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

[kline]

This is one of those haunting ones.
I would so love to see some resolution to this but I fear the chances are slim.
I hope the responsible party is long since broiling in the pit.

 

[windrower]

Talelights-

I know Connie's brother, and have had the idea for awhile to approach him and his family about doing a book about Connie, and the impact her disappearance had on the family, the community, her fellow campers, etc., along with trying to honor her memory. Get everything together in one place and see what is there and where it could go--there may not be enough material for a book, but hard to say without getting further into the project.

A bit of background: my first book was recently released, and through that experience, I feel better able to research and collate the material that might surface about Connie. I also feel better able to produce the kind of work this situation would demand.

I'd heard about Connie's disappearance years ago, but came across some newspaper accounts about her more recently when researching my first book. I copied those stories, started a file, and have been gathering material off and on for the last few years, though I haven't felt ready to talk to the family before now. I also haven't thoroughly read and collated the material I do have, esp the reports about unidentified remains and Connie's missing remains, etc., though the family may have information on those issues.

I've seen it mentioned that there was someone who was working on a book about Connie, but I've never seen a name attached, and without talking to Nels (Connie's brother), I'm not sure if I would be stepping on toes or not to pursue this.

Any kind of heads-up you can give me before I approach the family would be most welcome. Thank you.

 

[talelights]

windrower,

Please contact me personally. I have sent you a private message.

 

[Snick1946]

Hi my first post, this is a fascinating case and discussion. It jogged my memory I was only a few years old in 1952 so I must have read about it in 1958 when it made the news again.
If my memory is correct wasn't there reference to the fact that Connie was near sighted? She broke her glasses and apparently didnt have them when setting out? Doesn't this suggest she was trying to get away from someone or something at the camp that spooked her? If this crime had been investigated currently I think there would have been more scrutiny on camp staff not on this being some stranger killing. 1952 was a different world in so many ways, not all of them better.

 

[talelights]

Hi my first post, this is a fascinating case and discussion. It jogged my memory I was only a few years old in 1952 so I must have read about it in 1958 when it made the news again.
If my memory is correct wasn't there reference to the fact that Connie was near sighted? She broke her glasses and apparently didnt have them when setting out? Doesn't this suggest she was trying to get away from someone or something at the camp that spooked her? If this crime had been investigated currently I think there would have been more scrutiny on camp staff not on this being some stranger killing. 1952 was a different world in so many ways, not all of them better.

Yes, she was reported as being near sighted. Her glasses were broken, just how, not sure. I wondered the same thing, and would love to find anyone who might have been at camp with her back then. I would sure answer a lot of question of why she left.

You're correct about how cases would be handled today, back then, cops were told that runaways were "a family matter and cops don't need to get involved" they'll come home when they are ready. Lucky Connie's grandfather was a former governor and all stops were pulled out to locate his little granddaughter.

 

[jazzbo13]

Giving a bump for Connie.

 

[Shecky]

Connie is one of those cases that I think of often. Hard to believe that someone could just vanish into thin air for all of these years.

 

[jazzbo13]

Yeah, that photo is haunting even after all these years.

 

[joellegirl]

Connie's case haunts me as well, along with Evelyn Hartley (1953), Beverly Potts (1951), Janice Pockett (1973) Sheila and Katherine Lyon (1975). They just fell of the face of the earth it seems. But they are somewhere, they have to be. They were full of life once, and there still has to be some trace of them somewhere if they are dead.. Just seems impossible sometimes to find that trace. But there is always still that chance..

 

[Shecky]

Connie's case haunts me as well, along with Evelyn Hartley (1953), Beverly Potts (1951), Janice Pockett (1973) Sheila and Katherine Lyon (1975). They just fell of the face of the earth it seems. But they are somewhere, they have to be. They were full of life once, and there still has to be some trace of them somewhere if they are dead.. Just seems impossible sometimes to find that trace. But there is always still that chance..

Have you read the book on the Beverly Potts case? It is called Twilight Of Innocence and is available on Amazon, if you haven't. Beverly is one of those cases that I think of often, as well. I wasn't born until 1984, and I suppose I always considered the era when Beverly and Connie vanished to have been a more innocent and safe time. Sad to realize that that wasn't the case, at least not for some unfortunate children.

