Georgia Jean Weckler
Missing since May 1, 1947 from Fort Atkinson, Jefferson County, Wisconsin
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: 1939-1940
Age at Time of Disappearance: 8 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'3"; 70 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde shoulder length straight hair; brown eyes.
Clothing: Pink button sweater over a blue T-shirt, blue jeans, blue flowered skirt, rubbers and a brown flowered head scarf.
Circumstances of Disappearance
Weckler was last seen at approximately 3:30 p.m. near her farm home in rural Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin on May 1, 1947. A neighbor gave her a ride part of the way home from school, dropping her off at the entrance to the half-mile-long driveway leading up to her home. Weckler told the neighbor that she would go into the woods and pick some flowers for a May Day basket before going home.
Georgia, a first-year 4­H club member, reportedly "knew" the wood area and the possibility of her getting lost is, believed to be slim.
The neighbor saw Weckler collect some letters from her family's mailbox and start walking up the driveway, but she never arrived at her house. She has never been heard from again and the mail she was carrying at the time of her disappearance has never been found.
Witnesses reported seeing a dark-colored 1936 Ford sedan in the vicinity that afternoon. The car vanished at the same time Weckler did, and tire tracks were found on the road. It was being driven by a blond man, 20 to 25 years old. This man is the prime suspect in Weckler's presumed abduction. He has never been identified, though many individuals were questioned over the years.
At first, investigators believed Weckler had been kidnapped for ransom, as her father was a man of means. Days passed and no ransom demands were made, however. Authorities now believe Weckler was taken by a sexual predator.
Buford Sennett, a convicted murderer who had just started serving a life sentence in prison, confessed to Weckler's murder in the fall of 1947. He claimed that he and a companion he refused to name had kidnapped her for ransom purposes and given her some sleeping pills and she had accidentally overdosed and died. Sennett said he had tossed Weckler's remains into the Blue River near the town of Blue River, Wisconsin. A search of the river turned up no sign of Weckler, however. Sennett was never charged in connection with her case and police are not certain whether he was involved.
Source Information:
The Crime Library
The Charley Project
John Weckler's Website
The Doe Network: Case File 1727DFWI
LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1727dfwi.html