NV NV - Noel Davis, 15, Reno, 1 Nov 1915

[perfectingpink]

Noel's NAMUS page is still up.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/24522/199/

 

[MsFacetious]

So do we have confirmation that this is Noel? It says located deceased but I'm not seeing confirmation of that.... just that he's been restricted not located...

 

[MsFacetious]

And what the heck would he be doing in Utah? It's not exactly on the way from Nevada to California...

 

[Gardener1850]

NAMUS page is still active: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Darling136]

It is now not easy to follow up but seems the prefix was changed upon following information

Email from NCMEC:

Sorry, that's the only info I have. I guess the DNA testing showed a match?

So, Namus and NCMC should talk to each other.

However, he would be now 119 years old.

 

[Bagpus]

I'm still not clear what restricted means. Does the NCMEC usually send out requests to take down posters when a missing person has been located or identified?

Thanks.

 

[Mysteries1974]

I'm still not clear what restricted means. Does the NCMEC usually send out requests to take down posters when a missing person has been located or identified?

Thanks.

I feel like they would’ve indicated he was recovered by saying that and not restricted. Now I’m no expert on terms but I feel restricted could mean the poster was taken down at the request of a descendent of Noel or the law enforcement agency.

 

[cheemsg]

I feel like they would’ve indicated he was recovered by saying that and not restricted. Now I’m no expert on terms but I feel restricted could mean the poster was taken down at the request of a descendent of Noel or the law enforcement agency.

It was probably taken down because of age

 

[Pennysmom1]

Noel is still listed as missing at NAMUS

Missing Person / NamUs #MP24522

View NamUs missing person case MP24522 for Noel Elijah Davis missing from Reno, Nevada. Date of last contact: Nov 01, 1915. NCMEC case number: 1235872.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

Noel Elijah Davis

Above: Noel circa, 1915 Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance Missing Since: November 1, 1915 Missing From: Reno, Washoe County, Nevada Classification: Endangered Missing Date Of Birth: August …

rcccmcc.com

 

[darkstalker83]

I saw other threads on this this case just has got
messy. We have articles that say Eil W Davis and Nellie H Coxs was his mother. Reno newspaper in 1926 says Mr and Mrs EW Davis and their daughter I will attach the clipping. But in another article says Mrs Price his mother was called and notified of his death. Need articles and records have written different middle initial for him. I will come back with more records but something is off.

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

I saw other threads on this this case just has got
messy. We have articles that say Eil W Davis and Nellie H Coxs was his mother. Reno newspaper in 1926 says Mr and Mrs EW Davis and their daughter I will attach the clipping. But in another article says Mrs Price his mother was called and notified of his death. Need articles and records have written different middle initial for him. I will come back with more records but something is off.

I read the same article. In 1927 Commander Noel Davis died with Lt. Wooster in Virginia. His mother was notified by Associated Press in Utah. He grew up in Utah and joined the military in 1910. Our missing Noel Davis was only 11 years old and was raised in Nevada. Commander Davis mother was Mrs. Price. Yes, the articles are confusing since one article mentions that his parents and sister hadn't seen in awhile. Noel's mother died in 1919. He is mentioned in his sister's, mother's and father's obituary but not as deceased or missing. Who reported him missing? I could be wrong due to the wording in the newspapers.

 

[Catlady_Ellen]

I have some thoughts and also some questions. First of all, can someone confirm that Noel's last sighting was at 14:56? Another user said that but I haven't found another source for that info. I agree this would be a sign that he took the train to SF, but even without this info I'm convinced that was his method of transportation for multiple reasons. At the time, the Overland Route went right through Reno and ended in SF, which was his destination, it would make most sense for him to take the train. Taking a quick look at Newspapers.com, this route is mentioned quite often in Reno newspapers, this strengthens my belief he did take the train as this route seems to have been very well-known/popular, but if someone more invested in train-history thinks this is wrong then please correct me. But if he did take the train, this leaves me more confused - because how did he never make it to Irene (his sister)? Trains are a very straight-forward method of transportation, you get on, go to your destination, and get off.

Another thing I've been wondering about is when he was reported missing, I couldn't find an article about his disappearance in Newspapers.com. I searched both his name and his parents' names, and as mentioned by others, in their obituaries he's listed as a survivor. Who reported him missing and when? I imagine it's possible articles might have existed but have gotten lost through the years, but it's still weird I couldn't find a single one.

Below is a picture of the Overland Route from 1908, taken from Wikipedia. If the route looked the same at the time of Noel's disappearance, the remaining stops for the train - except SF - would've been Truckee, Sacramento and Oakland; possibly also Marysville and Port Costa, but I'm unsure as this map is confusing and honestly gives me a headache. All of these stops are within California. He might've gotten off at the wrong stop, but if he took the Overland I don't see how he would've gotten off at the wrong place as SF is literally the final stop, but we all have weird brain-moments. He could've made it to SF and something happened when he got there. Then there's the possibility of voluntary disappearance, maybe he got off at the wrong stop on purpose to start a new life?

It's also not mentioned if he was supposed to go to his sister's and brother-in-law's adress himself or if they were supposed to meet at the train-station. If they were supposed to meet when he got off the train we can be sure he was never in SF, but if he was supposed to go to their home himself he could've spent some time there.

 

[bettyboop]

Well, @Catlady_Ellen , I'm with you on having a headache. This case is so confusing. I read the entire thread, and now I need a break!! Hopefully the disappearance of Noel can be solved, if he actually DID disappear! JMO MOO

 

[Catlady_Ellen]

Well, @Catlady_Ellen , I'm with you on having a headache. This case is so confusing. I read the entire thread, and now I need a break!! Hopefully the disappearance of Noel can be solved, if he actually DID disappear! JMO MOO

I think you might actually have a point, the more I reflect about this case, the more I believe in the possibility of intentional disappearance. I personally believe he left with the Overland train, and since SF is such a large city I think it's most likely someone would have been waiting for him by the train station, so I don't think he ever made it there. That would mean he left the train at some point, and if it was by mistake, why did he never contact his family again and explain the situation?

The question I have then is why he would leave. We don't know what his homelife was like, he might just have left to chase better opportunities. However, it does stand out to me that his family members all left home or got married early. Irene Brennan Phillips married her first husband (Edward) at 20 and was already living in California by then; Wanda was married and had her first child by age 19; Myrtle got married at 18; Glenn had moved out by age 20 but was still living in Reno; Odessa had moved out by age 16 and was living with Wanda; and Donald was living with Irene and Edward at age 14. I couldn't find if Vance moved out early, he had moved out in the first census taken as an adult, but by then he was in his mid-20's. This doesn't have to mean anything, and it could simply have been a consequence of their mother dying so young, because back then this would mean the girls of the family (families in general, not specifically the Davis family) taking on what work the mother did. I can imagine that affecting when people moved out.

This is all just my own opinion. To me it does seem more and more likely Noel chose to leave - if he took the train.

 

[GracefulD1an]

Ugh…going over the posts for this case is giving me a headache. He probably did choose to leave to look for better opportunities but where he went is a big unknown,