OH OH - "The Red Shoe Mystery" - Lola Celli, 24, Grandview Heights, Feb 1946

[nerosleuth]

I need a lot more info on this neighbor. What do we have everybody? Did anyone get a name?

Yes, the Columbus newspapers did identify the neighbor who last saw Lola Celli walking past his house.

One of the Columbus newspaper articles had a picture of Lola's brother and the neighbor sitting together at Lola's house discussing her disappearance. The neighbor was a childhood friend of Lola and her brother.

Here are the two reasons why I didn't reveal the neighbor's name.

First, there wasn't any articles in the Columbus newspapers that ever said the neighbor was a suspect in Lola's disappearance. And second, I don't know if the neighbor is still alive today.

 

[Penny Lane]

Seventy years ago today on Saturday February 23, 1946, twenty four year old Lola Celli left her parents home in Grandview Heights, Ohio to go on a shopping trip to Downtown Columbus. Lola Celli was never seen or heard from again after she left her parents home.

Thinking about Lola Celli today and wondering what happened to her seventy years ago.

Bumping. Coming up on 71 years.

 

[nerosleuth]

Seventy one years ago today on Saturday February 23, 1946, twenty four year old Lola Celli left her parents home in Grandview Heights, Ohio to go on a shopping trip to Downtown Columbus. Lola Celli was never seen or heard from again after she left her parents Grandview Heights home.

Thinking about Lola Celli today and wondering what happened to her seventy one years ago.

 

[AffirmationChick]

What a strange, sad, baffling case!

I stumbled on Lola's story when I randomly searched WS for my semi-hometown (Bellefontaine) but now I live just outside Grandview. This connection already weirded me out, but then there was the talk of Riverside, where I went to college.

But enough about me... Did anyone ever connect with the Grandview PD? My work schedule would likely line up with most hours they are available, but I could see what I could do.


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[Ozoner]

Yes, the Columbus newspapers did identify the neighbor who last saw Lola Celli walking past his house.

One of the Columbus newspaper articles had a picture of Lola's brother and the neighbor sitting together at Lola's house discussing her disappearance. The neighbor was a childhood friend of Lola and her brother.

Here are the two reasons why I didn't reveal the neighbor's name.

First, there wasn't any articles in the Columbus newspapers that ever said the neighbor was a suspect in Lola's disappearance. And second, I don't know if the neighbor is still alive today.

I sort of doubt the neighbor's direct involvement. Whoever abducted Lola probably had access to a vehicle, and it sounds like the neighbor used public transportation regularly and probably didn't have a car.
He could have been indirectly involved if Lola changed her plans (i.e., walked to a different bus line) in order to avoid him. If he had a crush on her and had been annoying her, it's possible she would have done something like that.
The two neighbors mentioned by a previous poster as possibilities for "the" neighbor, Vincent La Tedeschi and Harry Lane, would both be in their late 90s today, so the odds of either of them being alive are extremely remote.

 

[AffirmationChick]

I sort of doubt the neighbor's direct involvement. Whoever abducted Lola probably had access to a vehicle, and it sounds like the neighbor used public transportation regularly and probably didn't have a car.
He could have been indirectly involved if Lola changed her plans (i.e., walked to a different bus line) in order to avoid him. If he had a crush on her and had been annoying her, it's possible she would have done something like that.
The two neighbors mentioned by a previous poster as possibilities for "the" neighbor, Vincent La Tedeschi and Harry Lane, would both be in their late 90s today, so the odds of either of them being alive are extremely remote.

BBM

I think this is a good point. I found the neighbor's behavior odd, but I think your reasoning makes sense. He seemed awfully keen on "following" her (not necessarily in a sinister way). I wonder if she knew he would try to catch the bus on First so she decided to delay and then something happened.

I was just driving this intersection last night and could only think of Lola and how the street wouldn't have been much different in the 40s. It seems implausible for this to have happened with so many houses around but no witnesses.

I work in a library and have access to the historical archives to the Dispatch so I'm going to try to carve some time to see if I see anything else not already covered in these many expansive posts.



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[Odyssey]

Harry Lane is the right neighbor. The name “Lane” was in one of the articles and I was going to search the census for a first name but saw that someone else already found him.

He was 21 in 1940 which would make him about 99 now, plus he was named in MSM so I don’t see any issue naming him here.

He’s been referred to in MSM as a witness and not a suspect.

