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

[Izzylizzy]

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.

Did she have a NY or Florida valid license?
Her car would have been towed away.
If she had ID in the car the arresting officer(s) could have easily gotten it from where it was to have verified her identity.
Supposedly it was the family's word from a phone call that verified who she was.
That never would have flied today.

Her car would have been impounded then off to auction if she or someone else didn't pay for it's release.
There would have been police records and DMV records if they auctioned it off and it went to a new owner.
We don't know the condition/value of her car, if it was paid for or had a loan on it so there are a few factors that would determine where it landed.
Maybe a family member came to Vt for it?
No one is talking about her car.
imo

 

[Izzylizzy]

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.

We will never know all that did and didn't take place with her family and LE on both sides of the river.
Like what finally moved her brother/siblings to investigate why they haven't heard from their sister in 50 years.
That is a damn long time.
imo

 

[Izzylizzy]

Where did LE get NGE's DNA to check it with a sibling?
NH either cremates or buries unclaimed bodies after a certain amount of time and may spread the prson's ashes somewhere.
Supposedly an investigation remained open on identifying her but her medical report couldn't find a cause of death.
Was her death ever investigated as a homicide?
Brattleboro Lt.Evans said there looking into forensics technology now which could take this case "in a new direction" so that sounds like their looking for a connection with her and a suspect and/or another victim.
imo

 

[summergirl1]

There maybe updated articles with more details, perhaps particularly if they get some leads, but need more info. I actually thought her family was very informative in the missing article, perhaps in an hopeful effort to find her alive, and certainly, looking for information, but for a missing person's article the family was informative, and apparently more of the information was used in the video. If her death was a homicide caused by a stranger (you have to wonder a bit about her supposed Vermont friend/friends), then it is unlikely it will ever be solved, of course, unless they have DNA evidence from whoever did it.

 

[Beekarina]

Where did LE get NGE's DNA to check it with a sibling?
NH either cremates or buries unclaimed bodies after a certain amount of time and may spread the prson's ashes somewhere.
Supposedly an investigation remained open on identifying her but her medical report couldn't find a cause of death.
Was her death ever investigated as a homicide?
Brattleboro Lt.Evans said there looking into forensics technology now which could take this case "in a new direction" so that sounds like their looking for a connection with her and a suspect and/or another victim.
imo

Maybe coincidence, but I was thinking more about other women who were missing or deceased from the area/same time frame, and found a recent article from WMUR stating investigators are "taking another look" at Joanne Dunham's case.

Investigators take ‘renewed look’ at unsolved 1968 killing of New Hampshire teen

Wednesday marked 57 years since the disappearance of 15-year-old Joanne Dunham. A day after Joanne went missing, she was found dead from asphyxiation.

www.wmtw.com

 

[Beekarina]

I wasn't suggesting Nancy planned to sneak off to Canada with a draft dodger. More putting out possibilities/musing over what she could have possibly been up to when she left Florida. Leave the country, start a new life?

I think it is quite possible she lied, but maybe everything happened as she says it did in the news clippings. It sounds to me like she may have been hiding something though. I'm not sure I believe she really had 6 cents to her name, or friends just outside of WRJ.

The Interstate exits are pretty clearly marked, and if she drove to Vermont from Florida, I would assume she was using the Interstate.

One question I have thinking of this: did she stop in NY on the way to Vermont? It really is not that big of a detour. She could have come into Vermont from the West, and this could possibly explain getting turned around and finding herself in Putney instead of WRJ.

 

[Izzylizzy]

There maybe updated articles with more details, perhaps particularly if they get some leads, but need more info. I actually thought her family was very informative in the missing article, perhaps in an hopeful effort to find her alive, and certainly, looking for information, but for a missing person's article the family was informative, and apparently more of the information was used in the video. If her death was a homicide caused by a stranger (you have to wonder a bit about her supposed Vermont friend/friends), then it is unlikely it will ever be solved, of course, unless they have DNA evidence from whoever did it.

I keep having to remind myself that NH had custody of her body and not VT which leads me to think what can Lt. Evans out of Vermont do and DNA forensics is expensive.
Does NH have someone else's DNA from her remains is a good question.
Was her death ever investigated as a homicide by NH police?


I find it so interesting how differently we view her families input with the information we heard.
Kinda like members of a jury. lol

In cases we've heard about when a victim who after years/decades is finally identified and part of their story is that family members didn't go searching for them it's usually due to the victim and their life choices and having burned bridges way beyond recognition.
But with NGE that doesn't appear to be the case and if there were things that she did that angered her family we know she had some recent mental issues to deal with but she finished college and got a nursing degree and a job in a hospital by the time she was only 21 so we wouldn't be looking at years and years of family issues with the victim that made the family truly not care anymore and are glad they're not hearing from the victim.
I keep thinking what the hell could she have done that took the siblings 50 yrs to inquire about her?
imo

 

[Izzylizzy]

I wasn't suggesting Nancy planned to sneak off to Canada with a draft dodger. More putting out possibilities/musing over what she could have possibly been up to when she left Florida. Leave the country, start a new life?

