Venita Holzman Missing: Las Vegas 1963 Mystery Uncovered

Missing Person: Venita Gale Holzman (née Bowers)

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased):

Venita Holzman was last seen in 1963 at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, after working a shift. No vehicle or additional details provided.

Last contact: 1963

NamUs says January 1st of 1963 is when she went missing but "January 1st" is likely just a placeholder date. Her birthdate was July 19th, 1940 and her age at the time of her disappearance was 22. Based on this, presumptively, she was last seen between January 1st, 1963 and July 18th, 1963.

Last location: Las Vegas, Nevada - Flamingo Hotel (modern address is 3555 S. Las Vegas Boulevard)
Age when Venita Holzman disappeared: 22
DOB: July 19th, 1940
Sex: Female
Height in inches: 67
Weight in pounds (lbs): 120
BMI: 18.8 - Healthy weight (calculated to help picture what Venita Holzman might have looked like)
Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Hair color: Red/Auburn
Eye Color: Green
Distinctive Features: None reported
Link to Government Source: NamUs MP143151 (right-click to open)

Discussion page: Websleuths

Unraveling the Mystery: Key Insights and Updates

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: August 17th, 2025

Tonight, I had a look at the enigmatic disappearance of Venita Gale Holzman (née Bowers), a 22-year-old White/Caucasian female who vanished from Las Vegas, Nevada, sometime between January 1st and July 18th, 1963. The disappearance occurred after her shift at the Flamingo Hotel. Unfortunately, there were scant details beyond her workplace exit. I did not find a missing persons report about this case in journalism from the 1960s.

The MP was involved in 1957 divorce filings that did not come to fruition until 1959. She (or someone with the same name and city of residence) was in a minor house fire incident in June 1957, which would have happened in the months after her marriage went south. Zel Holzman, who was her husband (may have been Joseph Zel Holman/November 2nd, 1952 Fresno Bee), is someone she sought divorce from for reasons of extreme cruelty.

I think this Zel Holman was involved in another divorce in 1956 from someone named Joyce Marguerite Holzman. Furthermore, this woman, Joyce Marguerite, was involved in an injurious accident that appeared to involve brake failure around the time of her marriage to Zel turning south. Zel, which could be short for Zelick, and Marg were married from 1951 or 1952 to 1956. Joyce Marguerite reportedly alleged cruelty as the reason for divorce as well.

April 2nd, 1955. The Fresno Bee.

I did consider it eyebrow raising that both Marguerite and Venita were involved in potentially life-threatening incidents around the times of their divorce proceedings to Zel, a car accident and a house fire respectively.

Venita's tumultuous marriage could be set aside because it seemed to be finalized in 1959 and she did not go missing until 1963. However, anytime you see the phrase "extreme cruelty" alleged by a woman who goes missing, I think it's only natural to look at the person that she was talking about.

Yet, if that is set aside in the name of trying to look at the whole picture, Venita appears to have disappeared during her work commute. That is what I am taking the reports of her being last seen at work to mean. Commuters are usually in a fairly predictable pattern, which brings a potential stalker into the equation, someone who could have figured out her patterns and planned accordingly.

Modesto Bee, June 17th, 1957

Modesto Bee, August 2nd, 1957

Reno Gazette Journal, July 9th, 1957

Modesto Bee, April 24th, 1959

July 31st, 1956. Reno Gazette Journal.

December 25th, 1956. The Fresno Bee.

Zel Holman did marry again and he seemed to be involved in a divorce again. He remarried in 1959 and sought a divorce in 1966 with one Bernice L. Holzman. This time he was the one citing cruelty according to the newspaper clipping below.

Venita's missing person report at NamUs was not created until May 4th, 2025. That's a 62-year gap between her last-seen time and the NamUs creation date without any documented missing person report that I could find.

