Ann Bernice Duncan has been missing for over 55 years now. Here is everything that I could find about both her and her husband on Ancestry and Newspapers:
Ann was born
Ann Bernice Burns on April 11, 1938, to parents
Howard Joseph Burns (b1913) and
Doris Genevieve Burns (nee Green; b1916) in San Francisco. Ann has only one sibling, a younger sister named Marie E Smith (nee Burns), who was born in 1943. By 1950, when Ann was 12, the Burns family lived on Clement St in San Francisco. Howard was a firefighter for the City & County of SF, and Doris was a housewife.
In the 1958 San Francisco city directory, Howard is listed as a real estate salesman living at 2107 40th Ave. Ann resided with him at the time; Marie is not listed in the directory, as she was under 18yo at the time. While Howard and Doris were not divorced, Doris is listed in the same directory as living at 1725 Van Ness Ave, apt 203; she was a librarian at the Public Library. Ann's father Howard died in Sacramento on July 20, 1989 at the age of 76.
On February 24, 1959, Ann married
John Charles Duncan in San Francisco County; she was 20 and he was 21yo. Not much is known about their marriage, other than that they had three (3) sons together: James Thomas Duncan (November 29 1958 - November 10 2005); Michael Robert Duncan (December 4 1959 - June 30 1984); and Robert Michael Duncan (December 9 1961 - 1991). Both James and Robert were born in San Francisco; it is unknown where Michael was born, though likely also in SF. It also seems that Ann and John may have had two daughters together, as
@shehangsbrightly mentions two daughters, and one of the Ancestry pages I found also lists two unnamed (for privacy) daughters; if these two daughters exist, then one of them is
possibly Barbara A Duncan, born May 12 1958 (though that doesn't quite make sense given James's birth date, which was already before the Duncans' marriage), while the other is likely Doris M Duncan, born October 30 1960. Both Barbara and Doris were born in SF to a mother with the maiden name Burns.
Ann and John had their preliminary divorce hearing in December 1966. By January 1968, at least one of their sons was in a foster home in Santa Rosa, and by October 1969, all three boys were in foster care. Ann gave birth to a fourth son -- James, Michael, and Robert's half-brother -- around August 22, 1969 (based off of the fact that he was six weeks old when Ann disappeared on Oct 3 1969). The fourth son's name is private on Ancestry because he is still alive; however, it is possible that this baby is Daniel E Burns, who was born on August 24 1969 in SF to a mother with the maiden name Burns. There is also a Daniel E Duncan born on the same date in SF, also to a mother with the maiden name Burns; it can be assumed that these are perhaps the same baby. Ann had her fourth son -- likely Daniel E Burns/Duncan -- with a man named
John Joseph Brusatori (1938-2009), who was also divorced/separated from his wife, whom he had had one other child with.
In both the 1968 and the 1969-1970 city directories, a woman named Ann Duncan, a Townsend waitress, is listed as living at 544B 28th St in SF. This woman -- or anyone with the same name, spelling, job, &/or address -- does not appear in the 1971 city directory. It is possible that this is Ann Bernice Duncan.
A lot is known about Ann's husband, John.
John Charles Duncan was born on February 13, 1938, in Hankow, China. His father,
Phillip Bailey Duncan was 21yo at the time; a white American who grew up primarily in OK, Phillip's occupation at the time was listed as "Storekeeper, United States Navy." Phillip's primary residence was the USS Luzon, which was stationed in Hankow at the time. John's mother was
Paraskovia Alexandrovna "Pana" Duncan (nee Yamoff), 22yo; Paraskovia was a white woman born in Perm, Russia, Soviet Union, however she lived in Hankow at the time and was a naturalized Chinese citizen, through the naturalization of her father.
On July 25, 1938, when John was five months old, he and his parents arrived in Seattle, WA from Hankow. In 1940, Phillip, Pana, and John lived at 2023 NE Rodney Avenue in Portland, OR; Phillip was a service station attendant. In 1941, the family was living at 809 N 11th in Boise, ID. In 1942, John's mother Paraskovia applied to become a US citizen. She and John lived at 3764 SE Hawthorne St in Portland, OR, while Phillip lived in AK.
