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In April of 2021, I was sitting up to the dining room table at Richard Moreau's house for the first time. It was also my first in-person interview for Dark Down East.
Starting this podcast in the midst of the pandemic kept all my earlier conversations virtual, but for this one, I made the trek from Portland to J. Maine with my microphones all packed up, ready to learn more about this family who had been searching for answers and fighting for justice for over three decades. Kimberly Moreau was 17 years old when she disappeared from her small hometown of J. Maine.
Over 35 years have passed since that night in May of 1986, when she stepped out the door of her home and into a waiting car to continue her night with friends. Friends who were among the last people to see Kim alive. I released Kim's story in two parts on Dark Down East last year. It was the 35th anniversary of her disappearance, a somber number to recognize for Kim's family and the community.
Everyone in town and across the state seems to know Kim's name, and you can't drive through the western counties of Maine without seeing Kimberly Moreau's face. Her father started hanging posters with Kim's photo around town in 1986, and with the help of friends and family, new versions of those posters go up every single year.
Since that first meeting, I stayed in touch with Kim's father, Richard, her sisters, Diane and Karen, and the friends who support the family in their efforts to bring this case to a conclusion. The response to the two-part series I released about Kim Moreau on Dark Down East was massive. The new attention on her disappearance around the 35th anniversary brought in new tips to the Facebook group dedicated to finding her.
One of those tips even proved viable enough for state police detectives to follow up and take a closer look. Whatever they learned, or didn't learn, during that search is not public information. The search for Kimberly Moreau continues. But during the summer of 2021, I returned to Kimberly Moreau's hometown, this time with a camera crew.
I was working on a project with a production company to highlight unsolved homicides and missing persons cases in New England. When I asked the Moreaus if they wanted to participate, it was a hard and fast yes. They'll do whatever it takes to keep Kim's story alive. So once again, they walked me through the last time they saw their daughter and sister alive on that May evening in 1986.
Again, their tears fell remembering the years that have passed and all the life that happened without Kim. The pain as real and present as the very first day without her. After that shoot last summer, I worked with another local production company, Fine Cut Media, to adapt what we collected that day into a mini-documentary titled Missing Kim. It's out right now at missingkim.com.
We've been told, even as recently as to now, why are you still looking for her? Can't you guys just give it up? You know she's not around. That's what we got to emphasize to every family. Never give up. You tell the stories. You got to be the voice for the missing. These names are not just names. They're people that deserve justice. Please give us Kim.
In this mini-documentary, you'll hear Kim Moreau's story told by her father and sisters. We'll walk you through the timeline of May 10th, 1986, and show you each place in Jay and Livermore Falls associated with Kim's case. Her sisters open up Kim's purse, the very purse she left behind on the night she disappeared.
Each precious item belonging to Kim has been preserved for decades, because in their words, they thought Kim would be right back. It was a privilege to have the trust of the Moreau family to tell Kim's story in this way, and I do not take lightly the emotional challenge it presents Richard, Diane, and Karen every time they open up about their daughter and sister. So to those three individuals, and the ones behind the scenes, thank you for that trust.
I hope this only helps the efforts to finally reunite with Kimberly. Watch Missing Kim at missingkim.com and on the Dark Down East YouTube channel. I hope you'll watch it and share it far and wide. Help get Kim Moreau's name and face circulating as yet another anniversary of her disappearance comes and goes. Her family still waiting to bring their daughter and sister home.
If you have information that could help in the investigation, please contact Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South at 207-624-7076. You can also share information anonymously via the online tip form linked in the episode description. The month of May is Maine Missing Persons Month.
Dozens of missing persons cases dating all the way back to 1964 remain unsolved. And those are only the cases that are listed on the Maine State Police public database. The families I've spent time with over the last few years who have lost a loved one to unexplained or suspicious disappearances have taught me a lot about what this kind of loss is like. It's nebulous. There is no end.
It's always searching, looking for faces in crowds, a feeling of helplessness that the person they love is still out there somewhere. Anything you can do to help reunite these families is important. Small efforts matter.
When you see a post on social media of an active or ongoing search for a missing person, I hope you share it. I hope you'll take a moment to look at the main missing persons list, linked in the show description, and search through the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database for your home state at namus.gov. That's N-A-M-U-S dot gov.
Thank you for not just being a listener of Dark Down East, but an active supporter of the families and the cases I cover. Dark Down East will return with a full-length episode on Monday, May 16th, 2022. So until then, watch Missing Kim at missingkim.com and on the Dark Down East YouTube channel. Thank you for supporting this show and allowing me to do what I do.
I'm honored to use this platform for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers, like the Moreau family, in cold missing persons and homicide cases. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East.
