NY NY - Mary Lou Bostwick, Teen, Waverly, 17 July 1972

[spartanx]

I wonder how they were able to justify this and if they were suspected by LE at some point
But I have the feeling that since she was a teenager, and it was the 70's, they probably didn't investigate too much into this case and probably believed she was "just another runaway"

In those years I can imagine the number of murders and unsolved crimes, the police overwhelmed by so much work, I think it is easier to say that she is a 'fugitive' and leave it as it was, knowing that it would be impossible to find her... I have the impression that That still happens and depending on the difficulty of the case, they have suspects, etc. The police actively intervene in the case or they let it go...
what do you think?

 

[Megsc]

In those years I can imagine the number of murders and unsolved crimes, the police overwhelmed by so much work, I think it is easier to say that she is a 'fugitive' and leave it as it was, knowing that it would be impossible to find her... I have the impression that That still happens and depending on the difficulty of the case, they have suspects, etc. The police actively intervene in the case or they let it go...
what do you think?

Oh definitely
It also the depends on the kid's skin color, what neighboorhood he's coming from (rich or poor), and many other factors...
Imo the people she went babysitting are somehow involved in her disappearance or atleast they have some knowledge about what happened to her

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Mary Lou’s birthday.

 

[theshadow45]

Mary Lou has been missing for 53 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Mary Lou’s birthday.

 

[DD Byrd]

This reads as since Mary Lou was a friend of the people who needed babysitting she might have had her own key. Is there a chance she let herself in, put her stuff in a guest room closet or somewhere not immediately visible and then went out again for food, a toy for the child, etc? She could have been abducted on an errand. That would explain her stuff being there and the claims she never arrived.

As for 3 days, that fits with having a change of clothes. It also makes sense her mother wouldn't be concerned until she arrived with the cake. This was before answering machines and obviously texting all day. People just didn't have tabs on each other (even their teen children) the way they might now.

What's interesting is if she really never showed, those friends are down a babysitter. Is it more likely they assumed ML had something come up and weren't concerned as they were only soft plans or that they would've started calling her mother right away so they could get on with leaving their kid/s with someone. I could see a scenario where the friends are running late to wherever they're going and ML hasn't shown so they call Becky from next door who agrees to sit for them on short notice. They might be either miffed or completely unfazed, we don't know ML's reliabilty or if she got sick a lot and was prone to cancelling, etc. You wouldn't leap to ML is missing and still will be 50+ years from now. You might settle Becky in and go.

I would like to know where ML's clothes were. If she carried a wallet, was it with the clothes?