MN MN - Jackie Theel, 6, Paynesville, 5 Sept 1944

[Richard]

The Vanished Schoolboy
Mystery lingers behind schoolboy Victor “Jackie” Theel’s disappearance, over seven decades on.

LINK:
The Vanished Schoolboy

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The Vanished Schoolboy
Mystery lingers behind schoolboy Victor “Jackie” Theel’s disappearance, over seven decades on.

LINK:
The Vanished Schoolboy

"At one point in the 1960s, a former teacher of Jackie’s saw a young man matching his description, and who called himself Jackie Theel, getting off a Navy ship in California. While the man reportedly told the teacher that he had been adopted, however, the identity of this man was never confirmed...."

A former teacher saw a man matching his description, but he disappeared on his first day of school, so what "former teacher?"

So the story goes that she happened upon someone using the same name AND he said he was adopted? What a coincidence, eh. I wonder what she then said, he then said, how the meeting ended?

It's too bad, tragic really, that LE files only go back to the 60's.

MOO.

 

[Richard]

"At one point in the 1960s, a former teacher of Jackie’s saw a young man matching his description, and who called himself Jackie Theel, getting off a Navy ship in California. While the man reportedly told the teacher that he had been adopted, however, the identity of this man was never confirmed...."

A former teacher saw a man matching his description, but he disappeared on his first day of school, so what "former teacher?"

So the story goes that she happened upon someone using the same name AND he said he was adopted? What a coincidence, eh. I wonder what she then said, he then said, how the meeting ended?

It's too bad, tragic really, that LE files only go back to the 60's.

MOO.

Jackie disappeared on his very first day of school, so he could only have had the one teacher. I do not know that teacher's name, but it is probably mentioned in news reports of the day.

It is indeed odd, and probably a coincidence, that the sailor who said he had been adopted was also named Jackie Theel. IF little Jackie had been abducted and illegally "adopted" the abductor or new parents would certainly have changed at least his last name to avoid suspicion.

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

Jackie disappeared on his very first day of school, so he could only have had the one teacher. I do not know that teacher's name, but it is probably mentioned in news reports of the day.

It is indeed odd, and probably a coincidence, that the sailor who said he had been adopted was also named Jackie Theel. IF little Jackie had been abducted and illegally "adopted" the abductor or new parents would certainly have changed at least his last name to avoid suspicion.

That's a fair point, however, I have a couple of counter-arguments..
First, we are thinking in terms of a relatively modern abductor, assuming they would feel the need hide the identity because of the widespread availability of the news, whereas in the early 1940s, the abductor very well may have just lived elsewhere and counted on the fact that there was limited availability for news distribution outside of the local area.
Also, Jackie was six when he would have been abducted.. six-year-olds know their names, especially if he was in school. I think that it would be difficult for an abductor to change the name and erase the memory of being called Jackie Theel.
I think that if the abductor was from a different area, he just might have taken the gamble, as insane as it may seem to us today.

 

[Satch]

There are a few things Im confused about that I was hoping someone could clear up as there seems to be very limited info in regards to this case, forgive me if I ask something already covered, Ive read over the thread but could accidently ask something Ive missed.

How did he get to school that morning?

His mother says that she sent a letter to Jackie's teacher saying to keep him after school until someone (his brother, I think?) picked him up. Who was responsible for taking this letter to his teacher? Did the teacher ever acknowledge getting this letter? Was this letter ever seen or given to the police? The reason I ask is this - in the newspaper article says that Jackie's sisters were told by their mother that he was 'slow', that they weren't sure what that meant but they only assumed he wasnt severely retarded since he was sent to school. It also says that the one thing that they remember clearly was "Jackie was not allowed to go far from home. "They never let him go anywhere," said Annabelle. "I think he pretty much stayed home." Though the kids always did the errands, their parents never sent Jackie uptown to buy groceries, said Annabelle. The kids would have to get water, fetch milk from a farm on the outskirts of town, and would go to their aunt's house, added Fay."

