IN IN - Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough & Ann Miller, Indiana Dunes SP, 2 July 1966

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I posted some information regarding a 1955 triple murder of three boys on the following thread:


Ralph Probst - Cook County Sherriff officer shot in home, 4/10/1967 (Illinois) - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


The murder of those three boys occurred inside one of Silas Jayne's horse barns. The hired man who worked there, Kenneth Hansen, was convicted in 1995 and again in 2002 of those murders.

It was testified to in court that Silas Jayne not only knew of the murders, but assisted in disposing of the bodies.

I do not know if there is a connection between that tripple murder and this tripple disappearance case, but it is worth considering. The murderer of the boys was not convicted until 40 years after the crime and was therefore free and loose in 1966.

This July 2 will mark the 48 year anniversary of the disappearance of these three girls.
 
Interesting. I have to read the rest of the thread. But I had a thoughts, I wanted to share.
My thoughts so far are if I went to the beach with friends I would take my belongings. Especially if I was going boating. (I would think I would also in the 60's)
Could it be they were kidnapped. The intended was just one girl or all three. The could be why the girls left their stuff behind. They would be in local papers for the horse winnings. Maybe someone thought they had a lot of money.
My thoughts for now.
 
I think the abortion theory is the most plausible. I suspect there are a number of disappearances, over the decades before Roe vs. Wade, that are actually the result of botched abortions.
 
chlban said:
I think the abortion theory is the most plausible. I suspect there are a number of disappearances, over the decades before Roe vs. Wade, that are actually the result of botched abortions.
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The reason I don't think it was an abortion was, although the woman having the abortion and dying may disappear, I don't see them killing the other people who came with her.

They wouldn't know if she had told someone else, if she told the two friends who were with her, she could have a told a lot of other people as well.

And why this elaborate meeting at a beach on one of the busiest days of the years? Why would they have even gone out onto the beach to leave their stuff? Wouldn't they have just waited in the parking lot for whoever was to meet them? Did they think she was going to feel like laying out on the beach after an abortion? Wouldn't they have been more likely to have rented a motel room to bring her back to rest?

Even if the abortion was done on a boat, as it was suggested they may have been seen getting on, there would still have been no reason for them to go out onto the beach itself. I would think it would almost be impossible to pick a location to meet on the beach, as with that crowd, you could never be sure to find an open spot, which they needed for 3 people along with their towels and other items, especially if the person meeting them didn't know her very well, but locating a certain type of car (especially in the 1960's) would have been much easier.
 
Yes as I think I mentioned earlier, if they were going out for an abortion then why not just meet their transportation at a dock somewhere? That would be far simpler, with much fewer chances for foul ups and with reasonable assurance of not being seen.
 
Good Points on the reasons a botched abortion doesn't make much sense in this case. I do think it plays a part in at least a couple of well known disappearances from the 40' and 60's, but those were cases of one woman disappearing, not three at once.

I can't say this is a case I've ever pondered much. Funny whatever that "thing" is that draws some of us to certain cases.
 
Even though reports say Ann Miller was pregnant, I've never agreed with the abortion angle on this disappearance. Why have the contact made on a public beach on one of the busiest weekends of the year? Maybe it's something that might be done, but why would you bring two girl friends with you if you were going to undergo something like that? You would also think any the individual (or individuals) who were to provide an abortion would have cautioned not to leave items of identification behind on the the beach or to bring others along that day.
 
Cincinnati Kid said:
Even though reports say Ann Miller was pregnant, I've never agreed with the abortion angle on this disappearance. Why have the contact made on a public beach on one of the busiest weekends of the year? Maybe it's something that might be done, but why would you bring two girl friends with you if you were going to undergo something like that? You would also think any the individual (or individuals) who were to provide an abortion would have cautioned not to leave items of identification behind on the the beach or to bring others along that day.
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As a woman who graduated from high school the same year Roe vs. Wade was decided, I can tell you with certainty that women or girls obtaining abortions often took at least one good friend along with them. I never had an abortion myself, but I knew 2 girls in H.S. that did. One was accompanied by her mother, the other by her two best friends. Aside from all the emotional aspects of making that decision, in those days there was real fear about the procedure itself.

