IL IL - Nancy O'Sullivan, 15, South Holland, 7 March 1974

[Rle7]

Nancy Marie O'Sullivan
Missing since March 7, 1974 from South Holland, Cook County, Illinois.
Classification: Lost, Injured, Missing


Vital Statistics Date Of Birth: January 28, 1959
Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 115 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Dentals: Available
DNA: Available in CODIS

Circumstances of Disappearance
O'Sullivan was last seen on March 7, 1974 in South Holland, IL.
In 1972 the family moved from South Holland to Homewood.
On March 7, 1974, Nancy went to visit some former friends and neighbors in South Holland. She never returned home. Her parents reported her missing the next day.
The three neighbor boys said Nancy left their house, walked to the end of the driveway, put out her thumb and got into a blue Cadillac. Nancy's purse was left at the boys' home. Police never interviewed any of the neighbor boys. One was later killed in an auto accident in South Holland. Another died at an early age a few years ago, the third has not been located. Foul play is suspected.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/52dfil.html

 

[Rle7]

Kathy O'Sullivan remembers last seeing her sister Nancy when she left her with acquaintances at a Chicago Heights house.

That was 36 years ago today, when Nancy was only 15.

O'Sullivan later discovered Nancy got a ride from Chicago Heights to the home of her friends Greg and Neil Smith, who lived next door to the South Holland house the 11 O'Sullivan children and their parents lived in until they moved to Homewood in the early 1970s.

"I asked her to call me, but the next phone call I got was from Greg Smith, who wanted me to come get the purse he said Nancy left there," O'Sullivan recalled.

Smith told O'Sullivan that Nancy had left their house earlier and was picked up by someone in a car in the 1300 block of 168th Place.

"The Smiths' house was the last place she was seen alive that we know of," O'Sullivan said.
What happened to Nancy from there is still trying to be figured out by her family and police.

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2086711,030710HMWDmissing.article

 

[Cubby]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/o/osullivan_nancy.html

 

[Cubby]

Public's help sought in solving case of suburban Chicago teen who vanished in March 1974

By Associated Press
3:04 AM CST, March 5, 2010

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (AP) — The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is asking for the public's help to solve a 36-year-old missing person's case in Chicago's suburbs.

Nancy O'Sullivan vanished from the southern suburb of Homewood on March 7, 1974. She was 15 years old at the time and would now be 51

more at link:
http://www.wqad.com/news/sns-ap-il--missingteen-coldcase,0,7429967.story

 

[JDuMo]

This is local to me. I was looking at some of the unidentified women today and ran across this one:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/52dfil.html

The Doe Network:
Case File 592UFIL

12
Reconstruction of Victim

Unidentified White Female

The victim was discovered on April 19, 1981 in New Lenox, Will County, Illinois
Estimated Date of Death: 2-12 months prior to discovery
Partial Skeletal Remains

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 23-35 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 5'5"-5'7"; 100-115 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair. Only a few strands of long hair were located - light brown to blonde. Exam indicates that the right nasal bone had been fractured and healed.
Clothing: No clothing or jewelry located. No personal effects were found.
Dentals: Available; Number 19 Mesial-Occlusal Distal amalgam, with the distal lingual cuspid fractured off.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: mtDNA available at UNT.

Case History
The victim was located in a ditch 20 feet off of the eastbound side of Interstate 80, near Route 30 New Lenox.
She was possibly thrown from a car traveling eastbound on the Interstate.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
Illinois State Police
Master Sgt. Bridget Bertrand
815-726-6377
Or
Will County Coroner
Trish Frost or Gene Sullivan
815-727-5675 or 815-727-8455
Email Gene Sullivan

You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Coroner Case Number:
UN 81-01; NamUs 3153

NCIC Number:
U-260022183
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Illinois State Police
NamUs

**************************************
On her NamUs page, Nancy O'Sullivan has not been ruled out as a possibility. She is younger than the estimated age of the doe, but I see a resemblance and all of the locations that are mentioned are actually pretty close together geographically.

What do you think?

 

[Satch]

What is so sad, when I read about these cases like Nancy's is that many teens in those days hitchhiked rides with strangers. NEVER EVER HITCHHIKE!!! Doing so might save your life! I know people say times were different back in the 70's or so, but there were still crazy, messed up people through the years that hurt innocent kids. It is so important for us to teach children and adults the tools that they need to be aware of their surroundings and stay safe!

Another note that I observe is that Charlie Project as is often the case, gives more detail than Doe Network, and there is also contradictory information within the two sites concerning the information about the neighborhood boys who witnessed Nancy signaling she was hitchhiking and getting into the stranger's car.

A very sad story.

Satch

 

[UdbCrzy2]

I think it's really odd that all of the boys who last saw her are now dead. From the above link

'Nancy's purse was left at the boys' home. Police never interviewed any of the neighbor boys. One was later killed in an auto accident in South Holland. Another died at an early age a few years ago, the third has not been located. Foul play is suspected.'

 

[Kimster]

:rose: Nancy is our featured cold case from 3/3/13 to 3/10/13 :rose:

 

[Satch]

I think it's really odd that all of the boys who last saw her are now dead. From the above link

'Nancy's purse was left at the boys' home. Police never interviewed any of the neighbor boys. One was later killed in an auto accident in South Holland. Another died at an early age a few years ago, the third has not been located. Foul play is suspected.'

