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Strange Missing Persons/Unsolved Cases


Mentalcase

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Missing Trio

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On the morning of Dec. 23, 1974, three girls from three different families set out on a shopping trip to the then-rather glitzy Seminary South Shopping Center in south Fort Worth. They were supposed to be home by 4 p.m. - but they never returned.

Rachel Arnold Trlica, 17, picked up her friend Renee Wilson, 14, and when little Julie Ann Moseley, who lived across the street from Renee's grandmother, begged to go along, the older girls said she'd have to get permission.

Julie Ann was only 9 that morning and simply didn't want to spend the day alone. She persuaded her mother to let her go.

The mystery surrounding their disappearance continues to confound law enforcement officials while it haunts and tangles the lives of all the families involved. For some, time stopped that December day. For others, the tragedy created a seedbed of suspicion that now divides a sister from a brother and a mother from a son. It is a chasm no bridge can span, a riddle with no answers; it is a constant grieving.

Just after the disappearance, the families walked creek beds and country roads looking for their missing children. Psychics and pranksters called. Private investigators poked into the case. The police chased a hundred empty leads.

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Bella in the Wych Elm

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Situated just off the Kidderminster to Birmingham Road, in the English Midlands, Hagley Wood is part of the Hagley Hall estate belonging to Lord Cobham. By day it is a beautiful if lonely spot, at night, however, engulfed in the ghostly shadows of the Clent Hills, the atmosphere is somewhat eerie. The place supposedly has a reputation for strange events, and perhaps none were stranger than what transpired there one sunny April day more than 60 years ago.

On 18 April, 1943, four teenage boys from nearby Stourbridge, Robert Hart, Thomas Willetts, Bob Farmer and Fred Payne, were in the woods poaching. They came upon an old hollow elm tree (which has been mistakenly called a wych-elm down the years) and decided it would be an ideal place to search for birds’ nests. Bob Farmer attempted to clamber up into the tree, but as he glanced down inside the hollow trunk he suddenly saw the empty eye-sockets of a whitened skull, staring up at him from among the twisted branches.

At first he didn’t realise what he was looking at and thought it must belong to an animal. But as he pulled the skull out from the gnarled branches and saw a small patch of rotting flesh on the forehead, the remains of some hair, and crooked front teeth, he realised what he’d found. Horrified at the discovery and knowing they were in the woods illegally, the boys decided not to tell anyone about it. They put the skull back in the tree and quickly made their way home.

But the youngest boy, Tommy Willetts, felt uncomfortable about keeping such a secret and decided to tell his father what they’d found. Naturally his father then told the Worcestershire County Police Force, who went to the site the following morning. Inside and around the old tree they found not only the human skull, but an almost complete skeleton, a crêpe-soled shoe and some fragments of rotted clothing. During a careful search of the surrounding undergrowth a severed hand from the body was also discovered buried nearby.

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edit; Here's the wikipedia link for the story: Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?

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The Dyatlov Pass incident

The Dyatlov Pass incident refers to an event that resulted in the deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural mountains on the night of February 2, 1959. It happened on the east shoulder of the mountain Kholat Syakhl (Холат Сяхл) (a Mansi name, meaning Mountain of the Dead). The mountain pass where the incident occurred has since been named Dyatlov Pass (Перевал Дятлова) after the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov (Игорь Дятлов). The lack of eyewitnesses has inspired much speculation. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths. Access to the area was barred for skiers and other adventurers for three years after the incident.[1] The chronology of the incident remains unclear due to the lack of survivors.[2][3]

Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot into heavy snow and a temperature of −30°C. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue.[1] Their clothing, when tested, was found to be highly radioactive.

A legal inquest had been started immediately after finding the first five bodies. A medical examination found no injuries which might have led to their deaths, and it was concluded that they had all died of hypothermia. One person had a small crack in his skull, but it was not thought to be a fatal wound.

An examination of the four bodies which were found in May changed the picture. Three of them had fatal injuries: the body of Thibeaux-Brignolle had major skull damage, and both Dubunina and Zolotarev had major chest fractures. According to Dr. Boris Vozrozhdenny, the force required to cause such damage would have been extremely high. He compared it to the force of a car crash. Notably, the bodies had no external wounds, as if they were crippled by a high level of pressure. One woman was found to be missing her tongue.[1] There had initially been some speculation that the indigenous Mansi people might have attacked and murdered the group for encroaching upon their lands, but investigation indicated that the nature of their deaths did not support this thesis; the hikers' footprints alone were visible, and they showed no sign of hand-to-hand struggle.