That said, I think the other points are well made. Busy weekend, leaving belongings on the beach, meeting in such a public place, those things don't make sense with the abortion angle.

Leaving your belongings on the beach, to me, indicates that they thought they would only be on the boat for a very short time.
 
I also don't think it was an abortion, because the person meeting them would also have had the problem of running into their own neighbors, family and friends at a busy beach.

It might be hard to explain what you were doing there with three women.

Abortionists were very careful at the time, they didn't anticipate someone dying, but it could always happen and you sure didn't want to be seen in broad daylight with your patient.

I've said earlier in this thread, I think it was two killers who watched them, caught one of the girls alone, maybe coming out of the water or going to the bathroom or getting something to eat, got her into their car and one of them simply went back and told the other two, their friend was really sick and needed their help. Which would explain why everything was left behind, as they probably would have been in a hurry to get to her and would have thought they were coming back.
 
Even then it was a busy beach. Also they didn't bring much to the beach. I somehow thought it appeared they just set there stuff down. (I will go back and re read)Someone would have seen something if anyone was approched. Surely if they didnt bring much they would have grabbed their things. I know i would have grabbed my money purse things of value.

I thought they were seen on two different boats. The girls would know people in high places. May e one of the girls was dating one. Maybe the pregnant girl. (Figuring the obortion angle ) maybe her boyfriend wanted her obortion she refused they argued. ...
 
Could the boat they were on have sunk ? Maybe some guy/guys showing off and losing control?

Althought that would be another person missing , and surely would have been missed by someone ?..
 
Markybug said:
Could the boat they were on have sunk ? Maybe some guy/guys showing off and losing control?

Althought that would be another person missing , and surely would have been missed by someone ?..
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I think that was investigated and there was no debris found at all.

I'm not sure if they could get far enough away from other people that a sinking boat or an exploding boat wouldn't be noticed. Not sure exactly how big the lake is, but it was a busy holiday weekend, with thousands of people there.
 
There has been previous discussion about the boat sinking or something happening to it. I seem to recall there being a report that around the time of the disappearance of someone seeing a flash of light on the lake such as something had exploded. Of course, as was mentioned, such an event would most likely have resulted in other people besides the three women being reported as missing. It has always been noted that in the days afterward, no floating debris was ever found in that area of Lake Michigan.
 
Well if they were picked up by a boat that sunk then there were at least 4 people aboard. In that case, unless they were on a submarine, I can't imagine that all 4 bodies wouldn't have floated to the surface along with all kinds of debris and they were searching for that sort of thing too. In my view, the boat sinking scenario can be eliminated from any serious consideration.
 
Given that Patricia Blough asked her brother about caring for her horse and spoke of making a will and a secret, add that to Ann Miller was thought to be 3 months pregnant and discussing a home for unwed mothers, part of me wonders if they disappeared of their own accord. A letter in Renee Bruhl's purse told her husband she wanted a divorce. So, all three of them said goodbye in some vague or not vague way.

I have two interesting theories with varying levels of probability.
1) Perhaps, due to the danger from the Jaynes, compounded with the two possible pregnancies and the troubled marriage, the women left of their own accord and wanted the Jaynes to think they were dead. To me, the most obvious places they would have gone to start over were either Canada or San Francisco. Haight Ashbury was up and coming and young adults were starting to flock there by the summer of 1966.

2) While the "official" beginnings of WitSec were in 1970, Gerald Shur, the founder of WitSec was informally relocating people at least as early as 1961. Could they have known something the government wanted about the mafia and the horse syndicate?

https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-87460026/breaking-omerta-before-gerald-shur-godfather-of
From the above link:
"Then, in 1961, Shur began offering deals that seemed too good to turn down --relocation and protection for life. For witnesses who accepted, it meant a change of names, being cut off from family, missing funerals and weddings, and such startup inconveniences as having no credit."
 
