• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About the author and her website
  • References
  • Archives
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Contact Page

Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

  • My Research Method
  • How to search for cases
  • Cold Case Database
  • Case of the Month: What we lost
  • Book Reviews
You are here: Home / Missing Persons / Maria Daanen (Dec 9, 1945 – missing Dec 11, 1971)

Maria Daanen (Dec 9, 1945 – missing Dec 11, 1971)

May 11, 2020 By Alice

Maria Daanen Grid AdS
Grid AdS

In 1971, Maria Daanen aka Ria, went missing from Koudekerk aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

She is white, about 5’8″ (1 m 78 cm), was around 176 lbs (80 kg), with brown hair and eyes.

In the photographs, notice the position of her upper teeth.

The Case

At some point in the night of December 11, 1971, Maria “Ria” Daanen went missing after another fight with husband Jan Daanen. He told police that after they argued, he retired around 10pm. Ria had hinted at leaving him and the children. He went to bed and woke at 3am the next day. Ria was gone.

According to the papers, Ria was not happily married. In the papers are stories about frequent quarrels with her husband and with her father when she was still at home. But she was also intelligent and fiercely independent. She left the parental home at a young age.

In a window of 5 hours, Ria took clothes, money, and her passport according to the papers, and then left the house. There is no mention of a bag or a suitcase. Where did she get the cash? Could she have packed a bag without waking up anyone in the house?

Most notably, she left without her three daughters: twins, aged four, and a one-year-old. It is not a common pattern for women to leave behind very young children. Not common but not impossible.

Jan Daanen

Retired Dutch Detective Piet Noorlander has been studying Ria’s case. In the media, he explained in detail how he investigated this case. There were no signs of a homicide, no object was found that could have been a murder weapon, and no unidentified bodies were ever linked to Ria.

Ria’s family has for the longest time suspected that her husband Jan knew more. Rumors galore in the small village didn’t advance the case. So, tired of being suspected, Jan went to the media. He said that he was innocent, frankly admitted that he didn’t care if Ria ever came back, but for old times’ sake would like to know where she is.

There is a lot online about this case so do a simple search under her name and everything will pop up. Since a lot of the information is in Dutch, I have translated and expanded on two issues: scenarios and suspects.

Scenario involving Jan Daanen

IF Jan killed her, where is her body? How did he get her out of the house and towards the crime scene if she was not killed at home? Where is the crime scene and do we possibly have more than one? Where she was killed need not be the spot where her remains were hidden.

Could Jan have gotten out of the house, after 10pm with the children asleep inside, to get Ria out of the house? Can we prove that he didn’t retire earlier? And what type of transportation was used? According to the papers, she was heavier than he was so he might have needed help. Who would do this for Jan and keep quiet after all these years?

There are reasons to consider Jan a suspect:

  • he told police that Ria took her passport with her that night. However, a family member recalls seeing that passport inside the house after Ria disappeared. I am curious if it indeed as found by police or not.
  • he filed for divorce soon after Ria vanished.
  • he allegedly burned her possessions.

This indeed doesn’t look like the actions of a grieving husband or one longing for her return. It looks like the actions of a man who is happy to be free. But all this doesn’t make him a murderer.

Jan remarried. She passed away before Det. Noorlander could speak to her about the case. Jan passed away in 2007. On his deathbed, he said words that kept all the speculation around Ria going. To one of his daughters he said “I can’t and won’t tell you.”

Suspects

Jan had a brother. If he had needed an accomplice, the village was convinced that his brother would help. Noorlander visited that brother unannounced and used all his detective and interrogative skills to analyze this man. It took several hours but then Noorlander was convinced: this man was telling the truth. He didn’t know anything.

Noorlander also spoke to all the family members and with each he felt that they were truthful, not hiding information, and not lying. That leaves one option.

Maria Daanen/Age progression Dutch Police
Maria Daanen/Age progression Dutch Police
Suspects: Ria and Jan Daanen

There is the possibility that Ria’s disappearance was orchestrated by herself and her husband.

Imagine an unhappy marriage and both partners want out. Divorce might not be an option due to religion or societal consequences. But there is one way.

A pact.

It requires cooperation from both, eternal silence from both to protect themselves and the three children, but it will give both the freedom to start a new life.

What if Jan helped Maria Daanen to disappear in exchange for freedom?

What if he agreed to her leaving if she left the children with him and never contact them? What if he promised that they would never want for anything and he would keep them safe?

What if she considered freedom, to start a new life, maybe with a new husband, and maybe have more children, etc.? She was described as intelligent and independent. Would she have considered such an option?

If it is not an option, why did Det. Noorlander ask for an aged progressed picture of Ria Daanen after all these years? Noorlander is quoted in the papers as “Ik denk niet dat Ria dood is.’’ Translation: I do not think that Ria is dead. It is possible that Ria left the Netherlands, settled down in another country, and lives there under a different name.

This scenario would explain the words on Jan’s deathbed. I can’t tell you as I promised that I would never tell. I made a pact. I won’t tell you.

Kindly note that if Maria Daanen is ever found alive and does not want to contact her family, standard operating procedure is that police will respect her wishes.

Resources

Dutch Police
Interpol

Contact Information

If you have any information about Maria Daanen, please contact the Dutch Police at 0800-6070. If you are calling from outside the Netherlands, please dial: +31793459876. Her case number is 18064357.

Thank you for sharing!

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Missing Persons Tagged With: Maria Daanen, Missing Person, the Netherlands

Primary Sidebar

Dina Fort

Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 300 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

Protected by Copyscape

Categories

Top Posts & Pages

  • Cold Case Database
  • Gina Renee Hall partial remains found
  • How to search for cases
  • The 1980 Tim Hack and Kelly Drew murders
  • The cold case of Theresa M. Corley

Subscribe to DCC by email

Enter your email address to get new posts notifications in your inbox

RSS Defrosting Cold Cases

  • What we lost
  • The Ethics of Forensic Genealogy part 2
  • Once Two Sister by Sarah Warburton
  • Toronto John Doe 1989
  • Paul Bernard Quinters (1967 – 1993)

William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2009–2021 - Defrosting Cold Cases - All rights reserved · Hosting & WordPress: 3J WordPress Write Data

wordpress counter

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.