CA CA - Barbara Joe Kelley, 17, Humbolt Co., 18 June 1950

[MadMcGoo]

• Barbara Joe Kelley – The Charley Project

Barbara Joe Kelley

Barbara, circa 1950; Henry Lawrence Baird

Missing Since: June 18, 1950
Missing From: Humboldt County, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Age: 17 years old
Height/Weight: Unknown
Hair/Eye Color: Unknown

Details of Disappearance: Barbara was last seen in Humboldt County, California on June 17, 1950. She lived in Fortuna, California and her 28-year-old boyfriend, Henry Lawrence "Red" Baird, lived in Eureka, California. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. That evening they went out together and never returned.

The next morning, Baird's body was found lying facedown on the beach at Table Bluff. He had been shot in the back of the head. He was naked except for his shoes and socks. Nearby were the rest of his his clothes, and Barbara's own clothing was neatly folded and hidden underneath them; only her stockings and shoes were missing. There was no sign of Barbara herself. She has never been heard from again and may have been abducted by whoever shot him.

In 1963, a possible suspect, Gayle Patrick Irish, confessed to killing Barbara, Baird and another man, Billy Wells Hale. Irish had a long record for sex offenses and, at the time of his confessions, he was committed to the state mental hospital. He initially made his statements to the hospital chaplain. At the time of the arrest which led to his committal to the mental hospital, he was armed with a large-caliber hunting rifle.

Hale had been killed in 1957, in circumstances similar to Baird's murder: he and a woman were parked on a lane six miles north of Marysville, California when a strange man walked up to the car and shot him in the head. The man then bound the woman's hands and drove her for sixteen miles until he pulled off the road into someone else's private driveway. He threatened the woman with a razor, but she was able to flee when the homeowners returned.

According to Irish, he had found Barbara and Baird parked in a car on a remote road outside Eureka. He ordered them out at gunpoint, forced Baird to strip off his clothes, marched him down to the beach and shot him. He then drove Barbara to a logging camp near Crannell, California, shot her in the back, wrapped her nude body in a blanket and buried it off a logging road there.

Irish was unable to lead authorities to the alleged gravesite, but the specific logging road he named did exist and the area had become heavily overgrown in the years since 1950. The police apparently misplaced the hunting rifle they confiscated from him, so they weren't able to compare it to the bullet taken from the scene of Baird's murder. Irish was never charged with any of the murders he confessed to, due to lack of evidence.

At the time of her presumed abduction, Barbara was a waitress at the Sweet Shop, a Fortuna restaurant. She's described as deeply religious. Her case, and Baird's murder, remain unsolved.

Investigating Agency: Humboldt County Sheriff's Office 707-268-2539

 

[CastlesBurning]

Barbara Joe Kelley – The Charley Project

Height and weight added:
5'4 - 5'7, 150 - 165 pounds

 

[TSL7584]

Unsolved Cases | Humboldt County, CA - Official Website (very bottom of page)

 

[Diane Redfern]

This article is very interesting: A Boyfriend Shot Dead, a Girlfriend Gone Missing, an Unsubstantiated Confession—A Close Look at a 72-Year-Old Humboldt County Cold Case – MendoFever

I really think Irish was responsible for the crime, but it's worth to mention that Guy Muldavin, suspect of the murder of Ruth Terry, aka Lady of the dunes, is considered a suspect too.
Muldavin is also the prime suspect in the June 1950 murder of 28-year-old bread truck driver Henry Lawrence "Red" Baird and the disappearance of his 17-year-old waitress girlfriend Barbara Joe Kelley that occurred shortly thereafter. Barbara was last seen in Humboldt County, California on June 17, 1950. She lived in Fortuna, California and her boyfriend, Baird, lived in Eureka, California. They went out together that night, and they never returned. Baird's body was discovered face down on the beach near Table Bluff the following morning. He had received a headshot to the back. Except for his shoes and socks, he was naked. Barbara's personal clothing was found carefully folded and tucked underneath the rest of his, with the exception of her shoes and stockings. No trace of Barbara herself could be found. She has not been seen or heard from since, and it is thought that whoever shot Baird kidnapped her. One of Fortuna's two restaurants was owned by the parents of Muldavin's first wife, with whom he was then cohabitating. Barbara Kelley had a job at the other eatery. Both were on Baird's route. Muldavin also worked as a short-order cook in the restaurant owned by his father-in-law.
Source: Ruth Marie Terry - Wikipedia

