KS Mary Henley, 25, Wichita, June 5, 1951

[SimsGuy67]

New case in NamUs.

Mary Belle Henley - MP110047
General Information
Sex: Female
Race: White/Caucasian
DLC: June 5, 1951
Age: 25
Height: 5'8 - 5'9
Weight: 125 - 135 pounds
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Mary Beth
Distinguishing Features: Mole on her chin

Circumstances
Last known contact on June 5, 1951.

Investigators
Wichita Police Department
Agency Phone: (316) 268-4407
Agency Case Number: 23C134907

 

[SimsGuy67]

I think she could be the Blackhawk Jane Doe.

	Blackhawk Jane Doe UP14826	Mary Belle Henley MP110047
Sex	Female	Female
Race	Unknown, though reconstructions seem to have been done with a white woman in mind.	White/Caucasian
Age	17 - 30	25
DLC/DOD	Weeks prior to September 30, 1952	June 5, 1951
Height	5'7	5'8 - 5'9
Weight	Unknown	125 - 135 pounds
Hair Color	Brown/Black	Brown
Eye Color	Unknown	Brown
Distinctive Features	Prominent overbite.	Mole on chin.
Circumstances	Charred remains found under log.	Last known contact on June 5, 1951.
Distance	Wichita - Blackhawk	549 miles

 

[Molly's Mom]

I wonder if the jewelry found with Blackhawk Jane Doe could be used to rule out Mary? That could definitely help.

 

[SimsGuy67]

I wonder if the jewelry found with Blackhawk Jane Doe could be used to rule out Mary? That could definitely help.

Maybe. Not sure how many people would remember, or even be alive, but if the jewelry was photographed on Mary, it could be used to make at least a tentative identification.

 

[cenazoic]

1979 article which provides a few more details. The only thing I could find on newspapers.com/newspaperarchive.

 

[Quoththeraven]

The following was posted on ancestry.com. Link below

Mary Belle Davis Henley is my grandmother.She has been a Missing Person since 1952.Abt 1952 LKL was Anderson, IN & Wichita, KSMiss Davis married Mr. Henley abt 1939 possibly in Valdosta, GA before returning to live in Cookeville, TN. No record or date is known.Between 1952-1959 Mr. Henley either had her declared dead in absentia and/or divorced in absentia. No date or records are known by the family. May be associated with the surnames-Pierce, Shepard and/or Godsey. Records indicate a Ms. Mary Davis Godsey died in 2004. Ms. Godsey's DOB & parents match Mrs. Henley's however Mrs. Henley's immediate family cannot prove or disprove at this time the women are one in the same.

https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/164231244/person/342138051744/media/3bcbc1ea-4eec-4aec-b1bc-404b21c3c0d6?_phsrc=PdK246&_phstart=successSource

 

[Quoththeraven]

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/164231244/person/342138051744/facts

 

[cenazoic]

Interesting, the person (granddaughter) on Ancestry also says:

Correct DOB and Parents for Mrs. Henley with DOD: 23 Jun 2004 associated with the names:

Mary Davis Godsey Sep 1953

Mary Davis Oct 1957

Mary Davis Pierce Aug 1960

Mary Belle Pierce Mar 1968

Mary B Pierce 5 Jan 1990

Mary Belle Shepard 7 Sep 1990

SSN assoc with these names was in fact issued in Kansas abt 1953

 

[Molly's Mom]

I think she could be the Blackhawk Jane Doe.

	Blackhawk Jane Doe UP14826	Mary Belle Henley MP110047
Sex	Female	Female
Race	Unknown, though reconstructions seem to have been done with a white woman in mind.	White/Caucasian
Age	17 - 30	25
DLC/DOD	Weeks prior to September 30, 1952	June 5, 1951
Height	5'7	5'8 - 5'9
Weight	Unknown	125 - 135 pounds
Hair Color	Brown/Black	Brown
Eye Color	Unknown	Brown
Distinctive Features	Prominent overbite.	Mole on chin.
Circumstances	Charred remains found under log.	Last known contact on June 5, 1951.
Distance	Wichita - Blackhawk	549 miles

Are you going to submit this to be matched? I think this should be ruled out. Very promising.

 

[SimsGuy67]

Are you going to submit this to be matched? I think this should be ruled out. Very promising.

Honestly, I really doubt it can be ruled out. It would probably be best to know if Mary has dentals available first.

