at a garden nursery. They married in 1996 (she was 24) and had two daughters; after about ten years they separated amicably, arranging custody themselves. Police said early on that Bill was not a suspect.
Everyone described the same woman: outgoing, cheerful — a “social butterfly,” in her sister Sharon Wilbur’s words. Bill told Oxygen’s Searching For: “This kind of stuff doesn’t happen to normal, everyday families.”
Sam was nine. She had saved the last few Circus Peanuts — a candy she and her mother both loved — leaving the bag on the coffee table for when her mother got home. “I didn’t expect her to be gone forever,” she said years later.
The investigation
Two threads, years apart, briefly promised answers.
In August 2010, deputies pulled over Bernard K. Howell III in Tenino and found Vanda Boone’s remains in his vehicle. Howell, 26, sold meat door-to-door and lived less than a mile from Nancy’s home; the same brand was in her freezer, and Sam picked him from a photo montage as the man who once sold Nancy meat. After pleading guilty to Boone’s murder, he denied knowing Nancy. No evidence connected him to her disappearance.
In July 2019, former coworker Eric Lee Roberts — the uncle of a man Nancy dated after her separation — called 911 to admit responsibility for her death, repeating the claim to a detective. Detectives searched his Rochester, Washington property and found no remains. Detained on suspicion of second-degree murder, he withdrew his statements the next day, saying he did not know why he had confessed. No one has been charged.
Both men are presumed innocent of any role in her disappearance; no one has been convicted of anything in her case. The case has stayed in the public eye through Oxygen’s Searching For and Disappeared‘s 2018 “A Date With Danger” episode.
Theories: what might have happened
Homicide by someone she knew. The investigative position. Supports it: the ajar door, the wine glass, everything left behind; no forced entry; seventeen years of silence. Unresolved: no body, no charges, no confirmed account of the 9 p.m.–midnight window.
Voluntary disappearance. What supports it: nothing. Purse, keys, car, job, daughters — all untouched; accounts never used; seventeen years without a word.
Have information?
Contact the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office cold case unit at 360.786.5500 or email TCSOcoldcase@co.thurston.wa.us. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- November 22, 1972 — Nancy Kareen Moyer is born in Olympia, Washington.
- March 6, 2009, evening — Leaves work in Lacey at ~5:15 p.m. and drives a coworker home; pays by check at Thriftway Market near Tenino at 6:45 p.m.; a Tenino officer sees her carrying shopping bags at 9:00–9:30 p.m. — the last confirmed sighting.
- ~Midnight — A neighbor hears a hurried voice and car doors slamming; utility records show a heating spike consistent with the front door standing open.
- March 8, 2009, ~5:00 p.m. — Bill brings the daughters home, finds the house empty; Nancy is reported missing.
- August 2010 — Bernard K. Howell III is arrested in Tenino with homicide victim Vanda Boone in his vehicle; no evidence links him to Nancy’s case.
- July 2019 — Eric Lee Roberts calls 911 claiming responsibility, is detained on suspicion of second-degree murder, then recants. No body is found; no one is charged.
- 2025 — The sheriff’s office creates a dedicated cold case and missing persons unit; Nancy’s case is among its high-profile files.
- Today — Still missing; remains never found; the no-body homicide investigation remains open.
FAQ
Is Nancy Moyer still missing?
Yes — 17 years as of October 2026. Her remains have never been found.
Why do police believe Nancy Moyer was murdered?
No-body homicide: everything she needed was left behind, no forced entry or struggle, seventeen years of silence from a woman her family says would never have abandoned her daughters.
Was anyone ever arrested in the Nancy Moyer case?
In July 2019, former coworker Eric Lee Roberts called 911 claiming responsibility, was detained on suspicion of second-degree murder, and recanted the next day — no body found, no one charged. Bernard K. Howell III was examined as a person of interest but never linked to her by evidence. Both men are presumed innocent of any role in her disappearance.
How old would Nancy Moyer be today?
Born November 22, 1972 — 53 in 2026, turning 54 that November.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Contact the TCSO cold case unit at 360.786.5500 or email TCSOcoldcase@co.thurston.wa.us.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Thurston County Sheriff’s Office — cold case and missing persons unit (360.786.5500); NamUs.
- News: Oxygen (2019); KOMO News (July 2019); ABC7 Chicago and CBS News (March 2009); ThurstonTalk (2025).
- Reference: The Charley Project; Uncovered; Crime Immemorial (Sept 2026); Wikipedia (retrieved Oct 2026, used for cross-referencing).
- Media: Disappeared, S9E13, “A Date With Danger” (2018); Hide and Seek podcast; Searching For (Oxygen).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.