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Thanks for sharing the missing persons cases, MC. Fascinating. :tu:

I have started a lot of threads about missing people, but I had never heard of these cases before. :)

I recently bought a book about missing persons, "Among the missing", a classic. Basically it's an encyclopedia of missing persons, from 1800 to 1975, very interesting book.

The Dyatlov incident is another fascinating mystery. A thread was started about it in 2010, it's 12 pages long. Enjoy ! [Merged] Dyatlov Pass incident

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Thanks for sharing the missing persons cases, MC. Fascinating. :tu:

I have started a lot of threads about missing people, but I had never heard of these cases before. :)

I recently bought a book about missing persons, "Among the missing", a classic. Basically it's an encyclopedia of missing persons, from 1800 to 1975, very interesting book.

The Dyatlov incident is another fascinating mystery. A thread was started about it in 2010, it's 12 pages long. Enjoy ! [Merged] Dyatlov Pass incident

It is a very interesting subject. I had an incident happen when I was a child and the answer was never found. I was only about 6 years old or so when I listened to a story that my dad was telling my mom at the supper table one night. He said that his friend at work was standing in his yard one day with his wife and saying good by to her as she was getting ready to go somewhere on the Greyhound bus to visit who ever. (this was in 1965 or so and I was young so bear with me!) My dad said that he guy was waving goodbye to his wife as she walked down the road. He said that he saw something like a heat wave coming off the road way and to his surprise his wife just vanished. He thought that she had just gotten to far down the road for him to see her clearly but it was weird that he took his eyes off of her for a split second and she was gone. He never saw her again. She never got on the bus and never to her destination. My mom and dad talked about it for quite a while. Mom told about a story she heard when she was young about a man who was in his field while the man from the bank came out to see him. As the bank man was talking to the guys wife he was walking in from the field when he just vanished before their eyes. They ran to the spot where he had been standing and there was no evidence as to his where a bouts, he just vanished into thin air.

I would love to study up on those cases, so much mystery as to what could have happened to them. The first two missing persons at the beginning of this thread, well it looks like those are really not that mysterious as to me it looks like they were both abducted and possibly murdered. I am more interested in the ones that really disappear into thin air. There are not very many of them but they are interesting none the less. Good subject though, I could read these stories all the time. I will be looking for that book too. Does the book have all the police reports and as much information to draw a reasonable conclusion as to what happened to the people? One last question, who is the author? I will be looking for that book, it sounds like a good read. Thanks and have a good day!!

Rocket B)

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I could read these stories all the time. I will be looking for that book too. Does the book have all the police reports and as much information to draw a reasonable conclusion as to what happened to the people? One last question, who is the author? I will be looking for that book, it sounds like a good read. Thanks and have a good day!!

Hi Rocketgirl. :)

The book doesn't have the police reports, but there's a lot of informations about all the cases. The book features a lot of stories of child who were kidnapped, people who disappeared because of "Unexplained" phenomena ( Bermuda Triangle, cases of people vanishing in front of other people, etc. ), murderers who disappeared forever, and a lot more. There's also stories of people who disappeared for years ( sometimes even decades ) who then reappeared suddenly, stories of people who faked their own disappearances, and more. Very fascinating read. :)

The author is Robert Jay Nash. This is the best book he ever wrote. Most of the book he wrote have false informations in them, but "Among the Missing" is regarded as being his best book, all the infos are correct and the cases are well researched.

Plenty of copies are available on Amazon, from independent sellers. I bought my copy for 3$, in great condition. Enjoy !

Link to Amazon: Among the Missing : An Anecdotal History of Missing Persons from 1800 to the Present

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Hi Rocketgirl. :)

The book doesn't have the police reports, but there's a lot of informations about all the cases. The book features a lot of stories of child who were kidnapped, people who disappeared because of "Unexplained" phenomena ( Bermuda Triangle, cases of people vanishing in front of other people, etc. ), murderers who disappeared forever, and a lot more. There's also stories of people who disappeared for years ( sometimes even decades ) who then reappeared suddenly, stories of people who faked their own disappearances, and more. Very fascinating read. :)

The author is Robert Jay Nash. This is the best book he ever wrote. Most of the book he wrote have false informations in them, but "Among the Missing" is regarded as being his best book, all the infos are correct and the cases are well researched.