Debra A. Cressotti: Missing from Blandford, MA Since April 30, 1985 - Unsolved Case

Missing Person: Debra A. Cressotti

Aliases: I found that she might have been called Debra B. Cressotti in addition to Debra A. Cressotti. Also, I saw Debra A. Balcom-Cressotti, with the B. presumably standing for Balcom and perhaps that being her maiden name or a name from a previous marriage.

Furthermore, when it came to searching in newspaper databases, I found that I had to use "Deborah" to get some hits.

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Missing from Blandford, Massachusetts.

Last contact: April 30th, 1985 (Tuesday)

Last location: Blandford, Massachusetts

Age when Debra A. Cressotti disappeared: 29

DOB: July 13th, 1955

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 65

Weight in pounds (lbs): 135

• Debra A. Cressotti/s BMI was 22.46. She was at a healthy weight by BMI standards at the time of her disappearance.

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair color: Brown, sometimes worn in ponytail, also sometimes dyed blonde

Eye color: Blue

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Scar on right knee, prior pelvic fracture (this latter injury would likely show in skeletal remains, if found)

Link to Government Source: MP11224 (right-click to open)

Husband or long-time boyfriend: Benjamin J. Cressotti - 

• "I haven't heard from her. She just up and left."
• He also claimed that she had another boyfriend.

Debra and Benjamin were plaintiffs in a legal matter a couple of years before Debra disappeared. The snippet of that runs along the side, taken from the November 29th, 1983 edition of The Republican. 

In some newspaper articles I read, Debra is referred to as Benjamin's wife, but the spelling is "Deborah." In one article, she was described as Benjamin's long-term girlfriend. According to a January 27th, 1995 article Debra took Cressotti's name but they were never legally married. Reportedly, they also had a son together (Nicholas).

Vehicle: Charley Project describes the vehicle that was found at the airport as a "Brown 1975 Chevrolet 210 crew cab pickup truck with the Massachusetts license plate number AE33553 (accounted for)." The picture below is a likeness as opposed to the actual vehicle.

Not the actual vehicle. Generated based on the description.

Websleuths discussion page: Debra A. Cressotti (right-click to open)

A second picture of Debra Cressotti is listed below.

I found lots of classified advertisements that implied or suggested that she was a missing person. However, I only found one newspaper article that explicitly referenced her disappearance. It's below and it came from The Republican on January 27th, 1995.

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Original time of writing: March 8th-15th, 2025

Has Debra A. Cressotti been found?

Debra Cressotti vanished from Blandford, MA, on April 30th, 1985. The circumstances around her disappearance are hard to find online, even when behind paywalls. At least, the circumstances immediately surrounding her disappearance were hard to find. Looking at the broader context, this was someone who had some dangerous associations, in my opinion.

But on the day of her disappearance, her brown 1975 Chevrolet pickup truck was found at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. This was about 30 to 35 miles away from her home. There was no evidence (e.g., flight records) to show she boarded a plane.

I think most of the speculation on this missing person has to do with the location of her vehicle. Did she voluntarily disappear and that's why her vehicle was found at the airport? Or did someone disappear her against her will and then plant her vehicle at the airport so that we'd all think she left on her own account? I hope to reposition the speculation to focus on the strange circumstances involving people in her life both before and after her disappearance date.

In researching this case, I found that it was complicated by fire/arson, legal proceedings, insurance, and the clandestine.

Legal Notice in December 1988 First Available Document Suggesting She's Missing

A legal notice published in the Springfield Republican on December 16th, 1988, confirms that Debra A. Cressotti, missing since April 30th, 1985, from Blandford, Massachusetts, was considered an "absentee" by that date. Her whereabouts were unknown during a probate court proceeding that Benjamin J. Cressotti initiated. However, a 1995 article stated that she had been missing for ten years, which grounds her 1985 disappearance in documentation that is available online.

The 1988 legal matter pertained to a fire insurance claim for a property in Blandford destroyed on February 10th, 1988. The notice, addressing Debra directly to appear in court by January 1989, highlights that over three years after her disappearance, no definitive proof of her fate existed. This supported theories of either voluntary departure or foul play. 

