CA CA - Richard Strehle, 26, South Lake Tahoe, 5 July 1973

[morf13]

I did Charles Lorraine Rosencrace Hollingsworth this afternoon and his disappearance is IMO, not connected with either Donna or Richard, but came after a divorce and just a month before his ex-wife remarried. His Doe Network entry mentions an argument with a family member...so he was last seen by someone who knew him well. Maybe there was foul play, maybe not, but the disappearance doesn't seem to be the work of "outside forces" in the same way as the other two.

I ordinarily would agree, but if he took his own life (if any of the 3 did, not one of their bodies turned up? Also, the Charles's vehicle was found out in the middle of nowhere

 

[morf13]

I did Charles Lorraine Rosencrace Hollingsworth this afternoon and his disappearance is IMO, not connected with either Donna or Richard, but came after a divorce and just a month before his ex-wife remarried. His Doe Network entry mentions an argument with a family member...so he was last seen by someone who knew him well. Maybe there was foul play, maybe not, but the disappearance doesn't seem to be the work of "outside forces" in the same way as the other two.

I ordinarily would agree, but if he took his own life (if any of the 3 did, not one of their bodies turned up? Also, the Charles's vehicle was found out in the middle of nowhere

Do you happen to know the exact address(es) of the others who disappeared in South Lake Tahoe? I want to investigate any possible overlap with the apartment buildings/homes Maloney Realty (the agency Richard worked at) was trying to sell around that time.

RE: Donna Lass, she had moved into the Monte Verdi apartments at 3893 Pioneer Tr or just a couple days before she went missing. Before that, she had been living with her friends, Mr & Mrs Larry Lowe on 4054 US Highway 50. She worked about 15 minute walk from her new apartment at the Sahara Casino 50 US-50, Stateline, NV

RE: Charles Hollingsworth, he shared an office on Highway 50(I do not know exact address)with his Brother. According to this page- Charles Hollingsworth

Charles was living in a lodge at 3840 Pioneer Trail. Compare to Donna Lass who lived at 3893 Pioneer. That's 0.1 miles apart, very compelling.

I will have to see if I have Strehle's work or home addresses

 

[FOXINBOX]

I ordinarily would agree, but if he took his own life (if any of the 3 did, not one of their bodies turned up? Also, the Charles's vehicle was found out in the middle of nowhere

Hi Morf Sorry. No, I'm more than half sure he met with foul play, but possibly *cough* nearer to home than the other two - I was trying to avoid a brush with the mods [again]...
I totally agree that there's something going on in California at this time, though.

 

[FOXINBOX]

I ordinarily would agree, but if he took his own life (if any of the 3 did, not one of their bodies turned up? Also, the Charles's vehicle was found out in the middle of nowhere


RE: Donna Lass, she had moved into the Monte Verdi apartments at 3893 Pioneer Tr or just a couple days before she went missing. Before that, she had been living with her friends, Mr & Mrs Larry Lowe on 4054 US Highway 50. She worked about 15 minute walk from her new apartment at the Sahara Casino 50 US-50, Stateline, NV

RE: Charles Hollingsworth, he shared an office on Highway 50(I do not know exact address)with his Brother. According to this page- Charles Hollingsworth

Charles was living in a lodge at 3840 Pioneer Trail. Compare to Donna Lass who lived at 3893 Pioneer. That's 0.1 miles apart, very compelling.

I will have to see if I have Strehle's work or home addresses

Actually "Super-like" That's very interesting. I do have Richard's home address though on 1211 Julie Lane, and another new property on Zuni St [no number] which he hadn't moved into yet [Donna link again]. Richard was also working as a realtor, if the newspaper ads are to be believed

 

[FOXINBOX]

Actually, I may have another link for you. Need to go rummage through my files.

 

[morf13]

Some ads that appear to have been placed by Richard, most are from 1971

 

[morf13]

Hi Morf Sorry. No, I'm more than half sure he met with foul play, but possibly *cough* nearer to home than the other two - I was trying to avoid a brush with the mods [again]...
I totally agree that there's something going on in California at this time, though.

Could be foul play no doubt. I even saw a theory that perhaps Charles knew Donna, killed her, and took his own life from the guilt. I am not saying I believe that is what happened, but not the craziest theory ever.

In my opinion, whomever was responsible for Donna's disappearance was in her inner circle. They made a fake call to her work and landlord saying she went away due to a family emergency. There was no family emergency, this person was trying to buy themselves time- time for what? I do not know. Time to dispose of her body, get rid of evidence, come up with a story, or an alibi, etc. If a stranger abducted and killed Donna, why would he need to call her landlord and boss? There would be nothing connecting him. Making the calls screams someone that knew her, and knew that police would be coming to him sooner or later, and that time was needed to get his stuff together. Also, Donna walked to work that day, or at lest it was reported she did. A 15 min walk, which walking to work at 6pm is no big deal, but when she got off at 2am, would she really want to walk 15 min after a long shift and in the dark? Her car was found at her new apartment, and I do not know if they confirmed one way or another she walked to work, or just assumed she did. Or, could she have been dropped off and picked up by someone?