So sad! Have all the boys passed away? Charlie Project here says that two died, but the third was very young and doesn't remember anything helpful:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/o/osullivan_nancy.html

In contrast, Doe Network says that the third boy has not been located:

http://www.doenetwork.org/

Nancy Marie O'Sullivan
Missing since March 7, 1974 from South Holland, Cook County, Illinois.
Classification: Lost, Injured, Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: January 28, 1959
Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 115 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Dentals: Not Available
DNA: Available in CODIS

Circumstances of Disappearance
O'Sullivan was last seen on March 7, 1974 in South Holland, IL.
In 1972 the family moved from South Holland to Homewood.
On March 7, 1974, Nancy went to visit some former friends and neighbors in South Holland. She never returned home. Her parents reported her missing the next day.
The three neighbor boys said Nancy left their house, walked to the end of the driveway, put out her thumb and got into a blue Cadillac. Nancy's purse was left at the boys' home. Police never interviewed any of the neighbor boys. One was later killed in an auto accident in South Holland. Another died at an early age a few years ago, the third has not been located. Foul play is suspected.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning O'Sullivan's whereabouts, please contact:
Homewood Police Department
Sergeant Denise McGrath
Missing Persons Unit
708-206-3433
E-Mail
You may remain anonymous if you wish when submitting information.

Agency Case Number: M8730431/Namus MP#6475

NCIC Number:
M262080009
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information: The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Star
NamUs

I don't know which site has the more current information.

Satch

 

[killarney rose]

I believe these boys are the key. I can see her running to the store, mall, another friends house etc. and forgetting the purse. But heading for home? No. And BTW, where the heck were her parents letting her hitchhike? Sure it was the 70s, but my BFF had to move and we visited back and forth a few times but our parents always took us.

 

[jenstar]

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/5706 --possible.
Does anyone know what she was wearing?

 

[jenstar]

from the Chicago Tribune 2010~
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...-persons-case-homewood-house-nancy-o-sullivan

 

[misterGwriter]

This is local to me. I was looking at some of the unidentified women today and ran across this one:

**************************************
On her NamUs page, Nancy O'Sullivan has not been ruled out as a possibility. She is younger than the estimated age of the doe, but I see a resemblance and all of the locations that are mentioned are actually pretty close together geographically.

What do you think?

It states that the skeletal remains were found on April 19, 1981 and the estimated date of death was between 2-12 months prior to discovery.
Nancy O'Sullivan was last seen on March 7, 1974. If the victim discovered on 4/19/1981 died 12 months prior, it would mean that approximately 6 years elapsed between Nancy's disappearance and her date of death (assuming she is the victim). That would put her closer to the estimated age. However, the question would become where was she and what was she doing if she was alive for 6 years after she disappeared?

 

[marycarney]

The home she disappeared from is in a residential neighborhood - HIGHLY unlikely she would be able to hitch a ride fro the end of the driveway. Highly. Unlikely.

 

[misterGwriter]

Did police interview the boys or their parents? The story about walking to the end of the driveway and getting into a blue Cadillac does not seem plausible. First, why didn't she have her purse? Second, how did flag down a driver so quickly (one who would take her where she needed to go), especially in a residential neighborhood? Third, where were the boys when this happened? Were they inside watching from a window or outside with her? At approximately what time did she leave? Was it light out?

It appears that March 7, 1974 was a Thursday. Was there school the next day? If so, why didn't Nancy wait until Friday evening to go visit friends? Based on the very limited information available, it seems as though the boys knew more than what they said. Just a few thoughts.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Find the only living one of the three boys and ask him where they stashed her remains.

 

[Sarah]

I wonder how old the boys she visited were.
I can't find a reference to their ages in any of those links other than the remaining living one being a small child at the time???

I'm also a bit confused by this part from the Charley Project link :

One of the people she went to visit the day she vanished had a drug addiction and another had a reputation for being violent. Two of the boys Nancy visited on the day of her disappearance have since died . . .

Does the drug addiction and violence relate to the two boys or two other people that she visited that day?

The home she disappeared from is in a residential neighborhood - HIGHLY unlikely she would be able to hitch a ride fro the end of the driveway. Highly. Unlikely.

. . . The story about walking to the end of the driveway and getting into a blue Cadillac does not seem plausible . . . (snipped by me for brevity)

Agreed. It does seem very odd.
The only way that I can see it working out like that is if it was a spur of the moment thing. She saw somebody she knew passing by in a car and flagged them down for a ride, forgetting about her purse in the heat of the moment.

The Chicago Tribune article states that she had a history of running away from home, so I suppose it's not outside the realms of possibility nor at odds with what little we know about her personality . . . but it still doesn't sit quite right with me.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...-persons-case-homewood-house-nancy-o-sullivan

 

[rosesfromangels]

The bigger mystery to me is why the boys weren't arrested? Who was covering for them, and why? Influential families, or? And, I find it very "interesting" that that two of them died not too terribly long after. (Do I have that part right?) Were these deaths under suspicious circumstances?

 

[Sarah]

The bigger mystery to me is why the boys weren't arrested? Who was covering for them, and why? Influential families, or? And, I find it very "interesting" that that two of them died not too terribly long after. (Do I have that part right?) Were these deaths under suspicious circumstances?

I don't know. There's frustratingly little information in any of the sources linked so far.
From the way it's written, the "auto accident" sounds like it may have been shortly after the disappearance, but the other "died at an early age a few years ago" . . . a few years ago from when exactly? :waitasec:

This is why I was wondering whether the drug addiction and violence referred to these two boys. If it did, then early deaths for two boys living that kind of lifestyle are hardly surprising . . . but it also casts more suspicion over possible involvement with Nancy disappearing.

If the DoeNetwork piece is correct in that the boys were never interviewed though - that, to me, is totally mind boggling :what:

 

[Sarah]

A question for any local members :

What sort of area and demographic are we talking about with "the 1300 block of 168th place" in South Holland?
Are these fairly affluent and/or influential families or is this a high crime area where people would keep their mouths shut and cover for each other?
A close knit community or lots of people moving in and then moving on?

I think a feel for that sort of area and what it was like at that time might help fill in the picture a bit more.