Cases That Haunt You

[Fence Sitter]

Greenirisheyez that sounds like quite the case! Is there a thread here for it? Was the uncle cleared? Just wondering as ive read before that its a common occurence that a perp will cover their victim if they are close to them.

 

[greenirisheyez]

Hi Fence Sitter, I can only assume the uncle was vetted, but I don't know. I wish there was a thread for it here. I checked when I first came on here in 2010 and again in the past month. I did not find one. Willingboro is right over the bridge from Philadelphia where the Vidoc Society meets (or used to). I had always hoped they would decide to look into the case, but I never read anything or heard anything of the kind. There is also nothing on the internet about her except a find a grave reference. I do have copies of the coverage our local paper did on the story back in 1973. But, quite frankly, I do not even read that paper any longer because they have a long history of getting their facts wrong, horrendous editing, and sloppy reporting in general. I could try to scan the clippings if it's allowed here and anybody has an interest. Thank you for your interest in Terry's case!

 

[IndianSummer]

Rachel Cooke 2002
A Texas college girl went for a jog, never came back

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cooke_rachel.html
Her father Robert Cooke was an amazing man. He post on several boards and helped with so many missing cases/searches. I remember the sadness in his writings when he went to Aruba to help search for Natalie Holloway. He was so kind even though you knew his heart was broken.
JMO

 

[ekardh]

Can't believe I forgot to include Hinterkaifeck.

 

[thesiren]

Bumping because this a fantastic thread.

 

[Sutton]

Bumping because this a fantastic thread.

Word! I love reading about cases that others suggest. This thread is underrated.

 

[Sutton]

Here is a case that has always intrigued me (but not really haunted me):
In September 1971, Thelma "Polly" Melton, 58, disappeared from The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in TN.
Polly and her husband belonged to a group of about 10 families who rented out a campsite and lived in Airstreams. "The group did not admit any newcomers into their campground unless all the families voted unanimously to admit them. Most of them were retired, came in April or May, and stayed until October or November."
Polly had been camping there for almost 20 years. On the day she went missing she took a walk with two long-time friends, Red and Trula. This was a regular activity. The trail is four miles, round trip, allows vehicles and is considered an easy trail.
On the return trip, "without explanation, Polly began to walk very fast, as if she intended to leave them behind."
"Just as Polly was going out of earshot, Red called out, “I wouldn’t want to be in a foot race with you, Polly.” Polly looked back, grinned impishly and chuckled as though satisfied with the situation. She picked up her pace and kept going."
Polly was not back at camp when her friends returned. They began an immediate search which involved many other campers. Within three hours the Park Rangers were involved and launched a wide-scale search.
Many hours and resources were put into locating Polly. Most of the Rangers knew her. There were no signs anyone had left the trail. There was no area between her location and the campsite where she could have fallen down an embankment, or other similar fate. Bear & other wild animal attacks were ruled out.
Polly has never been located.
The quotes are from the book,
Unsolved Disappearances in the Great Smoky Mountains by Juanitta Baldwin and Ester Grubb.
Here is the Charley Project link
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/melton_thelma.html

 

[Dragonfyree]

I have read about this disappearance in one of a series of books called - Missing 411- by David Paulides.

These books are about all the people who disappear in and around the National Parks in the USA.

You do have to put up with his really out there theories (think aliens). But it does give detailed synopsis of the people and what they were doing and about the search, what was found etc. There are 4 books and they are each about 500 pages and probably have over 100 cases in each one.

They have some famous cases, like Paula Weldon from Bennington, but most of them I had never heard of, and some of them are really weird.

I think it was also in the Great Smokey Mountains where a teenage girl in the late 1970's - early 1980's disappeared while on a field trip, the kids were walking back to the bus. She was on the trail with them one minute and then was gone.

So many of them are never found and I found out National Parks don't keep records of people who disappear in them.

 

[Sutton]

I have read about this disappearance in one of a series of books called - Missing 411- by David Paulides.

These books are about all the people who disappear in and around the National Parks in the USA.

You do have to put up with his really out there theories (think aliens). But it does give detailed synopsis of the people and what they were doing and about the search, what was found etc. There are 4 books and they are each about 500 pages and probably have over 100 cases in each one.

They have some famous cases, like Paula Weldon from Bennington, but most of them I had never heard of, and some of them are really weird.

I think it was also in the Great Smokey Mountains where a teenage girl in the late 1970's - early 1980's disappeared while on a field trip, the kids were walking back to the bus. She was on the trail with them one minute and then was gone.

So many of them are never found and I found out National Parks don't keep records of people who disappear in them.

Agreed on the 'out there theories.' I listened to David Paulides on Coast-to-Coast. Some of the cases he discussed are strange. Those books sound like they are worth reading, I think I will get them.
The other case you mentioned is Trenny Lynn Gibson.

 

[lakaterine]

Johanne Foessl, a mother of 3 who was found strangled in 1998. She was from my hometown and her kids went to the school I had just left the year earlier (switched to junior high that year). I have never stopped thinking about this... her murderer was never found.

She had been separated for 3 years and her house was for sale, the real estate agent found her while he was doing a showing of the house to some potential buyers. She was very much involved in the figure skating community at the time.

http://www.crimesnonresolus.com/en/cold-cases/johanne_foessl.html

About ten years ago there was a French-Canadian tv show for unsolved crimes that focused one episode on her case, they were trying to get new leads but I don't think it resulted in anything. I would love to have a thread here for her!

edited to add: From what I remember, the murder scene was staged to make it look like it was a rape but the autopsy showed no sign of rape.