I think it is quite possible she lied, but maybe everything happened as she says it did in the news clippings. It sounds to me like she may have been hiding something though. I'm not sure I believe she really had 6 cents to her name, or friends just outside of WRJ.

The Interstate exits are pretty clearly marked, and if she drove to Vermont from Florida, I would assume she was using the Interstate.

One question I have thinking of this: did she stop in NY on the way to Vermont? It really is not that big of a detour. She could have come into Vermont from the West, and this could possibly explain getting turned around and finding herself in Putney instead of WRJ.

When I read "Canada" and a tall guy and her duffel bag I immediately thought of the 60s-early 70s of young people protesting against the Vietnam war and young men heading to Canada to dodge the draft..good for them!

Sadly she didn't know she was in the land of pan-handling and very likely could have explained her situation and gotten a few dollars which would have gotten her the gas she needed.
What state of mind was she in to steal a car?
imo

 

[summergirl1]

I've read about many Doe cases, and the victim doesn't always have issues with their family or is into things the family might want to distance themselves from, or even a free spirit who traveled a lot and sometimes didn't keep in contact, or a runaway, etc. Sometimes families don't follow up on a loved one's disappearence for other reasons than thinking they are out living their life somewhere, although Nancy's family kept that in their mind as a possibility, judging from the article about her being missing. Individuals and families respond differently to different things, and in ways which might not make sense to outsiders.

They did report her missing in Florida, which is more than some families did, or were able to do, given LE's attitudes towards missing people back in the day. It could just be the siblings were busy with their lives and it was only as they got older or maybe read something or heard something about DNA identifying people nowadays that they decided to take more action. Or they simply decided it had been long enough and wanted to address it better. I wonder if her original missing report included dental records? That was before DNA.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Maybe coincidence, but I was thinking more about other women who were missing or deceased from the area/same time frame, and found a recent article from WMUR stating investigators are "taking another look" at Joanne Dunham's case.

Investigators take ‘renewed look’ at unsolved 1968 killing of New Hampshire teen

Wednesday marked 57 years since the disappearance of 15-year-old Joanne Dunham. A day after Joanne went missing, she was found dead from asphyxiation.

www.wmtw.com

Yes, another NH victim.
It's a different world now with forensic technology and a different mind-set that has brought the unidentified victims/people into more of a main stream awareness.

No comment;

"Recently, Dunham’s grave finally got a headstone, thanks to the work of investigator Todd Flanagan and several local organizations."

 

[summergirl1]

Where did LE get NGE's DNA to check it with a sibling?
NH either cremates or buries unclaimed bodies after a certain amount of time and may spread the prson's ashes somewhere.
Supposedly an investigation remained open on identifying her but her medical report couldn't find a cause of death.
Was her death ever investigated as a homicide?
Brattleboro Lt.Evans said there looking into forensics technology now which could take this case "in a new direction" so that sounds like their looking for a connection with her and a suspect and/or another victim.
imo

I couldn't find a grave for her as a Jane Doe/Unknown on Find a Grave, not that I think that's important. They obviously got her remains from somewhere or something had been saved they got DNA from. It's too bad that's not true of many other older cases.

 

[Beekarina]

When I read "Canada" and a tall guy and her duffel bag I immediately thought of the 60s-early 70s of young people protesting against the Vietnam war and young men heading to Canada to dodge the draft..good for them!

Sadly she didn't know she was in the land of pan-handling and very likely could have explained her situation and gotten a few dollars which would have gotten her the gas she needed.
What state of mind was she in to steal a car?
imo

re: Sadly she didn't know she was in the land of pan-handling and very likely could have explained her situation and gotten a few dollars which would have gotten her the gas she needed.

Yeah, this is what struck me initially as so strange though, especially as she was from Long Island, and then Elmira...and being a young girl. Seems she should have figured out she could ask for help in rural VT? As we see from the way the judge behaved, they were inclined to help her even AFTER she did something criminal and crazy.....

I had not realized until you pointed it out that the car she stole also belonged to another young person. You have to wonder then why she didn't just ask him for help?

This is why I'm mulling over Nancy wanting to disappear, and maybe that is what she was attempting again when she left the halfway house?

As you said about thinking of her while driving over the bridge, it gets you when you can really picture someone moving around locally. I hope LE eventually learns more about her motivation for coming to VT and what happened to her.

