NY NY - Leslie, 29, Julie, 6, & Timothy Guthrie, 3, drove away from home, Katonah, 6 Feb 1977

[LucyOso]

This is amazing! I hope they can be brought home!

 

[LucyOso]

Is it 100% confirmed that they were heading to IBM to pick up her mom?

I spent a little time over the weekend thinking and reading more about this case. First of all... I looked for her mom's address, and I found one in West Harrison (I do not know if that's where she was living at the time, but it would make sense since where she was living was described as an apartment, and the address I found was in an apartment complex; it would be a very easy commute to IBM and it's near the White Plains border), which changes my thinking about the route they might have taken.

For those of you who aren't from the area, the way people refer to towns is very confusing. Katonah is not a town, it's a village/hamlet in the town of Bedford. Chappaqua and Armonk are also not towns, they are villages (or hamlets) in the towns of New Castle and North Castle, respectively. Harrison is its own town/village, but it's right next door to White Plains, which is the closest thing to a "city" in Westchester County. Elmsford is a village in the Town of Greenburg (along with Ardsley, Hastings, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, and several others).

Psychologically, people usually consider themselves residents of their village and sometimes don't even know what town they live in. And they refer to their village as a "town". I'm originally from Chappaqua and I literally never say "I am from New Castle" nor do I really consider New Castle a real "thing" except as a legal entity (in fact, I just googled it to confirm what other villages are in New Castle and I was today years old when I learned that parts of Ossining are in it).

The closest airport is referred to as "White Plains" by the airlines, but people always call it "Westchester County Airport" (that may be changing as people move in) and psychologically, it is definitely not in White Plains, it's in... Purchase, maybe? Or just "the County."

All this is to say that that's probably why it was said that she was "going to White Plains" when she could have either been going to IBM (technically in Armonk/North Castle) or to her mother's (maybe in West Harrison).

The only reason I'm giving all of this background is that it might add some driving routes to consider. If she was going from 7 Grandview Ave in Katonah to her mother's apartment in West Harrison, located (I think) at 189 Columbus Ave, she might have gone some routes that I hadn't considered before. For example, one of them would take her to the spot pictured here, which is a bridge over the Cross River, on Rt. 35.

There is a lot of water. Some of these routes most likely didn't have guard rails or barriers back then. Maybe even different vegetation. With this is mind, currents, sediment, and changes in waterways, they could be very far out in the water. Maybe even upside down or partially buried. In a very old post of mine, I wondered if she slid onto the ice, broke through farther out where it was thinner. It could have easily refroze and dusted over with snow, and no one would know. I am so happy they with use sonar. I also wonder how many other vehicles they will find...

 

[Skigirl]

There is a lot of water. Some of these routes most likely didn't have guard rails or barriers back then. Maybe even different vegetation. With this is mind, currents, sediment, and changes in waterways, they could be very far out in the water. Maybe even upside down or partially buried. In a very old post of mine, I wondered if she slid onto the ice, broke through farther out where it was thinner. It could have easily refroze and dusted over with snow, and no one would know. I am so happy they with use sonar. I also wonder how many other vehicles they will find...

Yes, I was local and lived in the area at the time, I even found an old photo that my dad took out our living room window that weekend of all the snow. We are thinking alike about the ice -- I've suggested the same. That said, that part of NY is pretty temperate and it rarely stays cold long enough to develop enough ice that it sticks around for any length of time, so if there was ice, it wouldn't have been very thick.

I can confirm that there was less vegetation along some of those stretches. Also, area around the reservoir is very different in different seasons, much thicker in the spring and summer than in the winter. If I recall, many stretches had those wooden-and-wire cable barriers and low metal barriers.

 

[DD Byrd]

Agreed, so much water, and I think that's where they are. Few (meaningful) guardrails at that time, and so many different routes. And if we assume most people weren't out and about in that weather, it would be no time at all until tracks were covered. And even then, who is looking at tracks unless they are already aware there should be something to search for? So much of this case is hindsight.

 

[YaYa_521]

Age progressed photos released of mother and children missing since 1977

Department officials say Leslie Guthrie, who was 29 at the time, went missing with her two kids, Julie and Timothy, who were 6 and 3 years old from their home in Katonah.

westchester.news12.com

Nov 28, 2022

SBM
The Bedford Police Detective Bureau, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, created updated aged progressed photos for them in hopes that someone may recognize them.

