MI MI - Shirley Pullen, 70, Niles Township, 31 Dec 1986

[Gardener1850]

Case File 1596DFMI

Shirley Gertrude Pullen
Missing since January 12, 1987 from Niles Township, Michigan
Classification: Endangered Missing

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Vital Statistics

• 
  [*]Date Of Birth: November 30, 1917
  [*]Age at Time of Disappearance: 70 years old
  [*]Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'5"; 150 lbs.
  [*]Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes. Shirley was known to wear brown and blonde wigs.
  [*]Medical Conditions: Diabetic.
  [*]Dentals: Information/Charting is available

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Circumstances of Disappearance
Pullen was last seen at the Save Mart Food Store, 1905 South 11th Street in Niles Township, Michigan on December 31, 1986.
On that date, Pullen's hairdresser talked to her and reported that Pullen said she was planning to attend a New Year's Eve party that night.
It wasn't until years after Pullen disappeared that a neighbor came forward and said she had heard yelling outside Pullen's mobile home on the same New Year's Eve. The neighbor said she looked out her window and observed Pullen talking to two men, one of whom she identified as a man renting Pullen's other mobile home. The apparent argument lasted several minutes before Pullen walked into her mobile home and the two men drove away.

No one reported having any contact with Pullen between December 31, 1986 and January 12, 1987, when Pullen's failure to pay rent on her mobile home lots prompted a check of her residence.
Police were called to Shirley Pullen’s house trailer at the Windward Trailer Park, 1950 South 13th, Niles, Michigan on January 12th, 1987 by the park manager. The park manager advised she had not seen Mrs. Pullen and wanted to file a missing person report.
During the investigation police learned that Mrs. Pullen had two mobile homes at this park. One she lived in and one she rented out to a handyman.
Police questioned the renter, who denied seeing Pullen that day. He told investigators, however, that he had done some work for Pullen and had received several checks from her in return. The last check, written on December 30, 1986, was for $500. The man said the money was a Christmas present for his family. The tenant also claimed he had received permission from Pullen to use her credit card to purchase more than $1,000 in household items. The card was used twice, on January 11 and 16, 1987.
This handyman used her credit card in Mishawaka, Indiana after she had disappeared. Mrs. Pullen's diary also showed this same handyman extorting money from her.

The only evidence left at her trailer was a half-eaten sandwich and a cigarette left to burn in an ashtray. There were no signs of a struggle and it is believed Shirley Pullen left with whomever was at her trailer the night of December 31st, 1986.
Mrs. Pullen has never been found.

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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Niles Township Police Department
269-683-1780
269-683-4411
Agency Case Number: 53-3678-05
NCIC Number: M-912578587
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
Niles Township Web Site
South Bend Tribune 2/14/94
South Bend Tribune 2/24/94
South Bend Tribune 1/6/97
South Bend Tribune 6/12/00
South Bend Crime stoppers
NamUs

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1596dfmi.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/8531/

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Shirley - it's now been 35 years.

Shirley Gertrude Pullen – The Charley Project

COLD CASE FILES: What Happened to Shirley Pullen?

 

[Pennysmom1]

Shirley Gertrude Pullen – The Charley Project

• 

Pullen, circa 1986

• Missing Since 12/31/1986
• Missing From South Bend, IN
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 11/30/1917 (106)
• Age 69 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 125 - 150 pounds
• 
  
• Medical Conditions Pullen is a diabetic and insulin-dependent. She may have also been suffering from dementia in 1986.
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Graying brown hair, brown eyes. Pullen's ears are pierced. She smoked cigarettes at the time of her 1986 disappearance, and she occasionally wore a brown or blonde wig.

Details of Disappearance​

Pullen was last seen in her hometown of South Bend, Indiana on December 31, 1986. Her hairdresser saw her at a Save Mart store on U.S. 33 and Bell Road during the day. Pullen told her hairdresser that she planned to have a New Year's Eve party at her home later that evening.

It has been established that Pullen returned to her residence at Lot 152 in the Windward Village Mobile Home Park on south 13th Street near Niles, Michigan sometime later in the day. She has never been seen again.

Authorities checked Pullen's trailer on January 12, 1987 after she failed to pay the rental fees for her mobile home lots in the park, and her relatives called the police to say they had not seen or heard from her in nearly two weeks.

