Missing Kids and Their Bicycles - Cases of Dario Cicolecchia, Janice Pockett, and Others

Also by Shane Lambert

Down and Out in the Canadian Rockies

A Worker's Odyssey in a Canadian Rockies Resort Town

🇨🇦 Amazon.ca 🇺🇸 Amazon.com

By: Shane Lambert
Original publication date: November 15th, 2019

Season 2 of Forensic Files included an episode (Episode 12) that offers key insights for those studying missing persons cases. The episode covers the 1993 disappearance of Dario Cicolecchia, a boy in Switzerland, whose case led to a murderer’s capture. Post-capture, the murderer made revealing statements about his methods. This case provides a tiny nugget of information that I think is worth considering for similar mysteries.

AI-generated image

Dario Goes Missing: Secluded Area, Unwittingly Leaves Trail for Pedophile to Follow

Dario went missing after leaving home on a bicycle to go fishing. He was later found dead and mutilated in a Swiss cornfield. Forensic medicine revealed he was drowned, with diatoms (one-celled organisms found in water) in his lungs. These diatoms matched a nearby creek, pinpointing the murder location. Importantly, these diatoms were also found in the suspect’s car, linking the victim, car, and crime scene.

The convicted murderer, Roland Kubler, was featured in the *Forensic Files* episode “Micro-clues” (December 18, 1997), which examined his actions. I used to have a link to the episode available on this webpage; however, links die over the years. If you look on YouTube for the episode and find it, feel free to share it in the comments. The keywords are going to be "Micro-clues" and "Forensic Files," in particular with "Roland Kubler" and "Dario Cicolecchia" supporting search phrases.

Note the Bicycle in this Case: It Acts As a Trail to Follow

Kubler claimed he spotted Dario’s bicycle near the road, signaling a young boy nearby. This triggered his actions, leading to Dario’s murder. Kubler didn’t actively seek bicycles but stumbled upon one during other activities.

This is notable because other missing children cases, where only bicycles are found, may follow a similar pattern. A visible bicycle could act as a trigger for a predator in a secluded area, even if the predator is not actively in stalker mode.

Is Roland Kübler Now Dead?

Yes, according to a writer named Rolina Loliva. Roland Kübler died in 2017 while imprisoned in Lenzburg, Switzerland. A 2019 report by Schaffhauser AZ states that Kübler died of his illness while in custody. The report also notes that, by that time, he had been transferred to Lenzburg prison and had been suffering from hepatitis C.

A separate account of the Swiss missing-person cases likewise reports that Kübler died in prison in May 2017, reportedly from hepatitis C. Kübler cannot be questioned about later allegations against him, including the 1984 disappearance of Joachim Bruckauf, which emerged after his death.

Janice Pockett Left Her Bicycle Visible Before Disappearing

Janice Pockett, missing from Tolland, Connecticut since July 26, 1973, rode her green banana-seat bicycle to a wooded area to retrieve a butterfly. Her bike was found near a road, but she vanished. This mirrors Dario’s case, suggesting a predator may have noticed her bike, prompting an investigation of the area.

Vicki Lynn Hoskinson Disappearance: A Child’s Bicycle is a Clue Again

In another case, Vicki Lynn Hoskinson (*Forensic Files* Season 3, Episode 11, “Speck of Evidence”) left a bicycle behind, as noted in a recent article. A child’s bicycle may act as an ‘advertisement’ to a predator, suggesting a young person nearby. In non-family abductions, items like bicycles, scooters, or skateboards could be key clues, indicating a serial predator noticed them.

This pattern suggests victims were pursued rather than randomly encountered. For more related mysteries, see: Women With Car Troubles Go Missing | Missing Person Phenomenon -- Bloodhounds Tracking Ends at Roadside

Support more mystery content! Consider donating to keep this blog going.

Jacqueline Winfred Kinney (NamUs MP#23628) - Case details

NamUs doesn't have a lot of information posted for those looking at the case of Jacqueline Kinney. The site says she went missing on December 5th, 1969 from Canton, Connecticut. At time of writing, 50 years are about to pass since she went missing. I've decided that 50 years is my deadline for working on a MP's case so I thought I'd give her case an hour of research tonight.

From Namus:

• She was 35 when she went missing
• She was 5'4"
• She was 150 pounds
• Last known location was 41.8534128,-72.88699299999999
• Red/auburn hair, blue eyes
• Surgery-related scar on right side of abdomen
• Scar on back of her left leg below the knee
• Vaccination scar on one of her legs above the knee

Information I gathered from reading articles in historical newspaper articles:

• From The Hartford Courant. September 2nd, 1977. Page 5.
• She was of 7 High Street, Collinsville section
• Her husband's name was Gerald; he reported her missing on December 8th, which is three days after she was last seen
• She was reported missing from her home
• The police searched around a place called "the old Werner homestead" for her after receiving a tip they wouldn't elaborate on in the fall of 1977 (nearly eight years after she was last seen)
• Family didn't think she would run off
• From The Hartford Courant. September 18th, 1977. Page 3.
• They stopped searching "the old Werner homestead" for her

Note: vanished December 5th according to NamUs.
December 8th was when she was reported missing.

• From The Hartford Courant. Feb 2, 1979. Page 2.
• The police sought a warrant for her murder.
• No name of the suspect given but he was called "a man who once lived in Canton and who knew Mrs. Kinney."
• Same article says the husband, who reported her missing three days after she was last seen, was reported to be living in Maine as of September 1977 (maybe Bridgewater, Maine)

Trenny Gibson (Namus #MP4524) - Food for thought and comparisons

By: Shane Lambert

The missing person's case of Trenny (Teresa) Lynn Gibson is one of the most puzzling missing person's cases from the 1970s. Trenny was a part of a school field trip on October 8th, 1976 near a site called Clingsman Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She went missing from a trail at about 3pm despite being part of a large group of classmates taking the trail. She has not been heard from since.

Those thinking about this case should be aware of the case of Phillip Roman in 1994. He went missing near Clingsman Dome as well. He was found three days later alive and well but there are still some pointers about the trails near Clingsman Dome that should be noted.

Roman was only 20 feet away from his father on the trail when he went missing. He was 10 years old and looking for a shortcut to the parking lot. The "tangled mess" of the area then caused him to get lost. The impression I get of the area is that a short off-trail excursion might have major implications. The area sounds like one where any kind of diversion could disorient you quickly.

News-Press Dec. 30, 1994. Page 28.

One scenario with Trenny is that maybe she went off-trail voluntarily, perhaps for a bathroom break, or perhaps to try and find a shortcut to the parking lot. If she was doing either of these, she might do so quietly and covertly. If she was looking for a shortcut, then she might have understood that this would be frowned upon by the field trip's leadership.

Emma Lorene Vaughn (#MP7091) - Case details

Emma Lorene Vaughn's date of last contact is July 10th, 1982 according to NamUs. According to some newspaper clippings from 1982, the date was actually July 1st, 1982. The contradiction might be relevant. It's possible the news agencies had the date wrong too but websleuths should be open to considering Jane Does found in the nine days between July 1st, 1982 and July 10th, 1982.

Here are the articles:

Tallahassee Democrat, May 26th, 1985

Feb. 21, 1982. The Palm Beach Post.