TX TX - Scott 'Andy' Sims, 11, Wichita Falls, 9 Dec 1961

  • #21
OT - Jane In OZ -would you do a side by side using the picture you did for Scott with Mark's picture at this link: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/468dmca.html

I would greatly appreciate it. Sorry to hijack the thread.

Salem
 
  • #22
OT - Jane In OZ -would you do a side by side using the picture you did for Scott with Mark's picture at this link: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/468dmca.html

I would greatly appreciate it. Sorry to hijack the thread.

Salem

Salem we don't mind the hijack. I think there is a side by, somewhere on one of these threads, I'll see if I can find it for you, it could be it is just in the doc. files that RK has, but I'll look and let you know. And Salem, thank you, if Andy is not BK, I'll start a separate thread for him in missing.


Salem there is a side by post #24 in the Photo Comparison Thread

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55629

but they are small photos, I like the bigger ones, for the old eyes.
 
  • #23
ASims.jpg


Doe Network - http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3942dmtx.html

NamUs - https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/4667/0/

Charley Project - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/sims_scott.html
 
  • #24
  • #25
Bumping
 
  • #26
Where there any known pedophiles in the area? I read an article that said there were older kids going around picking on miltary kids-Andy's stepdad was in the National Guard. Also, any chance he fell into the cave that he liked to play near?
 
  • #27
I found this link http://truecrimediva.com/scott-sims/

and also an older link where His Stepbrother was looking for him. I did not copy everything but here is some

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...er-47-years-after-boy-vanished-in-1589165.php

Andy, who was in the fifth-grade at Jefferson Elementary School, lived at 4600 Stanford, a corner house tucked into a quiet neighborhood not far from what today is Southwest Parkway. That part of town has developed a lot since the early 1960s when it was a newer suburban area still surrounded by dairy and pasture land.

Andy was home with his brother Donald, who was older by a year, that morning while their mother, Ellen, a nurse, was working. The boys' stepfather, William Sims, was in the National Guard and had been called up with the 49th Armored Division to go to Fort Polk, La., during the Berlin crisis.

Saturday morning dawned with fog ghosting across Wichita Falls, but about the time Andy — dressed for winter in a coat and knit cap — was said to have gone outside to play early in the afternoon, bits of blue sky were starting to peek through the clouds.

Any other day, Andy might have ridden his bicycle; but on that day, it was broken.
The temperature broke briefly from the colder, drizzly weather that had settled over the area. The mercury spiked into the 50s before frigid winds rattled it down to freezing by the next morning. The cold would seize the city for days, the chill not letting up as volunteers, many summoned by pleas on television broadcasts, joined law enforcement and emergency workers in massive but fruitless searches for Andy.

That same Saturday, hundreds of miles away in California, Steve Douglass turned 2, unaware as he would be for decades that Andy Sims existed, and that Andy was his older half brother.
Growing up, Douglass knew his father had been married before. He knew his father had a son, Donald, but didn't come across the first mention of Andy until he started researching his family's history after his father, Donald Ace Douglass Sr., who was Andy's biological father, died in 2001.
Steve Douglass, who lives in Gahanna, Ohio, and is retired from the police force there, traveled to Wichita Falls this year with longtime colleague and friend Becky Wolfe to see what they might be able to learn about Andy's life and disappearance.
Douglass doesn't hold out much hope for finding Andy, who would now be a 58-year-old man, alive. He is prepared for the probability of a far less favorable outcome, one many others share.
"As a police officer, I find it very difficult to believe that he simply wandered off and succumbed to the elements and they never found a body,"
Douglass said.

Wichita Falls police, who were first notified that Andy was missing about 8 p.m. Dec. 9, 1961, also still hope to learn what happened to him, mainly to bring whatever closure they can to Andy's family, said Sgt. Bill Henning, who supervises the Criminal Investigation Section.
Andy was home between noon and 12:30 p.m. that Saturday when Ellen Sims called the house and talked to Donald, the investigation showed. Donald reported Andy left the house between 12:45 and 1 p.m. to go out to play, Detective Tony Fox said.
"That was the last time he was actually seen by anyone," Fox said.
Fox has taken the lead on the decades-old case, which is still an open investigation. The documents from the 1961 police work add up to a stack a couple of inches thick.
Ellen Sims returned home about 2:30 p.m. She had done some shopping, the case records showed.
Members of Andy's family were the first to search for him. The boys' mother sent Donald out to look for his brother, and other family members joined in the unsuccessful search.
The family called the police about 8 p.m., and later called again.
Andy's disappearance is classified, as it has always been, as a missing person case with the Wichita Falls Police Department.
"We're currently re-looking at the case," Henning said.

