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

[gracevenus]

IMO they look similar enough that it would be worth reporting to the LE (and I forget who this is) who are going through Alcala's photographs trying to put names to each girl. I'm not sure the noses are the same but I'm also not sure they're not, so it might be worth letting them know to at least try to rule this out.

So I was thinking the same, but wasn't sure if it was inappropriate for me to contact LE myself without some kind of approval from Simone's family or loved ones (to the extent that that's possible)... But now that I'm seeing how many other people have made the same connection, I'll reach out to them and ask if Simone has already been excluded!

I'll send them an email now and update this if I receive a response.

 

[Mysteries1974]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

This case was added to Namus today. I noticed she disappeared two weeks after Simone did and 40 minutes away.

 

[Mysteries1974]

MA - MA - Judith S. Bleiler, 18, Brockton, 16 September 1977

New Addition to NamUs Missing Person / NamUs #MP42916 Judith S. Bleiler, Female, White / Caucasian Date of Last Contact: September 16, 1977 Missing From: Brockton, Massachusetts Demographics Missing Age: 18 Years Current Age: 64 Years Legal First Name: Judith Middle Name: S. Legal Last Name...

www.websleuths.com

I have started a thread for Judith

 

[Sweetluv]

Remembering Simone..September 2, 1977...

 

[Sweetluv]

Bumping!

 

[Sweetluv]

I wish we had access to the report LE took from the elderly man that came forward. He described Simone, in detail, from her duffel bag, to her jewelry, the way she smelled, even her "grubby" shoes. So you would think he gave a detailed description of the cop and his cruiser too, right ? If he is telling the truth, then where was Simone from about 3pm when she left work and supposedly started hitchiking to 6AM when she was seen in the back of the cop car by the elderly man?

 

[Caring1]

 

[thebedbug]

saw the Boston.com article, today. if we believe the man's story and that it was SR he drove...

where was she between 3pm Fri. and whenever she started hitchhiking early Sat. morning?

wherever she was, she was either alone or with someone. if she was with someone, you'd think it would be someone who would eventually be concerned about her disappearance and come forward to fill in details about that gap in time. i do think the lack of this information is curious.

does it make sense she'd be anywhere else alone, except her apartment?

having said that... the man's story has her safe and sound being dropped off at the Hyannis airport rotary ~8:30am (if a more precise time was previously mentioned, i missed it). looking at a map - that's a 1 mile walk to the Hyannis ferry.

i don't know if anyone has found a Hyannis ferry schedule/routes from 1977 - while Hyannis wouldn't have been the most efficient path to MV - it was on the way of the man to Osterville and it was the option SR had (beggars can't be choosers).

maybe she would've got a bite to eat or a drink - but, unless she gets lost or grabbed on that walk from the rotary to the ferry - I think she's there before 11:00am.

could she have actually made it to MV and some foul play was covered up? maybe got on the wrong ferry and ended up in Nantucket? met someone who offered her a ride on their boat at the terminal?

from what I've read it doesn't seem like the police had much of anything, as far as leads go, until 1986.

i know some of these questions have come up a lot in here... just putting out my thoughts on first glance.

 

[arielilane]

MSN

In 1986, a 79 yr old man told authorities that on the morning of Sep 3, he was driving to Barnstable and was pulled over by a State Trooper on Rt. 128. This was the day SR was seen leaving work.

The man said the trooper has a girl in his cruiser and asked if he could give her a ride to Cape Cod.

The man agreed, but said he dropped her off at a rotary in Hyannis, just off Rt. 28, police said.

His description of what SR was wearing matched what her coworkers saw her wearing that day. This info had not been made public before.

Investigators were not able to corroborate his story, according to a detective.


State Police have been unable to confirm traffic stop ever occurred, and the man who claimed to have given her a ride has died.

The amateur photographer has also died.

 

[thebedbug]

Another thing that is curious...

When SR went missing, it sounds like there was some degree of public visibility within a reasonable period of time. If a state trooper had picked her up hitchhiking and then passed her off to a driver heading towards the Cape... doesn't it seem likely that at some point that trooper would've realized he had her in his car (or at the very least, a girl that could've been her) and, even if not immediately, would've independently called this out?

I know missing notifications and the like are miles more sophisticated today than they would've been in 1977, but it still seems like the information would've made its way around through law enforcement.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Sweetluv]

IMO, if the elderly man's story is true, this cop may have been hesitant to come forward because he passed a minor over to a stranger for a ride. We don't know why Simone was even in this cop car...was she in the back seat or passenger seat? This man came forward several years later...maybe this cop is no longer with the force or deceased.
Also, the man said this happened in the early morning of Sept 3. If Simone started hitchhiking late afternoon of the 2nd, where was she for all these hours in between?

