Identified! NH - Marlborough, Rt 124, UnkFem 19-30, UP15863, ring, clothes, chap stick, Salem cigs, Apr'74 - Nancy Gale Erickson

[summergirl1]

I'd love to know in 2021 when NGE's brother Michael went to the Brattleboro police who in LE connected looking into the body found in 74' and that it could be Nancys?
We know Nancy's DNA is still available.

A websleuth on here connected the two in late 2021, earlier in this thread. I'm not sure if she was the first to do so or not.

 

[summergirl1]

Another article has her clothed when found beginning with the description of the jacket she was wearing.

The elephant in the middle of the room is why didn't her parents contact Brattleboro police when the box of clothes they sent to her half-way house was returned?
She was still on probation so some kind of missing/looking for bulletin could have been circulated/published even if the parents waited awhile then called LE because they had not heard from her in awhile.
We don't know if after her arrest and during her probation in Bratt if she kept in touch with her family and what was the status with her mom/dad(?).

Her mother in Florida received her W2 from when she worked at the Brattleboro Retreat and no one in the family thought to try and find out through SS if she was working or had worked elsewhere since Oct. 30,1973?

Why would the family report her missing in "another state" which remained nameless when she was last seen in Vermont?
Who knows, maybe it was Vermont they reported her missing in and the current Bratt Chief didn't want to go back there to an incompetent investigation?

IIRC her dad died in 85' and her mom soon after so that's over 10 yrs the parents were still able to do something to find her.
Her dad still left her a minimum amount of money in his will so I gather he thought she was alive and if was much less then what he left his other children then it may have been to make it more difficult for her if she chose to contest the will then if he left her nothing?

Then came crickets from her siblings until 2021 when brother Michael walked into the Brattleboro Police Station.
From all we now know about family/LE I say it was the "perfect storm" for a young lady who was found dead in the woods to remain nameless for 50 years.
IMO

You are right about the discrepancy between the two articles, and they were even from the same paper. Hmm. I always got the impression she was found clothed over the years, given all the descriptions of her clothing. The earlier article may have been inaccurate early reporting, although I don't know why they would have thought she (well, they didn't know if the remains were male or female at the time), or anyone, might have been the victim of a hunting accident if they had no clothing on-as well as no hunting equipment.

 

[Beekarina]

I don't think the Community House was part of the Retreat. They may have sent her to work there as a type of therapy/community service if she mentioned her past issues, and to get her employment. Or it could have been because of her background in nursing, which doesn't seem to be a good choice as she had issues with nursing work in the past (however, she may not have let them know that).

Or possibly that's where they sent everyone or people who chose it/were suitable at least, for their community service. They may have had some agreement with the Retreat about community service for those on probation/staying at the Community House. Or it could be a requirement of her probation was to find a job and given that she had a nursing background, and that was nearby, it was a logical choice.

Good point about her car. But also, since the police did know Nancy was who she said she was, if she never showed up again to pick up her car, it would have eventually been auctioned off or something and I think her family would have received notice about this in Florida or New York, depending on where it was registered?

It is all really confusing as there is something called the Community House (on Oak Street) in Brattleboro now, but it is for children and it is on a different street. From what I can tell, it was founded in 1974, so I am thoroughly confused and wonder if this is more bad reporting? I do not think Nancy was actually at the Community House. I think people now in the 2020s *might* just be making that association with what currently exists, but again, I could be wrong too. Oak and Elliot streets are close by, so one thing may have merged with another, and the previous building could be on a corner or something? Listening to video clips there are a lot of obvious errors and much confusion!

My understanding is the place Nancy stayed for a few weeks in October of 1973 was linked to the Retreat. I think it may have been to help address homelessness for young patients who were transitioning out of care, but I'm not 100% certain about this. This is just the impression I'm getting reading about her situation. I've read also that Nancy's job was as a psychiatric nurse at the Retreat, which seems like it would have been a really bad fit given what we know of her emotional state.

It isn't a long walk from Elliot Street (where Nancy was staying) to the Retreat, so maybe Nancy walked? Maybe she was in the habit of getting rides or hitching rides? Or maybe the "halfway house" WAS also her place of employment??

 

[summergirl1]

The halfway house wasn't her place of employment. It was apparently on Elliot Street and was some earlier version of the current one. Maybe 1974 was when it started to focus only on children. It's obviously changed a lot and is not in the same location. It was mentioned she was staying there as soon as she was reported missing by her brother in Vermont, so it's not just something in articles since she was identified.

