WI Victor Travis, Plainfield, 42, November 1, 1952, possible Ed Gein connection

[ventport]

The issue here is erroneous info from Gollmar's book; the Lars Thompson farm in the period Travis disappeared was in Hancock, not Plainfield. In concert with the 'Dick Travis' name in Gollmar's book, that source is loaded with errors outside of the trial information.

Also RE post #1, the '50 Olds was 'Rays' car, not Travis's.

 

[Quoththeraven]

The issue here is erroneous info from Gollmar's book; the Lars Thompson farm in the period Travis disappeared was in Hancock, not Plainfield. In concert with the 'Dick Travis' name in Gollmar's book, that source is loaded with errors outside of the trial information.

Also RE post #1, the '50 Olds was 'Rays' car, not Travis's.

Newspapers show Lars Thomsen lived in Hancock in 1951 after moving from Racine. Newspapers also show Lars Thomsen had a farm in Plainfield in 1952. He and his wife then moved to Wautoma in 1954. He died in Wautoma in 1969.

An article from 1961 states that the investigation was reopened and that the Thomsen farm was never searched for his body. The article also states his dog was found there running loose. Wisconsin State Journal Tue, Sep 05, 1961 Page 9 The article said that Travis and 'Burgess' had first met in a Big Flats bar in mid-October, 1952. Mrs Ben Travis and children had lived in Big Flats at one time. Travis' mother said Travis had two threats made against his life by a man whose identity was known, but he was never questioned. Sloppy police work.

 

[cenazoic]

that source [Gollmar’s book] is loaded with errors outside of the trial information.

Agreed, and I say that as someone with only casual knowledge of Gein. But since I‘m more familiar with many of the missing persons of the area and time period, the errors I saw there made me question all of it. Very careless fact-checking, for sure.

 

[Quoththeraven]

According to the article below, 'Ray Burgess' car was found. Many articles say both Burgess and his car were never found.

The third article below from the Chicago Tribune, Sat, Jan 26, 1963, page 46 mentions a Chicago gangster, James DeGeorge, who lived in Big Flats, WI, 20 miles away from Plainfield, WI and whose son, Dominic DeGeorge, was a friend of Victor Travis. Dominic was killed in a drunk driving accident involving Victor Travis. The gangster blamed Travis for his son's death. IMO, this was the person that Travis' mother alluded to when she said that somone with a grudge had her son Victor killed. She wouldn't say at the time of the disappearance who that person was.

This can be the only logical explanation explaining the disappearance of Victor Travis. I'd have to question the sheriff's statement that Burgess' car was found near Gein's property. And other articles say that Travis' vehicle was left by the bar when he left with Burgess.

Sources: All three excerpts from articles below are from Newspapers.com.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

It’s been termed its most harrowing series of Monster yet, and with Ed Gein as its focus, it’s no surprise that it's back in the headlines. While series one covered Jeffrey Dahmer and season two focused on the Menendez brothers, Gein’s name isn’t immediately known, Yet his gruesome crimes have inspired the fictional likes of Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho’s Norman Bates.

When police raided Gein’s home in the 1950s after arresting him, they were so shocked at what they found, it must have stayed with them until the end of their days.

The missing woman they were searching for had been decapitated and was hanging by her ankles inside the property. They also discovered that he’d collected human organs and skulls and fashioned clothing and accessories out of human skin. He’d even made a lampshade from a dead person’s face and created chairs upholstered with skin.

Human lampshades and bone ornaments – the horrifying true story behind Monster's Ed Gein on Netflix

You already know Ed Gein, you just didn't realise it.

www.aol.com

 

[Quoththeraven]

According to the article below, 'Ray Burgess' car was found. Many articles say both Burgess and his car were never found.

The third article below from the Chicago Tribune, Sat, Jan 26, 1963, page 46 mentions a Chicago gangster, James DeGeorge, who lived in Big Flats, WI, 20 miles away from Plainfield, WI and whose son, Dominic DeGeorge, was a friend of Victor Travis. Dominic was killed in a drunk driving accident involving Victor Travis. The gangster blamed Travis for his son's death. IMO, this was the person that Travis' mother alluded to when she said that somone with a grudge had her son Victor killed. She wouldn't say at the time of the disappearance who that person was.

This can be the only logical explanation explaining the disappearance of Victor Travis. I'd have to question the sheriff's statement that Burgess' car was found near Gein's property. And other articles say that Travis' vehicle was left by the bar when he left with Burgess.

Sources: All three excerpts from articles below are from Newspapers.com.

View attachment 631222View attachment 631223View attachment 631224

One might also speculate whether it was a coincidence that since (1) Burgesses' vehicle was found within 1/2 mile of the Gein farm (some newspaper accounts state his car was left at the bar where he and Burgess had been drinking beofre they disappeared) and (2) Travis's vehicle was found within a few feet of the spot where Gein loaded up Mrs. Worden's body into his pickup, could Ed Gein have been responsible for their disappearances?

We also have to wonder how close the sheriff was to the mobster(s) operating in his county (a common theme with Chicago mobsters living in northern Wisconsin.) "Many of these gangsters were considered "VIPs" in local, less-regulated areas in Wisconsin, often throwing, or being honored with, lavish parties." ~AI) And whether the sheriff set the narrative by associating the Travis/Burgess case with the Gein case rather than a revenge killing by a mobster with a grudge. After all, none of these disappearances were ever solved. Including the Gein case where many of the bodies that were found were never properly identified. They speculated that they were all dug up from graves, left it at that and never investigated further. I believe I ran across a newspaper article stating that most of the evidence from the Gein farm was loaded up into the back of a dump truck and shipped off to Madison. I wonder what ever happened to it?

I lean toward a mob hit in the Victor Travis case. Not specifically by De George, but by a mob enforcer from Chicago. For De George.

Another similar unsolved case that comes to mind was the Joan Bue Butterbach case where the sheriff gave conflicting statements in the press and was the focus of the investigation later on in the investigation.

Found Deceased - WI - Joan Bue Butterbach, Oct 5, 1971, Tainter Lake, Menomonie, WI, wife of ex-CIA agent *cold case*