Although some of the information was probably lost with people who have since died, there are still people living today who might hold key details; and investigators hope to have another chance to see if they can help piece together what really happened that December nearly five decades ago.
Detectives received information over the years, but not really any new leads. They want to see if memories now might be able to unlock some new paths to investigate. Sometimes, people remember a vital piece of information after a case has gone cold. Perhaps that detail didn't seem to mean much at the time. Other times, people want to tell something they held back at the time, something they might have been afraid or reluctant to share, or something they have lived with over the years that they want to get off their chests now.
Fox has been able to talk with some of the original officers who worked on the case.
"It's really good to be able to call those guys," he said.
It didn't take more than a few words — a child who disappeared in 1961 for the case to register.
Andy.

"He knew the name," Henning said of one of the investigators.
Just as there are cases Henning and Fox will never forget, the same thing holds true for their predecessors, Fox said
"Some cases just kind of touch at you, draw at your heartstrings," he said. Andy's was one of those. He was there one day and gone the next. There was no crime scene, no tangible evidence, Trainham said.

Andy merely vanished; and although the investigators at the time had their suspicions about what happened to him, without being able to pinpoint exactly where he might be, it was impossible to say for sure what happened, impossible to recover any remains, Trainham said.
There were a lot of searches, he remembered.
"The initial investigation was very thorough," Fox said.


One person reported seeing someone who matched Andy's description at the Boy Scout Hut near Lake Wichita about 3 p.m. Dec. 9, just a few hours after Andy left his house.

Lake Wichita was searched several times, and it was dragged, Fox said. Still no sign of Andy.
The surrounding neighborhoods, which were undergoing quite a bit of development, held plenty of places to look; but nothing turned up any trace of Andy despite searches by land and by air. A helicopter flew over the area, offering a new look at the scenery.
Some of Andy's friends told police he liked to play in some caves near Fairway Boulevard, but checks there turned up nothing.
Patrol officers brainstormed, thinking of people they knew who might harm children. Detectives talked to people who in those days were known to "have a liking for children." They visited the jail to follow up on information from conversations

The tools detectives had at their fingertips were far different than the ones they have today. Cell phones wouldn't come into their hands for a few decades still, and land-line long distance calls were expensive but necessary to keep connected with agencies outside the city that might be able to offer some insight. E-mail also didn't exist, so any written correspondence took longer.
Still, the efforts stretched far from home. The department connected with agencies in the area and across state lines as authorities worked to track down any trace of Andy Sims.

One report suggested the boy might have wanted to visit his grandparents in Little Rock, Ark. He never turned up there.
People reported sightings in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri; and investigators followed up on all of those tips, Fox said. The FBI became involved as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety. Andy was listed in a missing persons bulletin, much like the ones DPS issues today.

Andy's family had lived in Wichita Falls for just a short time.
Before he left for his military duties, Bill Sims, the boys' stepfather, taught English at Midwestern University.
Bill Sims welcomed Ellen Sims' boys into his world, getting to know them even when they were young, his widow, Janie Sims, said. Janie and Bill married after Bill and Ellen divorced in the early 1980s. Bill Sims died in August. Janie Sims described reading some of his diaries from the days when he was dating Ellen. He would baby-sit her boys, and she knew that he had always liked Andy.
"Bill always said he was a sweet kid," Janie Sims said.
He didn't tend to talk a lot about that time in his life, she said.
Photographs of Andy show a little boy with a bright smile that didn't fade as he grew older.

Their birth father moved to California and was settled into marriage and family life, which included Steve.
Donald Douglass Sr. and Ellen Sims had married in their teens, and they divorced while the boys were young, Steve Douglass learned as he delved into his family's past.

