IN IN - Renee Bruhl, Patricia Blough & Ann Miller, Indiana Dunes SP, 2 July 1966

[Richard]

Whether these three women were murdered or perished in a boating accident, I feel that the key person of interest would be the Tri Hull driver.

He may have owned, rented, borrowed, or even stolen the boat. Checking out reports of missing boats would have been a good idea.

As one can see by looking at the index of various Missing Persons sites, there are fewer listed cases for each year, as you look back in time. This does not mean that people were not reported as missing at the time, but that fewer of those cases have made it to the internet websites.

Perhaps scanning on the Social Security Death index for dates of death on or shortly after 2 July 1966 would develop some possibilities for further research. For instance, perhaps the driver of the Tri Hull runabout died in a mishap and only his body was found... Probably a long shot, but a possibility.

 

[kemo]

Whether these three women were murdered or perished in a boating accident, I feel that the key person of interest would be the Tri Hull driver.

He may have owned, rented, borrowed, or even stolen the boat. Checking out reports of missing boats would have been a good idea.

As one can see by looking at the index of various Missing Persons sites, there are fewer listed cases for each year, as you look back in time. This does not mean that people were not reported as missing at the time, but that fewer of those cases have made it to the internet websites.

Perhaps scanning on the Social Security Death index for dates of death on or shortly after 2 July 1966 would develop some possibilities for further research. For instance, perhaps the driver of the Tri Hull runabout died in a mishap and only his body was found... Probably a long shot, but a possibility.

If LE and Coast Guard in the Illinois/Indiana shore of Lake Michigan were looking for a Tri Hull in connection with the three missing women AND processing a wreaked/sunk/missing /stolen Tri Hull in the same general area, you'd think they would consider the possibility of same kind of connection.
It has occurred to me that had the owner survived some sort of mishap and the three women didn't, he might deny anyone else was onboard to avoid liability. That still wouldn't explain why no bodies were recovered. I think the guy took them so far out, they submitted to his control, them he killed them and dumped their bodies with sufficient weight that they never resurfaced.
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[Richard]

A Tri Hull runabout of this size would very likely have been trailered to a launching ramp and put into the lake. The trailer and the towing vehicle would then have been parked.

Another scenario to consider is that the Tri Hull driver could have taken the three women back to the loading ramp with a promise to drive them back to the beach area of the park. Wearing only their swimsuits, and without another reasonable way to get back, they might readily have gone with him in his vehicle.

From the boat ramp, he could have driven them anywhere.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I think it would be very difficult for one individual to keep control over the three women. Of course, he could have just quickly shot each, but in terms of holding the three captive, that might be a tall order unless he had assistance from others - such as some on a second boat.

You do wonder if the man on the boat was known to one or all of the three women. You would think they would be more cautious than to go out on the water with someone they didn't know.

 

[kemo]

I think it would be very difficult for one individual to keep control over the three women. Of course, he could have just quickly shot each, but in terms of holding the three captive, that might be a tall order unless he had assistance from others - such as some on a second boat.

You do wonder if the man on the boat was known to one or all of the three women. You would think they would be more cautious than to go out on the water with someone they didn't know.

Read up on the Oba Chandler case in Tampa . He lured three women out on his boat and ended up raping and killing them. I could see three women feeling safty in numbers going off with a guy in a boat they didn't know. I can imagine different ways he could control them. Way out in a boat, they would be pretty vulnerable. A weapon might do it. I can think of a number of case where one man was able to restrain three women. A common way would be to threaten them with a knife or gun and have one tie up the other two. Three women should be able ato take on one guy if they were able to co-ordinate their attack, but he would probably have the advantage of surprise.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Read up on the Oba Chandler case in Tampa . He lured three women out on his boat and ended up raping and killing them. I could see three women feeling safty in numbers going off with a guy in a boat they didn't know. I can imagine different ways he could control them. Way out in a boat, they would be pretty vulnerable. A weapon might do it. I can think of a number of case where one man was able to restrain three women. A common way would be to threaten them with a knife or gun and have one tie up the other two. Three women should be able ato take on one guy if they were able to co-ordinate their attack, but he would probably have the advantage of surprise.

Nice post, kemo, and I agree with you 100%. Three women going off with one man would feel pretty safe. After all, they would be on a boat out in the open - what could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, we know the answer to that with Oba Chandler.

I have wondered why no bodies have been found, but in a prior post someone mentioned that the women could have been taken out of the park in the boat - after all, wouldn't the boat have been towed on a trailer?

Maybe the women weren't killed on the boat, just subdued/drugged and taken away in the boat to who knows where. That would explain the lack of bodies after all this time.

