LA LA - Audrey Moate, 31, Laplace, 24 Nov 1956

[killarney rose]

I have only ever seen "Jacqueline" mentioned in one article in an Odessa American (Texas) article. It was published on November 22, 1957 and Minnie (Audrey's mother) gives all the information about her. I don't know how to post it as I found the article on ancestry.com. Minnie goes on to state that her daughter Audrey had had a "nervous breakdown" in July 1955 so she left for a while (going to St. Louis) and returned shortly before Christmas of the same year with a four-day old baby. She later goes on to say that Thomas Hotard willingly agreed to help Audrey adopt this child under his name. I have searched ancestry records and elsewhere but have not been able to find out what happened to this child! Did Audrey's ex (George) adopt her? Did someone else from Audrey's, George's or Thomas' family take her in?

Betting this was their love child and there was no nervous breakdown....

 

[Pink Panther]

Found this transcript from "Unsolved Mysteries" that aired Feb. 11, 2010:

http://www.livedash.com/transcript/unsolved_mysteries/7038/SPIKEP/Thursday_February_11_2010/192471/

Makes mention of a deathbed confession by Ernest Acosta who also implicates his common-law wife Caroline Schloesser.

In various articles I've read, it was suggested that either Thomas or Audrey were somehow related to Caroline Schloesser. I've done numerous searches through ancestry.com and have been unable to find a connection to Caroline. Does anyone else out there have any information???

 

[Pink Panther]

Audrey's Father had a famous sister. She was Marguerite Roberts. (Marguerite Azora Smith Roberts). She was a screen writer. She was blacklisted at some point for being a suspected communist.

Marguerite Roberts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0731387/

I don't want to create any problems here for Audrey's family but at this point I don't know where else to search for answers. Wherever her third child disappeared to...Is where I think there may be answers to Audrey's fate.

 

[Pink Panther]

Audrey Alta Smith applied to a school for nursing in California and withdrew before her card was issuU.S.,

World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948 Record for Audrey Alta Smith
ed.

She listed herself as single and her father's occupation as unknown. Her address was 11639 Woodbridge Street, N. Hollywood.

 

[Pink Panther]

According to Minnie (Audrey's mother), Audrey and George went to California where he was enlisted in the Navy. I have not found any records for George Moate in the Navy.

 

[Odyssey]

Betting this was their love child and there was no nervous breakdown....

That could be.

I don't have kids so I'm not sure if this timeline would be right, but could she have left to St Louis when she was starting to show, in order to avoid having anyone know she was pregnant?

 

[Pink Panther]

That could be.

I don't have kids so I'm not sure if this timeline would be right, but could she have left to St Louis when she was starting to show, in order to avoid having anyone know she was pregnant?

Yes, of course. This is most probably what happened. At least that's what the article implied and what LE suspected at that time.

 

[Odyssey]

Hmm... so the baby was almost a year old when Audrey disappeared... I wonder if any of Audrey's other children remember whether the baby was with them right up until the time she disappeared. It's possible that a birth record exists for her in Missouri which would confirm that Audrey gave birth to her.

It bugs me that Thomas wanted to do the adoption in his name. That just doesn't make sense for a married man to do, unless he wanted to keep the baby in his family somehow. Maybe he intended to keep the baby himself with his wife. Do you know if Thomas and his wife had any kids that would fit?

 

[killarney rose]

Times were so different back then. I could see him doing this as his way of acknowledging his child, yet keeping it's true parententage a secret at the same time.

 

[Odyssey]

Times were so different back then. I could see him doing this as his way of acknowledging his child, yet keeping it's true parententage a secret at the same time.

I think it would be interesting to see if Thomas had any children I would be interested in seeing the probate records from his estate - I tried searching online but it doesn't look like that parish has anything online. It might be possible to request them, though.

I'm guessing that if Thomas had the baby, it would have been mentioned in news articles when he was found.

 

[Pink Panther]

I think it would be interesting to see if Thomas had any children I would be interested in seeing the probate records from his estate - I tried searching online but it doesn't look like that parish has anything online. It might be possible to request them, though.

I'm guessing that if Thomas had the baby, it would have been mentioned in news articles when he was found.

Thomas had two children with his wife at the time he died. The youngest was already in her teens. Audrey's child was with her and at the time the Odessa article was written (a year after her disappearance), it was implied that the child was still with Audrey's mother but I'm not certain of this. Thomas's wife did not know about the child until he was killed and Audrey disappeared.

 

[Pink Panther]

Audrey had two children with George when she disappeared. They are traceable and went to live with their father. The third child seemingly disappears. Was she also raised by her ex-husband even if he wasn't her biological father?

 

[momtolil]

Audrey had two children with George when she disappeared. They are traceable and went to live with their father. The third child seemingly disappears. Was she also raised by her ex-husband even if he wasn't her biological father?

OK. I'm trying to sort this out in my head.

