MA MA - Simone Ridinger, 17, Sherborn, 2 Sept 1977

[Alleykins]

Hi SherbornMADetective,

Whenever, I research these cold cases or missing person cases, I try to block out all extraneous stuff and try to narrow the time and place as much as I can, earth shattering concept, eh So, I see that Simone was last seen leaving her job at the Rainbow on Friday, 9/2 and was around 2- 3:00 PM, thereabouts? She was seen with a gray duffel bag and the 70 yo man who allegedly gave her a ride also described a gray duffel bag. He claims he picked her up at around 6:45 AM the next day, Saturday. I am going out on a limb here and say she made it through that Friday night. I have no idea what she did or where she stayed in those 14-15 hours. The son of the 70 yo said he made made semi-regular trips down to Osterville for parts, leaving early on Saturday to beat traffic. I am going to assume he was coming from either the North Shore...maybe metro-west...I cannot see him crossing paths with Simone in the Sherborn/Natick area, only on the highway that morning. So, for me, I really don't care how Simone ended up in the trooper's car or whether she ever was in a trooper's car, I believe she made it to 128/95. Now, whether it was 6:45....may be open to debate. And if the focus is going to be on the 70 yo man who gave her a ride, then it may also call into question whether she even made it over the bridge....

Did he ever say where he was pulled over and picked her up? Do you recall reading that? I've only been pulled over once, and I know exactly where it was, over 25 years later. Maybe it's just me, but that is something I would recall.

ETA for clariy, I've been pulled over a handful of times, and recall each place, but I've only been ticketed once, 25 years ago.

 

[intriguedcuriosity]

ONE thing I saw after re-reading the interview report apparently the girl who got into the 70 y/o's car said she was "heading to the rotary in Hyannis to meet her folks." .

This stood out to me.

So this man comes 9 years later to report giving Simone a ride. Why? Why 9 years? Why didn't the police update her last seen description at that time? Why did they never interview the coworkers at the Restaurant in 1977?

I find it odd that the 'trooper' never came forward. I know there can be many reasons for why, but combined with some of the other facts of this case, this bothers me.

My family members worked in LE in Vermont in the 70s. Small towns. I've heard stories & witnessed differential outcomes for those connected to LE.

I'd be curious to know if the man has any connections to LE in the area?

Something may have happened to Simone after leaving work and the report of a ride by the 70 year old man is fabricated. If someone with connections hurt Simone and 70 year old man knew about it, his 1986 report may have been to distance Simone from where she actually is.

The story of a 'trooper' being involved leads to credibility of the drop off and leads the investigation closer to the Cape. This leads to the involved party feeling relief if the case is ever re-investigated because Simone supposedly made it to her destination.

Idk if this makes sense? I'm just brainstorming & this stands out to me.

 

[SherbornMADetective]

JGFitz, thank you for the thoughts on this. So you are correct on the timeline. What happened during those 14-15 hours, yes, is a complete unknown, however, we now strongly believe that this man did come into contact with her - given the recent corroborating description etc. So where was he coming from? He left his house in Framingham; if he took Route 9 East or even 90 East to get to 128/95 and then head south he would've been north of the intersection of 128/95 and Rt. 109. So his route does make some sense. Given his statement the focus really is on him at this stage; was he an innocent party who simply gave her a ride as requested or as you indicate did he not...did she not even make it to Cape Cod as he claims he dropped her off? We don't know just yet. The Cape Cod times should be doing a story on this later this week, hopeful for some feedback from some people, hopefully the article stirs up some old memories just as it did with our media outreach last fall.

 

[intriguedcuriosity]

Re: Rule Outs
I am unable to see Simones rule outs on NAMUS also.

I looked through the thread & looked into all the UPs mentioned.


The following were stated as rule outs in the thread, but not documented in NAMUS as R/O:

1) UP# 989 'Princess Blue' found 1990 in Brazoria County, Texas
https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/989

2) UP# 2607 'Irondequoit Jane Doe' found in 1988 in Monroe County, New York
https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/2607

3) UP# 1513 'Princess Doe' found in 1982 in Warren County, New Jersey
https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/1513


NAMUS Rule Out:
4) UP# 5166 found in 1979 in Perry County, Pennsylvania


Not in NAMUS
5) 'Granby/Swan Jane Doe' found in 1978 in Western Massachusetts. (This was mentioned in the thread in 2010, I assume she was identified, but didn't look further)

6) 'Caledonia Jane Doe' has been identified

7) http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/531ufco.html Found in 1987 in Canon, Colorado



8) UP# 16762 found in 1982 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Zero rule outs.


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[Alleykins]

8) UP# 16762 found in 1982 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Zero rule outs.

by intrigued curiosity. Condensed by me for focus.

Do we know for certain this is a rule out? I mentioned this set of remains up thread, because both had spoon rings. They have dental.
Is this case on Simone's rule out list? If it's an automatic rule out, it won't show up in NamUS. Because the remains don't have DNA listed, I'm thinking they may not get a lot of inquiries about it.

 

[intriguedcuriosity]

Where's Simone? Family still searches for teen who vanished in 1977

http://www.wcvb.com/news/wheres-simone-family-still-searches-for-teen-who-vanished-in-1977/41879584

Interesting

"Simone had lived with her family in Sherborn until August of 1977, when she moved to 29 Linden St., in Framingham."

She disappeared within a month of moving to Framingham. Who was she living with?

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[SherbornMADetective]

Hey alleykins, I will check to see if this unidetified was compared to Simone. Also to answer your recent question; that 70 y/o claimed he aaa pulled over on Route 128 (also Route 95) just south of where it intersects with Route 109. This puts the "trooper car stop" in the Westwood, MA area.

 

[SherbornMADetective]

Intrigued, so many of those questions I have as well; I mean I thought maybe they simply didn't document the interviews with the Rainbow waitresses - but I specifically asked if they had been interviewed before I found them 39 years later, all said NO. No clue why they wouldn't have interviewed, honestly no darn clue. I frankly do like your line of thinking. I am currently peeling away the layers on our 70 y/o. I want to know everything about him; I mean he lived in Framingham and worked in natick.... he had to know people & honestly what are he chances he had never gone to the Rainbow Restaurant. If he had gone there then he would've known or at least been able to recognize Simone if he happened to see her as he claims. Also regarding the update of description in 1986... why didn't they update it then with this 70 y/o's statement? They never had anything or did anything to corroborate it. Many many many unanswered questions and not sure just yet. We made significant progress in ID'ing people whom are merely referenced by name with no other identifiers and we've tracked down and interviewed many many people. We are going to keep chipping away and we willl exhaust every single lead.

 

[SherbornMADetective]

Hey Justice, very interesting indeed.... she gets her apartment in the summer of 1977 & poof she disappears in September. She lived in her own unit but there were housemates who lived in an adjacent unit....speaking with the sister there is very little suspicion of them. Sounds similar to the case involving Janine Callahan; got her apartment in the 80's in Framingham shortly before she went missing, she worked at Zyre's in Natick at the time. I've looked a tad that case for connections and still am.

 

[Alleykins]

Hey Justice, very interesting indeed.... she gets her apartment in the summer of 1977 & poof she disappears in September. She lived in her own unit but there were housemates who lived in an adjacent unit....speaking with the sister there is very little suspicion of them. Sounds similar to the case involving Janine Callahan; got her apartment in the 80's in Framingham shortly before she went missing, she worked at Zyre's in Natick at the time. I've looked a tad that case for connections and still am.

So, if I'm understanding correctly, both Simone and the 70 year old lived in Framingham at the time she went missing? That's interesting.

 

[Alleykins]

Hey alleykins, I will check to see if this unidetified was compared to Simone. Also to answer your recent question; that 70 y/o claimed he aaa pulled over on Route 128 (also Route 95) just south of where it intersects with Route 109. This puts the "trooper car stop" in the Westwood, MA area.

Thank you for checking and for answering my questions.

 

[jgfitzge]

JGFitz, thank you for the thoughts on this. So you are correct on the timeline. What happened during those 14-15 hours, yes, is a complete unknown, however, we now strongly believe that this man did come into contact with her - given the recent corroborating description etc. So where was he coming from? He left his house in Framingham; if he took Route 9 East or even 90 East to get to 128/95 and then head south he would've been north of the intersection of 128/95 and Rt. 109. So his route does make some sense. Given his statement the focus really is on him at this stage; was he an innocent party who simply gave her a ride as requested or as you indicate did he not...did she not even make it to Cape Cod as he claims he dropped her off? We don't know just yet. The Cape Cod times should be doing a story on this later this week, hopeful for some feedback from some people, hopefully the article stirs up some old memories just as it did with our media outreach last fall.

Whoa, whoa, whoa....SherbornMADetective...I stand corrected...forget North Shore...He lived in Framingham? So, if he left for the Cape and Simone left for the Cape it is entirely possible he picked her up hitchhiking on Route 9 or if she got to 128/95 he picked her up there. Basically you have two people going to the same place from the same area. Maybe I am jumping the gun but You know, more and more I am thinking the trooper story is BS.

SherbornMADetective, check one thing...when do the shifts begin and end for MA state troopers in that area?

One other question, when the 70 yo man came forward, where did he go to report this story? Did he walk into your station? Did he walk into the MSP barracks?

 

[Alleykins]

jgftitz, I kinda picked up on that yesterday when someone posted Simone's address, because I recalled the det said in a previous post the man was from Framingham. I suppose it could just be a coincidence that, of all the people who could have been on the road at that time, it was a Trooper with a girl from Framingham in his cruiser, and a guy from Framingham, both going to the Cape, but what are the chances?
Makes me wonder now if Simone even made it the Cape.

 

[jgfitzge]

Intrigued, so many of those questions I have as well; I mean I thought maybe they simply didn't document the interviews with the Rainbow waitresses - but I specifically asked if they had been interviewed before I found them 39 years later, all said NO. No clue why they wouldn't have interviewed, honestly no darn clue. I frankly do like your line of thinking. I am currently peeling away the layers on our 70 y/o. I want to know everything about him; I mean he lived in Framingham and worked in natick.... he had to know people & honestly what are he chances he had never gone to the Rainbow Restaurant. If he had gone there then he would've known or at least been able to recognize Simone if he happened to see her as he claims. Also regarding the update of description in 1986... why didn't they update it then with this 70 y/o's statement? They never had anything or did anything to corroborate it. Many many many unanswered questions and not sure just yet. We made significant progress in ID'ing people whom are merely referenced by name with no other identifiers and we've tracked down and interviewed many many people. We are going to keep chipping away and we willl exhaust every single lead.

Hi SherbornMADetective,

Well, you are correct about why no one interviewed Rainbow Restaurant employees until 39 years later is baffling?? Well, at least you got it rolling. So, in 77 I was a few years older than Simone, and when I couldn't get the car or get a ride from a friend I hitched a ride. Now, one thing I may have a hazy memory of and maybe someone could confirm this, is you could not hitchhike on the MA Pike (Route 90)?? Or maybe it was one of those roads where it was discouraged. If true, then I am thinking the likely place from the Framingham/Natick area to hitch a ride would be Route 9. What I am getting is this, let's think what she may have been doing or not doing those 14-15 hours after she left the restaurant. Suppose, she merely got ready for her trip, a few errands, spent the night at her place in Framingham, got up the next morning (maybe 6:00, maybe later...) and started to hitch on Route 9 east to 128/95 South. Maybe she got a ride on Route 9 from "someone" who just happened to be going all the way to Cape Cod.

 

[Jmoose]

Intrigued, so many of those questions I have as well; I mean I thought maybe they simply didn't document the interviews with the Rainbow waitresses - but I specifically asked if they had been interviewed before I found them 39 years later, all said NO. No clue why they wouldn't have interviewed, honestly no darn clue. I frankly do like your line of thinking. I am currently peeling away the layers on our 70 y/o. I want to know everything about him; I mean he lived in Framingham and worked in natick.... he had to know people & honestly what are he chances he had never gone to the Rainbow Restaurant. If he had gone there then he would've known or at least been able to recognize Simone if he happened to see her as he claims. Also regarding the update of description in 1986... why didn't they update it then with this 70 y/o's statement? They never had anything or did anything to corroborate it. Many many many unanswered questions and not sure just yet. We made significant progress in ID'ing people whom are merely referenced by name with no other identifiers and we've tracked down and interviewed many many people. We are going to keep chipping away and we willl exhaust every single lead.

I am still having trouble believing that a Massachusetts State Trooper asked this 70 year old to allow Simone to travel in his car to ANY destination. It just doesn't make any sense to me; it actually makes more sense to me that he could have possibly known her from the Rainbow restaurant and there was no trooper working as middleman.

 

[BarnDub17]

Hi all,

I just had a quick question/comment. I grew up in Barnstable, the town in which Hyannis is located (Barnstable has several villages, including both Hyannis and Osterville). Currently, it is possible to take ferries out of two different locations to the Vineyard, those being Falmouth and Hyannisport. I wasn't sure if Hyannisport was operational in the 1970s, but a quick Google search seems to confirm that Hy-Line Cruises did begin passenger ferry trips from Hyannisport to the Vineyard in 1972. If Simone was looking to take the ferry out of Hyannisport, and the elderly man who gave her a ride was indeed headed towards Osterville, her being dropped off at the rotary might make a bit more sense. It would be a rather short walk from the airport rotary to Hyannisport, one that wouldn't take a teenager very long at all. And, if the man who gave her a ride wanted to drop her off as closely to Hyannisport as possible, without going too far out of his way, that location would make sense (I've driven from the rotary to Osterville many times - it's almost a straight shoot on main roads to the northern part of the village - also if perhaps he was doing some other errands on his way from the rotary to Osterville, he would have passed through the main commercial part of Hyannis on this route). I would be curious to know if this possibility has been looked into? Again, I didn't look too deeply into the operations of Hy-Line back then (schedules, etc.) but thought it was worth a comment!

