Anna Christian Waters (Missing 1/16/1973 from Half Moon Bay, CA)

[Dr. Doogie]

The correct pronounciation of "Eifee" is "eye-fee".

The profile from perplexus.com is the one that I have contacted via email. I have some more info on this, but I want to speak with Annasmom first before I post here. I should be able to put the info up here either later tonight or tomorrow.

One thing that I noticed from Annasmom's post is the order of the events concerning the white van - it appears that the friend saw the van with the men first, then saw Anna in the yard before she disappeared. If the van was heading away from the house, it would make it less likely that they turned around and grabbed Anna. If they were heading toward the house, or were heading toward one of areas that allowed for a clear view of the house, then that would tend to make them more likely suspects.

 

[Marilynilpa]

The correct pronounciation of "Eifee" is "eye-fee".

The profile from perplexus.com is the one that I have contacted via email. I have some more info on this, but I want to speak with Annasmom first before I post here. I should be able to put the info up here either later tonight or tomorrow.

One thing that I noticed from Annasmom's post is the order of the events concerning the white van - it appears that the friend saw the van with the men first, then saw Anna in the yard before she disappeared. If the van was heading away from the house, it would make it less likely that they turned around and grabbed Anna. If they were heading toward the house, or were heading toward one of areas that allowed for a clear view of the house, then that would tend to make them more likely suspects.

Annasmom, I was away from my computer this weekend, so am just now getting around to reading all the posts.

I am so happy that you joined us, because you've been able to see that there are a lot of us who want to help. At times we may throw out some rather strange theories, just because we're thinking out loud and trying to make sense of this terrible event. Having you take part in this discussion is so helpful, because you can quickly set straight any misinformation we may have.

Dr.Doogie, thanks for the update about the white van.

 

[Annasmom]

Annasmom, were your ex- and Mr. Brody only followed and watched, or were they actually questioned. If so, how did they respond to questions by law enforcement?

Also, if Anna hadn't seen her father since she was one year old, how did it come about that Mr. Brody wanted to change her middle name from Christian to Eifee?

Shadow, it's possible that EIFEE is pronounced like the letters FE. I wonder if it's possible that those are either the initials of Brody's real name, or possibly the initials of the woman he was interested in? It's a stretch, but I guess anything is possible. It's also possible EIFEE is pronounced like "eye-fee", so I could be way off on this.

The father was questioned by a sheriff's deputy at the time and denied any knowledge of Anna's disappearance. Brody proposed the name change when Anna was still an infant, before her father left home, and a birth certificate was reissued with the name Anna Christian Eifee Waters. As Doogie said, the name was pronounced eye-fee, and her father called her that (and sent her last support check in that name.) I have the death certificate of Brody's girl friend, and though she also used several names, I can't see a connection with the "Eifee" name.

 

[mysteriew]

Annasmom, I am wondering about the relationship with her father. Had he attempted to make visits or was not visiting with her a choice he made. Other than the support checks, what was his last attempt to make contact? Did he complain about having to pay support, and did he pay regularly? Had there been any recent discussion about the support payments?

 

[Marilynilpa]

Annasmom, I am wondering about the relationship with her father. Had he attempted to make visits or was not visiting with her a choice he made. Other than the support checks, what was his last attempt to make contact? Did he complain about having to pay support, and did he pay regularly? Had there been any recent discussion about the support payments?

Good questions! In a previous post, it was revealed that after her disappearance, Anna's father asked if he could discontinue child support payments.

Annasmom, how soon after Anna's disappearance was that?

 

[Annasmom]

Annasmom, I am wondering about the relationship with her father. Had he attempted to make visits or was not visiting with her a choice he made. Other than the support checks, what was his last attempt to make contact? Did he complain about having to pay support, and did he pay regularly? Had there been any recent discussion about the support payments?

He had requested joint custody when we were divorced, but he never attempted to visit Anna. I am convinced he was "following orders" most of the time, so it is difficult to say whether decisions were his or those of his mentor. He attempted to get his parents to pay Anna's support, but they refused; he paid regularly and his question to the lawyer about the support check referred to the February check (after Anna disappeared in January.)

 

[Annasmom]

Good questions! In a previous post, it was revealed that after her disappearance, Anna's father asked if he could discontinue child support payments.

Annasmom, how soon after Anna's disappearance was that?

I'm not sure, since I learned this second-hand. It was some time between Jan. 16 and Feb. 1, 1973.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

I received a reply back from [email protected] and the "Anna" there is not Anna Waters. The name of "Annie Yu" is an alias that the true owner of the email address used to protect her privacy while posting. She did provide her real name and a few details about herself that checked out with a followup google search. She is an Asian twenty-something attending college in New Zealand - I even found a picture of her and she is definitely not our Anna.

This means that our best lead has turned out to be a dud. Research into the name "Eifee" may still turn up something, but not at this email address. Oh, well - back to the drawing board...