As he started his research, he didn't expect to feel a connection to the half brother he never knew, but Andy has become a member of his family.
He noticed the resemblance as he studied pictures he has received. He saw a picture of his father as a child, and looking at that one next to his own and photographs of Andy, he sees striking similarities.
"When I was his age, we looked a lot alike," Steve Douglass said.
He wants to learn as much as he can about the older half brother he grew up not knowing he had.
"I get the impression he was a very active kid," Douglass said during his trip to Wichita Falls.
He also came across some information indicating that Andy had been involved a couple years earlier in a traffic accident that had left him with some lasting effects.

Hoping for the best
Andy was a Tenderfoot the first rank in Scouting and new to Boy Scout Troop 22, of which Bill Fortune was the cubmaster.
Fortune is still involved with Scouting and that troop today.
As Wichita Falls was getting ready for Christmas that December, the Scouts were making preparations for a campout despite the cold weather. Andy disappeared a short time before his troop was supposed to have gone on that outing.
People searched the grounds the scouts used, traveling the area on horseback and looking in buildings, but they didn't find anything.
The boys, who were prepared for their night of camping, still went on the outing; and they just hoped Andy would show up, Fortune said.
"But he didn't," he said.
 
  • #28
http://www.trackmissing.org/Cases/Details/120

Status
Missing
Date Missing
12/09/1961

Date of Birth
7/1/1950
Age (then)
11
Age Now (would be)
67
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
White
Hair color
Blond
Eye color
Blue
Height
4'11"
Weight
90 lbs.
Aliases
Andy
Characteristics
Glasses.
Clothing
A black coat over a black turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and a black knit cap.

City
Wichita Falls
County
Wichita
State
Texas
0231123[1].jpg
 
  • #29
I have been reading up on Andy and there are a couple of articles that mentioned he was seen by the Boy Scout troop place. Then I read that someone there said they thought he was picked up by a family member when he was at the Boy Scout Troop. I was thinking someone at the boy scout troop had something to do with it. Also the Boy Scouts went out on a camping trip right after he went missing. I wonder if he was dumped out there wherever they went camping. Just thinking out loud.


I also came across this page its filled with many abuse case that pertain to the Boy Scouts 2 of them stuck out because they were in Wichita Falls TX. I checked out these guys.. they would of been around 14 and lived in Wichita Falls. one lives in Florida now. Ok what I was thinking maybe these guys were in the same troop as Andy... again Just some thought

http://www.kosnoff.com/BSA-perversion-by-name.pdf

#226
02/20/91 Ronald Eugene Bussey 18 17-T WichitaFalls TX Janitor for elementary school investigated for indecency with children. Registration denied.

#239
05/08/87 Bruce K. Callahan 966 120-T Wichita Falls TX He was apparently charged in June ’87 with molesting a youth. Handwritten statement from the victim shows that he put his arm around the youth and then touched him.
 
  • #30
Sad story.
 
  • #31
Where are you Scott-y boy? :(

Current list of exclusions for Scott per NamUs:
UP1722 12/15/1988 Collin TX
UP2570 07/19/1988 San Bernardino CA
UP6738 05/20/2009 Will IL (link not accessible)
UP11893 10/10/2013 Will IL
UP12854 05/23/2014 Cuyahoga OH

UP10941 09/18/1973 Caroline VA
UP9383 03/04/1975 Albemarle VA
UP6700 07/01/1975 Amherst VA
UP9399 01/09/1983 Caroline VA
UP6301 11/10/1988 Caroline VA
UP6513 01/01/1990 Brunswick VA
UP6530 05/18/1990 Chesterfield VA
UP2229 09/28/1990 Stafford VA

UP6304 08/01/1993 Clarke VA
UP6149 01/22/1996 Halifax VA
UP6469 11/26/2005 Falls Church VA
UP11170 01/26/2005 Accomack VA
UP6637 10/07/2006 Fairfax VA
UP6278 07/05/2007 Botetourt VA
UP6639 07/28/2007 Fairfax VA
UP14518 04/03/2010 Shenandoah VA
UP9805 11/26/2011 Lee VA
UP12242 01/28/2014 Henrico VA
UP14360 08/14/2015 Bland VA

 
  • #32
  • #33
Dec 7 2020
Crime Of The Week: Cold case missing person last seen in 1961 | Texomashomepage.com
andy-sims11101.jpg

''On December 9, 1961, 11-year-old Andy Sims vanished after he went outside to play around 1 p.m. in the 4600 block of Stanford Avenue.

At the time of his disappearance, Andy weighed 90 pounds and was four feet and eleven inches tall with blond hair and blue eyes.

Andy was last seen wearing a black turtleneck, black jacket, blue jeans and a black knit cap.

The police have very little information about this crime and could use your help.

If you have any information about this crime or any other felony crime, you’re urged to call Crime Stoppers 24 hours a day at (940) 322-9888.

If you’re calling long distance, call 1 (800) 322-9888''.
 
  • #34
Scott Andreas Sims – The Charley Project

Last updated December 13, 2020; picture added, details of disappearance updated.


Scott Andreas Sims
  • scott_andreas_sims_1.jpg
  • sims_scott2.jpg

Details of Disappearance
Scott was last seen in Wichita Falls, Texas on the afternoon of December 9, 1961. He was alone with his older brother at their home in the 4600 block of Stanford Avenue when he went to go play outside sometime between 12:45 and 1:00 p.m. He has never been heard from again. His mother returned home at 2:30 p.m. and couldn't find Scott. The family searched for him for over five hours before reporting his disappearance to police at 8:00 p.m.

Scott and his family had lived in Wichita Falls for only a short time prior to his disappearance. He and his brother lived with their mother and stepfather and had taken their stepfather's last name; their biological father lived with his second wife in California in 1961.

Scott was a fifth-grade student at Jefferson Elementary School and was in the Boy Scouts. He apparently vanished without a trace; very little evidence is available as to his fate. However, police believe he was the victim of a homicide.
 
  • #35
9C7143A1-44FE-4AB4-8CF0-7E9A2D43C21F.jpg
I think this is Andy, do we know if a comparison has been done or not???
 
  • #36
Anniversary of disappearance today.

1209.jpg
 
  • #37
  • #38
Maybe someone followed the family home after seeing them out on their errands and took advantage of Andy being alone while walking?
 
  • #39
Dec 31 2023
1704032573920.png

''Andreas Scott "Andy" Sims, an 11-year-old fifth grader at Jefferson Elementary School, vanished from his home in the 4600 block of Stanford Street on Dec. 9, 1961.

Sims and his brother had been watching TV when Sims said he wanted to go outside. His mother reported him missing after she arrived home from work at a medical clinic.

The boy wore glasses and suffered from the effects of an accident earlier in his life. Despite widespread searches, and the dragging of nearby Lake Wichita, Sims was never found. His is the oldest active cold case in Wichita County.

Anyone with knowledge about any missing persons is asked to contact Wichita Falls Crimestoppers at 940-322-9888 or the appropriate law enforcement agency.''
 
  • #40
Dec 31 2023
View attachment 471185
''Andreas Scott "Andy" Sims, an 11-year-old fifth grader at Jefferson Elementary School, vanished from his home in the 4600 block of Stanford Street on Dec. 9, 1961.

Sims and his brother had been watching TV when Sims said he wanted to go outside. His mother reported him missing after she arrived home from work at a medical clinic.

The boy wore glasses and suffered from the effects of an accident earlier in his life. Despite widespread searches, and the dragging of nearby Lake Wichita, Sims was never found. His is the oldest active cold case in Wichita County.

Anyone with knowledge about any missing persons is asked to contact Wichita Falls Crimestoppers at 940-322-9888 or the appropriate law enforcement agency.''
Oh wow Iowa Park is Not That far from Standford Street where Andy went missing from.

I wonder if the brother was older or younger?
I wonder if the brother remembers anyone being too friendly or any strangers or strange cars around leading to Andys disappearance. I wonder if the Andy and his brother hung out together all the time? Just some thoughts which Iam sure have been asked throughout the years.
 
Last edited:

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
129
Guests online
2,711
Total visitors
2,840

Forum statistics

Threads
632,624
Messages
18,629,272
Members
243,224
Latest member
Mark Blackmore
Back
Top