 

[Molly's Mom]

Honestly, I really doubt it can be ruled out. It would probably be best to know if Mary has dentals available first.

I've never submitted a potential match. Would you just contact NAMUS with this or what about the DOENetwork?

 

[MadMcGoo]

Mary Belle DAVIS Henley 1951 KS

Clipping found in The Wichita Beacon published in Wichita, Kansas on 12/4/1979. Mary Belle DAVIS Henley 1951 KS

www.newspapers.com

I’ve never seen a high school yearbook photo of a woman listed under her married name. That’s a first for me. I feel like the Mary Godsey who died in 2004 could be her. What are the chances she shares with someone with the same name, DOB, and parents? Then again, this is a very recent addition to NamUs, so surely this has all been checked out.

 

[cenazoic]

Then again, this is a very recent addition to NamUs, so surely this has all been checked out

There’s a new book out called “Lay Them to Rest”. One of the things the author says is often most useful to PDs for old cases is historical newspaper stories, and presumably, this sort of public genealogy.

I’d be willing to bet that many of these very old MPs have very slim/incomplete case files, so I can believe the sort of research we tend to do on WS for these kind of cases doesn’t generally overlap with what LE does.

 

[Quoththeraven]

Someone, somewhere, messed up the birth dates of Mary Belle. Her Florida gravestone shows a birthdate of Feb 8, 1926. The SS Application shows her birthdate as Mar 8, 1926. There's also a MISS Mary Belle Pierce of St. Joseph, MO, born in 1926, which is where the Florida Mary Belle is from and where she married Hubert Shepard. If this MISS Mary Belle Pierce is the same as the Florida Mary Belle Pierce who married Hubert Shepard in St. Joseph, MO, then she couldn't be the same as the Mary Belle Davis Henley since her maiden name was Pierce.

I also included a 1950 census which shows Mary Belle Henley was separated from her husband and living with her mother in Putnam County, TN in 1950. They were married Oct 16, 1940.

 

[Quoththeraven]

One of the things the author says is often most useful to PDs for old cases is historical newspaper stories, and presumably, this sort of public genealogy.

I’d be willing to bet that many of these very old MPs have very slim/incomplete case files, so I can believe the sort of research we tend to do on WS for these kind of cases doesn’t generally overlap with what LE does.

I tend to agree. Though, speaking from a personal experience, I was recently visited by two detectives from a southeastern county in my state who are still investigating a 50+ year old cold case murder. Don't think they aren't reading what we write here on WS. Something motivated them to travel 180 miles to question me and I don't think it was the three hour scenic drive. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow but they grind exceedingly fine.

 

[Molly's Mom]

I tend to agree. Though, speaking from a personal experience, I was recently visited by two detectives from a southeastern county in my state who are still investigating a 50+ year old cold case murder. Don't think they aren't reading what we write here on WS. Something motivated them to travel 180 miles to question me and I don't think it was the three hour scenic drive. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow but they grind exceedingly fine.

This gives me hope for all the cold cases out there.

 

[cenazoic]

I was recently visited by two detectives from a southeastern county in my state who are still investigating a 50+ year old cold case murder

You can’t just leave us hanging like that!

 

[Quoththeraven]

You can’t just leave us hanging like that!

Lol. I know the feeling. I tell them what I and others have known for years and they tell me...nothing.

 

[Laughing]

Are the known locations near military bases? Looking at the years, was Mr. Henley in the service?

Excellent genealogy work, @Quoththeraven !

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[alb1on]

Mary Belle DAVIS Henley 1951 KS

Clipping found in The Wichita Beacon published in Wichita, Kansas on 12/4/1979. Mary Belle DAVIS Henley 1951 KS

www.newspapers.com

I’ve never seen a high school yearbook photo of a woman listed under her married name. That’s a first for me. I feel like the Mary Godsey who died in 2004 could be her. What are the chances she shares with someone with the same name, DOB, and parents? Then again, this is a very recent addition to NamUs, so surely this has all been checked out.

I would not bet on it all having been checked. I recall the Stella Horrell case. She disappeared in the 1940s and was found to have lived a full life and died in the 1990s - all of which could be traced through Ancestry.
On the married name in a yearbook, it reminds me of our rugby captain (and a future international) at school. He made an error when he and his girlfriend were 15. They got married at 16 and remained at school until 18 (with a flat provided by parents). The look on the faces of opponents when his wife and toddler came to watch daddy play in school matches was wonderful.