Not Much News Covering Her Disappearance

Usually, when people are missing, there is a news source to consult at about the time of the disappearance. In Cressotti's case, researchers looking for early journalism have to rely on what is implied in classified-advertisement legal notices. That made this case a little bit different to research, however, there are other cases like that.

In the past, I've taken that to mean that no family members were actively pushing for a resolution. I've also thought it has meant police indifference to a disappearance.

1984 Blandford Arson Fire: A Clue in Debra Cressotti’s Disappearance?

The events leading up to Debra's disappearance are what I decided to focus on in this case. A fire, which ended up leading to an arson conviction, was the major event in the year before her disappearance.

Not the actual stallions but indicative of what Appaloosa stallions, mentioned below, looked like.

In April 1984, a fire erupted at a barn on George Millard Road in Blandford, Massachusetts. This fire killed two Appaloosa stallions valued at $10,000 each and caused $180,000 in damage to the property. 

The stallions belonged to Benjamin J. Cressotti, often described as either Debra's husband or long-time boyfriend.  According to the journalism at about that time, he leased space at the barn.

This fire would be designated as arson, according to journalism from April 1985, and that has major implications, in my opinion, for the kind of environment that Debra was in during the time frame leading up to her April 1985 disappearance.

It was hard to find details regarding what happened in her life between April 1984 and April 1985. However, after she disappeared, her husband's nephew, named James Cressotti, ended up convicted of starting the fire by his own admission. He would end up testifying against Benjamin Cressotti but this latter person received an innocent verdict.

At one point, he seemed to be missing himself. Journalism stated that he was thought to be out of the country prior to his trial. The entire timeline of what I could find with Benjamin J. Cressotti and Debra is tabled below.