I also wonder about Richard's idea that maybe there had been a boating accident that resulted accidentally in the deaths of these women.

It is terrible to think about three women vanishing without a trace.

 

[Bargle]

Some things I see against the boating accident idea.
None of the bodies have surfaced. One body not surfacing isn't unreasonable, but all 3? Not even parts? Maybe if the boat driver survived the accident and recovered and hid the bodies. I wish we had someone knowledgeable about circumstances where bodies have stayed submerged. I know it can happen, but how?
If the boat driver had been killed as well, he would have been reported missing at some point. If the boat had been trailered to the lake, he would left behind a vehicle with trailer. If he lived on the lake, surely someone would have noticed him missing after a while. Mail and perhaps, newspapers piling up at his home, even if he lived alone.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Bumping for Patricia Blough, Ann Miller and Renee Bruhl, two days after the 46th anniversary of their disappearance.

It's good to see you back!

 

[Marilynilpa]

I'm re-posting the link to an article about Dick Wylie and his "abortion" theory:

http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-new-theories-surface-on-decade-110510,0,2189234.story

I have a lot of questions about this theory.

First of all, Wylie names Ralph Largo, Jr. as being the driver of the smaller boat the three girls were seen on.

How the heck does Wylie know that? Sure, Largo might fit the description of the boat driver, but so do thousands of other guys. It was a fairly generic description.

Wylie mentions that Largo was at the beach that day. I don't know if that's true, but if so, big deal. So were about 9,000 other folks, according to what I've read.

Does anyone know if such an abortion boat/boats ever operated in Lake Michigan? I've tried a variety of search options and could't find anything.

I seriously question this abortion boat scenario, and Wylie's "facts."

If anyone has read Wylie's book, I'd love to hear your opinions.

 

[kemo]

In the mid 1960's the mother of a friend of mine died from an illegal abortion. It was an all too common occurrence. Her death was typical of these death. It was a result of an infection that occurred a few days later and was not properly treated. Few women died during the abortion, it generally came later and could have been avoided if had the women gone to an emergency room. Instead, out of fear, they either did nothing or returned to the "non-doctor" who performed the abortion.

The illegal abortion industry thrived in an "under the radar" way like the illegal drug industry does today. Any woman who "needed" an abortion could easily arrange one and, depending on what you could pay, the quality of the medical care "varied". I suspect that this is the explanation of a certain number of "missing women" from the pre Roe vs. Wade era. (Anyone want to return to the "good old days"?)

 

[Marilynilpa]

In the mid 1960's the mother of a friend of mine died from an illegal abortion. It was an all too common occurrence. Her death was typical of these death. It was a result of an infection that occurred a few days later and was not properly treated. Few women died during the abortion, it generally came later and could have been avoided if had the women gone to an emergency room. Instead, out of fear, they either did nothing or returned to the "non-doctor" who performed the abortion.

The illegal abortion industry thrived in an "under the radar" way like the illegal drug industry does today. Any woman who "needed" an abortion could easily arrange one and, depending on what you could pay, the quality of the medical care "varied". I suspect that this is the explanation of a certain number of "missing women" from the pre Roe vs. Wade era. (Anyone want to return to the "good old days"?)

I'm from the "good old days" and have no desire to return to them for the most part.

I agree with you - a certain number of missing women pre Roe v. Wade may well be attributed to botched abortions. In fact, I have spent a couple of years researching a disappearance of a coed in the '40s who I think died as a result of an abortion. I also have similar suspicions about a case from the '20s. Not only was infection prevalent, there were also cases of women bleeding to death from their procedures. Truly horrible.

Regarding my previous post, what I specifically wanted to know is if anyone has read or heard about "abortion boats" on Lake Michigan. When I Google for info, I don't find anything.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

In reading about this case in the past, I did read that one of the women was pregnant. The report by Wylie says two of them were. There are obvious questions about this theory:


Were both girls who were allegedly pregnant going to have an abordon that day? Was the third girl, Renee Bruhl, with them because of her reported medical training?

Why would they choose such a public place as the beach at Indiana Dunes State Park to be picked up rather than a more secluded location?

Was anything regarding the alleged involvement of Ralph Largo, Jr. and his aunt and uncle reported to law enforcement authorities?

Although Wylie's report gives Largo, Jr.'s name, why didn't he give the names of the aunt and uncle?


It's an interesting theory, but one that also brings some new questions.

 

[Marilynilpa]

In reading about this case in the past, I did read that one of the women was pregnant. The report by Wylie says two of them were. There are obvious questions about this theory:


Were both girls who were allegedly pregnant going to have an abordon that day? Was the third girl, Renee Bruhl, with them because of her reported medical training?