Every now and then I look up this stuff to see what has happened since the crime ring broke open. Adding this specifically in regard to pregnancies and abortions. I rode horses in the Chicago area in the late eighties and early nineties before all of this came to light. I really was not aware all of this from the past. I did not ride in circuits. However, I was around instructors, trainers who rode in the era and under the Silas Jayne umbrella, who thought nothing of saying someone was pregnant, had abortions, or disappeared because they were pregnant. The first time I ever heard the Cheryl Rude story, it was noted that she was pregnant (she was not and her real killer was convicted). Spread from a Silas Jayne barn to that person and others. Come to find out he was notorious for this type of slander.

Bringing this up only because when I read what really happened, in hindsight you realized how so much of this was to trash talk the victims and divert from the reality of the situation (i.e. they had swindled all the people they trash talked and in that era saying someone was pregnant was trash talk and an easy excuse for why someone might disappear.) Not always from murder which may very well have been with these women - but when customers and trainers would disappear from the horse scene after being swindled.

This theme fits all to well with what the Silas Jayne camp used to perpetuate. Just felt the need to add this. Sorry for anyone still trying to figure this out.
 
Katie14 said:
Every now and then I look up this stuff to see what has happened since the crime ring broke open. Adding this specifically in regard to pregnancies and abortions. I rode horses in the Chicago area in the late eighties and early nineties before all of this came to light. I really was not aware all of this from the past. I did not ride in circuits. However, I was around instructors, trainers who rode in the era and under the Silas Jayne umbrella, who thought nothing of saying someone was pregnant, had abortions, or disappeared because they were pregnant. The first time I ever heard the Cheryl Rude story, it was noted that she was pregnant (she was not and her real killer was convicted). Spread from a Silas Jayne barn to that person and others. Come to find out he was notorious for this type of slander.

Bringing this up only because when I read what really happened, in hindsight you realized how so much of this was to trash talk the victims and divert from the reality of the situation (i.e. they had swindled all the people they trash talked and in that era saying someone was pregnant was trash talk and an easy excuse for why someone might disappear.) Not always from murder which may very well have been with these women - but when customers and trainers would disappear from the horse scene after being swindled.

This theme fits all to well with what the Silas Jayne camp used to perpetuate. Just felt the need to add this. Sorry for anyone still trying to figure this out.
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Welcome to Websleuths!
 
Robb2014 said:
I wandered onto this site today and was surprised at the length of this thread and how the same people have continued to frequent it, some for up to 9 years. I’ve gone back and read most of your posts and have found them insightful and interesting; and I’m touched by your continuing interest in this nearly 50 year old tragic case.

First of all, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Robert Blough, and I’m the brother of Patty Blough. It’s hard for me to relate to you the impact that this incident has had on my family over the years. My mother, who’s 94 now, still tears up whenever my sister’s name is mentioned, which is a subject we normally try to avoid. Personally, I still was having reoccurring nightmares about my sister 30 years after her disappearance. It’s always hard losing a loved one. But when someone is taken from you with this kind of uncertainty, I believe it’s the most painful kind of loss; due to the fact that there is no closure. I’ve talked with investigators regarding this case over the years, as recently as 2005 when the book “Unbridled Rage” came out and provided new interest in the case.

While reading through this thread, I was impressed at the fact that there is very little information, clues and leads that haven’t been mentioned here. There are however, a few things I can add from my own perspective, which I’d like to share with you.

First of all, Patty and I were very close throughout our childhood. She was 4 years older than I, and I looked up to her and respected her greatly. She was a unique person, very independent and very honest. Ever since I can remember, Patty was a horse lover. Even as a small child she lived and breathed her love for horses.