Debra's Timeline as Tied to Her Disappearance and Benjamin J. Cressotti

Timeline of Events Related to Debra A. Cressotti’s Disappearance

Date	Event
October 13th, 1935	Benjamin J. Cressotti is born in Westfield, Massachusetts (per Find a Grave Memorial ID: 192265445).
July 13th, 1955	Debra A. Cressotti is born (per NamUs MP11224).
1977	Debra marries an unnamed individual (per Websleuths discussions).
1980	Debra divorces her first husband (per Websleuths discussions).
1982	Debra is mentioned in a news article for breeding Shar-Pei dogs (per Websleuths reference).
November 29th, 1983	The Republican publishes a legal notice listing Benjamin and Debra Cressotti as plaintiffs in a legal matter (per earlier discussion).
December 16th, 1983	The Republican publishes two legal notices involving Benjamin and Debra Cressotti. They have a complaint against Katherine Morrell Williams (The Republican, December 16th, 1983).
April 13th, 1984	A fire at a barn on George Millard Road, Blandford, kills two Appaloosa stallions valued at $10,000 each (triple the value to get to 2025 numbers). These horses were owned by Benjamin J. Cressotti. (The Berkshire Eagle, April 14th, 1984). This business would later be reported as owned by Debra and Benjamin, but it didn't seem clear by all sources that that was the case. I believe Katherine Morrell Williams owned the barn.
April 22nd, 1984	The Morning Union reports: the April 13th, 1984, barn fire was ruled “definitely arson” by Fire Chief Thomas Ackley (The Morning Union, April 22nd, 1984).
April 30th, 1985	A year and a week later, we get to the missing person's official missing date. Debra A. Cressotti disappears from Blandford, Massachusetts, at age 29 (per NamUs MP11224). Her brown 1975 Chevrolet 210 pickup truck (license plate AE33553) is found the same day at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, with no evidence she boarded a plane.
February 10th, 1988	A suspicious fire at the Maple Lane house in Blandford, co-owned by Debra and Benjamin, causes $80,000 in damage; the Cressotti family (obviously without Debra) was vacationing (The Republican, March 1st, 1988). The house burns to the ground but no charges are filed against anyone.
December 16th, 1988	The Republican publishes a legal notice confirming Debra A. Cressotti as an absentee, addressing a fire insurance claim for the February 10th, 1988, Maple Lane fire, valued at $132,500 with $17,400 in personal estate (The Republican, December 16th, 1988).
November 16th, 1989	The Republican reports two men—a Blandford man and his nephew from Westfield—are charged with arson and conspiracy for the 1984 barn fire (The Republican, November 16th, 1989).
December 7th, 1989	The Republican reports a warrant issued for Benjamin J. Cressotti for the 1984 barn fire, charging him with arson and conspiracy to defraud an insurer (The Republican, December 7th, 1989).
June 12th, 1990	The Republican reports that James Cressotti pleads guilty to arson and conspiracy for the 1984 fire. It is stated that Benjamin was thought to have left the country. (The Republican, June 12th, 1990).
Post-June 1990 (Likely Late 1990)	The Republican reports Benjamin J. Cressotti surrenders to court, pleading not guilty to arson and conspiracy charges for the 1984 fire (The Republican).
Late 1990/Early 1991	The Republican reports Benjamin J. Cressotti, 54, is found not guilty of conspiracy in the 1984 barn fire, his second acquittal after an earlier not guilty verdict on arson charges; James Cressotti, 33, testified against him (The Republican, date unspecified).
December 30th, 1994	Valle’s Steak House at 77 West St., Springfield, co-owned by Benjamin J. Cressotti, is firebombed (The Republican, January 27th, 1995).
January 27th, 1995	The Republican reports an investigation into the firebombed Valle’s Steak House, noting Benjamin’s co-ownership (The Republican, January 27th, 1995).
February 25th, 1995	The Republican reports that state and federal investigators recently reopened Debra’s 1985 disappearance case; Debra is described as Benjamin’s longtime girlfriend and mother of his son (The Republican, February 25th, 1995).
May 27th, 2004	The Republican publishes a legal notice for a tax foreclosure on the Maple Lane property, listing Debra and Benjamin as absentees, with a response deadline of July 5th, 2004 (The Republican, May 27th, 2004).
August 14th, 2018	Benjamin J. Cressotti dies at 82 in Southwick, Massachusetts, survived by children (including Keith Cressotti), former spouse Janice Cressotti, and others, with no mention of Debra (Find a Grave Memorial ID: 192265445).
March 15th, 2025	Current date, with Debra’s case still unresolved per NamUs (MP11224).

Theories on What Happened to Debra A. Cressottti

When I was finished with this case, I felt that she had been murdered. But there's simply nothing to tilt things heavily one way or another. There's no body, obvious motive, or witness statements that I could find. I felt like I was left with a gut instinct instead of something that clearly shifted my opinion.

I guess if I was to clarify, it has to do with my belief that the vehicle at the airport was a plant. If she was disappearing voluntarily, then I don't think she leaves behind that bread-crumb trail intentionally. Furthermore, the "vehicle at the airport" trick has been done to confuse investigators time and time again.

But could she have run off? I would say, "yes." 

It loomed large that the arson in April 1984 was the last thing that I could find that pertained to her life before she disappeared. This was a major event, the fire at the barn, because it put significant legal forces in motion that would have involved her to some extent. Furthermore, these legal matters were not hidden matters: they made the local news. Her dirty laundry was being aired in the public square.

I also felt that she could leave her situation in Blandford voluntarily, especially since she never legally married Benjamin J. Cressotti. She could walk away without needing a divorce.

On that matter, I did think that she was the type of person that might have aliases and I don't mean nicknames or maiden names. She could have hopped a flight and not left a paper trail, I think.

Her motive for doing that? It could just have been the increasing pressure of the mounting legal situation involving her boyfriend. She did have a son in the picture, but women have left children behind before.

One thing that I felt weakened the murder hypothesis is that I could not find any kind of effort to have Debra declared dead in absentia. I felt like that would have been pursued if someone knew she was dead. There is often a legal benefit to having someone declared legally dead.