 

[Beekarina]

For reference:

 

[Beekarina]

The more I think about this, the more convinced I am Nancy met with foul play.

If she was suicidal, there are plenty of rural/remote areas right in and around Brattleboro where she could have easily wandered into the woods and ended her life.Or the Connecticut River is right there.

Same line of thought if she just wanted to get away into nature or something. All kinds of nature in and around Brattleboro.

I think she was perhaps making an attempt to go to WRJ again OR attempting to go to NY, maybe Florida but I doubt it as she left the way she did and it does not seem she contacted her family to let them know in advance. Assuming she did not have her car, she accepted a ride with a killer.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

A websleuth on here connected the two in late 2021, earlier in this thread. I'm not sure if she was the first to do so or not.

I'd like to hope that LE put the dots together before me

 

[Beekarina]

If Nancy;s father was still living in Elmira,NY and even if he was not it would be reasonable to assume she would have had other friends and family in/around the area, look how close it is to Brattleboro:

 

[summergirl1]

Good point about her car. But also, since the police did know Nancy was who she said she was, if she never showed up again to pick up her car, it would have eventually been auctioned off or something and I think her family would have received notice about this in Florida or New York, depending on where it was registered?

It is all really confusing as there is something called the Community House (on Oak Street) in Brattleboro now, but it is for children and it is on a different street. From what I can tell, it was founded in 1974, so I am thoroughly confused and wonder if this is more bad reporting? I do not think Nancy was actually at the Community House. I think people now in the 2020s *might* just be making that association with what currently exists, but again, I could be wrong too. Oak and Elliot streets are close by, so one thing may have merged with another, and the previous building could be on a corner or something? Listening to video clips there are a lot of obvious errors and much confusion!

My understanding is the place Nancy stayed for a few weeks in October of 1973 was linked to the Retreat. I think it may have been to help address homelessness for young patients who were transitioning out of care, but I'm not 100% certain about this. This is just the impression I'm getting reading about her situation. I've read also that Nancy's job was as a psychiatric nurse at the Retreat, which seems like it would have been a really bad fit given what we know of her emotional state.

It isn't a long walk from Elliot Street (where Nancy was staying) to the Retreat, so maybe Nancy walked? Maybe she was in the habit of getting rides or hitching rides? Or maybe the "halfway house" WAS also her place of employment??

I hadn't read she was a psychiatric nurse there, but that's a possible impression a person gets from the articles about her. I admit I haven't watched any videos about the case, as I follow written information better than spoken information. The video someone posted earlier on this thread is important, though. I would maybe be a little more inclined to believe she was a victim of foul play if she was indeed found with no clothes on. But, essentially, I don't think that matters as she could have been a victim of foul play anyway. We know she mentioned an attempt to hitchhike in the past and doesn't seem to have had her car back. It was a rural area and likely seemed safe to her.

It would be interesting to know if she took a lot of her belongings or at least essential ones she would need and could carry. If she did, and since they obviously weren't with her, that increases the likelihood of foul play. It's never been mentioned that she left obvious stuff, though, and even in 2021 her family thought she may just be out living her life somewhere. She could have discarded stuff too, if she didn't want to cause alarm that not only had she left the halfway house, she left her belongings. But there's no evidence of that. She seems to have deliberately left the halfway house so her disappearence wasn't a case of she went for a walk in Brattleboro or went to walk to work and never came back (and thus maybe ran across the wrong person in Brattleboro).

 

[summergirl1]

If the body found was indeed originally listed as male that would explain a crucial dot not being connected. Especially if that decisive of a 'fact' remained in the files, it'd likely be a full stop to investigating missing women all-together.

A NH newspaper at the time eventually listed her as female so the confusion about whether the remains were male or female appears to have lasted only about two days. I don't think that fact was ever reported in the Brattleboro paper, though.

 

[Beekarina]

In the video I linked from the "Mountain Mysteries", her sister says Nancy packed a duffle bag in Florida, and she remembered a "tall man" being with her.

So I don't think Nancy had a lot of belongings. Duffle bags from my memory of being young were usually pretty small, like something you would put your gym clothes in? That is why I was wondering where her duffle bag was when her remains were found.

As for Nancy not having an ID, I've been thinking about this too. I wonder if when she left Florida, before she was arrested, she DID intend to cut contact with her family and go "off grid"? This could also explain why she was heading to Vermont, and trying to meet up with "friends" who did not have a phone.

