Woman Vanishes After Leaving Bar Barefoot

Connie Lynn Royce (née Bostic) was a divorced 24-year-old business school student. She had a boyfriend after her marriage and the two briefly lived together. After a verbal fight that resulted in their neighbors calling the police, they broke up. Connie then moved in with her parents in Madison Heights, Michigan.

During Memorial Day weekend of 1990, Connie met a man named Greg. The two hit it off and decided to go out on a date. On June 1st, Connie drove to Greg’s apartment in Sterling Heights. She arrived around 9 PM and had a few drinks with Greg and his friend Brad. The trio then went to the Hayloft Bar in Mount Clemens at 10 PM.

Around 11 PM, while Greg was in the bathroom, Connie turned to Brad and said, “I have to get out of here”. She then left the bar while carrying her high heels and leaving behind her purse.

When Greg returned from the bathroom, Brad told him what happened and the two went outside to find her. They asked various people in and out of the bar if they had seen a woman in a black flower print dress holding her high heels. No one knew where she had gone.

Because Connie had left behind her purse, they assumed she would return. They waited inside the bar until 2 AM and then went back to Greg’s apartment. Connie’s car was still there.

Although most bars in the area did not have security cameras, the Hayloft had good quality surveillance footage of that night. Connie, Greg, and Brad can be seen entering the establishment. An hour later Connie is seen leaving the bar, clearly under the influence.

This news website has the footage (it’s the second video).

Not long after Connie left the Hayloft, she was supposedly seen at a payphone near the bar. A late 1970s model car was near her but no one saw if she got in or not.

A few days after, Connie was reportedly seen at the Newport Apartments about five minutes away from the Hayloft. Authorities investigated the lead and concluded it was not Connie.

Greg and Brad were investigated and cleared of any involvement by police. Their stories were consistent and there is footage of them being at the bar after Connie vanished. According to Hayloft’s staff, the trio had been acting normally and Connie had four drinks while at the bar.

Connie’s ex-husband and ex-boyfriend were also questioned. They both had alibis and were cleared.

Notably, during one fight with her ex-boyfriend at the beginning of 1990, Connie had left their home barefoot.

There are a few theories as to what happened to Connie after she abruptly left the Hayloft. Because she was clearly under the influence, it has been suggested that she wandered to the Clinton River and fell in.

However, not only was it boating season, but divers searched the waters and the water treatment plant. No evidence of such was found.

It has been theorized that Connie was drugged. Because Greg and Brad stayed at the bar, they are likely not the ones who slipped something into her drink. However, someone else may have done so and discreetly followed her outside.

Based on the reported sighting of Connie at the payphone, it is possible she called someone to pick her up. Either the person didn’t do so or they did and something went wrong.

Another likely theory is that she was seen wandering around near the road and was offered a ride by the wrong person.

Connie Lynn Royce is still missing 29 years later. If alive, she is now in her 50s.

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Check out Cat Leigh's Medium publication for more true crime stories: True Crime by Cat Leigh.