 

[FOXINBOX]

Strehle's landlady of his burned-out apartment [?] - poor record keeping by me, was Wilma Lorraine Abel. No immediate connection to the doctor, though, apart from the middle name.
I have considered the possibility that Richard actually perished in that house fire, and what we see is a fictitious Richard gradually selling off his worldly goods and then putting an end to the charade a year or so later

 

[morf13]

Here are some of their addresses marked on map

 

[FOXINBOX]

I think we have suspicious minds alike
The thing that niggles at me regarding Donna are all those new clothes in her new apartment. They are all still unworn and in their polythene covers. Very odd, and might well connect with what you're suggesting. Maybe the originals had blood spatter, or worse. Donna, unlike Richard, seemed to be in close touch with her family, and they had stayed with her a short time previously.

 

[FOXINBOX]

Here are some of their addresses marked on map

Gotta love a good map!
Have something similar on My Maps [Though missing some of these details] I did not have Donna's previous address which is like gold dust. Cannot do a screen grab of the data without a broad white line on the file. I've tried various ways, legitimate, and not so legitimate, with no luck.
On the bright side there is a tool lurking in developments that allows people to draw a radius on their stuff, which I have been needing for a long time.

 

[FOXINBOX]

The Strehle house fire.

Both the Strehle's and the Rosencrance / Hollingworths hailed out of Claremont, no addresses as yet. Could their be a forged death certificates or some similar scam going on? I know I've got a bit of a thing about fake deaths. Put it down to Gamblers' Fallacy, Clustering Illusion, whatever...

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Richard seemed like he was very environmentally-conscious––I found this letter to the editor he wrote that was published in the Auburn Journal on December 24, 1970.

Auburn Journal, 24 December 1970, pg. A-10.
<snipped & BBW>
My tears were partly from sadness, I suspect, for it may not be many more years that I will be able to view these beautiful creatures. Man appears bent on destroying all wild creatures, perhaps all living things, whether through willful acts, ignorance or neglect, whether with guns or DDT or sheer weight of numbers. I can only hope without much confidence that mankind will become civilized, limit its population growth and evolve beyond its destructive tendencies before it is too late.

A few weeks after this letter appeared in the paper, Richard submitted another letter to the editor where he also discussed environmental issues––

Auburn Journal, 14 January 1971, pg. B-9.
<snipped>
Please, dear friends, the need is greater now than ever before. Look inside yourself, the potential is there; the attainment is a long and arduous process and time is running out.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Richard seemed like he was very environmentally-conscious––I found this letter to the editor he wrote that was published in the Auburn Journal on December 24, 1970.

Auburn Journal, 24 December 1970, pg. A-10.
<snipped & BBW>
My tears were partly from sadness, I suspect, for it may not be many more years that I will be able to view these beautiful creatures. Man appears bent on destroying all wild creatures, perhaps all living things, whether through willful acts, ignorance or neglect, whether with guns or DDT or sheer weight of numbers. I can only hope without much confidence that mankind will become civilized, limit its population growth and evolve beyond its destructive tendencies before it is too late.

A few weeks after this letter appeared in the paper, Richard submitted another letter to the editor where he also discussed environmental issues––

Auburn Journal, 14 January 1971, pg. B-9.
<snipped>
Please, dear friends, the need is greater now than ever before. Look inside yourself, the potential is there; the attainment is a long and arduous process and time is running out.

UPDATE: We have a BIG mystery on our hands. At first, I was sure that these letters were written by our Richard Strehle (after all, how many Richard Strehle's could there have been in the Northern CA area circa 1970-1973?).

But then, in one letter to the editor attributed to the Rich Strehle with the same P.O. box address (P.O. Box 211, Meadow Vista) as the author of the above two articles, he references his wife. Our Richard Strehle was single.

Auburn Journal, 19 November 1970, pg. B-11.
<snipped & BBW>
Inspired by a letter in this column, and by a school newsletter, my wife and I attended the board meeting of the Placer Hills Union School District this evening. We are newcomers to the area and have been very pleased with the schools are personnel in this district.

I thought I somehow made a mistake and confused two different Richard Strehle's. But I didn't.

In 1971, Richard Strehle (P.O. Box 211, Meadow Vista) placed an advertisement looking for a new place. In the ad, he says he "prefer privacy, pines" and is okay with a small cabin that he can fix up. But he also says he is 24, which lines up exact with our Richard Strehle, so I am 99% sure they are one and the same.