According to the 1950 census, John lived with his mother at 923 Connecticut Ave in SF; John's parents were divorced. Pana worked as a manicurist at the time. On March 3, 1959 --
only seven days after John and Ann's wedding -- John's mother remarried, this time to a man named
Guy Elton Murphree, who was 31yo at the time. Pana died on April 5 1989 in San Mateo.
On December 1, 1967, John (29yo), an electrician, was arrested in SF. He had a long police record at the time. He was known as the "elevator rapist": he would enter an elevator in which a lone woman was riding, then stop the elevator between floors, turn off the lights, and attack the victim. He was accused of two rapes and three attempts. He was arrested by Inspector George Murray in the downtown shopping area in which he committed his attacks. He was indicted by the Grand Jury, and on Friday, December 29 1967, John was ordered by Superior Judge Carl Allen to be sent to the San Francisco General Hospital for psychiatric examination. According to another article, John "was being held on charges of rape, child molesting, attempting to commit felonies[,] and burglary."
On the evening of Saturday, December 30 1967, however, John walked away from the hospital's detention ward, escaping. Extra patrols were assigned to the downtown area where he usually attacked, as police feared that he would strike again. Sonoma County lawmen were also alerted regarding his escape,
as it was believed that he, "may come to Santa Rosa looking for his son who is in a foster home here." He reportedly threatened to get his son back.
John was 5'9, 132lb, with straggly brown hair, a straggly mustache, hazel eyes, and a medium complexion. He was described as a "hippie type." He was believed to be driving a 1961 dark blue Ford with license plate number ILY285. He lived at 624 Cedar Ave in Long Beach at the time of his arrests. John was also a former patient of Atascadero State Hospital.
At about 1pm on Tuesday, February 20 1968, Ukiah sheriff's deputies were alerted that a man and a woman had left a Bay area motel under suspicious circumstances, and that the plates on the vehicle were believed stolen from San Jose. The sheriff's office relayed the information to all local deputies and CHP officers.
At about 4pm on Wednesday, February 21 1968 California Highway Patrolmen Thomas Norton and Michael Kostanecki spotted the car of interest north of Willits, CA, and pulled it over. John Charles Duncan was taken into custody on charges of driving a car with stolen license plates, and the officers later realized that he was the wanted Elevator Rapist. As can already be seen above, the various crimes for which John had been previously charged vary depending on the source; in this instance, one clipping stated that, "An all-points bulletin said the suspect is wanted for one count of rape, three counts of assault with intent to commit rape, and two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct. He is also wanted on charges of burglary and attempted burglary."
The driver of the car identified herself as
Karen Gibson Duncan, a 19 or 20yo from Long Beach, who, according to two (2) clippings, was married to John; however, I have found no record of their marriage, and one clipping solely calls her his "woman companion" while another states that the relationship between them was unknown. John did not resist arrest. Both John and Karen were held in Mendocino County Jail. One clipping stated that no charges were filed against Karen, while another said that Karen was also wanted by SF authorities for possession of stolen guns. Yet another clipping stated that she was, "booked at county jail on suspicion of false identification and false registration plates on the vehicle."
John died on January 12, 1970, in Marin County, CA, one month shy of his 32nd birthday. He was serving three years to life for raping a housewife in an elevator in San Francisco at the time at San Quentin Prison; another clipping states that he was, "serving concurrent sentences for rape and burglary." One clipping states that he, "terrorized women in San Francisco office buildings two years ago," i.e. 1967/early 1968. John was last seen alive during a routine bed check at 4am on Monday, January 12, 1970. His body was then found by a guard at 8:10am, dangling from a light fixture. He had used his own belt -- the type issued to inmates -- to hang himself. He was in an isolation cell in the prison's south cell block at the time; he had been placed there because of psychological problems. One clipping even states that he had, "a history of psychiatric disturbances."
On Friday, June 22, 1984, John and Ann's middle son, Michael Robert Duncan (24yo), was arrested in SF in connection with a Columbus Ave robbery and narcotics charges. At 5pm that same day, Michael was found after having tried to hang himself with his own shirt in a holding cell in Central Station while waiting to be transferred to City Prison. He was taken to Mission Emergency Hospital, where he remained in serious condition by Sunday, June 22 1984. He died on June 30, 1984, eight days after hanging himself.
Ann is not mentioned in any of the various clippings regarding John's arrests, escape, or death.
[Edited for more info]