During the time leading up to her disappearance a few interesting things happened. First, the winter prior to her disappearance, she mentioned to me that she had a friend who was involved in organized crime. This person I later came to find out was George Jayne, brother of Silas. From what I’ve read about George, he wasn’t actually all that bad a guy, and certainly could not be compared to the pure evil personified that went by the name of Silas Jayne.

Sometime in early May, 1966, Patty came home with her face badly bruised and swollen. She had obviously been beaten up badly by someone. She claimed that she fell off her horse while exercising him, and our family naively believed her at the time. Even at 15 I remember wondering how the particular injuries she had could have come from a fall, and thought she looked like she’d gotten the hell beaten out of her.

Around this same time, my mother found some scratch paper where Patty had doodled, “trouble, trouble, I’m in so much trouble.”

The weekend before she disappeared, Patty and her friends also went to the Dunes State Park. She had told me she was going a few days earlier and asked if I wanted to come, which I replied yes. When Saturday came, she left early in the morning without telling me. When she got back, I asked her why she hadn’t taken me, and she answered, “You wouldn’t have wanted to come. We met guys there.”

I was sick with a bad cold the week prior to sister’s disappearance, and was lying in bed with a fever, when Patty came into my room and seemed troubled. She said to me, “I’m making out a will. I want you to have Hank (her Thoroughbred) if anything ever happens to me.” I said, “Patty, you’re 19 years old, what do you need a will for?” She said, “I just want to make one up. If I will you Hank, do you promise to take care of him?” I was 15 years old at the time and had no way of getting all the way out to Scottsdale farm near rt. 53 and Roosevelt Rd. from Westchester. Plus, I wouldn’t have been able to pay the boarding fees on top of it. I told her just that. She seemed a little hurt that I wasn’t willing to take on this responsibility; but I think she understood, and she told me she appreciated my honesty.

Later on that same day she came into my room to talk to me again. This time she said, “I’m going to tell you something, but you first have to promise that under no circumstances will you ever tell anyone.” I said, “I promise. What?” She said, “No matter what happens, you can never tell anyone.” I said, “I promise, no matter what happens, I’ll never tell anyone.” She thought for a few seconds and said, “I can’t tell you. Under the circumstances, even I would tell,“ and she walked out of my room. A few days later she disappeared; and had she told me this was going to happen, of course I wouldn’t have been able to watch my parents suffer without telling them what she had said, and she knew that. I sometimes think this was her way of telling me she was going to disappear, without actually saying it.

One of the men involved with Silas Jayne matched the description of the man who was reported to have picked the girls up in the small boat, and he owned a boat that matched the suspected boats description. It was an unusual boat for Lake Michigan, a 16 foot white tri-hull runabout with blue interior. He also kept the boat less than 3 miles from the Dunes. I can’t remember the source, but I read somewhere or was told that this person put in a claim on his insurance for the boat the week following the girl’s disappearance, claiming it burned up and sunk in Lake Michigan. I still remember the man's name and he's still alive. At least as far as I know he was still alive a couple of years ago.

In 2005 when the book “Unbridled Rage” came out, I contacted the author Gene O’Shea and had a lengthy conversation with him regarding my sister’s case and her association with Silas Jayne. Gene suggested I talk with one of the ATF agents that worked on the Helen Brach case. I contacted him and we also had a lengthy conversation regarding the same matter. The agent told me that one of the cooperating witnesses in the investigations of both Helen Brach and the Schuessler-- Peterson murders had told the agent that someday he'd tell him what happened to the Dunes girls. The agent explained that this person was difficult to deal with, and he had to approach him just right, but said he would reach out to him for me. The agent never got back to me, and I’ve found out that he has since retired. I’ve tried to contact him on a couple of occasions with no success.

