CT CT - Connie Smith, 10, Salisbury, 16 July 1952

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There are persons out there with pieces to this puzzle that they might think are nothing more than an observation. Yet put with other tidbits these bits and pieces could built the beginning picture of what happened.

Is there anyone out there who went to camp with Connie? Or is there anyone who remembers driving that way in 1952 and saw something, yet was never interviewed?

This day in 1952 Connie walked away from camp, why?

If we can answer that question it would be a beginning. Anyone can send a private message if they don't want to post here.
 
I've just discovered this thread and have now made my way through each post. The one thing that really stands out to me is the fact that none of her fellow campers have ever spoken out about this.

It also sounds to me like she may have been bullied and threatened by someone at the camp and wanted to get out of there.
 
I agree, marie-chantal. I find it odd that no one has every talked about it - not sure if that goes to bullying or intimidation, or simply different attitudes of the time. Still, you'd think someone would talk about it - for me, if I was at camp with a girl that disappeared, I'd never forget. I'd always want to find out what happened.
 
You right that has always bothered me too, but I have never been able to find the tentmates nor anyone who wants to talk about it and until then it is all guessing. Bullying sounds like the problem from her "falling in the tent and hurting her hip (she fell over her clothes trunk) broke her glasses and the next day got a bloody nose. I too would go off looking for help since it seems the camp personel was of little help. I bet it was " just forget it and get along" kind of thing.

Connie was a strong by friendly young girl from the West, no match for street smart city girls. Living in WY with plenty of wide open spaces makes for less confrontations and more about pitching in and helping ones neighbor.

Sure would love to understand camp life back then.
 
@Claudette:
Thank you very much for the link I had never seen that, very interesting. If she was headed to Chicago and if she was in NY, who knows where she ended up. Where ever she was headed, the outcome was not good.
 
They have a book about the 1953 abduction of Connie Smith from CT now as well, that will be my next stop, I will post info here and on her thread, source www.charleyproject.org:
Bar

Clueless in New England: The Unsolved Disappearances of Paula Welden, Connie Smith and Katherine Hull by Michael C. Dooling NEW!

The author attempts to tie the 1946 disappearance of Paula Welden and the 1952 disappearance of Connie Smith with an earlier case, that of Katherine Hull in 1936. Katherine was 22 when she disappeared from Lebanon Springs, New York. Her skeletal remains were found in a nearby wooded area seven years later, and for lack of evidence to the contrary the death was ruled accidental. Dooling believes one serial killer was responsible in all three young women's cases. Although I'm unconvinced — the evidence just isn't there — this is a very thorough and well-researched account of these disappearances. In this book you'll find as much information about these unfortunate girls as you're ever going to find, and other cases are mentioned as well.

Copyright 2010. 236 pages.
 
This is going to be a pet case of mine. I don't believe she was abducted. To me, this begins and ends at that camp. Is it still operating ? That Sara Storm story is odd, too. But back to Connie. That newspaper article was a whitewash-the one about her making friends at camp, blah blah.

That was not the case. Those girls ganged up on Connie. Something was wrong there. Why? Was there a hot counselor all the girls liked who only had eyes for Connie? Were all these girls as well off as Connie or were there lower income girls?

All through the thread, there are mentions of pedophiles being at the camp, but is that fact? How does anyone know that?

I strongly believe this was not stranger danger. Someone affliated with that camp killed Connie.
 
This is going to be a pet case of mine. I don't believe she was abducted. To me, this begins and ends at that camp. Is it still operating ? That Sara Storm story is odd, too. But back to Connie. That newspaper article was a whitewash-the one about her making friends at camp, blah blah.

That was not the case. Those girls ganged up on Connie. Something was wrong there. Why? Was there a hot counselor all the girls liked who only had eyes for Connie? Were all these girls as well off as Connie or were there lower income girls?

All through the thread, there are mentions of pedophiles being at the camp, but is that fact? How does anyone know that?

I strongly believe this was not stranger danger. Someone affliated with that camp killed Connie.
Its funny you should mention that Scriptgirl,I too have often wondered when reading about this case if in fact she ever really left that camp.
 
I do think she left camp-too many people have seen her, but I think she was followed. I wonder-how old was Camp Sloane? Was it nationally known? Why did her parents send her there? Did Connie want to go? Had there been any other incidents reported at this camp? Also who funded this camp? Was it a private camp? Were influential citizens backers of this camp?
 
Seems Shadowangel picked it up early on.

I came across some interesting info while researching another case some of you are familiar with...;)

From the Coshocton (OH) Tribune, Apr 8th 1953--"Floater's Story of Desert Murder May Solve Disappearance of Girl, 10"...27 year-old Frederick Pope confessed to the Washington OH PD that he and a companion, Jack Walker, had picked up Connie Smith in CT with the promise of taking her home to WY. They actually took her to AZ, where Walker strangled Smith and buried her along a highway in AZ. Pope and Walker then argued, at which time Pope killed Walker with a tire iron.
From the Syracuse (NY) Herald, April 9th, 1953--"Kidnap-Killing Story a Hoax"....PD reported Pope "broke down after repeated grilling" and admitted he made up the story.
From the Syracuse (NY) Post Standard, Nov 23rd 1962---"Dental Charts Link Body to Missing Girl"...CT State Police Commissioner Leo Mulcahy reported that a comparison of dental charts "strongly suggest" that a body found in AZ in '58 could be that of Connie Smith. The remains of a female, aged approximately 13-17 years of age, were found near Grand Canyon National Park and dubbed "little Miss X" by officers investigating her death. She had been dead at least a year [note, forensics in '58 sure ain't what they are today]. Connie Smith's personal dentist spoke to a dentist in Flagstaff AZ who was examining the jaw of the recovered remains. The jaw was to be shipped to Connie's dentist for confirmation. The dentist in AZ stated he was convinced he had been examining the teeth of Connie Smith.

And that's it. I could find nothing else.
 
I have considered:
It was a stranger abduction, she was targeted by Redman.
Or
Someone followed her from the camp, maybe she didnt make it put that far from where she went missing by. Maybe covered up.
Was the history of camp leaders ever looked at? Other kids there investigated?
 
I don't believe she was abducted and I don't believe she was Little Miss X. I think she was killed by someone at camp and maybe her body is there.

Do you have a link with info on Little Miss X? Has the camp ever been searched, anyone know?
 
Found this from further upstream, interesting list of suspects.

.

One reason I posted the names of the caretakers was that the guy LIVED in the gatehouse. And, they had the most famous missing person case of Connie Smith (whom I had never heard of before stumbling upon this thread), so it seems they wouldn't let campers just disappear out the front gate. Especially driving a camp van. And the anglefire Connecticut Missing Persons site said; "Police had numerous potential suspects, including the camp cook, the camp caretaker, nearby workers, and deliverymen" in the case of Connie Smith.

But Thank you again. The only thing I really found in 20 pages of google was that Denzel Washington was a counselor in 1975.:)
 

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