WI WI - Mequon, UnkSex&Race 4-9, UP126034, human skull and skeletal remains near Davis Road, blond/strawberry hair, short girl's haircut, Oct'59

[Romulus]

Unidentified Person/NamUs #UP126034
Unsure, Uncertain
Date Body Found: October 4, 1959
Location Found: Mequon, Wisconsin
Estimated Age Range: 4-9 Years
Estimated Age Group: PreAdolescent
Estimated Age Range (Years): 4-9
Estimated Year of Death: 1958-1959
Estimated PMI: 4 Months
Height: 3' 2"-3' 9"(38-45 inches) , Estimated

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

Location Found Map​

Location: Mequon, Wisconsin
County: Ozaukee County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped)--
Found On Tribal Land: No

Circumstances of Recovery: According to the archived reports, on October 4, 1959, a pedestrian walking down Davis Road just north of Bonniwell Road discovered a human skull on the west side of Davis Road. A subsequent search of the surrounding area by law enforcement resulted in the discovery of the majority of the post-cranial skeleton at the opening of a culvert approximately 700 feet farther down Davis Road.

---

Details of Recovery​

Inventory of Remains: All parts recovered
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description​

Hair Color: Blond/Strawberry
Head Hair Description: The length of hair was described to be "consistent with a short girl's haircut" in 1959.
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye Color: Unknown
Right Eye Color: Unknown
Eye Description--

---

Distinctive Physical Features​

No Information Entered​

Clothing and Accessories​

Item
Description
Clothing: Three white buttons that would be typical for a garment were found near the decedent.

 

[HopeRains]

I no longer subscribe to archives, but if someone else can get it, there's an article in the below paper:

* Wausau Daily Herald • Page 6; Friday, Oct 9, 1959 Wasau, Wisconsin​

Article title is "Child's Body Not that of Ritchie Girl".

 

[Triss]

So young, so long ago... Very upsetting.

 

[Caring1]

I no longer subscribe to archives, but if someone else can get it, there's an article in the below paper:

* Wausau Daily Herald • Page 6; Friday, Oct 9, 1959 Wasau, Wisconsin​

Article title is "Child's Body Not that of Ritchie Girl".

 

[Caring1]

 

[lightofmine99]

Alright now I need to know if Nancy Ritchie and her mother were ever found...

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Alright now I need to know if Nancy Ritchie and her mother were ever found...

Her father's obituary lists her as surviving him and with a husband. Her mother, I can't tell, but I don't see any trace of her after the 1950s.

 

[Caring1]

The only Nancy Marie Ritchie I could find was born in 1949. This little girl missing in 1959 was only 6. Glad to hear you located her, so ultimately she was found then.

 

[Quoththeraven]

View attachment 521290
View attachment 521291

I had posted this (below link) on the WS Georgia Weckler thread. The article above states she had several large cavities in the teeth that were found. That tells me this child was already neglected at home and IMO, this neglect evolved into murder, especially since this child was never reported missing by a family member. I'm betting familial DNA will solve this murder one day.​

The Daily Telegram Wed, Oct 07, 1959, Page 7 (link: Newspapers.com) reports that a woman found the girl's head on October 4th, 1959 and searchers found nine teeth the next day. The paper also reported that a man who lived in the area saw a vehicle parked near a culvert back in May of 1959 with a small hand protruding from the car. He reported it to the police but by the time they got there the car was gone. Other body parts were found near the culvert after the search in October.​

We can assume the police never searched the area back in May or they would have found the other body parts of the young girl who the paper reported as seven or eight years old and was believed to have died two to six months before the head and other body parts were found.​

A later news report in The Sheboygan Press, Fri, Oct 09, 1959, Page 9 (source: Newspapera.com) stated some of the blonde girl's bones had been fractured with the police chief stating she was a murder victim. A partial license number of the vehicle was given to the police by the farmer who saw the car with the girl's hand back in May.​

The Stevens Point Journal, Mon, Oct 05, 1959, Page 1 stated" Additional remains of a little blonde girl who had been butchered and flung into underbrush along a suburban road were assembled today."​