 

[joellegirl]

Yes, I have the book. It is very interesting. Beverly just vanished into thin air, nothing was left behind. No shoe, no barrette, no blood.... I think some one who lived on her street took her, and that she may very well be buried not far from her home, as the book mentioned. I think of her often, and the anniversary of her disappearance-Aug 24-has just passed.

Connie also left no trace. They are forever both ten years old.

 

[talelights]

I wonder if we could find any of the girls that shared Connie's tent that summer and if any of them would be willing to write their version of what happened. It's always been a mystery to me where she was headed that morning, so determined to do what she thought she had to do.

Since that time, LE still reviews her case, parts and pieces of a puzzle come into play, some of them "red herrings" like a mystery novel, some... are even true.

Finding someone who could enlighten us with the story of that night and next day, I think, might give us a turn, a thought or even an idea of what she was doing who she was looking for. Did she find him/her and confront them? Was she picked up by a passing motorist who took her for as a prize? Or was there someone cruising the area when he spotted such a fine young thing. Connie was a strong willed cowgirl who I would think took no guff. She could have gotten into more trouble than she bargained for if she demanded to be released or returned.

Someone out there might be so bold as to tell us that they saw her last and where she might be, someone who, because of age, might reflect on the incident and release the secret to the world, then again it could be that they are no longer of this world and we'd never be able to return her home to WY.

Maybe someplace in the Northwest hills of CT there is a secret and even a clandestine grave where Connie await to be found. We continue to search, will she ever be found?

 

[Shecky]

I think trying to contact her former tent mates is a good idea. Perhaps, as adults, they have a different perspective on that day than they did when they were children.

 

[iconoclast]

I think trying to contact her former tent mates is a good idea. Perhaps, as adults, they have a different perspective on that day than they did when they were children.

At this point, that's where any good detective would start. But would a former tentmate from so long ago, really remember anything? Memories change over time, as I have at times found out the hard way.

 

[Shecky]

At this point, that's where any good detective would start. But would a former tentmate from so long ago, really remember anything? Memories change over time, as I have at times found out the hard way.

Well, here's the thing. What if there was a counselor or other member of the camp staff that had molested or had otherwise been inappropriate with some of the girls? As a child, you might keep that a secret out of fear or shame, but as an adult, you might be more likely to talk about it after realizing that it was wrong and that you were a victim.

Along those lines, what if there was a local (someone who lived near the camp) that had displayed any suspicious or inappropriate behavior? (say, for example, showing up at the camp and trying to lure a girl to come with him somewhere) Again, a child might not comment on it or even realize it was worth mentioning at the time, an adult would have a different take on the situation.

Obviously, if this was a totally random abduction, the campers cannot be expected to know anything about it. But there is always the chance that it wasn't, and perhaps the perspectives of these now adult women could shed some new light on the case.

 

[smile22]

i was in contact with someone in the camp a director or someone i was asking some questions about connie and such after a while he stopped writting to me ill see if i can find the emails

 

[talelights]

Connie Smith and Little Miss X could there be a link? How will we ever know if we don't find the remains of Little Miss X somewhere in a Flagstaff, AZ cemetery.

And Connie Smith's remains? AZ, Connecticut or someplace in between?

Someone out there knows something...

 

[Shecky]

Connie Smith and Little Miss X could there be a link? How will we ever know if we don't find the remains of Little Miss X somewhere in a Flagstaff, AZ cemetery.

And Connie Smith's remains? AZ, Connecticut or someplace in between?

Someone out there knows something...

I really wish that the remains of Little Miss X could be located. The technology we have available today is light years beyond what was available back then. Even if they are not the remains of Connie Smith, they belong to some poor girl who deserves to have her name back.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Hi
I agree.she does deserve to have her name back.Are they even trying to find these remains?

suzanne

 

[talelights]

Yes we are actively looking for the remains of LMX, so far, however, we're stuck. Records in Flagstaff are not clear, remember it was the wild wild west back then and a very large territory. A few of us have been searching court records, medical examiners office, and an old mortuary record without success, so far.