FL FL - Phoebe Callahan, 44, Ruskin, 2 June 1960

[Gardener1850]

No Photo

Phoebe Emiline Callahan

Hillsborough County, Florida
44 year old white female

Brown Hair
Brown Eyes

Height (inches)

Weight (pounds)

[TD="class: view_field"]66.0[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]140.0[/TD]

Circumstances: Phoebe Callahan was last seen by her children on June 2, 1960 when they left for school.

Dental information / charting is currently not available

DNA Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete

Fingerprint information is currently not available

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/18942/

Please help find a photo of Phoebe and more info on her disappearance.

 

[Coffee56]

https://www.policegrantshelp.com/news/100245-Grant-Would-Give-Old-Cases-Another-Look/




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[FL Wannabe]

Since the article was written in 2004, then I assume the body recovered from the water was not her. Also, maybe there was no other matches to dna?

I hope we can bring some closure to this family.

 

[Archangel85]

Since the article was written in 2004, then I assume the body recovered from the water was not her. Also, maybe there was no other matches to dna?

I hope we can bring some closure to this family.

NamUs doesn't list the Jane Doe as a rule out for Phoebe, however she's still missing.

https://identifyus.org/cases/2304

 

[YaYa_521]

Exclusions
UP5211 09/30/1968 Will IL
UP5556 05/30/1976 Virginia Beach VA
UP5556 05/30/1976 Virginia Beach VA
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA
UP6796 11/18/1985 Alleghany VA
UP6150 11/07/1998 Stafford VA

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Phoebe...it's now been over 60 years.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Since we have her full name is there someone that can look her up on Ancestry? Maybe she’s in someone’s tree with more info.

 

[alb1on]

As suggested I looked up Ancestry, but without easy results. However I think I may have identified the husband of Phoebe through her granddaughter, Susan Sprayberry, who is quoted in the link at #2 above.

Sprayberry is listed in the obituary of her mother, Dorothy Jean Cooper at Dorothy Cooper Obituary (2019) - Lakeland, FL - The Ledger (legacy.com). It is clear that this is the right Susan Sprayberry as, although only listed by first name in the survivors, her full name is attached to the pictures on the site, and her residence in Stuart, Florida is close to her place of work in West Palm Beach cited in the link in #2. This gives us Dorothy's fathers name as Walter (even though he is not listed) as she had a deceased brother, Walter Jr. And on Ancestry, in the Newspaper Obituary Index, is a record for Walter Callahan, born 1894 and died October 1964 (matching the report in #2) and with children Diane, Carolyn and Walter, as in Dorothy's obituary. He died at Lake Pierce, Florida. Walters 1964 obituary can be seen at Obituary of Robert Stanton Harrod - Newspapers.com (scroll down the clipping) but does not add much.

Unfortunately that is it. Husband identified, but no pictures or traces to point in any direction.

 

[alb1on]

A small and puzzling addition to my last post. Ancestry has records for Walter Callahan's military service in ww1 and an application for a veterans headstone. The odd thing is that the headstone application has a note that he served as Walter Gallagher (but the headstone was provided as Walter Callahan as it is noted that he was known as such in civilian life) and the record from the US Veterans Administration Master Index has the name as Callahan or Gallagher. What this means I do not know. Was he born Callahan or Gallagher? Did he have some reason to change name? Clearly his son Walter, who applied for the headstone, must have known the Gallagher name to enable the authorities to trace service records to approve the application (unless he had the service number (679586). He enlisted 17 Sept 1915 and was discharged 4 June 1920. The only other oddity is that, on the top of the headstone record, is a handwritten note reading "2/25/30 DisHon". Whilst the only reasonable interpretation I can think of is that it means dishonourable discharge, that does not fit with the discharge date.

Unfortunately I cannot trace anything further, but those with some expertise in US military records may have more success. The obvious interest is whether the name change results from some issue which casts a light on his character.

 

[Puzzled27]

Has Jane Doe from Safety Harbor been ruled out?
It's near by and she was found 3/4/61.
691UFFL Unidentified Female

 

[alb1on]

It seems likely that she was born Phoebe Emaline Pilkins on 7 May 1916 at Tazewell, Virginia. There is a marriage record I have now found on Ancestry which shows Phoebe Emaline Pilkins marrying Walter Callahan at Tazewell on 19 November 1935. She also appears in numerous family trees, none of which have a death date or place (or, surprisingly, much other information apart from parents and siblings). Just fills in a bit more information but unfortunately the life story of her husband Walter remains as opaque as ever.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

From the 1950 census

 

[HopeRains]

Phoebe Callahan Namus CaseFile

Map of last seen area (Ruskin, FL; outlined in red)

 

[SunshinePLZ]

Has Jane Doe from Safety Harbor been ruled out?
It's near by and she was found 3/4/61.
691UFFL Unidentified Female

I'm a new member and was just wondering the same thing! Do you know if DNA was ever collected from the Safety Harbor Jane Doe?

 

[HopeRains]

This is what is currently publicly listed as exclusions in Namus:

 

[StrangeOne]

Are there any details out there on her last whereabouts?

 

[cheemsg]

Grant would give old cases another look - Article.
Summarised:
Her husband is the prime suspect, Phoebe was a mother of four, her husband died in 1964.