New Hampshire: Tammy Lynn Belanger

Written By Navigating Advocacy Podcast

Photo: NCMEC

We are in New Hampshire this week, and of course, my mind immediately goes to Maura Murray, Harmony Montgomery, and the multiple victims found inside Bear Brook Park. Just 28 miles east of Bear Brook State Park sits Exeter, New Hampshire. It has a population of just over 16,000 and sits at 65 on the Neighborhood Scout crime index. Your chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is one in 1,244. Of course, these numbers are from the past year and are not from 1984, when my story took place. I couldn’t find specific crime statistics, but by all appearances, Exeter is the idyllic historic New England town that is a safe place for families to raise their children. Downtown is exactly what you picture in a historic New Hampshire town. In fact, a little square on Water Street looks exactly like Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. It is one of those places where doors stay unlocked, and everyone knows everyone.


On November 13, 1984, it was a cloudy and chilly fall morning. The high for the day would hit 57 degrees, but that morning, it hadn’t quite hit that mark just yet. Tammy Lynn Belanger was a shy 8-year-old girl and the youngest of three children in the Belanger home. She walked almost a mile to the Lincoln Street School on River Street, where she was in third grade. She made this walk every school day with no concerns for over two years. She walked because the bus was only available to students who lived more than 2 miles from the school.

This morning was no different than any other. Around 8:00 a.m., Tammy headed out the door towards school with her mother, Patricia, watching. A nearby neighbor, Betty, also saw Tammy skipping her way along the street wearing a short tan jacket with blue sleeves, a purple sweater, an aqua-colored jersey with thin black and white stripes, tan corduroy pants, tan suede boots, and green and blue socks. She had her red backpack slung over her shoulder, which had her name and address on it. 

Tammy usually took 10 minutes to get to school, but this day. She did not arrive. The school did not notify Tammy’s parents that she did not arrive because this was 1984. Attendance wasn’t as monitored as it is now. On days my kids are out of school, I get at least an email, text, and automated phone call stating they are absent. These procedures were not in place in the 80s. That is how we got away with skipping school when we were younger. 

The school day passed, and when Tammy did not arrive home after school at her usual time, Patricia grew concerned. Usually, Tammy made the walk home and arrived around 3. When she wasn’t home by 3:30, Patricia called the school. When the campus informed her that Tammy had not been present at school that day, full panic set in. Patricia immediately called the Exeter Police Department to report Tammy’s disappearance. 


The small knit community sprung into action. Law enforcement and volunteers put together a search party. Below-freezing temperatures were due overnight, with a wind chill below zero. The team started with the route Tammy regularly took to school and combed the surrounding streets and neighborhoods. Searches overnight continued, but no single piece of evidence was recovered. 

An even larger search party arrived the following morning. The police chief called in the Coast Guard, firefighters and officers from nearby communities, and any volunteer he could find. At one point, up to 200 people were volunteering. 

Divers entered the nearby Exeter River, and law enforcement even searched every inch of the school after hours to ensure she wasn’t there. Door-to-door canvassing at every house Tammy walked past on her route to school also yielded no information.

These searches continued for 3 days without knowing where Tammy could be. There was also no clear indication of foul play. With the possibility that Tammy was kidnapped, the FBI was called in to assist. 

The community was shaken, to say the least. This small town where people leave their doors unlocked and everyone knows everyone is suddenly on edge. Children were no longer allowed to walk to school unattended. Meal trains, financial assistance, and emotional support were just a few ways the community rallied behind the Belanger family. Counselors were provided to Tammy’s classmates to help them process what was happening around them. Tammy’s disappearance also led to procedural changes for school districts regarding attendance checks. When a student did not arrive at school, staff members would contact families to notify them. A reward was raised to upwards of $15,000. 


As we see so often in missing persons cases, police began to wonder if Tammy would have run away. Her parents were adamant that she would not have. Tammy loved school, was always punctual, their home life was stable, and she was close with her family. There had been no fights or turmoil that would indicate Tammy wasn’t a happy child and wanted to leave. She also was a shy child. She could not start a conversation or accept a ride from a stranger. 


Searches were scaled back but continued as they received new leads. During the first two days, over 1,000 tips came in, but every single one led to nothing. 


Tammy’s father continuously drove to the wooded areas and searched hunting camps, determined to find Tammy. 

One tip was about a suspicious blue vehicle in the vicinity of the school the morning Tammy disappeared. Law enforcement put out a public plea for more information about it but did not receive any relevant further information.


A month after Tammy’s disappearance, a person of interest was named. Victor Wonyetye worked at a body shop a few blocks from Tammy’s route. He had quite a rap sheet, including felonious sexual assault of a female minor who was his 13-year-old stepdaughter. He served four years in prison before being paroled in July 1983. He had moved to the New Hampshire area shortly after Tammy disappeared. His parole was revoked in December 1984 because he had left Florida without informing his parole officer. He was also interested in the disappearance of Majorie “Christy” Luna from Greenacres, Florida. She disappeared in May of 1984, and it was similar to Tammy’s disappearance. Both were walking alone on the street, and both times, Wonyetye was nearby.


Law enforcement felt they had enough circumstantial evidence to seek a grand jury indictment against Wonyetye for the kidnapping and probable murder of Tammy. Including his whereabouts, his driving a blue car, and his history. The district attorney disagreed, and charges were never filed. There was no physical evidence, and convicting without a body was rare. 

At the one-year mark, there were few leads and far between. Investigations were at a standstill. A few anonymous tips lead to more searches again with no evidence. Years continued to pass with no answers as to where Tammy could be. Her disappearance still haunts the area.

Just 30 miles away in Allenstown, New Hampshire, the remains of two victims were found in November 1985. Initial suspicions were that these remains could possibly belong to Tammy, but they were later identified as two of the victims in the Bear Brook murders. 


Victor Wonyetye was the only person ever suspected of Tammy’s disappearance. In January 1992, he was arrested for burglary and indecent exposure. Surveillance footage caught him peeking into the window of three young girls in West Palm Beach, Florida, 14 times in less than three weeks. He was convicted and received a 75-year sentence as a habitual offender and died in December 2012.

In 1994, police opened the grave of a woman who had died in November 1984 on a tip but had no evidence found inside. 

At the time of her disappearance, Tammy had brown hair and brown eyes. Her left eye turns outwards. She had a slender build and fair complexion. She would be 48 years old now and is still considered a missing person.  Her parents later divorced, and Tammy’s father died in 2017, never knowing what happened to his youngest daughter.


If you have any information, contact the Exeter Police Department Missing Persons Unit at 603.772.1212.

Photo NCMEC


Navigating Advocacy Podcast

A podcast that started over a glass of wine between best friends and quickly evolved into a mission to create positive change and ethical true crime content.

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