VT VT - Paula Jean Welden, 18, Glastenbury Mountain, 1 Dec 1946

[Rhys]

I'll have to do some local research as regards the weather.

In the meantime I tried a "re-enactment" of her last hike on Saturday evening and posted the results on one of my websites. The link is: http://www.geocities.com/hfcac/welden.html
if anyone is interested.

 

[Rhys]

I tried a "re-enactment" of her last hike on Saturday evening and posted the results on one of my websites. The link is: http://www.geocities.com/hfcac/welden.html
if anyone is interested.

 

[KarlK]

The only .38 cal pistol I can think of in use in '35 would be the Luger P 08, used by the German military.

Colt produced a .38 version of the standard 1911 pistol beginning in the late 1920's until WWII. It used the .38 Super cartridge and was slightly shorter than the military .45 version.

 

[KarlK]

The theory that they were moved makes me wonder how the police came to the conclusion that a pistol and not a revolver was used-the shell casings would be the only way I know of for them to discern a difference.

If the bullets were .38 Super or .38 ACP they could only have been fired by a pistol, so I guess that was the case. The Colt 1900 pistol fired .38 ACP used .38 ACP and the the .38 variant of the 1911 used .38 Super, as mentioned in my previous post. These expensive handguns were not familiar to the public or even police forces at the time but Prohibition era mobsters on both sides of the US/Canada border were known to use them.

 

[KarlK]

The real mystery is why she was never found. Unless she totally panicked she shouldn't have gotten too far off the trail. The search seems to have had no organization, at least for the first 10 days, so searchers could have searched one area extensively and missed another altogether. The temperature gradually warmed up through the 10th of December when it got into the 50's, but if it snowed her body may have been covered. I need to find some weather records. She may have crawled under something to try to keep warm.

You'll probably agree that the most frequent reason why no remains are found when someone dies in a northern wilderness area is when they aren't found before snow covers them and given the time of year I believe this is the most likely scenario in this case. I think it's probable that for some reason the victim wandered off the trail, got lost, and eventually perished from exposure, or from a fall, or something similar. By spring thaw wild animals would have taken care of tissue remains and scattered the bones, which would have been hidden by dense overgrown by May anyway.

Glastenbury Mountain is so remote and so wild that I have no doubt it's possible for someone to get lost, die, and have no one come within 100 feet of the remains for the next 60 years, especially considering that there is no logging authorized there, I think it's even illegal to tap maples so very few people other than hikers, rangers and hunters venture up the mountain and these seldom stray far from trails and roads. I think the woods there are denser now than they were then, judging by old photos, so if she wasn't found then her resting place just got more and more inaccessible as the years went by. Bennington Triangle notwithstanding, the fact that many people got lost there never to be found again is a good indication that it's perfectly feasable to vanish forever in that area, for obvious reasons.

 

[Rhys]

You'll probably agree that the most frequent reason why no remains are found when someone dies in a northern wilderness area is when they aren't found before snow covers them and given the time of year I believe this is the most likely scenario in this case. I think it's probable that for some reason the victim wandered off the trail, got lost, and eventually perished from exposure, or from a fall, or something similar. By spring thaw wild animals would have taken care of tissue remains and scattered the bones, which would have been hidden by dense overgrown by May anyway.

Glastenbury Mountain is so remote and so wild that I have no doubt it's possible for someone to get lost, die, and have no one come within 100 feet of the remains for the next 60 years, especially considering that there is no logging authorized there, I think it's even illegal to tap maples so very few people other than hikers, rangers and hunters venture up the mountain and these seldom stray far from trails and roads. I think the woods there are denser now than they were then, judging by old photos, so if she wasn't found then her resting place just got more and more inaccessible as the years went by. Bennington Triangle notwithstanding, the fact that many people got lost there never to be found again is a good indication that it's perfectly feasable to vanish forever in that area, for obvious reasons.

True, but in the lower valley it is almost impossible to get off the trail, as you have a brook on one side and a steep slope on the other. My attempts at re-creating her hike show that she could have gotten well up on the slopes of Glastenbury Mt. itself, but the search was concentrated on the lower valley area as at that time they didn't think she could have gotten that far in. I am sure what searching was done farther in was concentrated on the trail and immediate vicinity.

There is no doubt it is possible to disappear up there - airplanes have been lost for years before being discovered by hunters.

