Rosemary and the Motorcycle Man

Keith Morrison Correspondent • Profile

It was a Friday afternoon in August of 1999, on a long narrow strip of a sun-washed beach. It was a good time to be alive. Good time to be in real estate, too; as bright and hot that year as an afternoon on the Florida Gulf.

Jeff Beggins: My dad was-- he was one of the original founders of Century 21.

Jeff Beggins and his family have been in real estate for over thirty years, tending the Snowbird Haven here in Tampa. Jeff runs the office now. And on this particular Friday afternoon, he was getting ready for one of his signature beach barbeques, a semi-regular perk which not only he enjoyed, it helped attract and retain his excellent team of agents.

Jeff Beggins: It was a small group at the time, with-- kind of a small, close-knit family. We'd have office happy hours, office get-togethers, and the whole team would come through.  And we'd do beach parties, and you know, cook outs, and those type of picnics.

One of these agents had a particularly interesting background. A diplomat's ex-wife, Rosemary Christiansen. Fellow agent Kathy McKinnon was impressed by Rosemary's slightly more formal style.

Kathy McKinnon: Proper and always-- she was the type of person where she's got nylons with her shorts.  Has to have her-- her nylons on and, you know, her nails done.

But reserved, standoffish?  Oh no.  Rosemary was warm, unfailingly friendly.

Jeff Beggins: One of the types that you wish you had about 100 of. Extremely great personality, very loving, very thoughtful, very caring, very empathetic. 

Her 20 years of diplomatic practice, perhaps? Her worldly experience? Rosemary was born in Australia, but traveled the globe on the arm of her husband, a respected member of the Dutch foreign service.

Laurel Zyvoloski: She was a true lady.

Laurel Zyvoloski met Rosemary soon after she arrived in Florida.

Laurel Zyvoloski: She definitely had that air about her.  And-- it was an air of, taking care of others and being the best hostess and things like that.

A white-gloved existence, the sort of life outsiders envy. Even if, inside, it was not so splendid after all.

Keith Morrison: How much did she tell you about that former life of hers?

Kathy McKinnon: Not a whole lot.  I just knew that-- it wasn't a real happy one. She was pretty lonely.

Even so, why would she leave not just her husband but the two young sons they shared?  Abandon the parties, the travel, the social cache, for the uncertain rewards of hawking Florida real estate?

Kathy McKinnon: She just wanted to, you know, get out on her own. She really hadn't done out-- a lotta jobs from what I understand. She was married and had kids and everything and when she left, she didn't know what to do. 

Trapped in a life that felt more like a prison, drawn by independence and the Florida sun, and yes, the promise of a second chance at love, rosemary had a cyber suitor.

Laurel Zyvoloski: She  met this Robert guy online.  And he had e-mailed her that he was this-- top secret FBI agent, and had these houses all over the places.  And-- she arranged to come to the States to meet him. 

Robert Glenn Temple was the suitor. One meeting with him and she took the leap.  To florida.

Laurel Zyvoloski: She was definitely in love with him in the beginning. 

He was, for one thing, the opposite of all she had known in that other life of hers.

Kathy McKinnon: He had tattoos.  He, you know, he rode a motorcycle. 

Jeff Beggins: I didn't see how those two personalities would kinda come together, but you know, opposites attract sometimes, and that's-- probably was the case here.

The two were married in 1997.

Kathy McKinnon: She was so into Robert.  It was Robert, Robert, Robert, you know.  She just was "Robert."

Her sons occasionally came to visit her here in Florida. But her marriage to their diplomat father was part of her past. Now it was, as we said, that Friday afternoon in August. It was the eve of the company beach party.

Jeff Beggins: Rosemary was bringing some of the supplies, and was always there early to set up.

Rosemary had told co-workers she would drop into the office Friday afternoon to pick up a bowl for the next day's event.

Kathy McKinnon: They kinda called me and said, you know, "Rosemary still hasn't gotten this bowl of potato salad, you know, what do we do?"  And I said, "Well, she'll show up.  Don't worry about it." 

But Saturday morning, as the preparations for the party began, Rosemary again uncharacteristically shirked her duties.

Jeff Beggins: She didn't show up.

So they phoned her.  More than once.  No answer. No Rosemary.

Jeff Beggins: We knew when she didn't show, that something was-- musta been wrong, 'cause that was definitely out of her character.

Rosemary was never late. She always stayed in touch. But here it was, getting later.  No Rosemary.

Keith Morrison: How late was she before you began to worry?

Jeff Beggins: It was a good, hour and a half, two hours--  And that's when some of the teammates and I got a little bit concerned and said, we needed to go figure out what mighta happened.

But Jeff Beggins and Rosemary's other friends felt quite suddenly that they already knew: Rosemary Christiansen had left them.

Kathy McKinnon: Deep down inside, I knew something had happened to her, that she was gone.

But what none of them knew was where, or how, or why.

More from NBC News broadcasts Struggling species gets helping hand Astronaut over the moon for daughter’s birth   Panel examines cancer screening confusion Report: Vet aid program riddled with fraud Knox speaks out, calls victim a ‘friend’ McCain says he enjoyed Palin’s book   Polluters, watch out for 'eco-cops'   Follow on Twitter: Making a Difference

MORE FROM CRIME STORIES

Crime stories Section Front

The Night Mary Jane Disappeared The Friday the 13th Mystery Mystery at Lost Dog Road Slideshow: Photos in the Bob Duke case When The Smoke Clears Slideshow: The Christie Fleming murder Through The Pouring Rain In Plain Sight: Jaycee Dugard Bad Chemistry Bad Chemistry: Photos in the case Crime stories Section Front   Add Crime stories headlines to your news reader: