I agree about the empties; they do seem odd to me. I also don't believe that Joan walked away from her kids. I don't believe she had a home abortion scheduled, and I don't think the dental visit was actually anything other than a dental visit. I am alone in thinking this, I think, but my best guess is that her husband paid someone to make her disappear: that's why he had a hastily-arranged business trip, that's why he spoke of her in the past tense, that's why he continued to assert that she was probably still alive someplace. I think that he may have requested that she pick up the books about disappearances from the library, just to plant that seed as well.
Skigirl, I am with you up until your speculation about Martin Risch paying someone to make her disappear. He was a sales exec who regularly traveled. Was there an interview where the NY trip was termed "hastily arranged?" As for the books, let's assume Martin had her take out those library books. Twenty-Five books over the summer, Joan was an intelligent woman, I would think at some point she would have said something to a friend, "Martin had me check out more of those mystery/disappearing books...
I totally get how the husband more often than not is the one allegedly responsible in cases like this. I have seen it all the time, even locally here I can cite several examples. But, in the Risch case I just don't see it. Based on all the theories about this case, Martin Risch would have had to have done some intense planning. Here are some reasons why I don't see him arranging her disappearance. Let me preface each with IMO.
He and the family were the "newbies" in the Lincoln neighborhood. How would he go about asking around and making the arrangements? If it was trial and error, surely someone would have come forward and told LE. Where does a Harvard MBA, sales executive, stranger in the area go about this? Simple equation is, More Planning = More people know.
He never remarried or had a girl friend waiting in the wings
He stayed in the same house and even had the house relocated to another part of Lincoln. If he really pulled it off, I would think he would move elsewhere. So staying put was all an act?
It doesn't appear he reaped a financial windfall from her disappearance.
If he hired someone to kill her, why didn't the perp just kill Joan in the house? Why let her escape and be seen?
The timing and place, he probably had a general idea of her daily tasks, but how would he know if one or both kids would be in or out of the house. Wouldn't it have been better to abduct her when she was alone shopping?
The blue/gray car, was it the perp hired by Martin? If yes, why was he there a week before when the mailman saw the car?
This last point may be bit controversial but, it is just the way I have seen things go down in life....If Martin Risch did indeed arrange for his wife's disappearance, and local LE thought this as well, I believe local LE would go to any length to bust him. He wasn't "connected" in the local establishment, whereas perhaps other locals were.
on board. Funny thing about Lincoln is the current population is not much larger than what it was in 1960 (5600 vs 6300) In fact the population has declined over the last 20 years. Now, i was only 5 at the time and am not familiar with the commuting/traffic in 1961 in that area. Nowadays, it is jammed during commuter times. I assume it was somewhat busy (?) because of the growth of all the tech and defense companies along the 128 corridor at the time. Now, as far as where JR went and the sightings, well I am on record as believing the eyewitness sightings. They were independent of each other and no motivation to lie. Now, from her house to 2A (the first sighting) is a short walk and there are woods involved. Now for the sightings on 128, I am of the opinion she didn't just walk from 2A to the section of 128 near Trapelo Road. There are still a lot of wooded areas around 2, 2A, an 128.