Maybe her original intention WAS to "drop out" for awhile?

Back to the Land: Communes in Vermont, 1968 — Vermont Historical Society

Back to the Land: Communes in Vermont, 1968: In the 1960s and early 1970s, Vermont acquired a reputation for being a haven for hippies and a hotbed of counter-cultural communal living. There was some truth to that. But the communes and alternative life-styles of that generation had a deeper...

vermonthistory.org

"In an article for Playboy in 1970, John Pollack estimated that there were 35,800 hippies in Vermont, who accounted for roughly 33 percent of the total 107,527 people in the state between the ages of 18 and 34. Daley counted seventy-five communes in Vermont between 1968 and 1974."

 

[summergirl1]

There's certainly no mention of a duffle bag being found anywhere nearby her remains. I assume she took that with her when she stole the car. If someone killed her, they could have discarded that elsewhere so as to hinder her identification, although we don't know if she ever had a VT Driver's License or ID card of any sort. Still, clothes in it or other stuff could have been identifiable. Or they could have kept it as trophy type thing. She could have discarded it herself, but then it would have been closer to her remains and the likelihood of it being connected would be higher.

 

[Beekarina]

There's certainly no mention of a duffle bag being found anywhere nearby her remains. I assume she took that with her when she stole the car. If someone killed her, they could have discarded that elsewhere so as to hinder her identification, although we don't know if she ever had a VT Driver's License or ID card of any sort. Still, clothes in it or other stuff could have been identifiable. Or they could have kept it as trophy type thing. She could have discarded it herself, but then it would have been closer to her remains and the likelihood of it being connected would be higher.

I grew up in Vermont and know something possibly useful and a bit weird: Even if Nancy ever did apply for a Vermont license/ID, she would have needed to travel to Montpelier (!) for a photo ID, if it was even an option when she lived there. My original Vermont license was just a small green piece of paper, and when I turned 21 I went to Montpelier and got a photo ID. lol

Photo IDs were not mandatory in Vermont until 2004! It was the last state.

I found a random blog where someone posted her old license from the 1980s. Truly wild.

How I Gained Then Lost 30 Pounds

Believe it or not, I gained 30 pounds through the years, beginning when I lived in Scottsdale, Arizona in the early 2000s up until when I stepped on the scale here in my Vermont home on January 1, …

sharoncombesfarr.com

As you can see, this is not something that would have fared very well in the woods over the winter....I have no idea what sort of records exist for old licenses, but suspect she did not apply for one. It is all very vague though about her lack of ID. I *think* they mean when she was arrested she was not carrying an ID, but she probably/possibly still was a licensed driver in Florida or New York. She was an RN, so she had some way of proving this, right?

 

[summergirl1]

The second Brattleboro Reformer article about her day in court said they had to call Florida to verify that she was who she said she was, and was a nurse. Her family got a call about her stealing the car according to a 2021 article about her being missing, but I don't know if the court had to verify her identity beyond that.

I don't know if maybe she left her Driver's License in her car that ran out of gas, intending to come back with her friend/friends after she reached their place in the stolen car? I would assume that LE could have gotten it for her, if that was the case, though.

 

[Beekarina]

I wonder if she ever intended to come back for her car? Maybe stealing the car in Putney was intentional, and she planned to ditch it somewhere else? Say she really did intend to go off grid near WRJ or something along those lines? Then her car would be found in near Putney and who knows when or where the stolen car would have turned up?

Something about this all just feels off to me.

In those days, she could have very easily crossed the Canadian border too. Did she lie about going to White River Junction? Maybe it was true and she really had friends just outside, as she said, but saying she couldn't call them since they did not have a phone IS awfully convenient.

Who was the "tall man" her sister saw her with when she packed the duffle in Tampa? Did he also go to Vermont? I hope if LE is able to speak with people who knew her in Florida, someone remembers a tall man.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Good point about her car. But also, since the police did know Nancy was who she said she was, if she never showed up again to pick up her car, it would have eventually been auctioned off or something and I think her family would have received notice about this in Florida or New York, depending on where it was registered?

It is all really confusing as there is something called the Community House (on Oak Street) in Brattleboro now, but it is for children and it is on a different street. From what I can tell, it was founded in 1974, so I am thoroughly confused and wonder if this is more bad reporting? I do not think Nancy was actually at the Community House. I think people now in the 2020s *might* just be making that association with what currently exists, but again, I could be wrong too. Oak and Elliot streets are close by, so one thing may have merged with another, and the previous building could be on a corner or something? Listening to video clips there are a lot of obvious errors and much confusion!

My understanding is the place Nancy stayed for a few weeks in October of 1973 was linked to the Retreat. I think it may have been to help address homelessness for young patients who were transitioning out of care, but I'm not 100% certain about this. This is just the impression I'm getting reading about her situation. I've read also that Nancy's job was as a psychiatric nurse at the Retreat, which seems like it would have been a really bad fit given what we know of her emotional state.

It isn't a long walk from Elliot Street (where Nancy was staying) to the Retreat, so maybe Nancy walked? Maybe she was in the habit of getting rides or hitching rides? Or maybe the "halfway house" WAS also her place of employment??

I question if Nancy was working as any type of nurse at the retreat.
Firstly RNs may have been required to be registered in the state they work in plus not only the probation she was on which was probably for a felony.
Realistically she was a homeless person on probation for theft.
The W2 document was sent to her Florida address from the Brat Retreat from her time when she worked there so we know where she worked.
I don't remember if her brother Michael said that or LE?
She's been on my mind and was thinking about her today as I was driving over the bridge and back from Vermont to Chesterfield NH.
imo

 

[summergirl1]

Her brother said that, as quoted in the below article. I wouldn't automatically think she was working as a nurse there, either. A lot had changed for her since she was working as a nurse in Tampa. It may have been more like some type of community service or probation program that was paid? Or possibly a lower level job than nursing. She might have realized working in nursing was hard on her mentally/emotionally. Mystery in the Mountains: The disappearance of Nancy Erickson

 

[Izzylizzy]

I wonder if she ever intended to come back for her car? Maybe stealing the car in Putney was intentional, and she planned to ditch it somewhere else? Say she really did intend to go off grid near WRJ or something along those lines? Then her car would be found in near Putney and who knows when or where the stolen car would have turned up?

Something about this all just feels off to me.

In those days, she could have very easily crossed the Canadian border too. Did she lie about going to White River Junction? Maybe it was true and she really had friends just outside, as she said, but saying she couldn't call them since they did not have a phone IS awfully convenient.

Who was the "tall man" her sister saw her with when she packed the duffle in Tampa? Did he also go to Vermont? I hope if LE is able to speak with people who knew her in Florida, someone remembers a tall man.

We don't even know if her car story was true.

The Vietnam War was over by then in 1973 so she wasn't heading to Canada with the tall guy who wanted to dodge the draft.
Her sister wasn't forthcoming at all.
I don't remember her family or LE saying exactly when she left Tampa and no timeline was given by her sister of when she had her admitted to a psych hospital.
We also don't know if drugs were part of her life.
Interesting that the car she stole belonged to a college student and it was a college student who found her body..
Just some musing.
imo

 

[Izzylizzy]

Her brother said that, as quoted in the below article. I wouldn't automatically think she was working as a nurse there, either. A lot had changed for her since she was working as a nurse in Tampa. It may have been more like some type of community service or probation program that was paid? Or possibly a lower level job than nursing. She might have realized working in nursing was hard on her mentally/emotionally. Mystery in the Mountains: The disappearance of Nancy Erickson

Looks like a lot changed for her too when she went to Tampa and began working in the hospital and not for the better..
The family knew she was arrested in VT and I gather Nancy gave LE the phone number to call them.
That said her mom/sister knew the address of the Community House so had they spoken to Nancy and if they did what did they find out about Nancy being in Vt to visit friends?
Was there any ongoing dialogue with her family when she was at the house and working?
When the package was returned to the mom is when she called the community house and found out Nancy had bolted on Oct 30 and that was that.
There's a backstory here that we will never know.
It's not our business but it does reflect on why Nancy remained nameless and unclaimed for 50 yrs.
Where are her remains?
imo

 

[summergirl1]

Obviously, LE would have tried to find her car, and even if her car didn't exist, she would encourage that since not to do so would be suspicious. I don't know what advantage it would have been to her to lie about having a car or to lie about why she had to leave it, like say if her car really broke down or something. If she left Florida with someone she didn't want to mention who dropped her off from their car and left her stranded or something, she could have just said she hitchhiked from Florida or took the bus/hitchhiked or something.

There was only one article where the family was interviewed about her being missing, and they perhaps didn't think to give some details or the journalist didn't include them. There are apparently more details in the video. Also, her family didn't know she was dead then, so on the thought she may be out there somewhere still living, they perhaps didn't give some details for privacy reasons.