Mary was last seen with her mother, Marcus Maxine Stalnaker, at their residence in Lewis County, West Virginia during the evening hours of December 1, 1999. They shared the home with Mary's husband Kevin, who was working in Maryland at the time. That day the two women left home to go pick up Mary's sister, Pam Pugh, and get tires for their vehicle from Mary's adult son, Joseph Metz. Mary and Pugh dropped Stalnaker off in Jane Lew, West Virginia, where her son picked her up and took her shopping. The sisters went to Metz's home and he installed two used tires on Mary's car. They offered him a ride to work in Jane Lew, as he didn't have his own vehicle, but he declined. He didn't make it to work that evening, but did get a ride to Jane Lew later and hitchhiked back home. Pugh and Mary left Metz's home at 6:00 p.m. Stalnaker's son dropped her off at her home at 5:00 p.m. Friend dropped Pugh off at Pugh's home between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m., then drove herself home.

This is the last time anyone saw either of the women. The next morning Mary was supposed to pick up Pugh, who would drive her to work and then use her car to go shopping with Metz. Mary never arrived at her sister's residence and never reported to her job at the local dry cleaner's. Kevin tried to call his wife and mother-in-law several times over the next few days, and even called one of Mary's coworkers to try to get in touch with her. When he arrived home on December 3, he found his house uninhabited. There was no sign of violence or forced entry at their home, but there were also no indications that the women had left voluntarily, and all of their belongings were left behind. Stalnaker's pet Doberman was found dead under the house. Police haven't disclosed the cause of the dog's death. The family's second dog, a Border Collie, wasn't at home but was later found at Mary and Kevin's former residence at Glady Fork near Stonewall Jackson Lake, ten miles from the Friend/Stalnaker home.

Mary's gray 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity was discovered abandoned on December 6, five days after Mary and Stalnaker vanished. There was no sign of them at the scene. A photo of Friend's car is posted below this case summary. The vehicle was located in Clarksburg on Route 19 close to the former Harrison County Bureau Of Emergency Services near Gore, West Virginia.

Investigators searched Stonewall Jackson Lake in 2002, after a fisherman found a purse belonging to one of the missing women. Identification for both Mary and Stalnaker was inside the purse. They searched the lake a second time in 2007, but found nothing of interest. It should be noted that Metz lived near Stonewall Lake and the Friends' former home where the Border Collie was found, and the animal used to belong to him. Metz reportedly failed a polygraph about his mother and grandmother's disappearances, but he hasn't been named as a suspect in their cases.

Mary and Stalnaker's disappearances remain unsolved.

Above: Mary Friend's car