After Seffner skeleton identified, authorities investigate husband's house

Deputies say the Seffner woman, missing since 1993, was murdered.

By JUSTIN GEORGE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 6, 2007

Hillsborough sheriff's detectives and crime scene technicians take evidence out of the Seffner home where Reubin Mongee lives. The last time authorities visited the house, they were searching for Mongee's wife, Barbara Ellen.
	[Skip O'Rourke | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Skip O'Rourke | Times] Hillsborough County Sheriff's investigators sift inch by inch through soil to search for evidence in a construction site at US Highway 92 and Parsons Avenue in Seffner. Barbara Ellen Mongee's skull was discovered here by construction workers. Barbara Ellen Mongee was 37 when she was reported missing. She was identified by her dental records.

SEFFNER - Deputies made the same walk up Reubin Mongee's driveway Friday they made 13 years ago after his wife disappeared.

They carted out belongings and strung up police tape, a case reopened after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said a skeleton nearby construction workers dug up late last month matched Barbara Mongee's dental records.

Last time authorities came to the house, she was just missing. This time, they say she was murdered.

It was deja vu for the neighborhood long curious about the mysterious red-brick home at 218 Gay Road. It also meant the beginning of the end for Barbara's family, who had sought her since October 1993.

Her stepmother reported the 5-foot-8, 118-pound part-time student missing after she was last seen at Hillsborough Community College in Brandon. Three months later, in January 1994, armed deputies barged into the Gay Road home and took custody of Reubin and Barbara's 4-year-old daughter.

They never publicly disclosed why they took the child from Reubin. In June 1994, they arrested him on a fraud charge after authorities said he forged his wife's signature to cash a $1,553 U.S. Treasury check.

It was the last heard about Reubin, 56, and Barbara, 37. Her case went cold. He planted a fence of shrubs and trees in front of his home.

Friday, shock, memories and suspicion returned to Barbara's ex-sister-in-law.

"Oh, my God, I just can't believe this," Cherie Walton said.

The Sheriff's Office said Reubin Mongee is not a suspect or person of interest. Attempts by the Times to reach him were unsuccessful.

Neighbors describe him as recluse.

Before Barbara disappeared, Reubin would remain in his room when his wife's parents and siblings visited, said Walton, 42, who divorced Barbara's brother.

He always kept the shades drawn inside, she said.

"He stuck to himself," said Joann Hayward.

He had no visitors except for his daughter, whom he seemed to take to dinner and shopping often, Hayward said.

In 1994, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said Reubin Mongee had been uncooperative in the search for his wife. His attorney told a newspaper back then that he was scared by the questions and scrutiny.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Justin George can be reached at 813 226-3368 or jgeorge@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 5, 2007, 23:33:00]