 

[Mysteries1974]

I submitted Lola to namus

 

[Mysteries1974]

73 years soon

 

[LB19]

Hi - wondering if anyone is still folllwing. Tomorrow is the anniversary and I jusy Came upon this case today. I’ve been reading all evening. I live off 3rd ave in Columbus city limits just a mile or so from where Lola lived. I cant Imagine something like this happening here now let alone in 1946. As far as the geography of the area, two things struck me. 1) I don’t think she would have walked further than the nearby bus top, especially in the cold of February. To walk downtown nowadays with, I imagine, better pedestrian options would take hours. In her nice suede heels, no less. Add to that the chance that there was snow, ice or slush on the ground. I doubt Her plan would have ever been to walk more than a couple blocks. I assume She got on a bus or into a car. 2) as far as the nearby man who went missing along with his son days later, maybe this has been ruled out, but when it is debated that he was truly a “neighbor” due to the fact that he was a resident of upper Arlington, not Grandview - UA is jusyba few blocks north of Grandview in some areas. Where Lola lived near third and Cambridge is very close to, die wxample, where Cambridge becomes UA proper, as so streets like Andover and Westwood just north of fifth avenue. I would love to know how near to the Cellis this man lived. I can’t get over the strange coincidences of this case. The man that also vanished, the death of her friend one day later. I find it so unlikely that she would be taken in broad daylight at 10:30am in this area. Homes are close together and close to the road. You hear your neighbors’ every move it seems - doors closing, casual conversations outside. I don’t think it’s possible she was grabbed by a serial killer or attacked him without bejng being seen or heard. I don’t think anyone could be so stupid as to attempt it in this area, at this time of day. The 21 year old neighbor’s story is odd. Why did he go to Lazarus - that’s not where she was going. To walk around a store, not even knowing if it was her destination, for hours looking for her seems oddly desperate and/or like a poorly thought out alibi. It wasn’t Christmas time where you might walk around a store like that seeing the sights. Something feels off.

I wonder if anyone looked into her male colleagues. She attended every home basketball game. I wonder Was that for enjoyment of the sport or could she have been involved with a coach or co-worker associated with that? Living away from Columbus M-Th definitely presents the possibility that her family did not know her every move. That said, it sounds like she was a very wholesome and responsible person. Could she have had some dates that her family was unaware of for fear they wouldn’t approve? So many questions. . . I am Going to have to do a walk by the lane house as I cant Picture which it is. There are some nice, larger homes on that side of the street where I picture theirs being.

 

[Mysteries1974]

Well I submitted Lola to Namus

 

[nerosleuth]

Today is the exact same day seventy three years ago that twenty four year old Lola Celli was never seen or heard from again after leaving her parent’s Grandview Heights home on Saturday February 23, 1946 to go shopping in Downtown Columbus.

I happened to notice that the weather in Columbus is cloudy today and that the temperature is also similar to the temperature on Saturday February 23, 1946 in Columbus.

Thinking about Lola Celli today and wondering what happened to her seventy three years ago. If Lola Celli is still alive today, she would be 97 years old.

 

[ariaharlow]

New here but, I was reading an article from Chillicothe Gazette that said Lola's father claimed that she never got to the bus stop — but how did he know?

 

[Richard]

Lola Celli

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Celli, circa 1946

• Missing Since 02/23/1946
• Missing From Grandview Heights, Ohio
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Age 24 years old
• Height and Weight 5'4, 115 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A gray Indian lamb fur coat, a gray hat, an aqua-colored dress with red trim and red suede slip-on shoes with Cuban heels.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Black hair, brown eyes. Celli was born in Italy.

Details of Disappearance
Celli was last seen leaving her parents' Grandview Heights, Ohio home on February 23, 1946. She was going to take a bus to downtown Columbus, Ohio to buy nylon stockings. Celli apparently never made it to the bus stop down the street from her home. She never been heard from again.

Celli was born in a village in southern Italy and moved to the United States with her family at the age of nine. She is a graduate of Ohio State University, where she was an honors student and a member of the Spanish Club, the French Club and the Education Council. She can speak five languages. She taught home economics at West Mansfield High School in 1946.

At the time she disappeared, she was visiting her parents' home for the President's Day holiday weekend. Her loved ones stated she was in good physical and mental health, didn't drink alcohol or smoke, and wasn't dating anyone at the time she disappeared. They did not believe she had left of her own accord.

Authorities initially believed Celli suffered an amnesiac episode which caused her disappearance, but no evidence has been located to support this. Her family always maintained she was abducted.

