NEW ORLEANS, La. – (WWL)--It's been more than 33 years since a fire near New Orleans claimed the lives of two toddlers and ever since, a third child has been missing without a trace.
No body, no remains, nothing. So where is Ramona Brown, and could a Central Florida man have some insight to the mystery?
"We were down there for Mardi Gras in 1984," said Gary Olson.
But it was the night before that has stuck in Olson's mind. He said he was staying at a friend's home with his wife, and they had all gone to bed early in order to get up early for the celebration.
Ramona Brown
"I was woken by a couple of loud bangs and I thought, 'Whoa, is somebody shooting or something?" said Olson. "I got up to look out the window, and when I looked out the window i noticed the house next to us was on fire. I went to open the front door and the lady from next door was hollering and crying, 'I need help, I need help, my babies are inside.'"
The woman from next door was Johnnie Mae Brown. She lived in the home with her husband, Aubrey, and their 10 children, ranging in age from 16 to an infant.
Pamela Nickerson, one of the eldest children, recalled the night and how the chaos started.
"I was 14. I'm 47 now. I was on the phone with Vincent. I'll never forget it," said Nickerson. "I didn't hear nothing, I didn't smell nothing. When I raised up, I saw the fire. You just saw the flames shooting out. I got them up. I went to kicking them all, 'Get up! Get up!'"
Nickerson said the fire initially started in the girls' bedroom, which is where 3-year-old Ramona was last seen sleeping alone.
Johnnie Mae said seven of her 10 children got out, but 4-year-old Aubrey Jr. and 2-year-old Kevin didn't make it out.
"I heard the kids hollering 'Momma' and 'Daddy'. But I couldn't get to them," said Johnnie Mae.
"They found them. They found Aubrey, who was older than Kevin, found them 100 bones and Aubrey was hugging Kevin, I guess because he was trying to protect him from the fire," said Simona Brown, another of Ramona's sisters.
Investigators initially thought they found Ramona's body, too-- but it turned out the third set of remains they sent to the coroner's office belonged to an animal. They couldn't understand how nothing of Ramona was found in the rubble, so they even consulted a local crematorium on how hot a fire would have to burn in order to leave no trace behind.
"It would have took 1,800 to 2,800 degrees for two and a half hours to consume a body and that even after a two and a half hour exposure to fire, there would still be bone fragments, bones that would be identifiable as human," said Harry Mendoza, a retired NOPD arson investigator who worked on the case.
This fire was brought under control in 30-40 minutes, which investigators said meant if Ramona had died in the home, they would have found something. Even with four searches of the home and surrounding area, they found nothing.
Simona, who was 6 at the time of the fire, has another theory. She said she remembers Ramona being there with the others outside of the home that night.
"A bronze-looking old Cadillac just pulled up. Everybody was helping because that's what we do in this neighborhood. We help each other," said Simona. "An old black man, old white lady. They was like, 'We'll watch her for y'all.' So, I was like, 'OK. cool.' We just thought they was being helpful and friendly. After that, we haven't seen my little sister since."
"When Simona got a little bit older, I asked her again, 'Are you sure what you told me when you were small? Did you really see what happened about the fire?,'" said Johnnie Mae. "She told me the same story and up until this day. I still ask her and she still says the same thing."
Dorothy Nickerson, Ramona's grandmother, said she heard from the child after the fire as well.
"Wasn't too many people called her Al. But everybody around the house called her Al. Never called her by her name. Cute little thing. She sure was," said Dorothy. "It's been so long, but I know. I have a sharp mind. The telephone rang. This was about two, three days later. The telephone rang. I pick up the phone, I say, 'Hello?' And somebody said, 'Ma!' I said, 'Who is this?' 'Al" I said, 'Al, where you at?' And I didn't hear no more. Somebody done took the phone from her. That was the last call I got. The last call I got."
Johnnie Mae said she never told police about those stories-- she said with all the grief, her mind just wasn't right. Still, it's a theory Olson said he's heard before.
"Somebody said that she was given to somebody," said Olson. "I think there might be something to that. My gut feeling says something is not right."
Now, the family is hoping if Ramona is out there, she will find her way back to them. Johnnie Mae has Stage IV cancer and said she would love to see her child again before she passes.
"I've been waiting a long time. A long time. And I'm going to keep on waiting," said Johnnie Mae. "We built back on the same property. And the reason for that is, because if she ever decides to come home, we're here. I'm not moving. I'm going to stay here till the end. I'm going to stay here. All she has to do is come on home."