Bianca was last seen around 6:15 p.m. on March 10, 2005, when her mother dropped her off on McIntosh Hill Road in Foley, Missouri, about a mile from their home. She had trouble controlling her anger, and the night before she went missing, she threw a fit because she had to do chores. To deal with her anger, her therapist told her mother to drive her far away from home and make her walk back alone.
Before March 10, Bianca and her mother had only tried the treatment once. It helped, so Bianca asked that it be done again. She also asked to be dropped off farther from home than she had before. She never got home, and no one has seen or heard from her since. At 8:20 p.m., her mother told police that she was missing.
At first, investigators thought Bianca got lost on her way back home. If this theory is right, she would have died from exposure quickly because the temperature that night was below freezing.
But after a long search, no one has found Bianca. This makes the authorities think she may have been taken. She has never run away from home before. Her mother and her mother’s live-in boyfriend both passed polygraph tests. Her biological father was also heavily questioned, and no one in her family is a suspect in the case.
Investigators started looking into Michael J. Devlin in 2007 because they thought he might have something to do with Bianca’s disappearance and the disappearances of Charles “Arlin” Henderson in 1991 and Scott Kleeschulte in 1988.
Shawn Hornbeck, who went missing in 2002 when he was 15, and William “Ben” Ownby, who was taken in 2007 when he was 13, were both found alive in Devlin’s house in January 2007. Ownby had not been seen in five days, and Hornbeck had not been seen in more than four years. Devlin had taken both boys against their will and held them against their will. He later admitted to kidnapping and molesting children and was given a life sentence in prison.
At first, authorities thought Devlin might be connected to other cases of missing children, so they put together a group of people from different areas to look into this idea. The task force broke up in October 2007 because it couldn’t find any proof that Devlin had anything to do with any other missing children.
Bianca went missing when she was in the eighth grade at Winfield Middle School. She was in special education classes because she had trouble paying attention and had missed a lot of school because of her mental health problems. Her teachers said that she is good at art.
Bianca’s dad died in 2009, but her mom and sister are still alive and looking for her. Her mother lives in St. Charles, Missouri, where she is now. Bianca’s case remains unsolved.
Medical Conditions
Bianca has been hospitalized since she was a child because of her severe bipolar disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Because of her conditions, she has mood swings, aggressive tendencies, anxiety attacks, and trouble keeping herself in check. But she usually acts like a normal teen, so it might be hard to tell that she is sick. She takes several medications every day, and if she doesn’t take them, she might get lost and have hallucinations if she doesn’t. Bianca may need to see a doctor because of her health problems.
Distinguishing Characteristics
Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Bianca’s nickname is B and some agencies refer to her as Bianca Tanner. She has scars on her arms and legs and a scar on her abdomen. Her ears are pierced. Bianca may wear her hair in a ponytail.