Why would they choose such a public place as the beach at Indiana Dunes State Park to be picked up rather than a more secluded location?

Was anything regarding the alleged involvement of Ralph Largo, Jr. and his aunt and uncle reported to law enforcement authorities?

Although Wylie's report gives Largo, Jr.'s name, why didn't he give the names of the aunt and uncle?


It's an interesting theory, but one that also brings some new questions.

You're asking many of the same questions I'm wondering about.

I think Wylie didn't mention Largo's aunt and uncle by name for fear of a libel lawsuit. I think his statement that the driver of the boat was Ralph Largo, Jr. is very far-fetched, unless Wylie was privy to info that none of us has seen.

The whole "abortion boat" idea is hard for me to believe but, as kemo reminded us in his post, in those days you couldn't go to a family planning clinic or elsewhere for a legal abortion.

 

[STANDREID]

Would you leave all your belongings on a public beach to go get an abortion? That really makes no sense to me. If you are going out to a boat for an abortion, why even go to a beach at all? Just go to a dock and catch your ride out there, otherwise you're just increasing you chance of being discovered. I would put this near the bottom of the possibility list although it would still mean at least two of the girls were murdered to keep them quiet.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Would you leave all your belongings on a public beach to go get an abortion? That really makes no sense to me. If you are going out to a boat for an abortion, why even go to a beach at all? Just go to a dock and catch you ride out there otherwise you're just increasing you chance of being discovered. I would put this near the bottom of the possibility list although it would still mean at least two of the girls were murdered to keep them quiet.

This whole abortion thing sounds ridiculous to me. I think I will check "abortion boat" off my list of possibilities.

 

[Richard]

As with any unsolved missing person case, you have to consider a wide range of possible scenarios. Those based on facts and reason are probably the strongest possbilities, but there can be a large number of other scenarios or theories as well.

I like to consider as a "possible" scenario for any disappearance, the beaming up to a UFO by space aliens. I use that one as a gage by which to evaluate all other possible scenarios, it being on one end of the "likelyhood" spectrum.

As others have pointed out, the "abortion boat" - while possible - it is not very likely for a number of reasons.

A boat or ship in Lake Michigan would not be immune to performing illegal operations of any kind. A boat with a large enough space to perform operations would be huge. And where would it anchor? Imagine the difficulties of performing surgery in a boat moving about at sea, or being tossed by waves at anchor.

And what Captain would risk his ship and license by dealing with abortionists? And murderers???

No amount of abortion money could possibly pay for the fuel, the crew pay, etc. It just would not be cost effective or a profit making venture.

Also, consider that IF the girls intended to go to such an unlikely vessel, why would they arrange to be picked out of the water in their swim suits, with all their stuff lying on the beach? How would they pay for an abortion?

And if they went to sea for an abortion, what was the plan for their return - dump them back in the water and have them swim to shore?

Such a scenario makes no sense at all to me. My dilemma is on which side of the space alien scenario I should place it.

This is a perplexing case. The best information available seems to indicate to me that these three women came to the park for a Saturday of fun and relaxation on the beach, went for a swim and were picked up by a young man in a motor boat, and never returned for their things or their car.

Other subsequent witness testimony tends to muddy the water a bit with additional, but unsubstantiated/ questionable information. But the movie of the two boats could be a real piece of evidence.

I feel that the girls probably did board the Trihull runnabout motor boat with the young man, but do not think that they boarded the larger boat seen several hours later. The young man is the key person of interest. He knows what became of the girls.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I feel that the girls probably did board the Trihull runnabout motor boat with the young man, but do not think that they boarded the larger boat seen several hours later. The young man is the key person of interest. He knows what became of the girls.

Snipped (respectfully).

I agree with you - I don't thing the cabin cruiser has anything to do with the girls' disappearance.

I don't know much about boats, so I tried to find a photo 1960s model Tri-Hull. The closest I could find was a 1970 model:

http://s1.yzimg.com/0001an5rf4n32fb8.640x480

I'm not sure how similar this is to the Lake Michigan Tri-Hull. Richard, any comments?

 

[Richard]

...
I don't know much about boats, so I tried to find a photo 1960s model Tri-Hull. The closest I could find was a 1970 model:

http://s1.yzimg.com/0001an5rf4n32fb8.640x480

I'm not sure how similar this is to the Lake Michigan Tri-Hull. Richard, any comments?

The photo shows the hull design pretty well. I think, however, that the windshield arrangement of the boat in the photo is rather atypical. Most of these boats had the windshield further back, and a rail around the bow (front) of the boat.

