Tammy Lynn Leppert

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Cocoa Beach Police Department (FL)

Missing From:

Cocoa Beach, FL

Summary:

Tammy Leppert was an 18-year-old aspiring actress with roles in Spring Break and Scarface along with hundreds of beauty pageant crowns to her name. While on the set of Scarface, she had a mental health crisis and returned home to be with her mother. Tammy communicated concerns of paranoia to include feeling like people were trying to kill her. After visiting a mental health center, she was released and disappeared a few days later, never to be seen again.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On July 1, 1983, Tammy had a mental health crisis and started smashing windows in her home and attacking friends. Tammy believed people were trying to kill her and poison her. Her mother, Linda Curtis, checked her into Melbourne Mental Health where she was under observation for 72 hours. The following day after being released, Tammy rode with friend Keith Roberts to Cocoa Beach after he picked her up at her home in Rockledge, FL. Roberts stated he worked at a bank in Lakeland and Tammy called him at work asking for him to pick her up. During the ride, Tammy asked to borrow $300 and asked to be driven to a friend's house in Ft. Lauderdale (~2 hours south). After he wouldn't drive her there, a verbal argument started. Tammy asked to be let out of the car, and Roberts dropped her off in a parking lot two blocks south of the Glass Bank. This was the last time Tammy has been seen. On July 6, 1983, Tammy made three phone calls to her aunt Ginger Kolsch's business, Balloonatics. The aunt was out of town but stated the voicemails sounded frantic and like Tammy was afraid of somebody.

Additional Details:

Growing up as a child, Tammy completed in over 300 beauty contests and won 280 crowns. Tammy was in the movie "Spring Break" after landing a part in July 1982. After the movie premier, Tammy went to a weekend party where those closest to her said she came back " a different person". At this time Tammy began talking to her mother about people wanting to kill her. Tammy entered periods of isolation, but obtained a role on Scarface which started filming in Miami during March of 1983. During filming, Tammy stayed with family friend Walter Liebowitz who reported that on the fourth day of filming, Tammy had a breakdown on the set. Tammy was watching a scene where someone was shot and had artificial blood spurt out. She started crying hysterically and had to be taken to her trailer. Tammy quit the film and returned home with her mother in Rockledge, FL. Wing Flannagan was identified as a childhood friend who was like brother/sister with Tammy. He participated in interviews for the Unsolved Mysteries episode and gave a lot of background information for Tammy. He described a significant amount of paranoia behavior to include being afraid her food was poisoned, afraid of phone calls and even spoke of the neighbors new van having mirrored windows so "they could see us but we couldn't see them". Keith Roberts was identified in the police report by the mom as knowing Tammy for two years and was secretive about his past and where he lived. While Tammy was at Melbourne Mental Health, her blood and urine drug tests were negative and Tammy did not have a history of using drugs.

Case Last Updated:

Jan 11, 2026