18-year-old Mary Tanner was found murdered

The brutal murder of a Maine teenager 43 years ago remains unsolved, but the case is getting renewed attention thanks to a documentary in production, the Bangor Daily News reports.

Mary Ellen Tanner, 18, was found dead on July 9, 1978, at the end of a runway in rural Maine by a pilot who had spotted her body while taking off.

“There’s a woman down there dead. Somebody call the police,” the pilot said in a radio transmission, according to the newspaper.

Tanner’s body was already beginning to decompose in the summer heat. She was only partially clothed – her pants and shoes were missing – and it was apparent that her head had been beaten.

Friends and family described Tanner, who had three older siblings, as a “free spirit” who often hitchhiked, which was common among youth at the time.

“She was a kind, gentle soul, everybody’s little sister,” Tim Ames, a childhood friend, told the newspaper.

On July 7, 1978, two days before she was found dead, Tanner attended a parade in Kennebunkport’s Dock Square. Multiple people saw her at the event, and she talked with at least two friends.

That evening, Tanner was spotted at a bowling alley, after which she hitchhiked with friends to a hill near the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, a popular hang-out spot for teens.

Tanner then went to a beach with another friend and was later seen at the intersection of Routes 9 and 35 in Kennebunkport.