At the same time:

1. The snow had largely melted off by the time the air search was done in December, and she was wearing a red coat.
2. The leaves would have been barely starting out in mid-May up there so it wouldn't have been overgrown.
3. The area WAS regularly logged for at least 40 - 50 years after her disappearance, and loggers don't stick to the trails of necessity. It only became a Wilderness Area in 2006.

My best guess at this time is she got off the trail farther in than thought and crawled under something for shelter and so her body was invisible from the air

 

[KarlK]

My best guess at this time is she got off the trail farther in than thought and crawled under something for shelter and so her body was invisible from the air

Good points. I agree that the most likely reason why the body was never found is because it was visible neither from the ground nor from the air. People who think it unlikely that a body could lay on a mountain in southern Vermont for six decades and never be found are not familiar with the area. Unlike surrounding border states (NY, NH, ME) most of Vermont's population lives in the northern part of the state, near the border. The south is sparsely populated, lessening the chances of remains being found.

 

[anthrobones]

Thought I'd bump this one up

 

[KarlK]

"[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]Two unconfirmed rumors circulate about her whereabouts. Some say Paula arranged her disappearance and moved to Canada with a lover; while others speculate she still lives a reclusive life on the mountain."

Taken from this site:

http://www.xprojectmagazine.com/archives/paranormal/benningtontriangle.html

I wonder why the author felt he needed to specify "unconfirmed"?

The first possibility is vaguely probable I guess but most 18-year-olds who elope eventually come to their senses and call home, especially when they appear to be serious people like Paula seems to have been. The second possibility is quite imaginative: I just had this vision of an ape-woman wearing a bear skin roaming a mountain in Vermont for decades without ever being seen, or perhaps she was seen but those who reported seeing a female Bigfoot were not taken seriously?

I still think the most likely explanation is she wandered off course and perished from injury and/or exposure, or maybe drowned, in a spot where the body couldn't be seen and wild animals disposed of her remains. Some people expect to find at least a skeleton in such cases but in New England the local wildlife is quite apt at recycling mortal remains in pretty short order (which is the reason why finding skeletons of wild animals in the woods is so rare); coyotes, foxes, bears and scavenging birds can pick up and carry bones in all directions while clothing get covered in dead leaves or mud then rot away. Usually bones from people who die in the wilderness and aren't found quickly enough are only located when they are enclosed in something that prevents animals from dragging them away: airplane, car, boat, cabin, sometimes even a sleeping bag.

Even in 2008 locating a body on the mountain could be quite difficult. Once you're dead no IR system can detect you and cadaver dogs can only cover so much terrain. On a positive note: as a final resting place Glastenbury Mountain beats any crowded cemetery; there one is guaranteed peace.
[/FONT]

 

[BostonSu]

Good points. I agree that the most likely reason why the body was never found is because it was visible neither from the ground nor from the air. QUOTE]

Interestingly, a psychic gave them a very detailed description of where Paula's body was, and it matched the description of a cabin given by a prisoner who claimed it to be her burial site

The police had searched the location, but not dug in the area of the cabin.

I've wondered, if they could locate the spot again (cabin long gone), what, if anything a dig might produce.

 

[BostonSu]

Bumping, for the anniversary of her disappearance. It's been 63 years since Paula Weldon walked off the face of the earth.

This one has always haunted me.

 

[scriptgirl]

So curious about this case! I highly recommend Joseph Citro's book. The murder of the those 3 people seems mob related, but more likely that someone rom the old country rubbed them out. I would LOVE to hear more about the missing women from Smith College and the Chester Woman.

As for Paula-I think she was murdered, esp when you consider all the suspect actiiity in that area.Who was this prisoner that claimed to know where Paula’a body was. Did he admit to killing her?

 

[scriptgirl]

From the Doe Network:

Paula Jean Welden
Missing since December 1, 1946 from Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: 1928
Age at Time of Disappearance: 18 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'5"; 122 lbs.

Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair, worn in a long bob; blue eyes. Fair complexion with much color; nose slightly "turned up"; cleft in chin. Walks with a long, springy step, has erect carriage; athletic type.
Marks, Scars: Grayish scar on left knee; vaccination mark on right thigh; small scar under left eye under eyebrow.