Plenty of copies are available on Amazon, from independent sellers. I bought my copy for 3$, in great condition. Enjoy !

Link to Amazon: Among the Missing : An Anecdotal History of Missing Persons from 1800 to the Present

Thanks again for the info and link. I would love to read this book. Thanks again!

Rocket B)

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The Man with the Hammer

Imagine, for a moment, you are a man coming home from work. The elevated train hurdles to your stop outside the city. You exit. It is an unusually hot June day, just one day after the official start of summer and already in the mid-90’s. This is Chicago. By August the heat will seem oppressive. For now, it feels new. Sprinklers shoot water across front yards. Lifeguards whistle at the mob of kids jumping into the pool at Rehm park. It’s 5:30 p.m., and the smell of barbeque fills the air.

You walk a few blocks south on Harvey Avenue. It is a habit, this route home, but you are not a boring man. In fact, you are described as an independent thinker, entertaining, charismatic. You are an esteemed history professor who has hit his stride. You have recently published an award-winning book. A long-time bachelor, you are, at 42, now married and the father of a baby girl. Life is more than good. You are two blocks from home.

A car pulls up to the curb beside you and a stranger gets out. The stranger burns with rage. At what in particular it is not known, but one suspects he feels none of the good luck you do. He does not know that you are considered kind, giving and compassionate. All he sees is a man with a briefcase going home to a loving family on a summer day. He does not have a briefcase or a loving family, and this day is just another steaming afternoon in a long blur of uncomfortable days. The stranger wants to unleash his rage. Words won’t do. No one listens to him anyway. He comes at you. He raises a hammer and brings it down on your head.

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Unidentified White Female

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  • Located on December 20, 1976 in White Haven, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

  • Estimated Date of Death: Less than 24 hours

  • Cause of Death: Strangled & shot in the neck

  • State of Remains: Dismembered

Case History

On December 20, 1976, the dismembered remains of the victim were found in three suitcases along the Lehigh River in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, under a bridge of westbound Interstate Route 80.

She had been strangled, then shot in the neck and then dismembered with a fine, serrated tool. Her killer had removed her nose, ears, and breasts.

It was determined that she had been dead less than 24 hours from the date she was found.

There were letters and numbers written on the left hand of the victim in ink (color of ink unknown). While there were different interpretations of what was actually written on the hand, almost definitely was WSR. Next to that was either a 4 or a 5. Below and to the right was either a 4 or 7. Police checked license plates and CB call signs but were unable to determine the significance of the notations. The ink would probably have lasted 8-12 hours.

The three suitcases the remains were found in were all the same size (23" x 14" x 7 1/2"). Two of them were blue in color, one was blue and tan plaid. The handles had been cut off of the suitcases before they were dropped at the site and the zippers had been painted with flat black paint.

Inside the suitcases, the police also found straw, dry packing foam, a cut up chenille bedspread and six sections of the New York Sunday News dated September 26, 1976. The bedspread was most likely originally pink in color, however, the worn and dirty condition made it appear more rust or coral colored. The bedspread had an embroidered yellow flower design.

Facial features such as the nose and the hair style are an artist's estimation to complete the image.

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HAROLD “BUDDY” EUGENE VEST

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On June 28, 1946, Harold Eugene “Buddy” Vest, age 25, was found murdered in his cabinet

shop in Gainesville, Texas. Buddy was interrogated and tortured, resulting in his death.

Buddy had just been honorably discharged the previous January from the Army, having served in the European Theatre of Operations with the 711th Engineer Base Depot Company, the 38th Engineer General Services Regiment, and the 70th Engineer Light Pontoon Company. Before going overseas, he was stationed at Camp Custer, Michigan. Buddy’s survivors included his wife and infant son, both of whom are still living.

A local newspaper reported that Aviation Electronics Mate First Class James Louis Casey was seen just outside Buddy’s cabinet shop when his body was discovered around midnight. Records indicate that Casey had just signed out for leave from Ward Island, Corpus Christi Naval Air Station at 9:00 AM that morning (27 June 1946). Casey listed his leave contact address as 10714 ½ Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood California, c/o G.E. Rees, Jr. One week later, Casey reported to the infirmary at Saint Louis Naval Air Station with a fractured mandible (jaw). He was released one week later.