But my reason for bringing that up is this - its apparent they didn't allow him to do much, so I can only assume that he walked to school that day with his siblings.. that being said, certainly the mother wouldn't give HIM the note to give the teacher would she? Its apparent she didnt think he was capable of doing anything (even when surrounded by his siblings), why would she give him such an important letter? I think that letter is key here. Did someone forget to give his teacher the letter? Did the teacher get the letter and later lie about it? Was there ever a letter?

How deeply was this teacher looked into?

Something just feels wrong with the teacher - the teacher said that she (assuming its a she?) asked him if he knew his way home and he pointed to the west and thats where he started to walk - BUT the hounds tracked his scent from the school going the opposite direction than the teacher said.

The above could just be happenstance, but that fact added with this statement bothers me.

"His old teacher claims to have seen a young man getting off a navy ship in CA, and calling himself Jackie Theel. The young man looked very similar to what Jackie would have looked like. The other man with him claimed that Jackie was 'adopted."

So, we are meant to believe that the last person we know for fact Jackie was with just happened to run into him years later randomly? Just to touch the border of California its 1,862 miles from where he lived, and really... he was in that teachers class no more than a couple hours, on the first day of school when ALL the children would be new to the class and we are meant to think that the teacher could have ANY idea how that child would look years later?

And really.. the teacher goes up to a stranger that she thinks looks like the kidnapped boy, gets enough info from him to know what his NAME was (which btw, wasn't changed at all and is a very unusual name) that he was 'adopted' and doesn't attempt to get someone to hold him and the 'man' until things could be cleared up? If you knew you saw someone that was kidnapped as a child you would do everything you could to detain them. There is just no way what she said is true - had she just said that she saw a boy getting off a naval ship that she thought looked like him it could be explained away as her feeling guilty due to her being the last one that saw him, but to say that it was the same (unusual) name.. its just not likely.

Either way you look at it the teacher is suspicious. You either have a teacher that was involved in his disappearing or you have a teacher that thinks its ok to lie and say that she saw him years later.

Apparently back then people in the military could get discharged if they had a dependent - if you were going to kidnap a child in order to get discharged why wouldnt you take one that's considered 'slow'. Also - with the military thing.. she says she saw him getting off a naval ship - what would her tie be to the navy?

It just doesn't make sense, he was never allowed to do ANYTHING alone and Im sure his mother must have went over the plans for that day since it was his first day of school and children get anxious about that sort of stuff - she had to have told him that he was to wait at school for his brothers to get him. I just dont buy a little boy that had never done anything alone just pointing a direction and heading now the street alone when he had never walked anywhere alone before.

There are just too many bits that dont fit together.

Good thoughts!

Something about this case is wrong. I agree that the first sighting of Jackie at 1PM that day is more credible than the second evening sighting by the two boys. Something is strange about this "teacher." Why would she/he allow Jackie to walk home alone, unless she/she never got the letter that Jackie was to remain at the school, until one of his brothers came to pick him up to go home for lunch.

Did Jackie head off to school by himself that day? Who went with him if not? And if there was a letter, who sent the letter? I agree that if Jackie was considered "slow" it seems odd that he would be able to take on all responsibility for giving the letter to his teacher.

For me, a highway abduction seems most likely, as Jackie started out for home and got lost. Yes, tired, crying, and hungry, he would have been an easy target for an abduction. Not convinced of a railroad abduction, it just seems that someone would have seen a kid along the railroad tracks in such a small town community.

The teacher seeing a man who resembled Jackie getting off a Navy ship many years later? I believe that the teacher's story is a lie, and he/she is just using that story to get attention to the case.

Satch

 

[agapoyesoun]

 

[agapoyesoun]

[QUOiiTE="agapoyesoun, post: 16392814, member: 269179"]

[/QUOTE]

 

[agapoyesoun]

Only 6 when he went missing. He needs to be brought home. God bless his friends and relatives.

 

[Satch]

Good thoughts!