Bedford Police Department, New York
25 Nov 2022
On February 5th, 1977, Leslie Guthrie (then 29) and her two children Julie (then 6) and Timothy (then 3) went missing from their home in Katonah and have not been seen or heard from since. They were last seen driving a green 1974 Ford Maverick with a white roof bearing NY license plate 636-WNA. The Bedford Police’s Detective Bureau in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have created updated aged progressed photos for Julie (progressed to 51) and Timothy (progressed to 48). Anyone who may have information is requested to contact Detective Whalen at 914-241-3111. Please click on the link for more information.
https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/777216/2/screen

Julie Guthrie

Timothy Guthrie

Leslie Guthrie

Age-Progressed Pics Of Katonah Kids Missing Since 1977 Released

Computer-enhanced images of what Leslie Guthrie and her two children might look like today mark 45 years since their disappearance.

patch.com

Feb 7, 2022
Anyone who may have information is requested to contact Detective Whalen at The Bedford Police Deaprtment at 914-241-3111.

Bedford Police Department, New York
7 Feb 2022

Leslie Guthrie (same photo as above)

Julie Guthrie

Timothy Guthrie

 

[Alleykins]

Thank you for posting the age progressions.

 

[YaYa_521]

Thank you for posting the age progressions.

You're welcome. I should have mentioned in my post that the children have two sets of progression photos (Feb. & Nov.) while Leslie's remained the same.

 

[LucyOso]

Any updates?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

On a snowy day in February 1977, Leslie Guthrie left her home in suburban New York in a car with her two small children.

They were never seen again.

Leslie's family says just before they disappeared, Leslie was having marital problems.

Could Leslie have taken Julie, 6, and Timmy, 3, and started a new life?

Could they have joined a cult -- something Leslie had been reading into?

Could their car have gone off the road and sunk deep to the bottom of one of the many murky bodies of water surrounding her house in Katonah?

Leslie's family and Tim Guthrie Sr., Leslie's husband, have gone in circles for 46 years trying to answer those questions.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Leslie Guthrie has a strawberry birthmark on her chin and on her back.

They were last seen driving a green 1974 Ford Maverick with a white roof and the New York State license plate 636-WNA.

'Missing': Leslie Guthrie and her two children vanished from Westchester in 1977

On a snowy day in February 1977, Leslie Guthrie left her home in New York in a car with her two small children and they were never seen again.

abc7ny.com

 

[Jmoose]

On a snowy day in February 1977, Leslie Guthrie left her home in suburban New York in a car with her two small children.

They were never seen again.

Leslie's family says just before they disappeared, Leslie was having marital problems.

Could Leslie have taken Julie, 6, and Timmy, 3, and started a new life?

Could they have joined a cult -- something Leslie had been reading into?

Could their car have gone off the road and sunk deep to the bottom of one of the many murky bodies of water surrounding her house in Katonah?

Leslie's family and Tim Guthrie Sr., Leslie's husband, have gone in circles for 46 years trying to answer those questions.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Leslie Guthrie has a strawberry birthmark on her chin and on her back.

They were last seen driving a green 1974 Ford Maverick with a white roof and the New York State license plate 636-WNA.

'Missing': Leslie Guthrie and her two children vanished from Westchester in 1977

On a snowy day in February 1977, Leslie Guthrie left her home in New York in a car with her two small children and they were never seen again.

abc7ny.com

I think their car ran off the road into the water somewhere-I wish they’d be found

 

[Skyblueday32]

I'm agreeing with the majority in what we think happened. I just watched channel 7s Missing episode on this family, such a shame. It does seem to follow that when people go missing with their vehicle and the vehicle is never found they are in a body of water. Also noted there were many bodies of water in the area, it was 1977 and icy/snowy, car/tires etc prob were not in tip top shape. If Leslie was also not in her right frame of mind it could impact her driving/reaction time. We own property in upstate NY and we got caught in a snow squall and could not see anything, we had to pull over for 15 min until it lighted up a bit, it gets really bad up there.
Another "odd" similarity with this case...another woman from Upstate NY (not terribly far from this Hamlet) who was involved in a "cult" disappeared with her her car, and they did find her vehicle in a body of water: Missing White Plains woman Brenda Kerber's remains found 30 years later

I also find it a little strange that the father put his kids in the car and watched the soon to be ex-wife drive away, then went inside, cleaned the house, then went to a friends and spent the night, did not return home. It could just be he was drinking and the roads were bad, or the friend was a female and he spent the night. I know he passed a lie detector but just seems a little off. I did a visual search of the area and there is a large pond right by his home at the time off Grandview ave. Wonder if it was ever searched/how deep it is? Wonder if the homes there now were not there in 1977?
Adventures with a Purpose is a group that does body of water searches for missing people/vehicles. Wonder if they were ever approached about this case?