 

[Sweetluv]

Once Simone got to the Cape, does anyone know how far of a walk it would hv been to her Mom's house?
It was a busy Labor Day weekend..with all the publicity of this case since 1977, I'm surprised no one, but the elderly man, has ever come forward to say they seen Simone.
I'm shocked no one interviewed her coworkers until AFTER the elderly man came forward..
What about her apartment, ever searched by LE ?

 

[alakate]

Once Simone got to the Cape, does anyone know how far of a walk it would hv been to her Mom's house?
It was a busy Labor Day weekend..with all the publicity of this case since 1977, I'm surprised no one, but the elderly man, has ever come forward to say they seen Simone.
I'm shocked no one interviewed her coworkers until AFTER the elderly man came forward..
What about her apartment, ever searched by LE ?

Her mom's place was on Chappaquiddick - once on the Vineyard it's another ferry ride from Edgartown.

 

[alakate]

I found a memorial for her mother. It seems she was a real estate agent, among many other things. Simone is mentioned as deceased. Jane Gregg Barrett (1938-1997) - Find a Grave...

Her mother seemed cool.

 

[alakate]

The lack of ever telling that story to his son at all is odd - definitely something I think would've been shared at some point over the 9 years before he came in to Sherborn PD. Also, he never mentioned anything to his son about coming into Sherborn PD. Very unusual.

Was the son lying? The son might know more than he disclosed?

 

[thebedbug]

IMO, if the elderly man's story is true, this cop may have been hesitant to come forward because he passed a minor over to a stranger for a ride. We don't know why Simone was even in this cop car...was she in the back seat or passenger seat? This man came forward several years later...maybe this cop is no longer with the force or deceased.
Also, the man said this happened in the early morning of Sept 3. If Simone started hitchhiking late afternoon of the 2nd, where was she for all these hours in between?

That's what I was getting at.

If his story his true, then it's almost certain she stayed somewhere the night of Sept. 2nd. Framingham to the Westwood exit on 128 is not far.

But... that would also mean at least 2 other people (whomever she was with the night of the 2nd and the mystery cop) would've seen her before she took the ride to Hyannis. And, as far as we know, nobody has ever come forward to give any account of her after she left work.

Cases can be strange. There are circumstances that seem unlikely or don't quite fit what you'd expect - which cause a lot of suspicion. On the other hand, it's because those unlikely things actually happened that the case is still unsolved.

 

[Sweetluv]

On one hand, if we take the elderly man's story off the table, then all we have is a young girl who was presumed to have started hitchiking to the cape after work. It's Labor Day weekend, but not one eyewitness having seen Simone. Basically, nothing to go on...
If you take the elderly man's story as credible, then your left with a few questions and a time gap. One of them being why the elderly man came forward several years later? Welcome @thebedbug . Nice to have fresh eyes on Simones thread. Unfortunately, I think her case is losing momentum

 

[Sweetluv]

So I just looked through some old articles on Simone to refresh my memory. The elderly man came forward in April 1986 after reading an article on Simones disappearance. When he came to LE with his story, they showed him a pic of Simone, which he identified as the girl he gave a ride to. Because the actual description of Simones attire was not released, I don't know how he would have known what she was wearing unless he did come into contact with her...but the truth to his story cannot be collaborated.

 

[thebedbug]

Consensus seems to be it's highly likely the man did encounter Simone. Did he do so in the manner he described or something else?

I don't think his story is implausible, but it also doesn't seem to have any corroboration and I think there should be multiple people who could at least confirm elements that would make it more likely... but we've never heard from any of them. I'd also don't think it should've taken the man to coming forward with his tale to trigger those potential witnesses coming forward.

Is that because they don't exist or because they just never came forward for whatever reasons?

 

[jgfitzge]

Her mom's place was on Chappaquiddick - once on the Vineyard it's another ferry ride from Edgartown.

Even when you get to the Vineyard you have to get to Edgartown on the southern end of the island from one of the two main ports where the ferry drops you off, Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven, which are more on the northern/northeast end. Typically, for me to get to Chappaquiddick, it’s drive to Falmouth/Woods Hole, ferry to Oak Bluff's (40 minutes), bike or bus to Edgartown, ferry to Chappaquiddick (3 minutes)