At the end of researching this case, I could see that there were some clandestine activities in her circles leading up to her disappearance. But whether she left these voluntarily and simply took the name of a new boyfriend or was disappeared is not clear. I would think any amateurs that know how to research name changes would be able to offer something on this case.

Lastly, I do not think that she committed suicide near the time of her disappearance. If she did, then I don't see how the vehicle got to the airport. Moreover, if she committed suicide then there would be no need for someone to plant the vehicle there.

Mary Anne Wesolowski Missing Since 1971

Author: Shane Lambert

Original Time of Writing: 

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

The case of Mary Wesolowski is the kind of case that takes you in two different directions. From one perspective, you have to wonder if she was abducted. She was last known to be walking to Havilland Cove on the Hudson River. A known abductor, Kenneth Arnold Yarter Jr., didn't work that far away from where Mary lived. With that in mind, it's hard not to think about an abduction.

Wesolowski might also have run away. She left a note for her mother saying "I'm leaving. I might miss you." That's present tense in the first sentence and future tense in the second, the latter indicating a look to an uncertain future. It's an interesting note in that the second sentence communicates mixed emotions for her mother. That certainly hints at problems at home for this child, something that has been communicated at various sources about this case, like at Charley Project.

That site offers a lengthy description of Mary's disappearance. One excerpt states "Some agencies give Mary's name 'Mary Ann' or 'Maryanne.' Interestingly enough I found a woman in northern New York who died in the late 1970's with a name match, regardless of the spacing between Mary and Ann or not. It may be worth a look despite a one-year difference in age.

Missing Person: Mary Wesolowski, aka Mary Anne or Maryann

Last seen or contact date: August 18th, 1971

Where last seen: Glen Falls, New York

Let's assume that Mary ran away. For me, that's a difficult assumption because I have trouble picturing a 13-year old surviving as a runaway. However, people have survived worse so it can't be thrown to the wind. If we assume that she ran away, I think it's safe to assume that she made it a little way out of Glen Falls, New York. Chances are if she stayed put she would have been found. How far could she make it with whatever means she had? Probably not too far. Maybe getting out of New York would have been hard.

Take a look at the following two articles. They both describe the same person and event despite different name spellings and different ages:

Name matches to missing person but Mary Ann Wesolowski but the age is one year off. Tue, Nov 21, 1978 – Page 14 · Poughkeepsie Journal (Poughkeepsie, New York) · Newspapers.com

Tue, Nov 21, 1978 – 3 · The Post-Star (Glens Falls, New York) · Newspapers.com

The problem with the articles is that one describes a "Mary Ann Wesolowski, 21" and the other describes a "Maryann Wesoloswki, 22." Note the difference in spelling of both the first and last names but Wesolowski spelled correctly for Billy. Also, note the different ages. Furthermore, note all the other similarities because they practically eliminate the chance of these two people, "Mary Ann Wesolowski, 21" and "Maryann Wesoloswki, 22" actually being different people. Clearly, the two news articles cover the same event.

Lastly, and importantly, note that our Mary Wesolowski, NamUs #MP2876, was neither 21 nor 22 on November 21st, 1978. She would only have been 20. But it's funny how she was referred to as Maryann and Mary Ann and that's how different agencies described her as well. That the age doesn't match is important -- in fact, in some cases that's a rule out. In this case, I can't ignore the journalism that didn't care to get her age right or name spelled right. Maybe they were working with shoddy sources themselves.

The Mary described in the news articles was likely white. One photo had a picture of the dying Billy, Mary's child, and he was white. It's not a slam dunk to have the same color of skin as one of your parents but the tendencies are real. Our Mary, the missing person, was also white.

