MT MT - Susan Pearson, 30, Missoula, 13 March 1966

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]Susan Elizabeth Pearson[/h]

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Pearson, circa 1966

• Missing Since 03/13/1966
• Missing From Missoula, Montana
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth 10/01/1935 (82)
• Age 30 years old
• Height and Weight 4'11 - 5'1, 97 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A green three-quarter length coat with two large hand pockets and a plaid lining, slacks, and two diamond rings on the third finger of her right hand. One has a small diamond in a yellow gold setting and the other has a large diamond in a white gold setting.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde/red hair, brown eyes. Pearson has dark-colored blemishes on her cheeks. She wears a size 6 shoe.

[h=3]Details of Disappearance[/h] Pearson was last seen on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, Montana on March 13, 1966. She has never been heard from again. After her disappearance, her car was found abandoned in the business district of Missoula; it contained her purse, car keys and identification, but no money.

Pearson is originally from Portland, Oregon and her parents live there; was divorced at the time of her disappearance. She was attending graduate school at the University of Montana and worked as a lecturer of business administration.

She disappeared right before she was supposed to turn in her doctoral thesis, as well as administer a final examination exam to her students.

Pearson left her home undisturbed and she never picked up her last two paychecks, totaling $1,200. Foul play is suspected in her case; authorities think she was killed in the Blue Mountain area. Her disappearance remains unsolved.

http://charleyproject.org/case/susan-elizabeth-pearson

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10506/

 

[Richard]

Susan Pearson

Born October 1, 1935
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Disappeared March 13, 1966 (aged 30)
Missoula, Montana, U.S.
Occupation

• Doctoral student
• instructor

Height 5 ft 0 in
Weight 97 lb

LINK:

Disappearance of Susan Pearson - Wikipedia

 

[MadMcGoo]

Coincidentally, 1974 missing Missoula native Linda Lee Lovell began attending Montana State University in the fall of 1966. Just six months after Susan disappeared. It’s unlikely the two cases are related but it caught my eye so I thought I’d mention it... we never know.

 

[Richard]

Susan Pearson's 1966 disappearance is one of the oldest cold cases on record in Montana.

 

[alb1on]

Coincidentally, 1974 missing Missoula native Linda Lee Lovell began attending Montana State University in the fall of 1966. Just six months after Susan disappeared. It’s unlikely the two cases are related but it caught my eye so I thought I’d mention it... we never know.

Also strangely similar to the case of Dorothy Geneva Freeman who disappeared in 1970 and has a thread at MT - MT - Dorothy Freeman, 26, Missoula, 7 Sept 1970. Same city, also a student at the university and with a teaching position. Disappeared in her car, although the car has never been found.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Also strangely similar to the case of Dorothy Geneva Freeman who disappeared in 1970 and has a thread at MT - MT - Dorothy Freeman, 26, Missoula, 7 Sept 1970. Same city, also a student at the university and with a teaching position. Disappeared in her car, although the car has never been found.

Very interesting! I wonder if maybe there is a connection. I’ll have to read more about Dorothy, that sounds like a very mysterious disappearance. I know I researched Linda Lovell’s case for the longest time (thinking she and Stephen Packard were the Sumter Mystery Couple), and for some reason I want to say that her and/or her family had close connections with one branch of the military. Don’t quote me on that though, it’s been awhile since I really looked at my info. I’m not sure how that would connect them, I just noticed that comment on Dorothy’s thread. Hmmm. I’ll have to remember to go back and see what I can find!

 

[crimeblogger1983]

 

[Diane Redfern]

Sue Pearson was the granddaughter of Walter Pearson, a senator... It's odd that the vanishing of person with such connections is so unknown; I couldn't find any modern reports or articles about her, there's no info about her husband or possible enemies.
Wikipedia mentions Susan King's testimony; King was a singer and a friend of Sue Pearson and she said that one or two students had threaten to damage her car because of their poor grades, but no names are mentioned.
Susan King also alleged that Pearson had told her in the past that she had considered leaving and starting a new life. I don't think that is the case, because she would have taken the money with her if she wanted to start a new life.