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Wow! That is a really strange story. I wonder why the brother thinks his sister had something to do with it or knows something.

Could be said that Jealousy was an MO. However, there wasn't enough evidences for that theory. She was staying with the couple at the time of the incident (while being an ex to her younger sister's BF Husband) and she was invited to the mall. So it does have one wondering and asking questions. What would have happened if the sister went to the mall? Would all 4 of them gone missing? Something is off here. I feel they must have known their abductor(s). It is extremely risky trying to abduct even one person, let alone 3!

Thanks for the reply!

edit; fixed bf to husband

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Whatever strange cases you can find, go ahead and post them!

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I have shared so many different cases in the past few months, I'm afraid to re-post something, so I'll look in my "archive" ( threads I have started since 2009 ) and then I'll post some new cases here. :tu:

Unsolved: Jack the Stripper

Seventy years after Jack the Ripper murdered and disemboweled prostitutes in London's East End, a new generation of hookers learned to live with the ever-present fear of a lurking killer. This "Jack" carried no knife and penned no jaunty letters to the press, but he was every bit as lethal (claiming eight victims to the Ripper's five) and possessed of far greater longevity (operating over nearly six years, instead of the Ripper's ten weeks). At the "conclusion" of the case, both slayers shared a common attribute: despite a wealth of theories and assertions, neither "Jack" was ever publicly identified.

On June 17, 1959, prostitute Elizabeth Figg, 21, was found floating in the Thames, clad only in a slip, her death attributed to strangulation. Four and a half years passed before discovery of the next murder, with the skeleton of 22-year-old Gwynneth Rees unearthed during clearance of a Thames-side rubbish dump, on November 8, 1963. The cause of death was difficult to ascertain, and homicide investigators later tried to disconnect both murders from the "Stripper" series, but today the better evidence suggests that these were practice runs, the early crimes committed by a killer who had yet to hit his stride. Thirty-year-old Hannah Tailford was the next to die, her naked corpse discovered in the Thames by boatmen on February 2, 1964. Her stockings were pulled down around her ankles, panties stuffed inside her mouth, but she had drowned, and the inquest produced an "open" verdict, refusing to rule out suicide, however improbable it seemed.

On April 9, 1964, 20-year-old Irene Lockwood was found naked and dead in the Thames, floating 300 yards from the spot where Tailford was found. Another drowning victim, she was four months pregnant when she died. Suspect Kenneth Archibald confessed to the murder later that month, then recanted his statement, blaming depression. He was subsequently cleared at trial. Helen Barthelemy, age 20, was the first victim found away from the river. On April 24, her naked body was discovered near a sports field in Brentwood, four front teeth missing, with part of one lodged in her throat. Traces of multi-colored spray paint on the body suggested that she had been kept for a while after death in a paint shop, before she was dumped in the field. On July 14, 21-year-old Mary Fleming was discarded, nude and lifeless, on a dead-end London street. Witnesses glimpsed a van driver near the scene, but none could finally describe the man or vehicle with any certainty. Missing since July 11, Fleming had apparently been suffocated or choked to death -- as opposed to strangled -- and her dentures were missing from the scene. Margaret McGowan, 21, had been missing a month when her nude corpse was found in Kensington, on November 25, 1964. Police noted the familiar traces of paint on her skin, and one of her teeth had been forced from its socket in front. The last to die was 27-year-old Bridget O'Hara, last seen alive on January 11, 1965, her body found on February 16, hidden in some shrubbery on the Heron Trading Estate, in Acton. Her front teeth were missing, and pathologists determined she had died on her knees. The corpse was partially mummified, as if from prolonged storage in a cool, dry place.

TRUTV: Jack the Stripper

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I have shared so many different cases in the past few months, I'm afraid to re-post something, so I'll look in my "archive" ( threads I have started since 2009 ) and then I'll post some new cases here. :tu:

Unsolved: Jack the Stripper

Wow Jon! That is strange! Definitely a huge connection with the missing teeth. Wonder how they managed to connect the river murders with the land murders, hmm.

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They stumbled across the body of a woman, sat up against a small willow tree, her blue and white striped dress torn open to reveal her breasts and some scratches on her throat. She had been strangled.