 

[mysteriew]

Good try Dr. Doogie.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

In my emails with [email protected], she stated that she chose the name "Eifee" because it was a character from the Pokemon card game. Attached is a picture of that character:


http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/drdoogief/detail?.dir=aac9&.dnm=e0cdscd.jpg&.src=ph

 

[H0NEYWEST]

A search of "Eifee" does reveal that it is a surname, perhaps it is the real surname of Brody.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I'm not sure, since I learned this second-hand. It was some time between Jan. 16 and Feb. 1, 1973.

I cannot believe a father would ask that question so soon after his daughter had vanished. You can see where his priorities were!

As for the issue of "Eifee", this was a name Brody came up with so his name and Anna's could balance numerologically. I don't believe it was a family name, just some made up BS from the mind of a wacko man.

 

[Richard]

I have been following this thread with interest. I lived in the SF bay area in 1974, but had not heard of this case at that time.

I actually visited Half Moon Bay, when visiting the area again in April of 1976. I recall that day on the beach being very cold and windy, and having to wear a borrowed winter coat, even though it was much warmer in the Mountain View and Palo Alto areas.

From my experience and memory of Half Moon Bay, and from reading about the stormy weather at the time in January of 1973, I would imagine that it was quite cold the day Anna disappeared? Was it her habit to come home from school and then run down to the creek or anywhere distant from home without saying something? It would seem to me that a trip to the mail box might be more likely than a run on the beach.

Of course, it is entirely possible that this little girl was picked up totally at random by a person so inclined, who just happened to be driving by at that moment. Such things have happened. But with everything I have read regarding the known nut cases in the area, I tend to think that it was a planned event.

US passports were rather easy to obtain back in 1973. All you had to do was provide a birth certificate, available simply by writing the state records office, then submitting it, along with two photos and the proper form to any US Post Office. Since Sept 11, 2001 procedures have been tightened significantly and much more is required in regard to identifying oneself in person.

Back in 1973, however, a person could visit a cemetery, find the grave of a child born about the same time as the person for whom a passport was desired, then go through the same steps above. Similarily, a social security number, drivers license, etc could all be obtained.

With that in mind, how could one abduct a child and then travel with her overseas where a passport might be required. Other than finding a grave with a matching name to the one on the adult's passport, a "legal" name change might work. By changing Anna's birth certificate to include the name "Eifee", someone by that last name (real or assumed) might be able to apply for a passport for her. Although I mentioned US passports, if the circumstances were correct, a foreign passport might also have been obtained in a similar manner. This might be more difficult if the birth father had left his own name on the birth certificate, but might have been overlooked with the proper "name change" documentation from somewhere.

Although this is only speculation on my part, I base it on the fact that the more likely suspects were never seen afterward with Anna, and that no trace of her was ever found in the area. Could they have arranged things in advance for a quick kidnapping, followed by a turnover to a third party who already had a passport and other documentation in hand to get her out of the country?

A couple of things could be checked regarding the above scenario. Were there any applications for passports in the name of Eifee made around that time? Were there any other name changes made for children or adults involving either the name Eifee, or the name of the birth father?

 

[Dr. Doogie]

George Brody, the elderly "mentor" of Anna's birth-father died from cancer on December 24th, 1981. An inquiry by the San Francisco Public Administrators office listed his birthdate as August 15th, 1923 and a birthplace of Massachusetts. They determined that he had never worked and had no social security number. An interesting tidbit states that he was involved in politics at on time. No relatives were ever discovered. Brody's body was cremated December 30th, 1981 at a funeral home in Oakland, CA.

Any of the above details are highly suspect because the "facts" most likely came from George Waters who, along with Brody, went to great lengths to hide information about themselves. Immediately after Brody's death, Waters began destroying as much documentation about the two of them that he could find. Two weeks later, he himself was dead from suicide by poisoning.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Were Brody's prints ever ran to try to determine his real identity? There had to have been something he touched from which prints could have been lifted...

As far as I know, Brody's fingerprints were not taken (except perhaps as a routine part of the autopsiy process. There are no known objects from that era that would have his fingerprints on them. I also do not know how far back fingerprint records were kept (is it called Codex?).

Did Waters have any credit cards at the time? Obviously the two didn't go tooling around town all the time in a white van, or someone would have noticed. I'm thinking a rental (unless rentals could be secured with cash back in the early '70s).

I do not know if Waters had any credit cards at the time. I do know that I have rented vehicles in the early eighties with just cash and an ID. Waters did have a light colored VW squareback car that was their primary transportation. Interestingly, a similar vehicle was spotted in the area during the period following Anna's disappeareance (Annasmom can give you more details on this).

And, thinking out loud...Has there ever been any hint of a connection to Satanism? I ask because Anton LeVey was based in San Francisco, and had a small following at the time. He was known to have an obsession with Jayne Mansfield. When Jayne was killed in a car accident in '67, so was her lawyer/friend, Sam Brody. LeVey is reported to have taken credit for the accident and killing Brody...

