CO CO - Aletha Capps, 33, Douglas county, 17 Dec 1955

[HopeRains]

Ft Collins Coloradoan, 5 Jan 56, pg 15

Ft Collins Coloradoan, 1 Jan 56, pg 4

The Daily Sentinel, 25 Dec 55, pg 7

 

[cenazoic]

Existing thread here:

CO - CO - Aletha Capps, 33, Douglas county, 17 Dec 1955

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) MP79498 Aletha Capps Female White / Caucasian Date of Last Contact: December 17, 1955 Missing From: Douglas County, Colorado Missing Age: 33 Years Current Age: 99 Years Case Information Demographics Missing Age: 33 Years Current...

www.websleuths.com

 

[SimsGuy67]

The photo on NamUs is very "faded" so I tried to fix it with my editing software:

She was so beautiful. I hope we find out what happens to her soon. It's been too long!

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Aletha Capps – The Charley Project

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Aletha Capps – The Charley Project

 

[Quoththeraven]

Did they ever locate the car? Because the absence of the car invalidates Quillin's story.
I think the search should have been done in Teller county, not Douglas county, as the last verifiable sightings took place at Victor and Cripple Creek. I think Quillin tried (and succeed) to take the search far from Teller county.

In the Greeley Daily Tribune Fri, Dec 30, 1955, Page 1, Police Chief L. B. Bruce said Quillin's admission that Mrs. Capps had suffered a heart attack came during a sesion attended by his parents, Mr & Mrs. Clarence Quillin and an unnamed Colorado Springs doctor. Bruce said the physician had treated Mrs. Capps for a heart condition as such that she could only walk a short distance without collapse. Source: Newspapers.com/Ancestry.com.​

Alva Charles Quillin's parents lived in Graham, Young County, Texas and assumably had traveled up to Colorado Springs to be with their son, Alva, who was born in Bridgeport, Wise County, TX. He was enlisted in the Navy from 20 Nov 1950 until 12 Oct 1954. According to Ancestry.com, he married Marian Veronica Ceresa/Marian Ceresa Geiger on 8 Feb 1957 in Santa Ana, Orange County, CA. He later married Joyce Ellen McCain 11 Jul 1966 in Brown County, TX. They divorced 19 Sep 1990 in Taylor, TX. Since Marian died in 1989 and her husband later married in 1966, one can assume the first marriage ended also ended in divorce. Source: Ancestry.com.

Average daily temperature in Colorado Springs was 40-50 degrees so I assume the ground wasn't frozen in the lower elevations and it wouldn't be too hard to bury a body. There's also a huge sprawling strip mine between Victor and Cripple Creek. Considering her medical condition there's no way she walked away from the disabled vehicle.

Colorado Springs, CO Weather History | Weather Underground

 

[643cade]

Did they ever locate the car? Because the absence of the car invalidates Quillin's story.
I think the search should have been done in Teller county, not Douglas county, as the last verifiable sightings took place at Victor and Cripple Creek. I think Quillin tried (and succeed) to take the search far from Teller county.

The last known location in NamUs is off of S. Perry Park Rd in Douglas County, west of Larkspur and east of Rampart Range, which is interesting and why Douglas County and not El Paso County is the named law enforcement agency. Though the last sightings were in Teller County, there is a huge mine that uses mountain top removal mining techniques between Victor and Cripple Creek that has gotten larger and larger over the years, so if Aletha's body was dumped in that area, her remains likely would have been found by now.

Rampart Range Road is remote but it is also a popular offroading trail these days and goes from near Sedalia to Colorado Springs. The part about Palmer Lake and the last known location of Perry Park listed on NamUs narrows down the area significantly. Unfortunately, that is still a lot of land and not a lot of people.

This may be a case where unfortunately Aletha may never be found unless someone like a hiker or camper stumbles across her. It would be interesting to see how many abandoned mines are in that area; though considering it was winter and the car hit a snowbank, the mine shafts in that area may have been covered in snow so it may have had to be one closer to the roads.

I hope Aletha is found.