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Humboldt County Sheriff

Baird's body was found June 18, 1950 on the beach with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Personal items of Barbara Kelley were found near Baird's body, but she has never been located. What is interesting is in Joellen Loop's obituary (Muldavin's first wife), it said that Muldavin sang at KIEM radio when they were in California between roughly 1947 until 1950. KIEM is in Eureka...Humboldt County

Baird was a bread truck driver and Kelley was a waitress at one of the restaurants on Baird's delivery route. The restaurant Kelley worked in also happened to be owned by Muldavin's father in law Jerome Loop, where Muldavin was also employed as a short order cook.

Was a Washington State Man A Serial Killer That Got Away?

In another win for DNA sites, Terry was eventually identified, as was her killer...and that is what brings us to 'The Evergreen State.

610kona.com

 

[HopeRains]

Really nice article, all about Barbara, including stats as follows:

5'7 1/2", 118 lbs
Brown hair, hazel eyes
Small scar on left eyebrow

Article clipped from The Humboldt Times

Clipping found in The Humboldt Times published in Eureka, California on 9/24/1950.

www.newspapers.com

 

[Quoththeraven]

The next morning, Baird's body was found lying facedown on the beach at Table Bluff. He had been shot in the back of the head. He was naked except for his shoes and socks. Nearby were the rest of his his clothes, and Barbara's own clothing was neatly folded and hidden underneath them; only her stockings and shoes were missing. There was no sign of Barbara herself. She has never been heard from again and may have been abducted by whoever shot him.

Hale had been killed in 1957, in circumstances similar to Baird's murder: he and a woman were parked on a lane six miles north of Marysville, California when a strange man walked up to the car and shot him in the head. The man then bound the woman's hands and drove her for sixteen miles until he pulled off the road into someone else's private driveway. He threatened the woman with a razor, but she was able to flee when the homeowners returned.

According to Irish, he had found Barbara and Baird parked in a car on a remote road outside Eureka. He ordered them out at gunpoint, forced Baird to strip off his clothes, marched him down to the beach and shot him. He then drove Barbara to a logging camp near Crannell, California, shot her in the back, wrapped her nude body in a blanket and buried it off a logging road there.

Irish was unable to lead authorities to the alleged gravesite, but the specific logging road he named did exist and the area had become heavily overgrown in the years since 1950. The police apparently misplaced the hunting rifle they confiscated from him, so they weren't able to compare it to the bullet taken from the scene of Baird's murder. Irish was never charged with any of the murders he confessed to, due to lack of evidence.

At the time of her presumed abduction, Barbara was a waitress at the Sweet Shop, a Fortuna restaurant. She's described as deeply religious. Her case, and Baird's murder, remain unsolved.

Investigating Agency: Humboldt County Sheriff's Office 707-268-2539

1)Barbara's own clothing was neatly folded and hidden underneath them;
2) He ordered them out at gunpoint, forced Baird to strip off his clothes, marched him down to the beach and shot him.
3) She's described as deeply religious.
4) Hale had been killed in 1957, in circumstances similar to Baird's murder
So, if he forced Baird down to the beach after ordering him to take off his clothes and marched him down to the beach, then how did his cloths end up nearby and how did her clothes end up neatly folded underneath? Also, a deeply religious woman parked out somewhere with a guy would be a paradox.
Highly unlikely that a killer would be killed in the same way he killed someone, unless, of course, the 'stranger' was named Irish. IMO, Irish probably killed his partner to ensure he wouldn't testify against him sometime in the future for similar crimes they were involved in together.
"The police apparently misplaced the hunting rifle they confiscated from him,"

Unbelieveable. How do you misplace a rifle locked in a storage locker?

Another reason they weren't parked at the beach is because she was in ill health and had one of her frequent colds that week. I think they were kidnapped at gunpoint, taken to the beach, he was killed and she was prob raped before being killed.