Teen Goes Missing While Hitchhiking

Amy Billig was born on January 9, 1957, to Susan and Nathaniel Billig. Susan was an interior designer and art dealer while Nathaniel worked at their art gallery. Amy was very spiritual and a dedicated vegetarian. She spent her free time reading, writing poetry, and playing the flute and guitar. Her dream was to become an actress.

On March 5, 1974, Amy arrived home from school around midday. She changed her clothes and headed to her father’s art gallery so he could give her money for lunch. As she typically did, Amy planned on hitching a ride along Main Highway in Coconut Grove, Florida.

A few construction workers saw her walking toward the highway but the 17-year-old was never heard from again.

Authorities do not believe that Amy disappeared on her own accord. Her camera was found at the Wildwood exit on the Florida Turnpike. The photos provided no clues to her whereabouts, most of them were overexposed.

A few days after Amy’s disappearance, 16-year-old twins, Charles and Larry Glasser, claimed that they had kidnapped the girl and asked for a $30.000 ransom.

Authorities investigated the claim and discovered that it had been a ploy. The Miami Beach twins had no involvement in the disappearance and were charged with extortion.

The Billig family received hundreds of tips. The one that Susan would spend most of her remaining life pursuing was that Amy had been abducted by a biker gang — most likely the Outlaws.

It had been Bike Week in Daytona Beach during the time of Amy’s disappearance. A chapter from one of the infamous “Big Four” outlaw motorcycle clubs had passed through Coconut Grove while traveling north to the event.

A family friend, who had done legal work for the Outlaws, arranged a meeting between Susan and two members of the gang. Though they had not seen Amy, the members did inform her that bikers occasionally abducted and sold women. These women were often referred to as “old ladies” and were either sold for money or exchanged for credit cards, bikes, or leather chaps.

The bikers told Susan that they’d look into the possibility of Amy having been kidnapped by a member of their gang, but they ended up not being able to provide any information.

Susan spent the next three months tracking down the chapter that had passed through Coconut Grove. She received a tip saying they were in Orlando and traveled there, hoping someone knew or had seen Amy.

The manager of a convenience store believes that Amy was at his store with a couple of bikers. The young girl had bought a vegetarian vegetable soup.

Nearly two years passed without any promising leads. Finally, in January of 1976, a biker who belonged to the Outlaws contacted Susan after he saw Amy’s photo in a newspaper.

Paul Branch claimed that she had been kidnapped by the Outlaws and that he had owned Amy at one point. Not only did Branch recognize the girl from various photos, but he also knew that Amy had a two-inch appendectomy scar on her abdomen; Susan had not publicly revealed her daughter’s scar. He characterized her as a very quiet girl.

Susan and Branch traveled throughout the country following various tips on Amy’s whereabouts. During these trips, Susan experienced first-hand the dangerous world of outlaw motorcycle clubs.

At one point during their investigation, Branch was kidnapped, had his kneecaps broken, and was shot twice in the abdomen. Though he was left for dead, Branch survived. Susan and Branch never saw each other again, but he did give her one last tip, a contact of his claimed that Amy was in Seattle.

In early 1977, Susan suffered a heart attack. Nevertheless, a few months later she was in Seattle searching for her daughter. She visited tattoo shops, biker bars, and motorcycle shops. Susan showed dozens of people photos of Amy and several recognized her — all of them describing her as a quiet girl.

Another year and a half went by until an anonymous caller claimed that Amy was at a remote truck stop in Reno, Nevada. A biker gang had in fact passed through the area but it is unknown if Amy was with them.

Paul Branch passed away in December of 1997. According to his wife, he recanted his story about Amy having been held captive by the Outlaws.

Apparently, Amy had gone to a party hosted by Outlaws on the night of her disappearance. While there, a biker tried to have sex with her and when she resisted she was raped by various gang members. According to Brach’s new statement, Amy was given too many drugs and overdosed. Her body was thrown in the Florida Everglades.

At first, authorities and Susan believed the widow. Police had suspected all along that Branch knew what happened to Amy, possibly even being the culprit. However, as time passed, both Susan and the authorities doubted its validity. They speculated that the widow made it up to gain publicity.

While the grieving family was forced to live without their beloved Amy, they were also subjected to torturous phone calls. For over two decades, a man who went by Hal Johnson teased and harassed the family.

Johnson claimed that Amy was being held captive by a sex ring. He would describe explicit sexual actions he reportedly did to Amy and sometimes asked Susan to join them.

Authorities tried to track the calls but Johnson would always use a payphone. Susan attempted to arrange meetings with the man but he would never show up. Police surveilled payphones that they believed Johnson used but they were never able to catch him.

In 1995, Johnson used a cell phone to call the family and police were finally able to track him. Hal Johnson’s real name was Henry Johnson Blair, a 47-year-old husband and father of two. Blair was a decorated 24-year veteran of the United States Customs Service and was at the time a special agent overseeing drug interdiction at the Port of Miami and on the Miami River.

Blair claimed that his alcoholism and obsessive-compulsive disorder made him harass the grieving family. He also alleges to have never known Amy. He was sentenced to two years in prison for harassment.

According to authorities, he is still viewed as a person of interest in Amy’s disappearance. Interestingly, in one of the photos from Amy’s camera, there is a white van in the background — in 1974, Blair owned a white van identical in color and model.

Furthermore, Amy wrote in her journal that she was pondering running away to South America with a man named Hank. Blair’s nickname was also Hank and during the same time period she wrote about it, Blair was going to Argentina due to his job.

Sadly, Amy has never been found. Some believe she wasn’t alive for long after her disappearance, one theory is that she was murdered by a serial killer. Other people, such as Susan, believe it’s likely that Amy was abducted by a motorcycle gang.

After Amy went missing, Nathaniel and Susan had to close their art gallery. Both were diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992 and Nathaniel died the following year, at age 69. According to his wife, his last words were: “I want to see Amy before I die.”

In 2005, Susan had three heart attacks and had to stop searching for her daughter. She passed away soon after at the age of 80.

In 2001, Susan co-authored a book about the case with Greg Aunapu, Without a Trace: The Disappearance of Amy Billig — A Mother’s Search for Justice. The book details the dangers that Susan faced while searching for Amy within the motorcycle subculture.

If alive, Amy Billig would now be 62-years-old.