Tue, Nov 21, 1978 – 17 · The Herald-Palladium (Saint Joseph, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

For me, this all means that this "Maryann Wesoloswki, 22" or "Mary Ann Wesolowski, 21" should be looked at as a rule-out for Mary Wesolowski, #MP2876. A good idea would be if websleuths or amateurs took to the databases they have memberships for and looked for the Mary that died in this house fire. We're interested in someone with a different birthdate, a different photo, or something that rules her out because the crummy journalism doesn't do that for me.

On the matter, I did look at ancestry.com for the deceased two-year-old Jennifer Wesolowski. I found someone by that name in the Buffalo area that was born in 1976, someone that had an address in N. Tonawanda, New York, USA. I wondered if that was the Jennifer mentioned in the article because the age would match. I'm thinking that this address might be a clue in this case.

If Mary from the housefire is our missing person, then be aware that she did die from the injuries sustained from the fire. This would be about closure and not a reunion.

NamUs # and Link: #MP2876

Wed, Nov 22, 1978 – 2 · Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York) · Newspapers.com

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female

Age at time of disappearance: 13 years old

Hair: Brown to light brown

Eye color: blue

Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 4'6" and 85 pounds

Other: scars -- abdomen and chest; teeth -- crooked in 1971

Clothing: black leather belt, a white t-shirt, and red-and-white shorts

NamUs Mising Persons -- Five Unidentified from Hartford Circus Fire 1944

By: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 11th, 2020

The Hartford Circus Fire was a fire disaster that occurred during the WWII years when, in July of 1944, a small fire broke out at a live circus show. The tent that housed the circus had a coating on it that was meant to waterproof it. One side effect of that was that the tent was hardly fire retardant. In fact, it was a very flammable material as were many of the fixtures used to house the show.

What resulted when a small fire broke out, which may have been due to arson or from a discarded cigarette, was a quickly spreading fire that led to immediate panic among thousands of attendees and performers. Most of these attendees escaped to safety but a combination of chaos, trampling, asphyxiation from smoke inhalation, and burning to death killed 167 people and injured hundreds and hundreds more. The headline below, which is taken from journalism from the day after the fire, states 139 were dead but this was just the preliminary number. The number increased to 167.

Fri, Jul 7, 1944 – 1 · Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com

Not all of the victims who died in this tragedy were identified. In fact, there was a famous missing person case that resulted from this fire. A young girl, who was trampled to death in the panic, went unnamed for several decades. Once known as Little Miss 1565, she was believed to have been Eleanor Emily Cook.

Sun, Jun 23, 1991 – 7 · The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com

At least five people remain unidentified at the time of writing. They are #UP59498, #UP59500,  #UP59502, #UP59503, and #UP59504. If you are looking at a missing person's case with a lead that points to the Hartford, Connecticut area on or in the days leading up to July 6th, 1944, then keep these Jane and John Does in mind. If you are interested in a decent video that reviews the fire, then I watched a good one on Youtube and have it embedded below:

Ricky Jean Bryant (NamUs MP #5890) - Very Likely Dead in Fire

Author: Shane Lambert

I read about the missing-person case of Ricky Jean Bryant tonight and did some research on it using online newspaper databases. I thought, for a short time, maybe she was kidnapped and alive somewhere. However, after researching this case, I think Ricky Jean Bryant simply died in a house fire that occurred the day she went missing. Furthermore, I think it's futile for websleuths or amateur investigators to work on this case any further.

Ricky Jean Bryant, the missing person, disappeared at the age of four in December of 1949 in Wisconsin as the house on her family's farm burned down. As described at Doenetwork.com, the case sounds as though a "tall blonde lady in a new car" kidnapped 'Jeannie' as flames leveled the house.

Jeannie and two of her siblings were home with their grandparents, who also lived on the farm. Ricky's brother, who was 5 years old at the time, remembers leaving Jeannie and their younger sister outside, when a tall blonde lady in a new car, drove up and told him to run to a neighbor's house for help. He said the woman sent him to a home further away and told him the phone wasn't working at the nearby house. When he came back with a neighbor, Jeannie was gone, and the lady and the car were nowhere to be found. The neighbor said she put the children in the family car and then went inside to look for Jeannie. She found the grandmother in the kitchen collecting canned goods, and she said that Jeannie was gone. As the house continued to burn, the neighbor kept searching for Jeannie. Finally, the grandmother told her to stop worrying about Jeannie because she was with relatives.