Something about this case is wrong. I agree that the first sighting of Jackie at 1PM that day is more credible than the second evening sighting by the two boys. Something is strange about this "teacher." Why would she/he allow Jackie to walk home alone, unless she/she never got the letter that Jackie was to remain at the school, until one of his brothers came to pick him up to go home for lunch.

Did Jackie head off to school by himself that day? Who went with him if not? And if there was a letter, who sent the letter? I agree that if Jackie was considered "slow" it seems odd that he would be able to take on all responsibility for giving the letter to his teacher.

For me, a highway abduction seems most likely, as Jackie started out for home and got lost. Yes, tired, crying, and hungry, he would have been an easy target for an abduction. Not convinced of a railroad abduction, it just seems that someone would have seen a kid along the railroad tracks in such a small town community.

The teacher seeing a man who resembled Jackie getting off a Navy ship many years later? I believe that the teacher's story is a lie, and he/she is just using that story to get attention to the case.

Satch

Another thought,

Back when I was in elementary school, early 1970's to mid 1970's, our school district only had Kindergarten as a half day program. When students started first grade, all day instruction began. Some reports say that it was only a half day for Jackie, which I find odd for the reasons above. Does anyone remember in their elementary education doing a first grade half-day program?

Was bus service provided for the children at the Elementary School? Where was Jackie's school in relation to his home? Anyone know the name of the school? Does it still exist today? I would say very doubtful. But I seem to recall it was common for kids to walk to school in the 40's-60's.

Satch

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

Satch,
I had similar questions about the locations and proximity of them, so I decided to do a little more research....
I found a great article that gave me a better idea of the different locations of interest involved in this case. I have marked them on the maps I attached. The blue line is a rough idea of the "creek" he was likely spotted walking along. The red line is HWY 23, which ran the same route in 1944 as it does now, the Theel home, which is now an empty lot, and the elementary school, which this article says was located in the same place as it is now.

Another thought,

Back when I was in elementary school, early 1970's to mid 1970's, our school district only had Kindergarten as a half day program. When students started first grade, all day instruction began. Some reports say that it was only a half day for Jackie, which I find odd for the reasons above. Does anyone remember in their elementary education doing a first grade half-day program?

Was bus service provided for the children at the Elementary School? Where was Jackie's school in relation to his home? Anyone know the name of the school? Does it still exist today? I would say very doubtful. But I seem to recall it was common for kids to walk to school in the 40's-60's.

Satch

 

[Richard]

Not all schools had Kindergarten programs back in the 1940's. First grade was the starting level. It might not have been a half day program, but maybe a short day for the first day of class.

Also, we are so familiar with every school today having a hot lunch program and a cafeteria. Back in the day, kids either brought their lunch with them to school, or they went home to eat, and then returned to school after the lunch hour.

Jackie lived with his family in their house in the north end of Paynesville and he walked to school that morning. If there was a school bus, it would have been driven to pick up kids from farms in the surrounding area. The "townies" would walk to school, or maybe (on occasion) be driven to school by a parent.

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

Not all schools had Kindergarten programs back in the 1940's. First grade was the starting level. It might not have been a half day program, but maybe a short day for the first day of class

From there Jackie’s scent vanished.


Also, we are so familiar with every school today having a hot lunch program and a cafeteria. Back in the day, kids either brought their lunch with them to school, or they went home to eat, and then returned to school after the lunch hour.

Jackie lived with his family in their house in the north end of Paynesville and he walked to school that morning. If there was a school bus, it would have been driven to pick up kids from farms in the surrounding area. The "townies" would walk to school, or maybe (on occasion) be driven to school by a parent.

"Hot Lunch" had apparently JUST been implemented:

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

Also,

"It was a blood hound that found the only clue. It followed Jackie’s scent on a wandering trail leading away from the school down to the river that runs through town. Newspaper records detail how the dog then tracked the scent away from the river, through the west end of Paynesville, and out to a ditch along Old Highway 23."

If you look at my map, there is no river that runs near the school that I could find...

 

[Satch]

"Hot Lunch" had apparently JUST been implemented:

Great article!