 

[Skigirl]

I'm agreeing with the majority in what we think happened. I just watched channel 7s Missing episode on this family, such a shame. It does seem to follow that when people go missing with their vehicle and the vehicle is never found they are in a body of water. Also noted there were many bodies of water in the area, it was 1977 and icy/snowy, car/tires etc prob were not in tip top shape. If Leslie was also not in her right frame of mind it could impact her driving/reaction time. We own property in upstate NY and we got caught in a snow squall and could not see anything, we had to pull over for 15 min until it lighted up a bit, it gets really bad up there.
Another "odd" similarity with this case...another woman from Upstate NY (not terribly far from this Hamlet) who was involved in a "cult" disappeared with her her car, and they did find her vehicle in a body of water: Missing White Plains woman Brenda Kerber's remains found 30 years later

I also find it a little strange that the father put his kids in the car and watched the soon to be ex-wife drive away, then went inside, cleaned the house, then went to a friends and spent the night, did not return home. It could just be he was drinking and the roads were bad, or the friend was a female and he spent the night. I know he passed a lie detector but just seems a little off. I did a visual search of the area and there is a large pond right by his home at the time off Grandview ave. Wonder if it was ever searched/how deep it is? Wonder if the homes there now were not there in 1977?
Adventures with a Purpose is a group that does body of water searches for missing people/vehicles. Wonder if they were ever approached about this case?

There's information about Adventures with a Purpose's involvement upthread. They were out once (with no success) and had planned a second trip, but I do not know if that second trip occurred. There is a video available on YouTube about the first visit.

I'm from the area and I don't remember having heard of Brenda Kerber - thanks for that interesting article, and I'm glad her family has answers.

 

[VaYank5150]

There's information about Adventures with a Purpose's involvement upthread. They were out once (with no success) and had planned a second trip, but I do not know if that second trip occurred. There is a video available on YouTube about the first visit.

I'm from the area and I don't remember having heard of Brenda Kerber - thanks for that interesting article, and I'm glad her family has answers.

Sadly, due to the implosion of AWP, the 2nd trip did not happen. Granted, AWP as an entity (Jared) still exists and is still out searching, but the team as it existed has since broken up into smaller factions. I do not want to let this case go as I just know in my heart that they ended up in the water. Sadly, after so many years the Maverick she was driving has probably either been completely silted over or has rusted to the point of ending up in multiple pieces, making it that much more difficult to locate should someone else choose to sonar/dive likely locations.

 

[Skigirl]

Sadly, due to the implosion of AWP, the 2nd trip did not happen. Granted, AWP as an entity (Jared) still exists and is still out searching, but the team as it existed has since broken up into smaller factions. I do not want to let this case go as I just know in my heart that they ended up in the water. Sadly, after so many years the Maverick she was driving has probably either been completely silted over or has rusted to the point of ending up in multiple pieces, making it that much more difficult to locate should someone else choose to sonar/dive likely locations.

I'm so sorry to hear that the second search didn't come together. We were driving home from New England a couple days ago, and went through Cross River/Katonah on our way. I couldn't help but look at the bodies of water in the area, and wonder which body of water they might have ended up in. I feel certain that someday there will be answers, and I hope it's sooner rather than later.

 

[LucyOso]

Thank you for the update. They are somewhere in the water.

 

[VaYank5150]

So.....AWP just posted another video on this case. While they did not find Leslie or her children, the video contains a lot of information from her sister and niece which I had not previously heard. I believe you have to be an AWP member in order to watch the video, but am posting the link below just in case.

 

[Jmoose]

So.....AWP just posted another video on this case. While they did not find Leslie or her children, the video contains a lot of information from her sister and niece which I had not previously heard. I believe you have to be an AWP member in order to watch the video, but am posting the link below just in case.

Thanks-I wish they had found them

 

[LucyOso]

So.....AWP just posted another video on this case. While they did not find Leslie or her children, the video contains a lot of information from her sister and niece which I had not previously heard. I believe you have to be an AWP member in order to watch the video, but am posting the link below just in case.

Yes, you have to pay $4.99 to watch it. Any information you can share so we don't have to pay to watch?

 

[Skigirl]

So.....AWP just posted another video on this case. While they did not find Leslie or her children, the video contains a lot of information from her sister and niece which I had not previously heard. I believe you have to be an AWP member in order to watch the video, but am posting the link below just in case.

Would you mind summarizing the info that her mother and sister provided? I'm very interested and can't subscribe to everything

 

[LucyOso]

Would you mind summarizing the info that her mother and sister provided? I'm very interested and can't subscribe to everything

Agree!