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

[John/Jane Doe]

This Jane doe Could it be Miller?

743UFDE

 

[Richard]

Missing for over 55 years...

Renee Bruhl (19), Patricia Blough (19), Ann Miller (21)
Missing since 2 July 1966

 

[John/Jane Doe]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current NamUs Exclusion List for Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough and Ann Miller? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Caring1]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current NamUs Exclusion List for Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough and Ann Miller? I would greatly appreciate it.

Renee Bruhl - 0 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[Caring1]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current NamUs Exclusion List for Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough and Ann Miller? I would greatly appreciate it.

Patricia Blough - 13 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[Caring1]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current NamUs Exclusion List for Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough and Ann Miller? I would greatly appreciate it.

Ann Miller - 3 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[Ozoner]

8

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current NamUs Exclusion List for Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough and Ann Miller? I would greatly appreciate it.

I would bet any money that they were either buried on Silas Jayne's property or dumped in Lake Michigan. They need to dig up every square rod of Jayne's former property.

 

[acutename]

he looked better and more normal earlier:

Chandler and Debra on their wedding day (source: Tampa Bay Times)

he might have looked good in sunglasses and on a boat.
do people jump on boats with strangers frequently? is that a thing in the
summer?

 

[SkyBoomer]

Patricia Blough - 13 Unidentified Person Exclusions

View attachment 378704
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@Caring1-

May I just say that you are amazing? I lurk on these older missing threads quite often and you are such a valuable resource.

 

[acutename]

There are other articles out there which mention a possible Richard Speck connection. The Biography Channel mentions that Indiana authorities were seeking to speak with Speck about this disappearance; Michigan authorities had questions about four others that occured, but before they could Speck committed the murders for which he is infamous. I suppose its possible that the magnitude of the murder of eight women overshadowed the disappearance of three and authorities never followed up.
http://www.biography.com/notorious/...eId=262943&selectedIndex=1&sectionName=Crimes

was in the Merchant Marine on Lake Michigan...

[1966]
...Gene Thornton, who had served in the U.S. Navy, thought that the U.S. Merchant Marine might provide a suitable occupation for his unemployed brother-in-law, so on April 25 he took Speck to the U.S. Coast Guard office to apply for a letter of authority to work as an apprentice seaman. The application required being fingerprinted and photographed, and having a physical examination by a doctor.[4]

Speck found work immediately after obtaining the letter of authority, joining the 33-member crew of Inland Steel's Clarence B. Randall, an L6-S-B1 class bulk ore lake freighter, on April 30. Speck's first voyage on the Clarence B. Randall was brief, since he was stricken with appendicitis on May 3, and was evacuated by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to St. Joseph's Hospital in Hancock, Michigan, on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan's Upper Peninsula where he had an emergency appendectomy.[4]

After he was discharged from the hospital, Speck returned to stay with his sister Martha and her family in Chicago to recuperate. On May 20, he rejoined the crew of the Clarence B. Randall on which he served until June 14, when he got drunk and quarreled with one of the boat's officers and was put ashore on June 15....

Richard Speck - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[acutename]

Richard -

Your post offers quite a bit to consider and you are to be thanked for all that you provided. May I just ask a couple of questions?

In the reports on this story, two boats have been mentioned in connection with the three women. One has been described as a 16-18 foot fiberglass trimaran runabout. The other was a 26-28 foot Trojan cabin cruiser. Some say the three girls first entered the smaller boat that had one man on it. Later, they are reported to have gone aboard the larger craft that had three men on it. There is a belief that they spent some time back on the beach in the time between being on the boats. I assume you mean the driver of the smaller boat may have been showing off at a high speed and flipped it. If that is the case, how could they have later been seen aboard the larger craft? Also, I can understand how one or even two bodies going into Lake Michigan may not be found, but what about six (three women and the reported three men)? I would also think there would be wreckage of some kind seen in the hours and even days after an accident.

The approximate weather in that area could be found by checking microfilm of area newspapers from that weekend. I tend to think it was warm weather (mid-70's up into the 80's) with sunny or partly sunny skies. Good enough for a number of people to be on the beach and in boats on that day.

if there was a boat accident one or more boats would be missing.... not sure how strict boat registration was in MI in 1966

 

[acutename]

It strikes me as very odd that boats, especially power boats, would be allowed anywhere near a swimming area - it seems extremely dangerous. I am not suggesting that the women were run down while swimming, that would be next to impossible without leaving a trace, but I suppose we were not so risk averse back then - just an observation.

there are "no wake" zones by beaches, so the motor boat would need to cut the engine and paddle in (usually an equiped motor boat has a paddle because you need at least one and a boat hook to dock). people sometimes anchor and swim into a beach or bathroom or snack bar, IMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

What happened to three young sunbathers who disappeared at Indiana Dunes State Park 57 years ago?

Three young women disappeared from Indiana Dunes State Park in July of 1966. 57 years later, their disappearance remains unsolved.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Richard]

What happened to three young sunbathers who disappeared at Indiana Dunes State Park 57 years ago?

Three young women disappeared from Indiana Dunes State Park in July of 1966. 57 years later, their disappearance remains unsolved.

www.nbcnews.com

A good recent article with very nice photos, and information from Patricia Blough's sister.

Much of the case description remains the same, but some new details are included.

The girls disappearance remains open and unsolved.

At the very end of the piece is a contact number for the investigating agency, the Westchester Police Department: 708-345-0060

 

[taypap999]

I'm sure I could look at the case files under the Freedom of Information Act. I think about going a lot since it's within a decent driving distance. But I don't want to go by myself, and I'll probably wait until next spring when the weather gets nice again after this coming winter is over. I would contact them and ask them if I could see the files...but I would really love to see the film.

Another WSer, Marilynilpa, who is working on the Alice Parsons cold case, plans to go to Suffolk Co. NY to look at her case file and she is using the FOI Act to gain access to those records, so I think it would be possible.

i know i’m a LOT of years late, but i live in Valparaiso, about 20 min from the Dunes and I would go with you to get the FOIA at the Porter County Sheriffs Dept. I also have museum connections if that helps

 

[spartanx]

My best guess is foul play. I can't believe they would just run away. If they had, one of them would have already contacted someone. An accident would probably leave some trace, even if the debris wasn't washed away until later. Furthermore, if whoever brought them to the ship was really an innocent victim, he would probably have been reported missing...

An abortion is more credible, but there is no evidence for it... It's a theory that seems to be offered for every suspicious disappearance before Roe. I don't doubt it happened more often than recorded... But without evidence to support it, I can't accept it...

Maybe they met the man there thinking he was a friend and he betrayed them, or maybe they ran into an attractive guy and accepted his offer of a ride on his boat, only to find out that he was a murderer...

1966 was a very different time... People left their doors open. Hitchhiking was common... There was definitely an awareness of stranger danger, but people were much more trusting... And these women were young. They could have easily gotten into a dangerous situation without realizing it...
either way
rest in peace