NY NY - Dorothy Arnold, 25, New York, 1910

[Alleykins]

^ I think that could be key here, Alleykins, because I believe Dorothy went off on her own and started a new life, possibly had children, etc.

I was thinking that was on possibility, too. One that should be explored.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Dorothy’s birthday.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Dorothy Harriet Camille Arnold – The Charley Project

 

[theshadow45]

Dorothy has been missing for 113 years today.

 

[dotr]

Huge paywalled article today..

Dorothy Arnold: The missing heiress at the center of New York’s oldest cold case

Dorothy Arnold’s family speaks out about her disappearance, more than a hundred years ago.

www.nationalgeographic.com

 

[longthymelurker]

Huge paywalled article today..
View attachment 506852

Dorothy Arnold: The missing heiress at the center of New York’s oldest cold case

Dorothy Arnold’s family speaks out about her disappearance, more than a hundred years ago.

www.nationalgeographic.com

I am thisclose to paying for a subscription, this is a case I always hoped would have some answers.

 

[longthymelurker]

Did you know that National Geographic had a 30 day free trial? I signed up for it and am glad I’m not paying for that article. Nothing is really new in the article, I truly thought they were finally going to reveal what happened.

 

[dogperson]

I was just thinking that although I've seen the theory mentioned several times that she might have had an abortion which ended in her death, I don't believe I've ever seen the theory mentioned that she might have instead gone somewhere to have a baby in secret and place it for adoption, intending to return home at some point, but instead maybe she perished in childbirth. Maternal mortality in childbirth was about 65 times more common then than it is now. If she had gone to a home for unwed mothers somewhere under an assumed name and then passed away in childbirth, her family could not have been notified. Even if she used her real name, I'm not sure how those types of women's homes handled such circumstances, especially if they thought they might be blamed for medical negligence. On the other hand, considering how her family wanted the investigation closed, perhaps they did find out and preferred not to have it known.

I'm generally not at all fond of how often the "she died during an illegal abortion" theory is used in these older cases, but what is known of her relationship with Mr. Griscom indicates, at least to me, that it was probably a physically intimate one. She was known to have spent a week in a hotel with him. This doesn't mean he was aware of a pregnancy, if a pregnancy existed. She might never have intended to tell anyone but instead just reappear at some point stating she had to get away for a while by herself.

Anyway, just some thoughts that don't seem out of the realm of possibility. I feel we will likely never know her fate due to the age of the case.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Article from People looking back on the case:

What Happened to Dorothy Arnold? N.Y. Socialite's 1910 Disappearance Is Oldest Missing Persons Case in U.S.

The heiress’s disappearance captured imaginations and highlighted societal woes in one of America’s earliest true crime stories.

people.com

 

[Maat99]

I haven’t seen this article posted here yet. Looks like there was some “evidence” that Dorothy was living as Anna Miller nee Curtis. I wonder if there is any record of the birth of Anna Curtis matching the details in this article or if she really did appear just as Dorothy disappeared.

 

[mst]

I actually wonder if she was attracted to the same sex and that embarrassed her family

 

[Inthedetails]

I actually wonder if she was attracted to the same sex and that embarrassed her family

I wouldn't think that would result in a complete disappearance, as there were ways around that.

I still think she died from a botched abortion. jmo

 

[ChatteringBirds]

IMO her father being so adament that she was murdered and saying there was no need to look for her indicates he knew exactly what happened to her.
It could be he didn't know, and he just wanted all of the press to go away, but I think he knew.

I'd like to think that means she was being hidden in another country, maybe even with a child, and provided for, and that is also why she was written out of the will.

But I also think her parents' behavior could mean they knew she passed during an abortion they (or her father or boyfriend?) pressured her to get. It's horrific how badly girls and women were treated back then.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Dorothy’s birthday.

 

[Richard]

Today is Dorothy’s birthday.

She would be 139 now.

 

[Romulus]

Has anyone ever thought it might be one of those old UID cases in the Namus database?

 

[AggieLennox]

Her family (Marjorie's grandkids) said that Marjorie had her letters and knew what happened but destroyed the letters. It was always odd that none of her sibilins named a child after Dorothy

 

[Alleykins]

Has anyone ever thought it might be one of those old UID cases in the Namus database?

Yes. I submitted the woman who was found with two children in Vermont back in the 30s. I can't remember what the reply was, but I believe it's posted further back in this thread.

 

[Same Old Stella]

I can't find the newspaper article to save my life; it may be behind a paywall now. Didn't Dr. Meredith and his nurse admit to having killed Dorothy during an abortion gone wrong and disposing of her in the clinic incinerator at his house? I know I read this; does anyone know the article I'm talking about? If so, could you please link it?

 

[dotr]

I can't find the newspaper article to save my life; it may be behind a paywall now. Didn't Dr. Meredith and his nurse admit to having killed Dorothy during an abortion gone wrong and disposing of her in the clinic incinerator at his house? I know I read this; does anyone know the article I'm talking about? If so, could you please link it?

Possibly referenced on page #36.

https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/6273fb93-bb9e-4571-8f4d-9440ccf6af47/content

''A journalist at the paper wrote that “Glennoris told a grisly story of how he and a friend were hired to guard a wealthy youth and an elderly physician in taking Dorothy Arnold from a New Rochelle house unconscious.”109 Glennoris went on to say that he had helped bury her after she died, although what she had died from, he didn't know''