Maria vanished on the evening of Dec. 3, 1957, after playing with a friend near her home in the town that then had about 5,000 residents. The girl she had been with said Maria had been abducted by a man who called himself "Johnny," and her disappearance led to an intensive search. FBI agents, who quickly took over the investigation, sent daily reports to Director J. Edgar Hoover, who took a personal interest in the case, according to court records.