The body was found to be that of Elizabeth Figg, also known as "Ann Phillips" (prostitutes often changed their names after convictions for "soliciting").

From your link Jon. Seems her body wasn't found floating? :hmm:

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From your link Jon. Seems her body wasn't found floating? :hmm:

Some people claims she was found near the River Thames, others claims she was found in the Thames, no one know for sure.

In one of my Encyclopedia of Crimes the author wrote she was found in the river, and in another Encyclopedia, written by a different author, he claims she was found near the river. Sadly some of the details of this case are not 100% clear. :hmm:

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Missing: Benjamin Bathurst

He was there one minute and then he was gone. Benjamin Bathurst was an English diplomat whose disappearance baffled the authorities of his time and piqued the curiosity of the mystery seekers of ours. Like so many other missing persons, there are many conspiracy theories and paranormal pseudo explanations about how Benjamin may have apparently vanished. There are also many conflicting stories as to what happened in the hours and minutes leading up to his disappearance. A detailed investigation conducted by writer Mike Dash first published in Fortean Times concluded that the allegedly mysterious details of the Bathurst disappearance had been greatly exaggerated over the years, and that Bathurst was almost certainly murdered. However we still don't know what really happened to Bathurst, and the case remains unsolved.

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Wiki: Benjamin Bathurst

Historic Mysteries: Benjamin Bathurst

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The Strange Disappearance of Catherine Winters

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It has been 90 years since Catherine Winters disappeared, about noon on a sunny spring day in the middle of New Castle. People still are wondering how the bright 9-year-old daughter of prominent dentist W. A. Winters could have vanished, as one private detective said, "as if the earth had opened and swallowed her up."

Catherine, and her 7-year-old brother, Frankie, were out of school on March 20, 1913 because of a measles outbreak. The girl left home, 311 N. 16th St., about 9 a.m. that day to sell packages of noodles for a charity - and get some spending money for herself - and play with some friends. Her father and stepmother, Byrd (Ritter) Winters, had told Catherine to be home for lunch promptly at 11 a.m. Dan Monroe, a family friend, said he saw Catherine walking in the 1100 block of Broad Street about 11:45 a.m. He was presumed to be the last person who saw her before she disappeared. But investigator Robert H. Abel said he later found a boy who said he had seen Catherine at 16th and Broad streets - 3 blocks from her home - about 12:15 p.m. Another witness claimed to have seen the girl at her home after noon. Dr. Winters believed that gypsies had kidnapped his daughter until the day he died, in 1940. It was a popular theory, because a band of gypsies had passed through the city on a regular route of travel the day the girl disappeared. But Winters and local police officials tracked the band of gypsies to a location between Hagerstown and Economy, and Catherine was not with them. Private Detective A. G. Lunt, from the W. J. Burns Agency, tracked the band of gypsies all the way to Pittsburgh, PA. He was convinced that gypsies had not kidnapped the girl. Another popular theory was that relatives had kidnapped the girl for a $6,000-$8,000 inheritance of Catherine's late mother, Etta (Whisler) Winters, who died in a Colorado Springs sanitarium in 1909, when Catherine was 5. Relatives in Wisconsin denied any knowledge of Catherine's whereabouts.

More about the case here

Edited by Time Turner
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Missing: Michael Rockefeller

Michael Rockefeller was the youngest son of New York Governor (later Vice President) Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and a fourth generation member of the Rockefeller family. He disappeared during an expedition in the Asmat region of southwestern Netherlands New Guinea. On November 17, 1961, Rockefeller and Dutch anthropologist René Wassing were in a 40-foot dugout canoe about three miles from shore when their double pontoon boat was swamped and overturned. Their two local guides swam for help, but it was slow in coming. After drifting for some time, Rockefeller said to Wassing "I think I can make it" and swam for shore. It is estimated that the boat was twelve miles from the shore when he made the attempt to swim to safety, supporting the theory that he died from exposure, exhaustion, and/or drowning. Wassing was rescued the next day, while Rockefeller was never seen again, despite an intensive and lengthy search effort. At the time, Rockefeller's disappearance was a major world news item. His body was never found. He was declared legally dead in 1964.

Read More: TRUTV: The Disappearance of Michael Rockefeller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktAXM6Tm1d0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds1Aa52XR9M&feature=related

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