Ending a missing-in-action mystery that dragged on for three months, longtime KTVU-Channel 2 news anchor Leslie Griffith made her departure from the station official on Friday by handing in her resignation.

As readers of the Times and this blog know, this move comes as no surprise. Griffith had been off the air since Aug. 22 in what the station characterized as a leave of absence. But behind the scenes, negotiations were under way on a departure settlement.

“I’ve had some unbelievable times at KTVU and the Bay Area has watched me grow up from a girl with pig-tails down to her waist to a woman who was able to travel and report on stories all over the world,” Griffith said, when reached in Colorado on Friday.”I never imagined I’d do as much and see as much. But I felt like I needed a change in my life. It’s time to move on.”

Griffith, 49, joined KTVU in April 1986 as a weekend reporter and anchor. She rose through the ranks to become one of the Bay Area’s most recognized and honored TV journalists. In March of 1998, she became co-anchor, along with Dennis Richmond, on the “Ten O’Clock News” after Elaine Corral resigned under mysterious circumstances.

Over the past year, Griifith has privately expressed dissatisfaction with the management and direction of KTVU’s news department. She also had a run-in with management for what she perceived as a lack of support when a derisive column in the Oakland Tribune, written by anonymous critic “The Grump,” questioned her journalistic integrity. The column incensed Griffith, who regarded it as a cowardly hit piece. At one point, she considered legal action and looked to station general manager Tim McVay for backup. But “only a couple of calls were made and that was it,” said a source.

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Well, it has been two weeks since KTVU-Channel 2 station general manager Tim McVay had the amazing gall to tell me that Leslie Griffith would be returning to her anchor chair “any day now.” Guess what? Still no Leslie.

People have asked me for updates, but I really don’t have any because both sides in the matter aren’t commenting. It would seem, though, that it is time (actually past time) for KTVU management to be honest with its viewers and let them know what’s going on.

Why they’ve taken the lay-low strategy they have is a mystery to me. I can only guess that they’re clinging to a remote possibility that they can convince Leslie to return (something she obviously doesn’t want to do). Or they hope that by having someone else in the anchor chair for an extended period of time will lessen the public’s attachment to Leslie and therefore blunt the impact when the announcement finally does come down.

Either way, honesty is obviously not the reigning policy at KTVU.

Something strange seems to be going on at KTVU-Channel 2, where anchor woman Leslie Griffith has been missing from the news desk for more more than a month and might be gone for good.

Station general manager Tim McVay, reached in Atlanta on Wednesday, said that Griffith is on a “short-term leave” and would probably be back “next week.” But when contacted earlier at her Orinda home, Griffith gave no indication that she would be coming back.

And that’s the strange part. Griffith, who has been so open and forthcoming with me over the years, is now saying zilch about her situation, insisting that I speak to McVay, who obviously is being just as tight-lipped.

That automatically leads me me to believe that she and the station might be working on a settlement deal in which she’ll depart. I do know for sure that Griffith, who has three years remaining on her KTVU contract, has expressed over the past year some disillusionment with the state of the brodcast news industry. She also has repeatedly said she might be willing to pursue other interests.

Though no one is willing to go on the record and say Griffith is leaving, responses from sources at Channel 2 only heighten the suspicion. When asked if Griffith will be back, one source said, “That’s not for me to say. That’s an internal issue.”

The situation recalls another anchor mystery at KTVU. In March of 1998, Elaine Corral abruptly resigned with an on-air announcement that took her co-workers by complete surprise. She and management refused to discuss the matter, which was widely believed to be connected to Corral’s desire for a pay increase and more responsibility on the newscast.

Corral’s replacement? Leslie Griffith.