NC NC - Mecklenburg teen known as Boxcar Boy, Sep 1932

[Melt71]

This case is being worked by Ramapo College and they are fundraising. Not in DoeNet or Namus:

www.wbtv.com/2026/03/16/nearly-100-years-later-detectives-seek-name-charlottes-boxcar-boy/
One gravesite in particular in a section called Potter’s Field caught the eye of Detective Hefner. “They told me about this young man who’d been killed on a train in 1932,” Hefner said. “So I Googled it, looked it up. I have no case file. All I have is media stories and a death certificate.”

 

[PatLaurel]

This case is being worked by Ramapo College and they are fundraising. Not in DoeNet or Namus:

View attachment 654767

www.wbtv.com/2026/03/16/nearly-100-years-later-detectives-seek-name-charlottes-boxcar-boy/
One gravesite in particular in a section called Potter’s Field caught the eye of Detective Hefner. “They told me about this young man who’d been killed on a train in 1932,” Hefner said. “So I Googled it, looked it up. I have no case file. All I have is media stories and a death certificate.”

I was trying to find the original article since I can’t make out the one you posted (), and I came across a missing boy from Virginia who matches the ‘Boxcar Boy’ age. The boy went missing on September 13 and was "believed to have headed for New York”. I’m still trying to find a follow-up on his case. MOO JMO

 

[The4TierBridge]

I was trying to find the original article since I can’t make out the one you posted (), and I came across a missing boy from Virginia who matches the ‘Boxcar Boy’ age. The boy went missing on September 13 and was "believed to have headed for New York”. I’m still trying to find a follow-up on his case. MOO JMO

That clipping is taken from the FindAGrave memorial for these remains: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37918512/unknown-boy-unknown

 

[PatLaurel]

I was trying to find the original article since I can’t make out the one you posted (), and I came across a missing boy from Virginia who matches the ‘Boxcar Boy’ age. The boy went missing on September 13 and was "believed to have headed for New York”. I’m still trying to find a follow-up on his case. MOO JMO

Replying to myself for context.

I couldn’t find a follow up on the boy’s disappearance. If anyone loves a good rabbit hole as much as I do, his name was Blanchard T. Forbes.

What I was able to find: In 1930 he was living with his grandparents and sister. His father was born in North Carolina and mother in Maryland. BTF was born in New York. Grandfather died in a car crash in Canada in 1939. Wife and granddaughter were with him and survived. No mention of BTF.

 

[PatLaurel]

That clipping is taken from the FindAGrave memorial for these remains: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37918512/unknown-boy-unknown

Thank you. I was hoping his height and eye color were listed. BTF was 5 feet 6 inches tall, with brown hair and gray eyes.

 

[PatLaurel]

I was trying to find the original article since I can’t make out the one you posted (), and I came across a missing boy from Virginia who matches the ‘Boxcar Boy’ age. The boy went missing on September 13 and was "believed to have headed for New York”. I’m still trying to find a follow-up on his case. MOO JMO

Replying to myself for context.

I couldn’t find a follow up on the boy’s disappearance. If anyone loves a good rabbit hole as much as I do, his name was Blanchard T. Forbes.

What I was able to find: In 1930 he was living with his grandparents and sister. His father was born in North Carolina and mother in Maryland. BTF was born in New York. Grandfather died in a car crash in Canada in 1939. Wife and granddaughter were with him and survived. No mention of BTF.

Thank you. I was hoping his height and eye color were listed. BTF was 5 feet 6 inches tall, with brown hair and gray eyes.

Disregard all this info. The T in the middle name was probably a typo and his name was Blanchard S. Forbes. He passed away in 1994 in Florida. Glad he was found...

 

[Amateur Web Sleuth]

Was he on an orphan train? If so, there were certain states they traveled to, maybe traceable not sure. Unsolved mysteries had a segment on the orphan trains

 

[PatLaurel]

Was he on an orphan train? If so, there were certain states they traveled to, maybe traceable not sure. Unsolved mysteries had a segment on the orphan trains

It was a freight train. The car the boy was sleeping in was loaded with steel.

the-herald-sun-1932-nc-mystery/194190948/

 

[The4TierBridge]

Was he on an orphan train? If so, there were certain states they traveled to, maybe traceable not sure. Unsolved mysteries had a segment on the orphan trains

These remains were recovered from a boxcar carrying metal pipes which was part of a freight train.