June 1, 1997 was Kristen Modafferi’s 18th birthday. On that day, she flew from her home in North Carolina to California to take a summer photography class at UC Berkeley. Twenty-three days later, she disappeared.  

Police initially believed that she left on her own, but her family knew she would never do that. As the investigation unfolded, plenty of suspects popped up: the four male strangers she was renting a room from; a mysterious blonde woman she was seen talking to the afternoon she disappeared; the violent man who called a news station to say he knew exactly what had happened to her. But despite years of investigations by police and private investigators, the whereabouts of Kristen Modafferi, a brilliant, artistic young woman living her dream summer, remain unknown.

If you have information about the disappearance of Kristen Modafferi, please contact the Oakland Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 510-238-3641. 

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