 

[Richard]

Susan has been missing for 57 years.

 

[HopeRains]

Some articles of the day. They seem to indicate that Ms. Pearson was somewhat nervous and evasive in the days prior to her disappearance, as well as some discrepancy as to whether she was working on her dissertation thesis or another paper.

The Missoulian, 22 Mar 66, pg 1


25 Mar 66, pg 2


13 Apr 66, pg 16


2 Apr 66

 

[HopeRains]

Snip of 3 Nov 70, pg 2 article in The Missoulian and later suspected foul play in Ms. Pearson's case:

 

[Richard]

Susan Elizabeth Pearson, age 30
Missing since 13 March 1966

LINK:

Susan Elizabeth Pearson – The Charley Project

 

[JSolt1210]

As soon as divorce was mentioned, my thoughts immediately went to Susan's ex-husband. Was he questioned or his whereabouts known? A divorce can be a very sensitive time—even risky. Was theirs amicable or contentious? Could there have been bad blood between them?

However, the articles also state that she lived alone at this time. Could Susan have begun to date again and just maybe met up with the wrong guy? I doubt that in the 1960s it would've seemed "proper" for her to have a guy over, but unfortunately that scenario would've been the perfect opportunity for someone to commit a crime.

But then there's the "one or two boys" that threatened to wreck her car because she didn't give them a good grade. And the last thing that was found of Susan was her car. Could there be some truth to this story? What if Susan caught the boys in the middle of the act? They had planned to do it secretly, but now that she saw them, they realized they'd be in worse trouble so they just got rid of her.

I feel like any of these theories could fit.

 

[WingsOverTX]

Bear bones? A few more details here.

Disappearance of Susan Pearson - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I wonder if the bones were kept in evidence.

Why the Blue Mountain area? Just because of the bones found there? Seems odd if they were ruled out.

Who was Susan's husband? Did she always retain her maiden name or change her name after her divorce.

I don't think she was killed. Despite leaving money behind, I think she chose to disappear.
MOO

 

[Pennysmom1]

Susan Elizabeth Pearson - Montana Missing Person Directory

Details and Pictures of Susan Elizabeth Pearson, Missing since March 1966

www.missingin.org

3056DFMT - Susan Elizabeth Pearson

Name: Susan Elizabeth Pearson
Case Classification: Missing
Missing Since: March 13, 1966
Location Last Seen: Missoula, Missoula County, Montana

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: October 1, 1935
Age: 30 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 59-61"
Weight: 95-100 lbs.
Hair Color: Light brown or reddish-brown hair, cut short and worn straight
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Small dark blemishes on both cheeks.

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Believed to be wearing slacks, and a green 3/4 length car coat with plaid lining and two large hand pockets. Wears size 6 (narrow) shoe.
Jewelry: Two diamond rings worn on third finger of right hand; one small diamond in yellow gold setting, a large diamond in white gold setting.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Pearson was last seen on campus of University of Montana on March 13, 1966. Her car was found abandoned in downtown Missoula, MT, with her purse inside, which contained her identification.

At the time she went missing she was an instructor in Business Administration at the University of Montana in Missoula, while writing her doctoral dissertation for the University of Oregon. She was divorced and originally from Portland.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Missoula Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Det. Sgt. Bob Bouchee
Agency Phone Number: 406-552-6300
Agency E-Mail: bbouchee@ci.missoula.mt.us
Agency Case Number: P110419-028

Information Source(s)​

Namus
Montana Department of Justice
The Bulletin

Admin Notes​

Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr

 

[alb1on]

She has a marker on her fathers grave as documented at Susan E. Pearson (1936-unknown) - Find a Grave.....
Her marriage and divorce seems irrelevant as she married in 1959 and divorced 2 years later, long before she went missing.