9-Year-Old Girl Disappears After Playdate with Next Door Neighbor

Nine-year-old Elizabeth Olten went missing after a playdate with her older neighbor, Alyssa Bustamante. The community of St. Martins, Missouri, mobilized a massive search effort involving hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement. However, torrential rains, high winds, and the technological limitations of cell phone tracking in 2009 made the search extremely difficult, yielding no immediate clues to Elizabeth's whereabouts.

On Wednesday, October 21st, 2009, nine-year-old Elizabeth Olten walked down her residential street in St. Martins, Missouri, to play with her friend, nine-year-old Emma Bustamante, Alyssa's younger sister. Elizabeth never made it back home. Sheriff Greg White described the dark night with torrential rains and great winds, making it an uncomfortable time to search. Approximately 300 people were out looking. In 2009, cell phone tracking capacity was greatly diminished compared to today, providing only a general area.

Investigators quickly focused on 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante, the last person to see Elizabeth. A search of Alyssa's room revealed disturbing writings on the wall, and crucially, her diary contained a detailed confession to the murder. Alyssa's personal history included significant instability, a drug-addicted mother, a suicide attempt at age 12, and a prescription for Prozac at an adult dosage, which her grandparents believed made her 'wild'.

The FBI's evidence recovery team found disturbing writings on Alyssa's bedroom wall, including statements about blood and horrific thoughts. Her journal entry stated: 'I just killed someone. I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them. Now they're dead. I don't know how to feel at the moment. It was amazing. I'm kind of nervous and shaky though right now. K, I got to go to church now. LOL.' Alyssa's mother was 16 when she was born. Her grandparents gained custody due to her mother's drug addiction and neglect. Alyssa attempted suicide at age 12 and was prescribed an adult dose of 20mg Prozac, which her grandfather stated 'made her wild'.

During interrogation, Alyssa initially maintained Elizabeth's death was an accident, but detectives used her diary entry and evidence of a pre-dug grave-like hole to pressure her. She eventually confessed to the premeditated murder, detailing how she strangled, stabbed, and slit Elizabeth's throat before burying her. Alyssa was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action, receiving a life sentence plus 30 years. Recent legislative changes in Missouri have further delayed her parole eligibility, pushing it decades into the future.

Alyssa initially claimed Elizabeth fell and died, and she burned the body. Detectives questioned her about a 'perfect rectangle hole' she had dug, which resembled a grave. She eventually confessed: 'Yes' to cutting Elizabeth's throat, using a 'kitchen knife', stabbing her twice, and burying her body. She admitted to strangling Elizabeth first until she was unconscious, then slitting her throat and stabbing her. Alyssa was tried as an adult due to the brutality. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action. In 2024, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 754, closing a loophole that would have allowed juveniles convicted of second-degree murder parole after 15 years, effectively pushing Alyssa's parole eligibility into the 2040s.