KS Mary Henley, 25, Wichita, June 5, 1951

[scruffydog]

I do not specifically know why the police were called to the Royce. It could be a number of reasons. I do know that Albert Houston West and MB fought on a different date because she was out late drinking and gambling. She went to bed. He took a shower and went to work. According to him. I would assume there was a fight when MB found out West was married. Could that have all happened in one evening? West has never been suspected of foul play but it makes a juicy story

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

Is E.D. a major/minor player? Were you aware that AHW Sr. was born in Tennessee? 5-Aug-1913 and died 27-Feb 1963 Kansas. For privacy reasons I am not writing his wife initials. I have a clue for you. 1930 census O.T. Henley District one Grainger, Tennessee he was listed as nephew
1940 census O.T. Henley Civil District 1 Putnam, Tennessee he was listed as son in law. Mary's mother is going by her middle name Esther. That is the clue, Herman is going by his middle initials something to think about when trying to find marriage certificate. He was listed as being married and Mary was 13 years old. This is not coming from Ancestry. Com but familysearch.org. Could they have been married by a Judge (civil court), a minister in a home or peace. I do not know what O.T. stands for, might be on birth certificate. In Florida, HRShepard is listed as getting married, but spouse in unknown. It is interesting to know that Davis (I don't know if they are related, but are in Eustis, Florida).

 

[Quoththeraven]

Is E.D. a major/minor player? Were you aware that AHW Sr. was born in Tennessee? 5-Aug-1913 and died 27-Feb 1963 Kansas. For privacy reasons I am not writing his wife initials. I have a clue for you. 1930 census O.T. Henley District one Grainger, Tennessee he was listed as nephew
1940 census O.T. Henley Civil District 1 Putnam, Tennessee he was listed as son in law. Mary's mother is going by her middle name Esther. That is the clue, Herman is going by his middle initials something to think about when trying to find marriage certificate. He was listed as being married and Mary was 13 years old. This is not coming from Ancestry. Com but familysearch.org. Could they have been married by a Judge (civil court), a minister in a home or peace. I do not know what O.T. stands for, might be on birth certificate. In Florida, HRShepard is listed as getting married, but spouse in unknown. It is interesting to know that Davis (I don't know if they are related, but are in Eustis, Florida).

I'm pretty sure that Mary Belle Henley, nee Davis, born Feb 8, 1926 in Tennessee is the same Mary Belle that got her Social Security card issued in Kansas and is the same Mary Belle Shepard, who died Jun 23, 2004 in Eustis, FL.

KS Post in thread 'Mary Henley, 25, Wichita, June 5, 1951'

Nov 3, 2023

Someone, somewhere, messed up the birth dates of Mary Belle. Her Florida gravestone shows a birthdate of Feb 8, 1926. The SS Application shows her birthdate as Mar 8, 1926. There's also a MISS Mary Belle Pierce of St. Joseph, MO, born in 1926, which is where the Florida Mary Belle is from and where she married Hubert Shepard. If this MISS Mary Belle Pierce is the same as the Florida Mary Belle Pierce who married Hubert Shepard in St. Joseph, MO, then she couldn't be the same as the Mary Belle Davis Henley since her maiden name was Pierce.

I also...

• Quoththeraven

• 
• 

Correction to my above post: These Mary Belle's are all one and the same. The birth date of 8 Mar 1926 should be 8 Feb, 1926. Pierce was her married name when she married Hubert Reid Shepard, not her maiden name.

 

[cenazoic]

My oldest uncle doesn’t believe that is MB.

That’s interesting- one might think he’d be in the best position to have insight on whether that’s his sister. Has he ever said why he doesn’t think it’s her?

 

[SheilaRinks]

In 1979 my mother, Betty, was given limited information from Wichita PD due to privacy laws. They did answer as best they could in a veiled way, my mother just didn't see it. We still fight privacy laws because we are unable to prove MB's death. Det. Chisholm has been extremely helpful since speaking with him in 2023. Attached are notes from a police encounter with Mary Belle. My family has all of this information. Some do not wish to believe the arrest, some do not wish to read any of it. For what it is worth, I believe it fits with what I have learned of MB's life before she left TN. If we knew her today we would agree her to be an alcoholic, addictive personality, trauma survivor, physically and sexual abused wife. I will point out that the two men mentioned in the police encounter have never been person of interests or suspects. Also, the last family member to see MB alive, her youngest sister Fay, is not willing to discuss MB at all. There are some other items attached that will probably not help you but it may clarify the supposed marriage to Herman Henley and MB's physical makeup. View attachment 565946View attachment 565945View attachment 565944View attachment 565943View attachment 565942View attachment 565940View attachment 565941View attachment 565939

 

[SheilaRinks]

I’m in possession of information that I believe proves Shepard and Henley are one in the same as has been thought since 2019.
My mother is processing the information before sharing with the rest of her family.
I hope you all will give us space and privacy as most family members are not yet aware of the current situation or outcome.
Please self edit anything you might share or comment on, on Ancestry, etc., for the time being. I will verify any changes or information there when we wish it to be public.
I believe you can stop sleuthing MB.
Thank you for caring for the missing.