Investigators discovered a half-eaten, spoiled sandwich and a cigarette which had burned down to its filter in an ashtray inside Pullen's home, where she lived alone. The television in the mobile home was turned on.

There were no indications that a struggle had taken place and authorities believe Pullen left the residence in a hurry but willingly, intending to come back shortly. All her personal belongings, including her coat and other clothing, her luggage and her vehicle, were left behind.

There were no other leads in Pullen's case until the early 1990s, when one of her neighbors told authorities that she had witnessed Pullen arguing with two men outside of her mobile home on December 31, 1986, the date she was last seen.

One of the men was identified as a former tenant of Pullen's. He leased one of her trailer lots, but there is no record of him paying any rent. The man was questioned by investigators and claimed he did not see Pullen the day she vanished. He also stated that Pullen paid him for work he did for her prior to her disappearance.

Pullen's final check to the tenant was dated December 30, 1986 and was for $500. The man claimed that the check was a holiday gift for himself and his family.

It was discovered that the same tenant had used Pullen's Discover credit card twice after her 1986 disappearance; once on January 11, 1987 and again on January 16. Both times it was used to purchase items at the Highland Appliance store in Mishawaka, Indiana.

The man stated he had Pullen's permission to use the card to charge $1,000 worth of household equipment. He claimed he did not know Pullen was missing at the time he used her credit card, and that she had written several checks to him in compensation for work he did for her. Pullen's diary entries, however, indicated that the man was extorting money from her.

Pullen formerly worked at the Simplicity Pattern Co. She lived with her husband on a farm in the Niles, Indiana area until he died, then she moved several times before coming to live at Windward Village. She was estranged from her relatives at the time she went missing.

No one has been charged in connection with Pullen's disappearance, but it is considered very suspicious and foul play is suspected. Pullen has not used her Social Security number since her disappearance; neither has she made an insurance claim for her insulin. She was childless and all of her siblings have died since 1986.

Pullen's case was reopened in 2008 and investigators stated they had a good chance of solving it and had several persons of interest in mind. Investigators believe there four four men at her trailer that night and all of them knew what had happened to her, and more than one individual was involved in her disappearance and probable murder.

Authorities also believe at least one of the person(s) involved told others about what happened. One person of interest, who was a juvenile in 1986 and not the primary suspect in her case, committed suicide after he was questioned about her disappearance.

Some agencies state that Pullen was 71 years old at the time of her disappearance.

 

[Pennysmom1]

shirley pullen disappearance

Clipping found in The South Bend Tribune published in South Bend, Indiana on 2/9/2008. shirley pullen disappearance

www.newspapers.com

Shirley Pullen (1916-1986) - Find a Grave...

Unsolved Missing Person/Murder On New Years Eve, 1986, Shirley was seen at the Save Mart Food Store, in Niles Township, Michigan. Her hairdresser had talked to her and said that she was planning to attend a New Year's Eve party that night. It wasn't until years after she disappeared that a...

www.findagrave.com

1596DFMI - Shirley Gertrude Pullen

Right: circa 1973

Name: Shirley Gertrude Pullen
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: December 31, 1986
Location Last Seen: Niles, Berrien County, Michigan

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: November 30, 1917
Age: 70 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 125 lbs
Hair Color: Brown; known to wear brown and blonde wigs
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: nee Smith
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Diabetic

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unkown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Shirley was last seen by her hairdresser at the Save Mart grocery store at 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Police believe she disappeared later that same night or early the next morning. She was reported missing on January 12, 1987, when the park manager of the Windward Village Mobile Home Park in southern Niles Township told police Shirley did not come into the office to pay her rent on the first day of the month as she always did, and she did not take her daily walks through the neighborhood. In searching her mobile home, police found food spoiling on the kitchen table and a complete cigarette left in an ashtray and burned down to the filter. All her clothes and luggage were left behind, and her car was parked in the driveway.

 

[OddOneOut]

I wonder if they can get DNA from her belongings (assuming they are still around) or from a family member? She had no children but she did have siblings. Hopefully, her siblings have children they can test to compare to any remains found? I believe her remains are somewhere between Niles, Michigan and where the appliances were bought in Indiana.