Joan Gay Croft Mystery - What Happened After the Unsolved Mysteries Episode?

By: Shane Lambert

The mystery of Joan Gay Croft is an enduring mystery in missing persons cases. An episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Robert Stack hosting) covered the events surrounding her disappearance. The episode is in Season 6, Episode 1. The following is a summary of the events as told in the episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

Tornado damage. 
By City of Woodward, Oklahoma - https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19470409 (Exact URL & Archived URL), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=134069705

• A strong tornado struck the town of Woodard, Oklahoma in April 1947, killing scores of people in addition to widespread property damage (read about it at Wikipedia);
• One family, the Crofts, loses its mother, the father is badly injured, and the two daughters require hospitalization;
• Joan Gay Croft goes missing while in the hospital when two men in military khakis reportedly make off with her;
• She has not been seen since;
• The embedded video below should be started at the 31:30 mark.

If you are reading this, then you are probably wondering what happened with this case after the Unsolved Mysteries episode? Well, as of July 27th, 2023, Joan Croft still has an active profile at NamUs, meaning she is still missing.

This is a case that I covered independently of the Unsolved Mysteries episode. I wrote about this case in 2020 and watched the television show more recently. I think the points I made in the 2020 article are still relevant for anyone interested in this case.

The Unsolved Mysteries episode does not depict Joan Gay Croft's injuries in the same light as the newspaper coverage from 1947 did. The episode says that Croft had a splinter that was finger-sized in her leg. The journalism at the time says the splinter was broom-handle-sized.

Furthermore, her injuries, according to her Namus profile, were not treated. At least, that's what I wrote in 2020 after reading her profile. As of July 27th, 2023, her profile states the following: "left calf - splinter wound from tornado (not removed prior to abduction)." If the splinter was, in fact, broom-handle sized then who knows what kind of infection could result from having that untreated throughout a couple of days.

Also, the Unsolved Mysteries episode presents her as a fairly well-groomed child huddled in the hospital basement with her sister. The journalism that covered her disappearance back in 1947 said that she had "severe facial abrasions and a possible head injury." She certainly was not in good shape.

Another important point from the 1947 journalism, is that the FBI didn't investigate the case. They didn't have convincing enough proof that an abduction had taken place. Apparently, all the people who spoke in the Unsolved Mysteries episode were credible enough for the show but not for less frivolous matters.

The journalism at the time supports the notion that she died amidst the confusion and may have been buried under an incorrect name. I recommend that readers visit my article on this case but be sure to read the newspaper clippings that are embedded as well. This 'unsolved mystery' about two men in khakis will seem far less mysterious after that.

Unsolved Mysteries isn't a great show when it comes to dealing with facts. In this case, I think that they were trying to captivate more than report.

In fact, in the very same episode as the one that featured Joan Croft's case, they started with a tall tale of a man who had a fear of water. Turns out, as presented in the show, that it was because -- get this -- he was the reincarnation of a submarine sailor who drowned in WWII.

The television series dabbled in all kinds of nonsense. Some people were willing to say whatever they needed to appear on the show. It's also clear that the show was willing to indulge such people and present them in a credible light to captivate the viewing audience.

I'm not saying that journalism can't behave similarly. Then, the question is why didn't they? For those looking at this mystery, the journalism from 1947 is more reasonable than the fanciful Unsolved Mysteries episode.

Conclusion: In my opinion, Joan Gay Croft is probably in the local graveyard as supported by the 1947 journalism.