Sources for Hy-Line:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hy-Line_Cruises
https://hylinecruises.com/history/

 

[Sweetluv]

I am assuming that in the 70's, it was more of a (free) time, where an officer might give a hitchhiker a ride. The man in his 70's, maybe he did give a woman a ride but not THIS female...case of mistaken identity. If the story about the cop is true, maybe he didn't want to come forward thinking he would have some heat on him for offering her a ride, let alone, having her get into the car with a stranger. If its also true the 70 yr old man was asked by the cop to transport her, do u think he would kill her knowing that someone in law enforcement could put them both together?

 

[Sweetluv]

I am thinking the elderly man has the wrong girl identified as the hitchhiker or the story is true, and once she was dropped off, foul play occurred. A holiday weekend..many travelers\strangers passing through.

 

[SeaSparrow4170]

Hey Justice, the articles jumbled a couple things: I began re-examining the case in 2014 and finally was able to track down women who worked with Simone just last fall in 2016. Sadly my contact with them was the first time they had ever been interviewed by Police.... despite this the interviews with 5 former Rainbow waitresses were extremely helpful & one of them has been confirmed to have been working with Simone on Friday 9/2/77. She provided that description which was eerily similar to the 70 y/o man. She had no knowledge of his description from 1986 and has no connection to him. These circumstances paint a very convincing scenario where it's highly likely that our 70 y/o saw Simone the morning after she was last seen leaving work. This is clear because the descriptions were so close all the way down to her carrying a small gray duffel bag. The question now.... did he drop her off on the cape as claimed or did he not? I am and have been working diligently to verify everything I can regarding his story. I know quite a lot about who he was, his past, his family, his properties so we shall see where his story leads us. It's just very exciting to corroborate such a vital piece of information.

Hi there , new member here . I found this page after I became curious about Simone after the Cape Cod Times article . I’ve been on cape my entire life with my family being residents going back hundreds of years , so I’m very familiar with this area .

I’m also a police dispatcher of over 10 years with Police & Fire Family . The state trooper handing over Simone to a complete stranger for a courtesy ride just isn’t sitting right with me . Why would Simone even be in the trooper’s car in the first place ? Are we really to believe that the state (or even local) police would facilitate a courtesy transport from the Framingham area all the way to the Cape , on. Holiday weekend? And low and behold this random elderly gentlemen just so happened to come along to take Simone off their hands ?

I’m going to do my best Nancy Grace impersonation with a emphatic ‘no!’

If this elderly man did in fact pick up Simone why did he wait 9 YEARS to come forward ? I’m to believe that he somehow was clueless about her disappearance for almost a decade ? If he did nothing wrong why did he wait so long to say something?

As far as the trooper (if he even existed) not saying anything, I don’t think this person would be “too embarrassed” and not come forward . I would like to think there would’ve been a call logged . But again , I don’t think this trooper ever existed .

The son said his father got clock parts in Osterville ? Do we know who his father did business with and if that person was ever contacted to see if he in fact had an interaction with this elderly guy ? Has a timeline for this elderly guy’s interactions ever been plotted out for that day / weekend ?

I may be completely wrong here , but I thought Simone and the elderly guy lived in the same area ? I can’t remember now where I saw that. If so , do you think he maybe had met her while she was waitressing and possibly offered to give her a ride and ended up killing her ? I could be comepletely off base but waiting almost a decade to come forward and giving some ridiculous state trooper story just isn’t sitting right with me . I think now MSP probably has similar shifts to local PD which generally fall 0700-1500 (7am -3pm), 1500-2300 (3pm - 11 pm) and 2300-0700 (11pm -7am). Unless they had a swing car to cover the shift change I highly doubt the MSP are going to be dealing with giving a girl a ride to the cape and pull off a car stop at the same time , 15 minutes to shift change .

 

[intriguedcuriosity]

http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20170924/cold-case-where-is-simone-ridinger

" Another question is a reference to a Daniel Newbert. Newbert sent the family pictures of Simone around the time of her disappearance. The pictures were used on many of the missing-person flyers.

Police talked to Newbert, who said he once gave Ridinger a ride and asked if he could take photos of her. Newbert gave the negatives to police. They also investigated another man who was allegedly into the “drug scene” and trying to court Ridinger.


Reading the reports gives Godinho pause, but it’s difficult to Monday-morning quarterback, he says. Reports then were not as meticulously kept as they are now, and Godinho says some of the leads may have been pursued, but not recorded.


Things were different in the 1970s when someone went missing, Bailey said.

“It wasn’t quite the same as when someone goes missing now,” she said.

There was no massive police presence, helicopter searches, or urgent updates on the nightly newscast. But local groups were organized, and they searched the highways down to Woods Hole.

“We did anything we could possibly think of,” Bailey said. “We just started knocking on doors of places she would go. We just kept looking.”

The family hired a private investigator and visited a psychic."



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