Her Daughter Vanished From A Bus Stop A Year After She Did And Left Behind A Mysterious Note

After a fight with her husband, Korrina Malinoski disappeared on November 21, 1987. She was last seen driving out of Mount Holly Plantation in South Carolina between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m. on November 21. She lived on the plantation with her husband in the caretaker's house, as he was the caretaker of the property.

Korrina and her husband, Thomas Steven "Steve" Malinoski, got married in 1981. They had two sons. It was Steve's third marriage, and according to one of the couple's sons, they fought regularly, and their fights sometimes became violent.

On the day of her disappearance, Korrina left home after an argument with Steve. She went for a drive to calm down. But the next morning, she missed her shift at a convenience store in Summerville, South Carolina, where she had been working for about six months before her disappearance. The store was located about seven miles from her home.

Korrina was considered a reliable employee, so when she didn't show up for work, her boss went looking for her and found her car parked at the entrance to the plantation. There was no sign of Korrina, and she was never seen again.

According to Steve, he stood on the porch and watched Korrina leave after an argument. He claimed to have witnessed her getting into someone else's vehicle, not her own.

However, the house was half a mile from the roadway and had a curved driveway surrounded by woods, so it wouldn't have been possible for him to see that from the porch.

Steve also claimed that Korrina was having an affair and ran away with another man, which investigators believe is also a lie.

Nearly a year later, on October 4, 1988, 11-year-old Annette Sagers disappeared from the bus stop in front of Mount Holly Plantation. Annette was Korrina's daughter from a previous marriage.

At 7 a.m., a bus driver passed by Annette's stop and saw her waiting for her school bus with her dog. Annette's bus arrived at 7:20 a.m., but no one was there.

serg - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual child - pictured above is a little girl with a backpack

Steve, her stepfather, discovered a penciled note from her at the bus stop. He called the police when she failed to return home from school.

The note read, "Dad, Mom came back. I have to go with her. Give the boys lots of kisses and hugs, and also to you. Love, Annette." The boys she referred to were her younger brothers.

Handwriting experts analyzed the note and confirmed it was written by Annette. It is unclear whether Korrina really did return for her daughter or whether Annette was forced to write the note.

Korrina's family doesn't think she would have willingly left without warning. They also don't believe she would come back for only Annette and not for her two sons as well.

It's possible that Annette may have known something about her mother's disappearance and was silenced. Steve also could've wanted Annette gone because she had told people that she and her brothers were being neglected.

She asked another adult for food at one point, explaining that she and her brothers hadn't eaten in three days. The adult notified the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

Korrina's relatives had planned to seek legal custody of Annette. Korrina's half-sister was supposed to visit the plantation, but Annette disappeared just a week before the visit. Steve never contacted his sister-in-law again.

In 2000, an anonymous caller told police to search for Korrina's body in Sumpter County. Investigators took a cadaver dog to the location, but nothing turned up.

Several months after Annette's disappearance, Steve moved to Florida, remarried, and had more children. He gave up the rights to his two sons by Korrina.

The boys bounced around in foster homes before they were eventually adopted. They have since grown up and reconnected with their biological relatives.

Steve maintains his innocence in his wife's and stepdaughter's cases. He was released from prison several years ago after serving a sentence for child abuse in a separate case.

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