Anyway, this is much of what I know about my sister’s disappearance. For years I believed she was still alive, due to the conversations we had just days before that dreaded 4th of July weekend. Patty had recently gotten beaten up. She had doodled, “I’m in so much trouble, trouble, trouble.” She indeed was troubled when she came to me and offered to will me her horse, and then tried to tell me a secret, which she admitted she herself wouldn’t be able to keep were she in my shoes. I now believe, like someone else on this thread mentioned previously, that she was in bad trouble with Silas Jayne and his horse mafia, and she was planning to stage her disappearance in order to get away from these people. I believe that most likely the man in the boat was part of the murder scheme and set the girls up under the guise of helping them disappear. There were reports of a large flash on the horizon, looking north from the southern shores of Lake Michigan on the day of my sister’s disappearance. Silas Jayne’s henchmen were familiar with dynamite. Wreckage of a boat was found near one of the southern Lake Michigan pumping stations; although no boats were reported missing. The only exception being the boat owned by the man associated with Silas Jayne who put in the insurance claim but never reported the incident to the Coast Guard.

I see so many of you have a continuing interest in this case, and I hope I provided some insight for you. If there are any questions you might have, I will be checking this site from time to time, so please feel free to ask me via this thread or a PM.
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Hello Robb...
I don't know if you still come to this site, but I have read about your sisters case many times over the years.
Our small group on independent researchers have just concluded a re-examination of the Grimes sisters murders in Chicago and I am happy to say that it looks like that case may be reopened.

I would like to delve further into Patty's case. I sent a message to Dick Wylie, the retired news reporter who has a vast amount of informaton on the case and several theories. Hopefully he will respond. I live only a handful of miles from Indiana Dunes so I am very familiar with the location as well.
 
I have gone through the entire thread looking for information on the case.
I do not necessarily accept that the girls willingly got into a small boat and left for a number of reasons.

First, women do not leave their belongings behind, particularly wallets, car keys, and personal effects. Especially on a crowded beach with none of their friends left behind to watch over things. Secondly, a 14-16 foot boat on Lake Michigan is very treacherous because the waves would swamp a boat that size fairly easily. The only explanations I can come up with that mitigates this line of reasoning is that perhaps the boater told the girls he would take them for a quick spin of a few minutes near shore and drop them back off.

The abortion angle makes no sense either.
Recovery from abortions can be devastating and at best require several hours of rest for the woman.
They certainly could not get back into the water after an abortion, so the fact that they wore bikini's with no change of clothing and no alternative way to get back to the beach rules that out.

The fact that they would have gotten into a boat to be taken to another boat is illogical. Had they wanted an abortion, they could have simply gone to the abortionists facility, where sanitation would be much easier to maintain.

These girls were most likely kidnapped for nefarious reasons.
My guess is White Slavery or human traffiking if you will.

The only way the boat could factor into the case is if either to girls had pre-arranged to meet the guy in the boat, or the guy in the boat was looking for females in the water to lure into his craft. How else would they "find each other" on a crowded beach with probably several hundred swimmers in the water?

It is known that White slave sex rings operated in that area all the way back to 1948 according to this article.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/...cle/white-slavery-suspects-held-in-2-000-bond

A likely scenario would have the "good looking guy" in the boat pick out potential female victims among the swimmers and attempt to befriend them and gain their trust. Ultimately, he would have lured them into the boat with the promise of a quick run around the beach.
Instead, he easily could have controlled them at gunpoint and likely took them to the Gary, Hammond, Cal City area where they were held captive.

That area was nororious for crime going back to the Capone days where he ran vice operations throughout those cities.

The alternative is that no boat was involved at all, and they were somehow taken captive on a busy beach.

At the very least its a working hypothesis to start with.

Edited to add....
After thinking about this for few moments, I recall boating in that area with my BIL in 1971. He owned a boat that docked in Michigan City.
I don't remember exactly where this was but there was a crowded beach that had a bar where you could buy beer and alcohol. I swam into shore, bought a six-pack and swam back out to the boat.. could this guy have done the same, talking to the girls in the process?

I just don't remember if it was the Indiana Dunes or not.
 
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