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Disappearance of Amy Billig

UNSOLVED1974Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
File:Amy Billig Daytona Beach Morning Herald Coconut Grove 1974. 13 March 1974.jpg
File:Amy Billig Daytona Beach Morning Herald Coconut Grove 1974. 13 March 1974.jpg — Credit: Family portrait commissioned by Nathaniel and Susan Billig, circa 1974. · Public domain

Amy Billig was born January 9, 1957, in Oyster Bay, New York, the first of two children of Nathaniel Solomon Billig, a gallery owner, and Susan Billig, an interior designer and art dealer. The Jewish family relocated to Coconut Grove, Florida, in May 1969. Described by her mother as a sociable "flower child" who played music, wrote poetry, and trained dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium, Amy attended the Adelphi Academy of Coral Gables and, lacking a car, regularly hitchhiked short distances around her neighborhood.

On the afternoon of March 5, 1974, Amy called her father to borrow money for lunch with friends and began hitchhiking to his art gallery on Commodore Plaza. She was last seen by construction workers at the corner of Poinciana Street and Main Highway. She never arrived at the gallery. After an initial delayed response from a Miami-area detective, the Miami Police Department launched an active investigation following a 6 a.m. call from her mother on March 6.

Investigators concluded Amy's disappearance was involuntary and theorized she had gotten into a vehicle with her abductor(s). The only physical evidence recovered was her Instamatic camera, found beside Florida's Turnpike near Wildwood on March 18; its film showed images of an unidentified pickup truck and a white van but yielded no further leads. Tips suggested Amy may have been abducted by members of the Outlaws or Pagans motorcycle clubs, both of which had passed through Coconut Grove en route to Daytona around the time of her disappearance. Two Outlaws members visited the Billig home in response to the family's pleas but denied holding her.

Sixteen days after the disappearance, twin brothers Charles and Lawrence Glasser, then 16, attempted to extort $30,000 from the family by falsely claiming to hold Amy; they were arrested at the Fontainebleau Hotel on March 22, 1974, and pleaded guilty to extortion.

Beginning shortly after Amy's disappearance and continuing for 21 years, an anonymous male caller who identified himself as "Johnson" repeatedly harassed and taunted Susan Billig with graphic claims about Amy's fate. In October 1995, FBI agents traced the calls to Henry Johnson Blair, a 48-year-old U.S. Customs Service employee. Blair was convicted of two counts of stalking on March 6, 1996, and sentenced to two years in prison; he denied any involvement in Amy's disappearance. Susan Billig later settled a $5 million civil lawsuit against him. A journal entry Amy wrote about a man called "Hank" six weeks before vanishing has been noted by some as a possible, unproven connection to Blair.

Other leads—including a 1976 Tulsa tip, a 1985 theory that Amy was a deceased woman named Terri Ann Warner (disproven via dental records), and a psychic consultation—did not resolve the case. Before his death in December 1997, former Pagans member Paul Branch reportedly confessed to his wife that gang members had abducted, gang-raped, and fatally drugged Amy at an Everglades clubhouse; the man he named denied involvement.

Susan Billig died on June 7, 2005, and Nathaniel Billig died in 1993, both having spent the remainder of their lives searching for their daughter. The case remains unsolved.

Key facts

Victims
Amy Billig
Date
1974
Location
Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1957-01-09

    Amy Billig born in Oyster Bay, New York.

  2. 1969-05

    Billig family relocates to Coconut Grove, Florida.

  3. 1974-03-05

    Amy Billig disappears while hitchhiking to her father's art gallery in Coconut Grove.

  4. 1974-03-06

    Miami Police Department launches active investigation after Susan Billig's early-morning report.

  5. 1974-03-10

    First newspaper headline about the disappearance appears; benefit concert raises $850 for the search.

  6. 1974-03-16

    Anonymous tip claims Amy was abducted by the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

  7. 1974-03-18

    Amy's Instamatic camera found near the Wildwood exit of Florida's Turnpike.

  8. 1974-03-22

    Charles and Lawrence Glasser arrested at the Fontainebleau Hotel in extortion attempt targeting the Billig family.

  9. 1976-01

    Susan Billig pursues a lead placing Amy in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  10. 1985-08

    Alex Courvier's tip leads to exhumation and dental examination disproving the theory Amy was 'Terri Ann Warner.'

  11. 1992

    Susan Billig diagnosed with lung cancer; continues to receive harassing calls.

  12. 1993

    Nathaniel Solomon Billig dies of lung cancer.

  13. 1995-10

    FBI identifies Henry Johnson Blair as the 21-year hoax/stalking caller.

  14. 1996-03-06

    Henry Johnson Blair convicted of two counts of stalking; later sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

  15. 1997-12

    Former Pagans member Paul Branch reportedly confesses to his wife about Amy's abduction and murder before his death in Charlottesville, Virginia.

  16. 1998-03-08

    Susan Billig holds a private memorial service for Amy at her home.

  17. 2001-09

    Susan Billig's book 'Without A Trace: The Disappearance Of Amy Billig' is published.

  18. 2002-10

    Amy Billig Meditation Garden dedicated in Coconut Grove.

  19. 2005-06-07

    Susan Billig dies of a heart attack in Miami.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Lawrence Glasser

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to extortion alongside his twin brother in the false ransom scheme targeting the Billig family.

  • Jack Calvar

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Lead detective assigned to Amy Billig's disappearance case.

  • Amy Billig

    VICTIM

    17-year-old high school student who disappeared while hitchhiking on March 5, 1974; never found.

  • Charles Glasser

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to extortion after falsely claiming to hold Amy for a $30,000 ransom in March 1974.

  • Henry Johnson Blair

    CONVICTED

    U.S. Customs Service employee convicted in 1996 of two counts of stalking for a 21-year harassment campaign against the Billig family; denied any involvement in Amy's disappearance.

  • Michael Gonzalez

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Detective who initially told Susan Billig to call back if Amy had not returned by morning.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • File:Amy Billig Daytona Beach Morning Herald Coconut Grove 1974. 13 March 1974.jpg

    portrait victim

    File:Amy Billig Daytona Beach Morning Herald Coconut Grove 1974. 13 March 1974.jpg

    Credit: Family portrait commissioned by Nathaniel and Susan Billig, circa 1974. · Public domain · Source

  • Amy Billig, the missing 17-year-old

    portrait victim

    Amy Billig, the missing 17-year-old

    Credit: Public domain · Source

Places

Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida

25.7204, -80.2495

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Amy Billig, a 17-year-old Coconut Grove, Florida high school student, vanished on March 5, 1974, while hitchhiking to her father's art gallery. Despite decades of investigation, tips, a hoax-caller stalking case, and a reported deathbed confession implicating a motorcycle gang, her disappearance remains unsolved and no body has ever been found.
Where did the disappearance happen?
Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.
Who was convicted?
Lawrence Glasser (Pleaded guilty to extortion alongside his twin brother in the false ransom scheme targeting the Billig family.), Charles Glasser (Pleaded guilty to extortion after falsely claiming to hold Amy for a $30,000 ransom in March 1974.), and Henry Johnson Blair (U.S. Customs Service employee convicted in 1996 of two counts of stalking for a 21-year harassment campaign against the Billig family; denied any involvement in Amy's disappearance.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.
More cases in Florida

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICDisappearance of Amy BilligWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSThe Night Caller: 21 Years of Unspeakable GriefThe New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous newspaper coverage of Amy Billig's disappearancetrove.nla.gov.au · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 10, 2026