 

[Beekarina]

I mentioned Joanne when I noticed the "taking a fresh look" and "forensics" and the article being from June. Again, it may be totally unrelated but if they were comparing anything found with Nancy to Joanne's death, it fits the general area and timeline.

There definitely was at least one killer active in the area when Nancy was here, and I do see the NH State Police have her death labelled as suspicious vs the earliest articles stating "no foul play."

 

[Izzylizzy]

Posted May 30
Looks like there's new blood in NH's cold case division.

New Hampshire State Police

COLD CASES: UNSOLVED HOMICIDE 🚨 Name: Bernice Courtemanche Last seen: 1984 City/Town: Newport, NH Status: Unsolved homicide Bernice Courtemanche, age 17, was last seen at approximately 3:30 p.m. on...

www.facebook.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

Check out the comments on NH Cold Cases.
Interesting .

New Hampshire State Police

COLD CASES: UNSOLVED HOMICIDE 🚨 Name: Bernice Courtemanche Last seen: 1984 City/Town: Newport, NH Status: Unsolved homicide Bernice Courtemanche, age 17, was last seen at approximately 3:30 p.m. on...

www.facebook.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

Victim List​

Listed below are New Hampshire's current cold case victims​

https://www.doj.nh.gov/bureaus/cold-case-unit/victim-list

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This post, from her missing thread, says she tried to hitchhike earlier in Oct of 1973. Maybe she tried to hitchike again, to bad results. I wonder if she had decided Vermont wasn't for her and that she was going back to Florida before it got to be winter..

The article from 1973 does provide clues... I am certain we will be able to track the authour.. JM Soper. S/he is referenced in other timely newspaper articles of the early 1970s.

This article is great fun, for those of us who live in this area!!

How 1975 Sparked the Vermont of Today - The Hardwick Gazette

VERMONT – Fifty years ago, Interstate 91 was still under construction, Bernie Sanders couldn’t win an election and Ben & Jerry had yet to split the $5 tuition for a correspondence course in ice cream making. Then everything changed. When 82-year-old George Aiken retired to his Putney home in...

hardwickgazette.org

I, personally do not think this is a strange case. For any of us living as young adults of this age in New England.... hitchhiking, disappearing, were just part of the fabric of living in the early 70s.

i am obviously way behind on the thread... but I feel it is going to tie into the serial chains we bring up often enough...

 

[Beekarina]

Victim List​

Listed below are New Hampshire's current cold case victims​

https://www.doj.nh.gov/bureaus/cold-case-unit/victim-list

Thank you for this.

Somehow I hade never heard of, or had forgotten about, the 15 year-old boy in Rindge in 1973.

And I agree NHMemorymaker. I knew one of the victims of Gary Schaefer, Theresa Fenton and I also knew Lynda Moore, who was possibly a victim of the Connecticut Valley Killer a few years later. We all lived in the sort of 70s/80s outdoors running free kind of life BUT also our parents were all VERY aware it wasn't all some kind of rural paradise out there....

 

[Beekarina]

There was also a flurry of LE activity at the house of the guy people locally refer to as the "Kellyville Killer" about a year ago. I do not think anything came of it in the end, at least not anything made public, but it was all over the news and caused QUITE the stir in the Newport/Claremont area while it was happening. (There should be articles linked in that thread, I remember following along when it was going on.)

I don't know what I think about all of it personally. As far as I know, that man was never arrested or anything. I think LE may have removed a few objects from the property, but again, it is a year later and I have not seen any updates.

Definitely good if the Cold Cases are all getting more attention and new people are working on them. I know with the Connecticut Valley Killer stuff, many feel it may have been a police officer.

 

[Friday Fan]

The article from 1973 does provide clues... I am certain we will be able to track the authour.. JM Soper. S/he is referenced in other timely newspaper articles of the early 1970s.

This article is great fun, for those of us who live in this area!!

How 1975 Sparked the Vermont of Today - The Hardwick Gazette

VERMONT – Fifty years ago, Interstate 91 was still under construction, Bernie Sanders couldn’t win an election and Ben & Jerry had yet to split the $5 tuition for a correspondence course in ice cream making. Then everything changed. When 82-year-old George Aiken retired to his Putney home in...

hardwickgazette.org

I, personally do not think this is a strange case. For any of us living as young adults of this age in New England.... hitchhiking, disappearing, were just part of the fabric of living in the early 70s.

i am obviously way behind on the thread... but I feel it is going to tie into the serial chains we bring up often enough...

I don't believe there was much effort identify Does back then.
Get dentals.
Check missing persons' files. (In this case, she probably wasn't in their database).

They didn't do much research beyond what was "on hand". They probably searched a bit harder if they felt fowl play was involved. But if they didn't have too many resources available.

They just didn't have the resources back then, so they didn't try that hard.