We now know for certain that Jackie's teacher was female. Does anyone know her name, and why she allowed Jackie to walk home on his own? And did she ever get the note that said Jackie was to remain at school til one of his brothers picked him up to go home for lunch? What did she tell LE at the time?

Satch

 

[Richard]

Here is a map from a Paynesville newspaper article about Jackie. As you can see, Jackie's house in the top of the map was only 3 or 4 blocks from his school.

The Crow river, referred to in some accounts is in the northwest (upper left) of the map.

Click on the map to enlarge it.

 

[Richard]

Also,

"It was a blood hound that found the only clue. It followed Jackie’s scent on a wandering trail leading away from the school down to the river that runs through town. Newspaper records detail how the dog then tracked the scent away from the river, through the west end of Paynesville, and out to a ditch along Old Highway 23."

If you look at my map, there is no river that runs near the school that I could find...

I have trained and worked with tracking dogs in the past. Dogs have a very acute sense of smell that is beyond anything we as humans can imagine. They can differentiate one individual's scent from any and all others. Upon being given a target scent, and then finding it, they will communicate to their handler in some way and then proceed to follow that scent in the direction that it was laid.

Barring extreme changes in weather, such as high winds, heavy rain or excessive dry heat, they are able to follow a trail laid down even days earlier. As with all other things, fatigue also enters into the success or failure of a tracking problem.

The biggest problem I have found regarding tracking dogs is that they are often called in as a last resort after the area has been saturated with the scents of other searchers - rather than being called in immediately and given a positive target scent to track. Such seems to be the case with the search for little Jackie.

Of course, the abilities and experience of individual dogs and handlers vary widely and we do not know the expertise level of the dogs seeking Jackie.

There are a few tracking scenarios that I can theorize in regard to Jackie's case.

It seems odd to me that the trail did not begin at the school, which was where Jackie was last known positively to be.

Since the dogs were not called in until "later that week", they could have picked up a trail laid down by Jackie a day or two BEFORE he disappeared (assuming that the dogs were given a correct scent to begin with). The fact that the trail starts so close to his home and then extends to the south west might be evidence of that.

Some dogs will "backtrack" on a scent. This is something that might be encouraged in training for a number of reasons. An example would be that if two children went missing and one was found, the dog could backtrack to the other child.

If Jackie went west to the highway first and then traveled north to the Creamery near his home, "backtracking" by the dogs could account for the published "track".

I feel that the most likely scenario is that Jackie left the school alone and got disoriented, heading west instead of north. He made it to the highway and was picked up by a passing motorist some time early on in his absence from school.

My opinion is that if the dogs actually picked up his scent near the Creamery, it was from a time prior to his first day of school.

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

Great article!

We now know for certain that Jackie's teacher was female. Does anyone know her name, and why she allowed Jackie to walk home on his own? And did she ever get the note that said Jackie was to remain at school til one of his brothers picked him up to go home for lunch? What did she tell LE at the time?

Satch

I found another article that names Jackie's first grade teacher as Miss Gladke

 

[Satch]

This may have been Jackie's teacher. In fact, it is very likely:

Dorothy Marie Gladke Minerich (1923-2014) - Find...

Satch

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

Here is a map from a Paynesville newspaper article about Jackie. As you can see, Jackie's house in the top of the map was only 3 or 4 blocks from his school.

The Crow river, referred to in some accounts is in the northwest (upper left) of the map.

Click on the map to enlarge it.

Thank you for pointing this map out! there seems to be a few discrepancies regarding a couple of the locations. In the article I referenced earlier, there are several details that are different than the map you included. Jackie's childhood home, which is now an empty lot, seems to be on the opposite side of the street, and the creamery seems to be in a different location as well.

 

[nancy_drew_coldcases]

This may have been Jackie's teacher. In fact, it is very likely:

Dorothy Marie Gladke Minerich (1923-2014) - Find...

Satch

Nice find!

Gladke was apparently just starting her first year of teaching...?

Also: I doubt this has any direct relevance to this case, but it seems that Jackies older brother, Donald, committed suicide by hanging in August of 1979.