Now the big question here is did he actually ever have a wife? Or a serious girlfriend? What motivation would he even have to lie about having a wife in a letter to the editor of his local paper? This leads me to believe he was married, which is new information as far as I know. Even the article in the Sacramento Bee about his disappearance states he was unmarried.

 

[FOXINBOX]

Not just breadcrumbs but a whole loaf! And it presents a more proactive picture of Richard than the NamUs bio

Timeline Nov 70 to Nov 71
Auburn Journal
Thurs 19 Nov 1970
Letter from Richard, dated 12 Nov 1970 which mentions being new to the area, but also mentions "my wife", the address given is consistent with the accommodation that went up in flames a year later (See below)
Thurs 3 Dec 1970 - Article about the Auburn Volunteer Bureau
Thurs 7 Jan 1971 - letter dated 31 Dec 1970, describes himself a a regular contributor to the letter page...
Thurs 28 Jan 1971 - Ad for realtor [UK English: estate agent] Maretta Weir, which inc. Richard
Roseville Press-Journal Weds 24 Feb 1971
Article about the "Foothills Community Concern", "A group devoted to meeting the problems of drug abuse among young people in Placer County."
Auburn Journal
Thurs 11 March 1971, listed as subscriber
Thurs 25 March 1971 - Another article about the AVB, picture of Richard, top right, not great, but identifiable.
Thurs 11 Nov 1971 - Fire at Richard's rented accommodation and he's seeking new quarters
In this article he is described as a student and substitute teacher

Not to be judgemental but Richard may well have Ruffled Feathers in his new community.

This is an Edit: I have just searched for Richard in Eldorado Co. which includes South Tahoe & Tahoe Valley (Where Richard disappeared), and there is a big fat nothing, which may be due to a gap in the archives, but otherwise is very odd for someone who has insinuated himself throughout the community 1970-71

He might have been referring to his girlfriend as his wife, it was the 1970s, some folk might still have considered he was "Living in Sin" There is a photo with one of these articles, grainy, but enough to recognize Richard

 

[FOXINBOX]

He might have been referring to his girlfriend as his wife, it was the 1970s, some folk might still have considered he was "Living in Sin" There is a photo with one of these articles, grainy, but enough to recognize Richard

Forgot to mention, Richard did have a girlfriend, because a "coworker stated that Strehle had been mildly depressed due to his girlfriend leaving and moving back to Colorado." [DoeNet]

Not that I've ever traced the girlfriend, or even discovered her name...

 

[morf13]

UPDATE: We have a BIG mystery on our hands. At first, I was sure that these letters were written by our Richard Strehle (after all, how many Richard Strehle's could there have been in the Northern CA area circa 1970-1973?).

But then, in one letter to the editor attributed to the Rich Strehle with the same P.O. box address (P.O. Box 211, Meadow Vista) as the author of the above two articles, he references his wife. Our Richard Strehle was single.

Auburn Journal, 19 November 1970, pg. B-11.
<snipped & BBW>
Inspired by a letter in this column, and by a school newsletter, my wife and I attended the board meeting of the Placer Hills Union School District this evening. We are newcomers to the area and have been very pleased with the schools are personnel in this district.

I thought I somehow made a mistake and confused two different Richard Strehle's. But I didn't.

In 1971, Richard Strehle (P.O. Box 211, Meadow Vista) placed an advertisement looking for a new place. In the ad, he says he "prefer privacy, pines" and is okay with a small cabin that he can fix up. But he also says he is 24, which lines up exact with our Richard Strehle, so I am 99% sure they are one and the same.

Now the big question here is did he actually ever have a wife? Or a serious girlfriend? What motivation would he even have to lie about having a wife in a letter to the editor of his local paper? This leads me to believe he was married, which is new information as far as I know. Even the article in the Sacramento Bee about his disappearance states he was unmarried.

There was a Richard W. Strehle born in 1946, just like 'our' Richard E. Strehle. He got married in 1974, so this could be a diff one. I don't know the married couple's address history, but at some point they lived in Minden, NV 19 miles from South Lake Tahoe

 

[morf13]

Forgot to mention, Richard did have a girlfriend, because a "coworker stated that Strehle had been mildly depressed due to his girlfriend leaving and moving back to Colorado." [DoeNet]

Not that I've ever traced the girlfriend, or even discovered her name...

I wish we could ID her. I reached out to Richard's sister but have not heard a reply yet

 

[FOXINBOX]

I wish we could ID her. I reached out to Richard's sister but have not heard a reply yet

Not finished going through the small ads [Thanks to Citizen Sleuth I though they were worth a second look] and the directories yet, but there's a strange ad Jan 20 1972 Auburn Journal - vehicle repairs

 

[FOXINBOX]

VW servicing? Maybe Rich is the Zodiac ? He was hanging round Riverside c 1966!