After the fire, Jeannie's father had the local authorities, state police and the FBI searching the ruins of the fire for any possible human remains. No remains were found during the search and her father searched the property three additional times by himself. Each time he found nothing. He never believed that Jeannie perished in the fire.

The description above leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, the timing seems a little strange.

Ricky's brother, whose name is Forrest, supposedly runs to a neighbor's house to get help, and when he returns the grandmother is in the house collecting canned goods. Seems to me that the house would be burning this entire time and wouldn't be safe enough to enter. I do find the story details strange and I find it strange that the grandmother, who is one Mrs. Casper Halverson, would advise stopping looking for Jeannie as though canned goods were more important.

One major fact that I did not ignore during my research was that, according to the original journalist back in 1949, Jeannie was considered dead in the fire. The Daily Tribune out of Wisconsin Rapids on December 21st, 1949 calls Jean Bryant "the little girl who lost her life as fire destroyed the Bryant farm dwelling" (no author listed).

Mrs. Casper Halverson, the grandmother, reportedly got the children out of the house and then climbed a ladder to rescue her husband, "an invalid," from "an upstairs bedroom." If there was a time frame where Mrs. Halverson was preoccupied with getting that ladder, setting it, climbing it, and getting her husband out of the house while Forrest went for help then that leaves the two-year-old child and Jeannie unsupervised. For those playing the entire scenario out, be sure to include a scene in your mind where the invalid grandfather suffers burns to his body: his rescue was a narrow one and certainly would have had Mrs. Halverson's undivided attention.

Could be that the four-year-old Ricky Jean Bryant wandered back into the house while unsupervised. Why wouldn't she? If the grandmother felt that it was safe enough to retrieve canned goods then a part of the house might have looked safe to a four-year-old. Then maybe Mrs. Halverson just assumed that Jeannie was in safe hands when she was able to face the issue.

A big part of this missing-person case is that the Doenetwork says no human remains were found in the fire. The Daily Tribune article might contradict that: it says that "bone particles" that were found "were sent to the state crime laboratory" for testing and that the fire was hot enough to melt metal.

As for the father not believing that his daughter had died in the fire, it's not something to criticize him for. The death of a child is hard to accept. You might settle on remote possibilities instead. In fact, I have a great deal of experience talking with people and/or reading reports that include opinions of loved ones in regard to their missing relatives. Sometimes people think that someone is alive in lieu of much-much more likely scenarios. It seems that the death of a loved one is just unfaceable for some.

NamUs MP #5890 · Wed, Dec 21, 1949 – 9 · Eau Claire Leader (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com

My guess is that the fire cremated Ricky Jean Bryant. I'm aware that skeletons usually survive house fires but I wonder if that's the case for such young victims, victims who might not have completely developed bones of adult volume. The elephant in the room, in this case, is that firefighters heard screams that originated from inside the house, ones that were attributed to a little "tyke."

Take it or leave it, but I think this missing person will be missing for all time and that those researching this mystery should focus their efforts elsewhere. That Ricky Jean Bryant died in a fire and that her parents had trouble accepting that is, in my opinion, much more likely than a tall-blonde woman of mystery kidnapping the girl as the house burned down. That would be one on-the-spot child abductor operating in a hurry with witnesses both already present on the scene and converging on the scene.

This is not a good case for Websleuths or amateurs to be working on at all. Make sure you aren't being too imaginative or fanciful when trying to think of leads. You could spend loads of time with basically a 0% chance of producing any kind of results.

NamUs MP #5890 · Wed, Dec 21, 1949 – Page 1 · The Daily Tribune (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com

NamUs MP #5890 · Wed, Dec 21, 1949 – Page 1 · Green Bay Press-Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com