 

[Sutton]

Johanne Foessl, a mother of 3 who was found strangled in 1998. She was from my hometown and her kids went to the school I had just left the year earlier (switched to junior high that year). I have never stopped thinking about this... her murderer was never found.

She had been separated for 3 years and her house was for sale, the real estate agent found her while he was doing a showing of the house to some potential buyers. She was very much involved in the figure skating community at the time.

http://www.crimesnonresolus.com/en/cold-cases/johanne_foessl.html

About ten years ago there was a French-Canadian tv show for unsolved crimes that focused one episode on her case, they were trying to get new leads but I don't think it resulted in anything. I would love to have a thread here for her!

edited to add: From what I remember, the murder scene was staged to make it look like it was a rape but the autopsy showed no sign of rape.

Was there a husband/boyfriend/ex in her life? Were they the main suspect or were the cleared?

 

[Sutton]

A case that really does haunt me is the murder of Kathy Jones in 1969. I was interested in the case because I am from the area. But the case is haunting because of what happened to her.
Kathy was 12 years old. On Thanksgiving weekend her mother had given her a dollar to go skating and to stop by Krispy Kreme donuts. Whether she ever made it to either location is unknown. Her body was found in a field behind Krispy Kreme a few days later. She had her roller skates with her. The homicide captain said,
"They were used rollerskates,” he says, “but to Kathy, they were new and were the most important thing in her life. A cousin had given them to her and she was thrilled she had them."
http://m.nashvillescene.com/nashville/a-killing-a-search-a-suspect/Content?oid=1182733
Many other details in the two WS threads, and her cousin is a member here.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108930
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249754

 

[lakaterine]

From what I can find online, she had been separated for 3 years, her daughters were living with her and her son was living with her ex-husband. Don't think she had a boyfriend or anything like that.

I remember from the tv show that aired that they seemed to think she had surprised a burglar, they found footprints in the snow at the back of the house and they could actually follow the footprints for quite some time before they lost their trace. They did not focus at all on the ex-husband but I can't remember if he had an alibi.

 

[Snick1946]

Connie Smith vanished from a youth camp in CT in 1952:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/smith_connie.html

There is a thread on this board about her disappearance. It was as if she vanished into thin air.

 

[stereot]

I remember reading about two boys who disappeared after going out to an old WW2 bunker - whatever happened to them?

No trace, nothing! Its almost like they fell off the face off the earth completely.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/conner_kevin.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/peal_mark.html

Same goes for people like Jason Jolkowski - not even a hint of what could've happened to him.

 

[Sutton]

I remember reading about two boys who disappeared after going out to an old WW2 bunker - whatever happened to them?

No trace, nothing! Its almost like they fell off the face off the earth completely.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/conner_kevin.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/peal_mark.html

Same goes for people like Jason Jolkowski - not even a hint of what could've happened to him.

I had never heard of these two boys. I wonder if they brought out search dogs? Was this an area in which they could have gotten lost or fell in an old well or sinkhole? Was there a road road nearby where they could have been picked up by someone?
It seems like the families decided soon afterwards that the boys were no longer alive--they held a memorial service one month after their disappearance.

 

[stereot]

I had never heard of these two boys. I wonder if they brought out search dogs? Was this an area in which they could have gotten lost or fell in an old well or sinkhole? Was there a road road nearby where they could have been picked up by someone?
It seems like the families decided soon afterwards that the boys were no longer alive--they held a memorial service one month after their disappearance.

There seem to be few details - those kinds of stories are as bizarre as they are fascinating.

Why did their families thought that they're dead in the first place? Again, I'm thinking of Jason Jolkowski case and his mom isn't sure whether he's dead, since there's hardly an indication of what could've happened.

There is no foul play suspected, but there is also hardly any indication of what could've gone wrong.

I don't see any follow-ups on this story either, which makes me think that everyone wrote it off as an accident rather than possibility that boys were abducted.

 

[KateB]

For me, it's this unidentified teenage girl who was pushed in front of a car in Florida. I always thought Sleuthster's theory was very good, but I take it there's been no further news?

Also, Cherrie Mahan.I was a year and a half older than her, and lived not too far away in north-central West Virginia. I remember looking out for the van with the skier on the side every time we went in the car.

Responding 3 years later...

Not until today. The 1973 St Petersburg Florida Jane Doe has her name back.
FL - St Petersburg, WhtFem , 14-17, Pushed in Front of Car, Jun'73 Janice Young

 

[lovehurts]

Jodi Sue Huisentruit was a television news anchor for KIMT, based in Mason City, Iowa in the United States. She disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995 and is believed to have been abducted. She was 27 years old at the time...
It still freaks me out.

 

[Dragonfyree]

Jodi Huisentruit is also an interesting case as it reminds me that you should always make as much noise as possible and never, ever get into a car, even if they have a weapon, even if it doesn't always work, as it didn't in Jodi's case.

I know there are a lot of reasons why this may not be possible, being knocked out, etc.

From what it looks like, Jodi put up a fight and I've never been able to figure out why no one heard. It was a time of the morning that other people should have been up and it should have been quiet. I wonder if she was putting up struggle but possibly wasn't screaming.

Just a note: The State Of Nebraska has just voted in its' Unicameral to get rid of the death penalty.

Despite the fact that it is overwhelmingly supported by the people of the Nebraska.

Our Governor: Pete Ricketts will veto the bill, but there were enough votes to over ride the veto.

There is going to be a lot of work on those legislatures who initially voted for this but may not be willing to over ride the Governor's veto.