There has never been any hint of Satanic involvement with either Anna's disappearance or the two Georges. My impression is that Brody's influence (while he did claim certain powers), was not primarily religious in any sense. It was more of a control issue. Perhaps my use of the term "cult of personality" has implied a more theological aspect than there truely was. I use the term to explain more of the control techniques that Brody used (seperating Waters from his family and friends, making him really on Brody for all decisions, etc).

 

[Richard]

George Brody, the elderly "mentor" of Anna's birth-father died from cancer on December 24th, 1981. An inquiry by the San Francisco Public Administrators office listed his birthdate as August 15th, 1923 and a birthplace of Massachusetts. They determined that he had never worked and had no social security number. An interesting tidbit states that he was involved in politics at on time. No relatives were ever discovered. Brody's body was cremated December 30th, 1981 at a funeral home in Oakland, CA.

Any of the above details are highly suspect because the "facts" most likely came from George Waters who, along with Brody, went to great lengths to hide information about themselves. Immediately after Brody's death, Waters began destroying as much documentation about the two of them that he could find. Two weeks later, he himself was dead from suicide by poisoning.

It sounds like perhaps the name Brody was an alias - or maybe it was his real name, but that he took great pains to keep it out of California records. Other records, however, would certainly exist.

Assuming that his birthdate was correct (or at least close), "Brody" would have been of prime draft age during WW II. Do any records exist of his serving in the armed forces, or of registering for the draft?

A birth certificate for him might exist in MA vital records. The 1930 census records might list him and his parents in MA. If a George Brody, born on 15 August 1923 exists, did he actually die as a child or young man, and this character steal his identity?

Fingerprints taken from the body or from any arrests (if they exist) could be checked against the FBI data base, and might turn up something. The problems is that if the FBI fingerprint expert who gets them sees any smudge or imperfection, he (or she) will automatically refuse to run any check, and simply send them back as unreadable.

 

[Marilynilpa]

It sounds like perhaps the name Brody was an alias - or maybe it was his real name, but that he took great pains to keep it out of California records. Other records, however, would certainly exist.

Assuming that his birthdate was correct (or at least close), "Brody" would have been of prime draft age during WW II. Do any records exist of his serving in the armed forces, or of registering for the draft?

A birth certificate for him might exist in MA vital records. The 1930 census records might list him and his parents in MA. If a George Brody, born on 15 August 1923 exists, did he actually die as a child or young man, and this character steal his identity?

Fingerprints taken from the body or from any arrests (if they exist) could be checked against the FBI data base, and might turn up something. The problems is that if the FBI fingerprint expert who gets them sees any smudge or imperfection, he (or she) will automatically refuse to run any check, and simply send them back as unreadable.

I have a feeling this guy was running from the law, and either assumed someone else's identity, or just made up one. It does appear he went to great lengths to make sure no one could track him down.

I find it impossible to believe Brody never held a job. Unless he was independently wealthy, he had to have worked at some point in his life.

 

[HeartofTexas]

The only George Brody I could find on the 1930 Federal Census was one that was born in 1919 (and not 1923), son of Sigmund and Sarah Brody, and living in Boston, MA at the time of the census. If I find anything else, I'll post it.

 

[HeartofTexas]

I should have said in my previous post that the only George Brody I could find in Massachusetts on the 1930 Federal Census was the above one. I found two other George Brody's who were both born in 1923 in other parts of the country as follows:

George Brody, home in 1930 was Salt Lake City, Utah, born in "abt. 1923".

George Brody, home in 1930 was Wilkes-Barre, Lucerne Co., Pennsylvania, born in "abt. 1923", son of Samuel and Reba Brody.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Something clicked when reviewing the posts about George Brody - a birth year of 1923 would have made him only 58 years old when he died. If you have not seen his picture, click this link: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/drdoogief/detail?.dir=aac9&.dnm=b94f.jpg

This picture was taken in 1974, when he would have been 51 years old. This is not the picture of a man in his early fifties. So the birthdate of 1923 is surely false. I would say he was born somewhere in the range of 1895 through 1910 (my speculation).

Here is where things get very dark and wierd (if they weren't already): Why give this date on a death certificate? Why would the public officals who investigated this death sign off on a date that was clearly false...unless the age given matched the body that they received. Since Brody had no known relatives, the body was identified only by George Waters. Since Waters was a physican working and living in the seediest part of town, he could very well have found someone homeless who was terminal, given him a place to live until he died, then claimed that it was Brody. This would have allowed Brody to recreate himself once again with a new name somewhere else.

A few problems with this hypothesis: 1. A long paper trail existed that Brody was being treated for cancer by both Waters and others prior to his death. 2. Waters had taken out a substantial amount of life insurance on himself to be paid out to Brody. By Brody "dying" and assuming a new name, he would not be able to collect on those policies once Waters killed himself two weeks later...UNLESS the policies that were found were only the ones that had not been changed to whatever new name Brody might have assumed. Could there have been other policies that had been issued under a different beneficiary name?