 

[Quoththeraven]

Mary Belle Henley (4523DFKS) missing since June 5, 1951 from Wichita, Kansas has been located. Her case was closed by family. No further information is available.

Located & Identified Persons

 

[cenazoic]

Wow! Thanks for sharing your journey with us, @SheilaRinks , and happy you and your family have answers.

 

[SimsGuy67]

I’m in possession of information that I believe proves Shepard and Henley are one in the same as has been thought since 2019.
My mother is processing the information before sharing with the rest of her family.
I hope you all will give us space and privacy as most family members are not yet aware of the current situation or outcome.
Please self edit anything you might share or comment on, on Ancestry, etc., for the time being. I will verify any changes or information there when we wish it to be public.
I believe you can stop sleuthing MB.
Thank you for caring for the missing.

I'm glad you've finally been able to find closure on what ended up happening to Mary, and I'm also glad she did live a full life and didn't fall victim to any foul play. Thank you for coming onto WS these past few days to answer any questions too.

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

I'm glad you've finally been able to find closure on what ended up happening to Mary, and I'm also glad she did live a full life and didn't fall victim to any foul play. Thank you for coming onto WS these past few days to answer any questions too.

Can Little Miss X be Ann Cantrell? Or has she been ruled out since she is not considered "missing".

 

[Meitsyeah]

Glad to see the case solved..I was looking for old Pics of the Royce Hotel could not locate it was taken down in 1961 to build a banks the site looks like this today

 

[Sillybilly]

Hey everyone,

@SheilaRinks has been verified as a family member of Mary Henley and is allowed to share information about Mary's case without having to provide links to what she shares about Mary's disappearance.

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

Hey everyone,

@SheilaRinks has been verified as a family member of Mary Henley and is allowed to share information about Mary's case without having to provide links to what she shares about Mary's disappearance.

Good to learn. Is there any more research to be done or is the family content (sorry I could not think of a good word) with the results whatever they may have been? How about your mom and uncle? (I could be wrong about living relatives).

 

[SheilaRinks]

Thank you Sillybilly. And thank you to all who search for answers.
Strangerthanficton1200 no more research is needed. The case is closed.
Those in the family who wanted answers are content (it’s not a bad turn of phrase). Those who did not want answers never cared for them to begin with, sadly.
It can be frustrating but to each their own.
My mother has had the most closure.
I, with tons of help, have achieved my life goal of finding my grandmother and finding my own closure.
My novel was completed and ready to query but now I need to rewrite the third act. I never thought I would know so much about her life, and while it’s not a biography, I do want to stick as close to the truth as possible.
I will caution a very annoying thing I found by accident-there are several “blogs” from individuals interested in the Missing. They are completely unverified and full of misinformation. I had to stop reading them after 2 or 3.
Thank you all again and good hunting for the next case.

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

Thank you Sillybilly. And thank you to all who search for answers.
Strangerthanficton1200 no more research is needed. The case is closed.
Those in the family who wanted answers are content (it’s not a bad turn of phrase). Those who did not want answers never cared for them to begin with, sadly.
It can be frustrating but to each their own.
My mother has had the most closure.
I, with tons of help, have achieved my life goal of finding my grandmother and finding my own closure.
My novel was completed and ready to query but now I need to rewrite the third act. I never thought I would know so much about her life, and while it’s not a biography, I do want to stick as close to the truth as possible.
I will caution a very annoying thing I found by accident-there are several “blogs” from individuals interested in the Missing. They are completely unverified and full of misinformation. I had to stop reading them after 2 or 3.
Thank you all again and good hunting for the next case.

Thank you for your response, I was patiently waiting for it. Is the novel going to be for sale? Or a private memory? I am researching other cases and check at the end of the thread to see if it was solved. Again, thank you for your time and energy to write a response. If you decide to let the public read it, I will buy it.

 

[Quoththeraven]

Thank you for your response, I was patiently waiting for it. Is the novel going to be for sale? Or a private memory? I am researching other cases and check at the end of the thread to see if it was solved. Again, thank you for your time and energy to write a response. If you decide to let the public read it, I will buy it.

My novel was completed and ready to query but now I need to rewrite the third act.

I think it was a figure of speech.

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

Okay. Thank you.