JAN 2, 2020
On Teen's 60th Birthday, Detective Still Holds Out Hope
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The Sherborn Police Department has been examining this case with fresh eyes, looking into the circumstances surrounding those crucial few days in early September so many years ago. One notable new perspective has come from Detective James Godinho, who took over Simone’s case in 2014.
“I decided to read some of the narratives, look at the documents that were in the case file. And honestly, after that review, I had even more questions,” says Godinho. “So I just kind of dove into it.”
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Simone Ridinger as a teenager.
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“She hitchhiked everywhere. To and from work, to and from school,” Godinho explains. “However, when she was discussing her plans to hitchhike to Cape Cod with her coworkers and family, there was a little bit of concern – even though the practice was prevalent back then – because of the distance involved. Cape Cod's probably about 60 to 70 miles from the Framingham [Sherborn] area.”
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... 1986 – nine years later – when a man came forward stating that he may have given Simone a ride to Cape Cod the weekend she went missing. He had seen an article in a local newspaper featuring Simone’s missing photos and was sure she had been the girl in his car.
The man claimed that on his way to Osterville, Massachusetts on Sept. 3 that year, he was pulled over by a state trooper on Route 128. The trooper had a teenager in his car, and once he heard where the man was travelling, asked if the man would give the girl a ride since that was where she was heading too. He agreed, and later dropped her off at the Hyannis Airport Rotary Club. If it had been Simone, she could have easily caught a quick flight to Martha’s Vineyard.
The hitchhiking route Simone likely took, starting at the Rainbow Restaurant at 9 South Main Street in Natick, Massachusetts, ending where she was last seen at the Hyannis Airport Rotary Club. She was supposed to meet her family in Martha’s Vineyard but never arrived.
There was one more important detail: The man said the girl he picked up was wearing a blue blouse, blue jeans, white sneakers and was carrying a grayish colored duffle bag. This important description came up in the investigation again in 2014.
... When they successfully found two old employees of the Rainbow Restaurant, they recalled Simone was wearing a blue vest-style blouse, blue jeans, white sneakers and carrying a gray duffle bag when she was last seen. Their account matched the description the man had given.
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With these new details about what she was wearing, the Sherborn Police are hoping that it might jog memories of people who may have seen her around that time.
As her 60th birthday approaches on Jan. 5, 2020, it’s been some time since the last credible lead has come in about the Simone Ridinger case. But Godinho still holds out hope.
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Simone Ridinger: Missing since 1977