Clothing: Red parka jacket with fur trimmed hood, blue jeans, white sneakers with heavy soled Top-Sider size 6 1/2 or 7. She was also wearing a small, gold Elgin ladies wrist watch with narrow black band. This watch has repairer's marking, 13050 HD, scatched on the inside of back case.

Other: At the time of her disapperance, Welden was an art student interested in water colors, oils, pencil and charcoal sketching. She had assisted a mural painter and also done black and white illustrations. She had also done waitress work. She liked skating, bicycling, hiking, camping, swimming, square dancing and playing the guitar.
Circumstances of Disappearance
Welden was a student last seen at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont on the afternoon of December 1, 1946. Some reports state that Welden disappeared while taking a walk on the Long Trail near Glastenbury Mountain.

Vermont had no state police force at the time. Then-Governor Ernest Gibson called in police from New York and Massachusetts to help in the search. It also persuaded local legislators to support creation of the Vermont State Police.

According to reports, seven people vanished from the Long Trail on Glastenbury Mountain between 1945 and 1950.

Police suspect foul play. Welden was never found.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Vermont State Police - Police Chief Richard Gauthier 802-241-5355

Source Information:
Burlington Free Press 10/30/05
In the Shadow of Glastenbury
The Doe Network: Case File 1784DFVT

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1784dfvt.html

 

[christieny]

I wonder if any of her relatives are still alive? Perhaps her sisters? It is such a sad case and one with so many strange twists. If you read the newspapers from the time she disappeared, it seems they flip-flopped so much on what the police and her family thought had happened to her. There is the suggestion of a boyfriend...the sightings in Canada...the man who was arrested years later for a stabbing, who had clippings of the case in his pocket. It is so bizarre that these things never seemed to be followed up on...very sad.

 

[scriptgirl]

I have never been one to believe of "sightings" of people who disappear. I think Paula is dead and died at the hands of the person responsible for those other killings.

 

[christieny]

you're right, she probably was killed or died shortly after she went missing. But it is strange that there was never any trace. They should bring that new psychic show to Bennington to see if it yields any new clues!

 

[scriptgirl]

I think back in those days, it was a lot easier to disappear. No internet, no cell phones and areas weren't as built up as they are now. But listen, she could buried anywhere up there-assuming animals did not get to all her remains

 

[Mia]

Middlebury is also close to Montreal, whose mob bosses were and still are closely related to New York families. Moreover during the Prohibition (1919-1933) the border area was teeming with trigger-happy smugglers and other unsavory characters, and crossing the border unnoticed was a joke, as many roads leading from Quebec to Vermont didn't have checkpoints.

I've read that committing a crime on one side of the border and disposing of the evidence on the other side was common practice. I believe it could be worth considering that the victims may have been transported from Canada, which could explain why they were never claimed in the US. During Prohibition lack of collaboration between LE in US and Canada (especially when the FBI was involved) was no secret, too many people had lucrative interests to protect.

I could be way off the mark of course but I believe that the surreal legal context of the day may have been a factor, as evoked by Shadowangel above.

Middlebury is in the more southern part of Vermont, and the Canada-US border is along the northern edge of Vermont. (I spent a large portion of my childhood along the Canadian border in northwestern VT.) If the three bodies of the woman and two children were transported from Canada it seems unlikely the murderer/disposer would have traveled that far south with three bodies in their car, when there are hundreds of miles of very rural and isolated woods and mountains in the northern part of the state/closer to the border.

As far as the mob goes, I always thought they had some code of conduct when it came to harming women and children. I've read quite a bit on the mob, and it seems it was against their beliefs/immoral to harm the wives and/or children of their enemies - although clearly they'd kill the enemies themselves in a heartbeat.

It's fascinating to think these three may have been killed as a result of involvement in the mob or production/distribution of moonshine, but in many ways the 30s were not unlike the 2000s. A woman and two sons murdered and disposed of in a remote location? I'm guessing the perpetrator was the husband/father - the same person who'd be the first suspect in today's world.

 

[scriptgirl]

I don't buy the mob angle on that either. The mafia do not harm women or children. I think it was a husband or someone who knew these people

 

[not_my_kids]

Has anyone noticed the similarities between Welden and Ruth Baumgardner?
Same height, weight, somewhat similar appearance, both in college, living with their parents when not at school, both majoring in art. Both blond with blue eyes.

Welden in December of 1946, Baumgardner in May of 1937.
I know it's a gap, but stranger things have happened.