Hope abandoned Marcie Smith almost two decades ago.
She said she believes the disappearance of her daughter, 15-year-old Alicia Markovich, on Sunday, April 26, 1987, was really a premeditated, callous act of murder.
She thinks she knows who killed Alicia. "But there's no proof," she said.
Alicia, an eighth-grader at Windber High School in Somerset County, planned to spend that Sunday with her father, John Markovich, who was divorced from Smith, at his home in Blairsville.
But the father and daughter got into an argument and Alicia reportedly stormed out of the Blairsville home around 5 p.m., police said.
She is listed as a missing person with state police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. But, in Smith's mind, that's just a matter of optimistic record-keeping.
Police have no significant leads in the case, no physical evidence to test. "Nothing," said Sgt. George Emigh.
Several signs of Alicia have been reported through the years, including a letter that was mailed to John Markovich purporting to detail Alicia's death and the location of her remains.
Police investigated any and every lead, according to Smith. One tip led to search dogs exploring a coal mine near Johnstown, but they found no clues.
According to police, John Markovich has since relocated to work in a salt mine in Ohio and occasionally returns to his home in Blairsville. He did not return telephone messages seeking comment.
"I don't know what to do or where to go from here," Smith said. "I pray every night that (Alicia's killer) gets weak and tells somebody and lets us know what happened that day."
Additional Information:
Details
Alicia Markovich:State police, Indiana: 724-357-1960
