NH NH - Joanne Dunham, 15, Charlestown, 11 Jun 1968

[MadMcGoo]

Jul 31, 1968, page 1 - Concord Monitor at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from Concord Monitor dated Jul 31, 1968, page 1.

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Feb 21, 1969, page 1 - Concord Monitor at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from Concord Monitor dated Feb 21, 1969, page 1.

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On a Tuesday
The Durham girl, he noted, died on a Tuesday. Her school attendance record showed she had been absent 10 days, 6 of them Tuesdays.

Chief Gibson also said investigators have evidence of a man, who was fishing near where the girl’s body was found, that he saw a light-colored auto cross a nearby bridge the morning of June 11. A man was driving and girl was leaning head-back against the center-post on the passenger’s side of the front seat.

The masking tape used to bind and asphyxiate the girl, authorities said, has been traced to one manufacturer, and that it had been in distribution only about a year at the time of the girl’s murder.

Nov 18, 1970, page 3 - Valley News at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

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Mar 13, 1971, page 1 - Concord Monitor at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

View the digital scanned newspaper from Concord Monitor dated Mar 13, 1971, page 1.

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Apr 26, 1986, page 1 - Valley News at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com

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[Daphne1972]

I tipped Alcala to NH state police. Just in case. I can't find any date ruling him out. Was he in California in the summer of 1968?

He was till he fled after the assault of Tali.

 

[Richard]

Unsolved murder 55 years ago...

Joanne Dunham, age 15

On June 11, 1968 at approximately 7:10 a.m., Joanne Dunham, age 15, was last seen while walking from her home at Raiche Mobile Homes in Charlestown, NH enroute to her bus stop on her way to school. She never got on the bus. Her body was found at approximately 4:15 p.m. the following day on a roped off dirt road on Quaker City Road in Unity NH approximately 5½ miles from where she was abducted. An autopsy determined that Joanne died of asphyxiation.

LINKS:

Joanne Dunham | Cold Case Unit | NH Department of Justice

The 1968 unsolved homicide of Joanne Dunham.

www.doj.nh.gov

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[Criminal Justice mom]

Couldn't find an existing thread on Joanne.

From the NH Dept. of Justice website:

"On June 11, 1968 at approximately 7:10 a.m., Joanne Dunham, age 15, was last seen while walking from her home at Raiche Mobile Homes in Charlestown, NH enroute to her bus stop on her way to school. She never got on the bus. Her body was found at approximately 4:15 p.m. the following day on a roped off dirt road on Quaker City Road in Unity NH approximately 5½ miles from where she was abducted. An autopsy determined that Joanne died of asphyxiation."

Does anyone know if this case has been investigated as an early Rodney Alcala murder? According to most of the available timelines, Alcala was on the east coast in 1968 and worked as a counselor at a theatre camp near Lake Sunapee, right in between where Joanne disappeared from and the place her body was later found. The details of her murder line up seamlessly with Alcala's known preferences.

Joanne Dunham | Cold Case Unit | NH Department of Justice

I grew up in between where she went missing and where she was found. She went missing a couple of miles in one direction and was found about 3 miles in the other direction, just outside of the boundary line of property my parents had just bought, but hadn't yet started building the house I'd grow up in yet. I don't think her death was connected to the CT River Valley murders that happened in the years following. I think she was killed by someone much closer to home, someone who was familiar with Joanne's morning routine of walking to and catching the bus.

 

[Criminal Justice mom]

Joanne is my cousin. I've been looking for information on her case but there is so little there.

I had read that she had been absent numerous times prior that year, the majority of those days were also Tuesday, just like the day she went missing. I was curious if her parents had been aware of her other previous absences? Did they know where exactly she was on the other days(Tuesdays in particular) that she wasn't at school?

 

[Richard]

Could Joanne's murder be connected to the murders of the Stiver sisters (ages 14 and 17) which occurred in Berks County in August 1968?

 

[dotr]

By Todd Bookman Published June 11, 2025

57 years after disappearance, Charlestown cold case reopened

New Hampshire’s Attorney General announced Wednesday a renewed interest in solving the 1968 killing of Joann Dunham, a 15-year old found dead in Unity.

www.nhpr.org

'Along with re-examining evidence, investigators plan on conducting new interviews and pursuing additional leads, according to a statement. A spokesperson said the agency is “exploring new information” but declined to provide details, including if any DNA evidence may be available.

Dunham died from asphyxiation, according to an autopsy done at the time of her death.'

Dunham's recently installed grave stone, which was paid for in part by a state victim assistance program.

Jun 11, 2025
The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit are taking a “renewed look” at the unsolved killing of a 15-year-old girl in 1968.