WI - WI - Georgia Weckler, 8, Fort Atkinson, 1 May 1947

Summary: Georgia Weckler vanished near the end of her family's long driveway near their farm outside Fort Atkinson. She had gotten a ride home from school. Neighbors reported seeing a suspicious black-colored four-door 1936 Ford sedan in the area earlier that afternoon, but the vehicle was...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Caring1]

I had posted this (below link) on the WS Georgia Weckler thread. The article above states she had several large cavities in the teeth that were found. That tells me this child was already neglected at home and IMO, this neglect evolved into murder, especially since this child was never reported missing by a family member. I'm betting familial DNA will solve this murder one day.​

WI - WI - Georgia Weckler, 8, Fort Atkinson, 1 May 1947

Summary: Georgia Weckler vanished near the end of her family's long driveway near their farm outside Fort Atkinson. She had gotten a ride home from school. Neighbors reported seeing a suspicious black-colored four-door 1936 Ford sedan in the area earlier that afternoon, but the vehicle was...

www.websleuths.com

I agree with you. I also believe this poor little girl was neglected for a period of time. Seems like she may have suffered during her short little life. I really hope this case is one included in FGG.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Yeah, I find it likeliest that this is a child abuse victim who was never reported missing.

 

[lightofmine99]

Her NamUs was updated again, I'm not sure with what.

 

[Goecke]

A personal anecdote regarding her teeth: I had HORRIBLE dental health as a kid. I was never intentionally neglected, but my family was very poor, so I never had routine dental work until my family was in a better spot financially, and at that point things that had started out as minor issues had gotten out of control. This was in the early 2000s; I'm unsure of how expensive/hard to access dental care was in the 50s. My point is that her teeth don't jump out to me as a sign of neglect, just a sign of poverty.

 

[lightofmine99]

Her NamUs was modified November 2, 2024.

There are still no public exclusions and I don't know what has changed.

 

[HopeRains]

There are a lot of references in this thread to "her", has the child been officially classified as female? I'm still see Unsure sex in Namus. Thanks!

 

[OrgelSpiel]

I'm pretty sure the child is actually a male; There is an upcoming funeral of a young child whose remains were discovered in 1959. I'm not seeing any other cases with similar details, so I'm thinking it is one and the same. I will share more information once I confirm I'm allowed to share.

 

[theshadow45]

Following.

 

[Quoththeraven]

According to Ancestry.com, Nancy Marie Ritchie, daughter of Gordon Ritchie, married someone with the last name Okimoto and lived in Hawaii. Source: Ancestry.com

According to fastpeoplesearch.com, Nancy Ritchie Okimoto is currently living in Mililani, HI

https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com/nancy-okimoto_id_G-8592461514369431328

According to Gordon C. Ritchie’s obit, he married three times.

Gordie married Myrtle Mewis in Montello, on June 26, 1950, and had a daughter, Nancy in 1953. Following Myrtle’s death, Gordie married Ethel Laing, who died in 1999.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151364974/gordon-c-ritchie

According to the 1950 US Federal Census, Ancestry.com, Myrtle Mewis was living in Madison, WI and was divorced. So, when she married Gordon, she was divorced and using her maiden name.

According to a family genealogy at Ancestry.com, Myrtle died in Hawaii.

I think we can safely assume she disappeared to Hawaii with her daughter, Nancy Marie. Since Gordon’s obit stated he married after Myrtle’s death, we can conclude that he eventually knew that she had gone to Hawaii and that she had died in Hawaii. The obit of her father, Otto Mewis also stated she was living in Honolulu, HI at the time of his death on Dec 11, 1964. Source: Wisconsin State Journal Sun, Dec 13, 1964, Page 45.

This definitely rules out the Mequon girl as being Nancy Marie Ritchie. Or, missing.

 

[Keiri]

There are a lot of references in this thread to "her", has the child been officially classified as female? I'm still see Unsure sex in Namus. Thanks!

I'm pretty sure the child is actually a male; There is an upcoming funeral of a young child whose remains were discovered in 1959. I'm not seeing any other cases with similar details, so I'm thinking it is one and the same. I will share more information once I confirm I'm allowed to share.

Actually the classification is "Unknown" so .. hopefully they compare Georgia Weckler. If you think it's a male, you should submit your male. But hopefully we don't need to tell them to check Weckler.

 

[iulia]

Their NamUs page has been removed.