So the two older children went with their bio dad.
My thoughts are that he most likely did not want to raise his ex-wifes love child with another man.


But isn't the woman, Minnie Audrey's mother inlaw?
I remember thinking that it was strange she was so close to her mother inlaw.

If so than it seems strange in general that a mother inlaw would be so helpful by taking care of a child that was not really related by blood.

But if she did raise the baby then she would have most likely had contact with her siblings at some point.

Inlaw or not, how old was Minnie when audry disappeared? Maybe she didn't live long enought to raise the child to adulthood. Which means the child would have had to live with someone else.

Does Minnie or the bio-dad have any living relatives who might have any memory of what happened to these children. It seems that it would be something a family would have gossiped about over the years.

Oh if I'm wrong about the inlaw thing, please disregard. I'm going to refresh my memory right now....


OK, just checked... It was her mother inlaw.

 

[Pink Panther]

OK. I'm trying to sort this out in my head.

So the two older children went with their bio dad.
My thoughts are that he most likely did not want to raise his ex-wifes love child with another man.


But isn't the woman, Minnie Audrey's mother inlaw?
I remember thinking that it was strange she was so close to her mother inlaw.

If so than it seems strange in general that a mother inlaw would be so helpful by taking care of a child that was not really related by blood.

But if she did raise the baby then she would have most likely had contact with her siblings at some point.

Inlaw or not, how old was Minnie when audry disappeared? Maybe she didn't live long enought to raise the child to adulthood. Which means the child would have had to live with someone else.

Does Minnie or the bio-dad have any living relatives who might have any memory of what happened to these children. It seems that it would be something a family would have gossiped about over the years.

Oh if I'm wrong about the inlaw thing, please disregard. I'm going to refresh my memory right now....


OK, just checked... It was her mother inlaw.

I does get confusing! Audrey Moate was born Alta Audrey Smith. Her mother was Minnie Pearl Smith. Minnie was born in 1890 and died in 1986. I believe that the two children that Audrey had with George were raised by him and his second wife.

 

[momtolil]

I does get confusing! Audrey Moate was born Alta Audrey Smith. Her mother was Minnie Pearl Smith. Minnie was born in 1890 and died in 1986. I believe that the two children that Audrey had with George were raised by him and his second wife.

Oh OK. I the Unsolved Mysteries piece may have been wrong about their exact relation. I remember her daughter posting on here that one and only time mentioned that alot of it was incorrect.

Still confusing though.

Wow minnie lived a long life... Did you see an obituary? Is that why you know her year of death? If so.. Did it state that she had any survivors? Possible grand children?

 

[Pink Panther]

Oh OK. I the Unsolved Mysteries piece may have been wrong about their exact relation. I remember her daughter posting on here that one and only time mentioned that alot of it was incorrect.

Still confusing though.

Wow minnie lived a long life... Did you see an obituary? Is that why you know her year of death? If so.. Did it state that she had any survivors? Possible grand children?

She did. Here:

California, Death Index, 1940-1997

Name: Minnie Pearl Smith
[Minnie Pearl Cook]
Social Security #: 560227125
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 10 Mar 1890
Birth Place: Arkansas
Death Date: 29 Aug 1986
Death Place: Stanislaus
Mother's Maiden Name: Hutchinson
Father's Surname: Cook

 

[Donamena]

Bump.
Has anyone heard what happened to to Whichapiska? Has anyone checked Coroner's Records in Convent or probate records in Baton Rouge? This is so odd.

 

[Pink Panther]

Bump.
Has anyone heard what happened to to Whichapiska? Has anyone checked Coroner's Records in Convent or probate records in Baton Rouge? This is so odd.

She has not posted here in quite a while. I have not seen any follow up articles regarding her DNA submission and the Charlie Project page for Audrey is still there.

 

[bessie]

I does get confusing! Audrey Moate was born Alta Audrey Smith. Her mother was Minnie Pearl Smith. Minnie was born in 1890 and died in 1986. I believe that the two children that Audrey had with George were raised by him and his second wife.

According to the profiles I've found by doing a search of GM's name, it appears that after they married in 1956, he and his second wife raised the first two children, and had three children together. GM died in 2004, and his wife in 2008.

I don't see any indication that GM and his second wife raised AM's third child.

 

[momtolil]

Bump.
Has anyone heard what happened to to Whichapiska? Has anyone checked Coroner's Records in Convent or probate records in Baton Rouge? This is so odd.

Yeah, I think she had one post post, very informative and the poof she was gone. I know we all had many questions for her.

She claimed she was about to die. I do remember the short news video featuring her talking about giving DNA because she was very ill.
(I know it was on this thread somewhere.)

I'm wondering why she put it all upon herself to give DNA. Almost as if she were the only living realative. That would mean that her other siblings had since passed away??

Would the news team that broadcastedthe story about the DNA have any information on what happened? It seems like they would have some follow up information about her... Did she die? family members, etc? I was under the impression that she did not have any children, is that true?