MA MA - Paul Rudolph Alwardt, 17, Falmouth, 31 March 1978

[TheArtfulDetective]

Paul Rudolph Alwardt​

Case Classification: Endangered Missing/Suspected Homicide
Missing Since: March 31, 1978
Location Last Seen: Falmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts

Description:​

• Date of Birth: circa 1961
• Age: 17
• Race: White/Caucasian
• Gender: Male
• Height: 5' 10" (70 inches)
• Weight: 150 lbs
• Hair Color: Brown
• Eye Color: Blue
• Nickname/Alias: Unknown
• Distinguishing Marks/Features: He has a one-inch surgical scar below his left ear from lymph node removal.
• Clothing & Personal Items: Unknown
• Identifiers: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Paul went missing from Falmouth, Massachusetts on March 31, 1978. He was a ward of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services and was last seen when a police officer put him on a ferry bound for Martha's Vineyard, where some of his relatives lived. He has never been heard from again. Paul was supposed to testify against his employer, Melvin R. Reine Sr., before a grand jury regarding an arson case, but disappeared the night before he was scheduled to give testimony.

Melvin had a history of encounters with local law enforcement over the years. The same year Paul went missing, John Busby, a police officer who had had run-ins with the Reine family, was shot twice in the face while on his way to work. He survived. Melvin was a suspect in Busby's shooting, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him at the time. He is also considered the prime suspect in the March 1971 disappearance of his wife, Wanda Reine.

Melvin was declared legally incompetent and in 2001, he was committed to Taunton State Hospital after threatening to shoot a woman. He was diagnosed with Pick's Disease, a form of dementia characterized by personality changes, poor judgement, forgetfulness, social ineptitude. He died in November 2013, at the age of 74.

Both Paul Alwardt and Wanda Reine have never been located and are presumed deceased.

Investigators:

• Falmouth Police Department: (508) 457-2527
  Reference Case#: Not available

NamUs Case Number: Not listed
NCIC Case Number: Not available

Paul Rudolph Alwardt – The Charley Project

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today.

 

[Caring1]

On 3/31/78 Alwardt was escorted by members of the Falmouth Police Dept. to the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. Transportation had been arranged so Alwardt could stay safe with family members on Martha's Vineyard while awaiting to testify against his former employer. Alwardt was last seen getting on the ferry and never made the meeting with his awaiting family members on the island.




Paul’s NamUs case was modified today. He has one rule out.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Wow, how dreadful. How did someone manage to make him disappear while on the ferry -- if that's even what happened? His poor family.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[ekardh]

Wow, how dreadful. How did someone manage to make him disappear while on the ferry -- if that's even what happened? His poor family.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

I would guess that he was thrown overboard.

Melvin is the nailed-on suspect. He was a locally connected criminal. If Paul wasn't tailed onto the ferry, maybe someone spilled the beans to Melvin? Who knows, if the corruption goes deep enough, Paul might never have been police escorted onto the ferry in the first place.