Tammy Sue Rothganger

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Eldon Police Department (MO)

Missing From:

Eldon, Missouri

Summary:

Tammy Rothganger disappeared in 1984 after leaving her home to walk to school. She was never seen or heard from again. Her mother’s ex-boyfriend, Martin Dean Priest was later convicted of murdering a man and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He is believed to have killed others as well. Priest previously served time for a murder that occurred in 1980 but was later released. He was ultimately convicted for Tammy’s murder in 2016. Despite the conviction, her body was never found.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Tammy was last seen in Eldon, Missouri on the morning of May 16th 1984. She left her residence to walk to Eldon High School which was across the street from where she lived. She was seen by friends standing outside of the high school at 7:45 am smoking a cigarette. Rothganger did not attend classes that day and failed to return home later that evening. Her mother reported her missing. One of Tammy’s friends saw her get into a blue Plymouth vehicle with her mother’s live in boyfriend, Martin “Marty” Dean Priest and Martin’s thirteen year old nephew, David. She was never seen or heard from again afterward.

Additional Details:

Following Tammy’s disappearance, Martin gave conflicting accounts of when he last saw her. He claimed that Tammy told him that she was skipping school that day to go to Rock Island Park with some friends. He states he dropped her off there and that was the last time he saw her. Police interviewed Tammy’s friends who all said they never made any plans to skip school with her or any plans to go to Rock Island Park. Police believed that Martin knew more about Tammy’s disappearance than he was letting on. He was previously incarcerated for the 1980 death of Tonya Lewis, a thirteen year old girl whose mother had previously dated Priest. She disappeared after being last seen by Priest and was later found drowned in an irrigation pond. Priest was later retried in the case after appealing his conviction and he was acquitted of Tonya’s murder. He was released from prison in 1983 and began dating Tammy’s mother in February 1984. After Rothganger disappeared, he moved to Wichita, Kansas and became acquainted with the family of sixteen year old Katrina Cheely. On November 16th 1984, Priest offered to take Katrina to school and she was last seen being driven away by him. He later claimed he dropped her off in front of the school but she never attended classes that day. On February 28th 1985, Katrina’s body was found in a drainage culvert by a man collecting aluminum cans. She had been stripped naked and then thrown into the water but no cause of death could be determined. After Cheely’s murder, Priest gifted his wife her silver bracelet that she was wearing when she died. He was charged with killing Katrina but was ultimately acquitted of the charges. Police still suspect he murdered her, however. Priest was convicted in the Christmas 1984 murders of a couple and was sentenced to life in prison for the crime. In 2016, he was charged with Tammy Rothganger’s murder after his nephew agreed to testify against him in court. His nephew, David Nicholas said that Martin knocked Tammy unconscious in the car he was driving on the day she disappeared and proceeded to rape her. Afterwards, he strangled her to death and then placed her body in a barrel and buried her in an unknown location. David attempted to lead investigators to the burial site but Tammy’s remains were never found. Priest was ultimately convicted of Tammy’s murder and was sentenced to an additional life term in prison.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 24, 2025