A witness reported seeing a woman arguing with a man in a car along Olentangy River Road on the day of her disappearance. The woman resembled Celli and was wearing similar clothes. During the argument, a red shoe was thrown or fell from the vehicle, described as a red Dodge coupe with a broken window. Authorities launched a massive search of the area, but were unable to find the shoe or any other other evidence.

That same day, a man driving a red coupe with a broken window stopped for gas at a station on north High Street, about a mile from Olentangy River Road. The man had a woman in the car with him and the station attendant heard him tell her to "be quiet." He bought $2 worth of gas, paid with a $5 bill and drove away without waiting for his change.

In 1956, the Grandview Heights chief of police claimed the Celli case was "closed" because the marshal of Marble Cliff, Ohio had told him her whereabouts. The police chief said Celli was alive and her disappearance was not a criminal matter. Celli's family stated they didn't believe this information and added that the police chief had not been in touch with them since August 1946, six months after her disappearance.

Celli's father died in 1958 and her mother in 1985. Her case has puzzled the Grandview Heights police department for years. It is still an open investigation.

Source:

Lola Celli – The Charley Project

 

[Richard]

1939 Dodge Coupe

The vehicle shown above is probably close to the one identified in the witness statement. No model year is stated, but it would most likely have been a pre World War II car (1941 or earlier) because all automobile production was halted in early 1942 for the war effort, and most 1942 models were purchased for the military.
Bright red would not have been as common a car color back in 1946. More likely the car was a maroon red (shown).

 

[dotr]

If this uid female was in the upper range of her estimated age, 50-70, and Lola somehow ended up in Montreal, Quebec, probably too much time and distance but..?
Unidentified remains - Service de police de la Ville de Montréal - SPVM


Discovered on June 13, 2001
Gender Female
Skin tone Light/Fair
Corpulence Heavy
Hair color Black, White
Hair description Long
Height 152 cm / 5ft-0in - 183 cm / 6ft-0in
Estimated age 50 - 70

 

[Richard]

With recent popular DNA testing to determine nationalities and racial heritage, Perhaps a similar testing of this UID person might provide clues.

DNA was unknown when Lola went missing, but if she has any close relatives living today, it might be possible to obtain a DNA sample to assist in any possible future comparisons.

 

[Richard]

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF LOLA CELLI
FEBRUARY 5, 2019


Lola Celli was born in southern Italy in 1922, and went missing on the 23/02/1946.

Celli was last seen leaving her parents’ Grandview Heights, Ohio home on February 23, 1946. She was going to take a bus to downtown Columbus, Ohio to buy nylon stockings. Celli apparently never made it to the bus stop down the street from her home. She never been heard from again.

Celli was born in a village in southern Italy and moved to the United States with her family at the age of nine. She is a graduate of Ohio State University, where she was an honours student and a member of the Spanish Club, the French Club and the Education Council. She can speak five languages. She taught home economics at West Mansfield High School in 1946.

At the time she disappeared, she was visiting her parents’ home for the President’s Day holiday weekend. Her loved ones stated she was in good physical and mental health, didn’t drink alcohol or smoke, and wasn’t dating anyone at the time she disappeared. They did not believe she had left of her own accord.

Authorities initially believed Celli suffered an amnesiac episode which caused her disappearance, but no evidence has been located to support this. Her family always maintained she was abducted.

A witness reported seeing a woman arguing with a man in a car along Olentangy River Road on the day of her disappearance. The woman resembled Celli and was wearing similar clothes. During the argument, a red shoe was thrown or fell from the vehicle, described as a red Dodge coupe with a broken window. Authorities launched a massive search of the area, but were unable to find the shoe or any other other evidence.

That same day, a man driving a red coupe with a broken window stopped for gas at a station on north High Street, about a mile from Olentangy River Road. The man had a woman in the car with him and the station attendant heard him tell her to “be quiet.” He bought $2 worth of gas, paid with a $5 bill and drove away without waiting for his change.

In 1956, the Grandview Heights chief of police claimed the Celli case was “closed” because the marshal of Marble Cliff, Ohio had told him her whereabouts. The police chief said Celli was alive and her disappearance was not a criminal matter. Celli’s family stated they didn’t believe this information and added that the police chief had not been in touch with them since August 1946, six months after her disappearance.

Celli’s father died in 1958 and her mother in 1985. Her case has puzzled the Grandview Heights police department for years. It is still an open investigation.

LINK:

The Mysterious Disappearance Of Lola Celli | | Education

 

[agapoyesoun]

I pray for a resolution of this case, for Lola's family and friends. I pray comfort and strength for all of her loved ones. x

 

[Cimatico]

Enhanced images from source Lola Ada Celli – The Charley Project