A Tri Hull Runnabout was primarily a fast moving boat with a powerful outboard motor. They might be used to tow water skiers, but not much of a work boat or fishing boat.

They are not very large, usually about 16 to 20 feet in length, and they have usually six built in seats: Two back on either side of the motor, two forward, and two amidships. The driver would sit in the right hand seat amidships. Some had a fold-down "Bimini" top. It would be the equivalent of a sporty convertible automobile. The top was mainly to shade you from bright sun, rather than from rain.

That said, you could almost bank on getting wet from the water spray thrown up from the bow when cruising at high speed - especially those riding in the forward part of the boat. (Which is probably the reason for the windshield design in the pictured boat.)

A Tri Hull runabout skims the surface and would tend to bob around in high waves or choppy water.

These boats were mostly trailered to and from lakes for use, and spent most of their days on the trailer parked at the owner's house. They are a bit heavy and large to handle by hand. You could not launch them easily from a beach and they have no oar locks for manual rowing. But they are smaller than most boats which require a permanent docking berth.

Because they are essentially "open boats" their use is confined usually to nice sunny days and good weather. Strictly a pleasure boat.

The large outboard motor would usually be a 75 horsepower or higher Evinrude, Mercury, or Johnson (all American makes). They ran on a mixture of gasoline and oil and used a LOT of it. A gas tank of between 10 and 15 gallons might be installed internally near the motor, or the owner might use two five gallon portable tanks. Gasoline is (of course) highly flamable and the danger of fire or explosion was always possible. A fire extinguisher or two was always mandatory.

 

[Marilynilpa]

The photo shows the hull design pretty well. I think, however, that the windshield arrangement of the boat in the photo is rather atypical. Most of these boats had the windshield further back, and a rail around the bow (front) of the boat.

A Tri Hull Runnabout was primarily a fast moving boat with a powerful outboard motor. They might be used to tow water skiers, but not much of a work boat or fishing boat.

They are not very large, usually about 16 to 20 feet in length, and they have usually six built in seats: Two back on either side of the motor, two forward, and two amidships. The driver would sit in the right hand seat amidships. Some had a fold-down "Bimini" top. It would be the equivalent of a sporty convertible automobile. The top was mainly to shade you from bright sun, rather than from rain.

That said, you could almost bank on getting wet from the water spray thrown up from the bow when cruising at high speed - especially those riding in the forward part of the boat. (Which is probably the reason for the windshield design in the pictured boat.)

A Tri Hull runabout skims the surface and would tend to bob around in high waves or choppy water.

These boats were mostly trailered to and from lakes for use, and spent most of their days on the trailer parked at the owner's house. They are a bit heavy and large to handle by hand. You could not launch them easily from a beach and they have no oar locks for manual rowing. But they are smaller than most boats which require a permanent docking berth.

Because they are essentially "open boats" their use is confined usually to nice sunny days and good weather. Strictly a pleasure boat.

The large outboard motor would usually be a 75 horsepower or higher Evinrude, Mercury, or Johnson (all American makes). They ran on a mixture of gasoline and oil and used a LOT of it. A gas tank of between 10 and 15 gallons might be installed internally near the motor, or the owner might use two five gallon protable tanks. Gasoline is (of course) highly flamable and the danger of fire or explosion was always possible. A fire extinguisher or two was always mandatory.

After looking at the photo and reading your description, I'm changing my mind about the three women being taken out of the park in the boat. It doesn't seem like a safe way to get three dead (or incapacitated) women out of a busy park on a holiday weekend.

 

[Richard]

The boat launch area may have been somewhere in the same park where the beach was, but it would have been some distance away from the beach.

If this was where the Tri Hull was launched, it had to be recovered there as well. There would have been other boaters in and out of the launch area constantly, standing on the dock and watching the launches and recoveries. So three women dead or incapacitated in an open boat would have been noticed immediately.

It is very possible that the boat driver brought the girls to the launch area, let them out onto the dock and then got them to help him get the boat back on the trailer and out of the water. He may have then either parked his trailer/boat and drove them somewhere, or just kept the trailer attatched to his vehicle and gave them a ride elsewhere in his vehicle.

It actually would have made more sense to do that than to drive up close to the beach and make them jump in and swim for shore. It is likely that there was some required stand-off distance for boats regarding the swimming beach. That stand-off distance would probably have been something like 200 or 300 yards from shore. Obviously, for safety reasons, you don't want motor boats driving through beach areas. In fact, I wonder how far out the girls swam to get on his boat in the first place.