Mary Haley-Scott is a missing Raleigh County, West Virginia woman whose disappearance has unearthed a tangled web of possibilities. Did Haley-Scott disappear on her own to escape criminal charges she was facing? Or did she meet with foul play?
She has now been found safe in Raleigh County – and arrested on charges of being a fugitive from justice and obstructing an officer.
The estranged wife of a retired state trooper, William Scott, Mary previously accused him of domestic abuse, and he was arrested on the allegations just days before she disappeared. After she disappeared, friends told local television stations they started to receive odd Facebook messages from Haley-Scott’s account showing her with a bruised and battered face and even referring to her being in a lake. Then, police revealed she was wanted for grand larceny.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Sheriff’s Department Posted About Haley-Scott, Calling Her a Missing Person
Mary Haley Scott
On December 17, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department labeled Haley a “Missing Person: Mary Cathleen Haley-Scott was reported missing to the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office on 12-16-2019 by members of her family.”
“Mrs. Haley-Scott is a 32 year old white female… She was last seen in Raleigh County area late last week. She was driving a Blue 2020 Kia passenger car with Virginia Temporary registration URV3345. Anyone having information regarding her location is urged to contact the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office at 304-255-9300 or Crimestoppers,” wrote The Sheriff’s Department.
There is a Facebook page devoted to finding Mary Haley-Scott. It’s called Where Are you Mary Haley? Her name is also given as Mary Cathleen Haley.
2. Haley-Scott Made Domestic Abuse Allegations Against Her Estranged Police Officer Husband
Mary Haley Scott
According to WOAY-TV, Mary Cathleen Haley Scott had accused her estranged husband and another man of beating and threatening to kill her. Her husband, William Scott, is a retired West Virginia state trooper, where he worked for several decades.
She alleged that, on December 3, 2019, she left a friend’s home to go to the store and was speaking on the phone in a church parking lot when she accuses her estranged husband, William Scott, of pulling her out of the car with another man and punching and choking her, WOAY reported.
The friend on the phone with her called 911. In the complaint, she alleged that she was “punched over and over in the face and told next time it will be a bullet to my head,” the television station reported.
“We have been in communication with the investigating agencies. She is the estranged wife of a retired member. He [Scott] has also been in contact with the investigating agencies and is cooperating fully,” the West Virginia State Police told WOAY.
According to Fox News, Haley and her husband separated in August and he turned himself in on December 11 to the Wythe County Sheriff’s office on a warrant for a misdemeanor charge. He claims he hasn’t seen Mary for months, Fox News reported. That case was for alleged domestic violence, CBS Fox 59 reported.
3. Relatives Say, ‘We Have to Find You, Mary’
Mary Haley Scott
One relative, Lorie Haley, who has been posting on her Facebook page about Mary, wrote, “Where are you Mary? I can’t stand this. Someone knows something. For the past few nights I just get cold chills so bad that I shake continuously We have to find you Mary.” Haley wrote that she is Mary’s sister.
“Any info. Things aren’t adding up,” she shared, writing:
“Someone has seen her
Someone has talked to her
Any information is needed
If you have her phone # or any screenshots of the post on her fb that said she was killed, comments anything
Please share info
It’s Christmas and her parents, friends and family are worried
Go to local police departments give them any information
I have been on phone all morning
Was last seen driving a blue 2019/2020 Rio Kia Virginia tags URV3345
Last anyone has talked to her is Saturday morning 12/14/19.”
Haley added: “Mary knows even though we don’t talk now and don’t get along if she was in danger and needed anything all she had to do was call me I would be there. Like the many times I have been in her life. Everyone that truly knows my baby sister, and I mean truly knows her knows she’s full of drama. Has been for a long time. My family are worried about her. We are not sleeping.”
4. After Mary Disappeared, Friends Received Facebook Messages That Showed Her Face Beaten
Mary Haley Scott
Friends told WSAZ-TV that, after Mary was reported missing, they received messages from her Facebook account “with a graphic image of her face beaten.” See above.
“I was trying to help her,” said Haley-Scott’s friend Kristina Mussalam to the television station. “My heart just sank when I saw the message, and I just felt terrible.” It’s not clear who sent the messages.
According to Fox, Mussalam was part of a domestic violence support group with Mary. The messages claimed Mary was “beaten pretty bad” but then another string of messages said things like “she is unstable” and that her husband is a “great police officer” and she “fell down steps acting crazy.” The messages also said at one point, “Rural Retreat Lake. She fell in…. yes she killed herself. She can’t swim.”
5. Mary Haley, Who Owned Ice Cream & Thrift Stores, Was Recently Indicted for Grand Larceny
Mary Haley Scott
In addition to all of the above, Mary had a reason to want to flee. Raleigh County, W.Va., Sheriff Scott Van Meter told Fox News that Haley “was indicted by a grand jury for alleged larceny in Smith County, Va., on Dec. 10 and was wanted there.”
“We have learned that she is under indictment and wanted by the Smyth County Sheriffs Department in Virginia for grand larceny,” said Van Meter to WNVS-TV. “She’s under indictment and wanted for criminal charges in Virginia, but we’re looking at it as a missing persons still.”
Fox News reported that Mary owned ice cram and thrift stores but had shut them down. One friend told Fox that Haley was driving to the Florida panhandle for meetings trying to retain marketing clients.
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