Mazie Mae Palmer

Picture of Mazie Mae Palmer, Image enhanced with AI

KCSO Case: 1979-99071601
Mazie Mae Palmer (Mazie Sigmon)
Missing since July 14, 1979

Mazie Palmer was last seen in Charleston, West Virginia, on July 14, 1979. Just three
months prior, she had divorced and was living with relatives on Grapevine Road in
Sissonville, or on Main Avenue in Charleston, West Virginia. At that time, Mazie was 24
years old.

On the night she disappeared, Mazie went on a date in Charleston with her
boyfriend, 18-year-old John Eric “Jay” Farley. The couple had been dating for several weeks.
After 11:00 p.m., they caught a ride with Jay’s friend, Bill Cottrell, to the King’s Inn nightclub
on Second Avenue. According to Bill, Mazie suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, he’s in there,” but
neither she nor Bill identified the man she saw.

Inside the nightclub, the trio took a table on the ground floor. Around midnight,
Mazie excused herself to go upstairs to speak with a friend, and Jay followed shortly after.
That marked the last confirmed sighting of both Mazie and Jay. Neither were ever seen alive
again.

Their families reported them missing, but authorities did not link the two
disappearances until January 1980, six months later. Initially, police suspected the couple
may have run off together. However, both left all their belongings at home, neither owned a
vehicle, and Jay did not even have a driver’s license.

Nearly five years later, in May 1984, skeletal remains identified as Jay’s were
discovered at the Fayette County Surface Mine, roughly twenty yards from Cannelton
Hollow Road, about thirty miles from Charleston. Jay’s remains were wearing the same
clothes from the night he vanished. Investigators believe he was killed on or near the night
of his disappearance; his hands had been bound with tape, and he had been shot.

Mazie’s whereabouts remain unknown, and foul play is strongly suspected.
Authorities do not believe she was involved in Jay’s death. The cases of Mazie and Jay
continue to be a haunting mystery in West Virginia, leaving families and the community
searching for answers decades later.

Timeline of Key Events:

  • April 1979: Mazie finalizes her divorce and moves back in with her parents in
    Sissonville, WV.
  • July 14, 1979: Mazie and Jay go on a date in Charleston; last confirmed sightings
    occur at King’s Inn nightclub around midnight.
  • January 1980: Authorities link Mazie and Jay’s disappearances.
  • May 1984: Jay’s skeletal remains are discovered at Fayette County Surface Mine

If you have any information , please contact the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Section at:
304-357-0556
or
SUBMIT YOUR TIPS ONLINE