D.B. Cooper Mystery - YouTube Videos Recount Hijacking Details, Speculates on Identity

By: Shane Lambert

The 50th anniversary of the D.B. Cooper mystery came and went in November of 2021. One of the great "whodunit" mysteries from the last century is from a plane highjacking in 1971.

The FBI has yet to solve the mystery and they don't seem to be too active in cracking this case at this point, one that they closed in 2016. D.B. Cooper, as the individual who hijacked the plane was called, remains the only person to hijack an airplane in the United States of America and not get caught.

Presumed likeness to D.B. Cooper.

If you asked me, the sketch of D.B. Cooper looks a lot like a man who used to be on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, a man known as Bradford Bishop. But besides likeness and similar ages, there's nothing else to go on, except that Bradford Bishop certainly had the nerve to commit a felony. 

Bradford Bishop. Still wanted by the FBI at the time of writing for five counts of first-degree murder.

Don't get too excited about the remote possibility of Bishop being Cooper. From what I read, Bishop was in Italy in 1971. Also, the case of D.B. Cooper reminds me of the case of Jack the Ripper in one way: that is, so many people have been named as potentially being the unknown criminals that it's hard to take any one of them seriously without something really convincing being laid out first.

A couple thoughts I've had on the D.B. Cooper case have to do with the point in space where Cooper jumped from the plane and the ransom money that was recovered. Regarding the jumping point, I wondered if it was hard to determine because the plane was relatively empty. I will elaborate on this.

Cooper was on a flight from Seattle to Reno when he jumped out of the back of the plane he highjacked. If you are flying from Seattle to Reno with a full load of passengers then you probably will get different flight times compared to flying with a plane-load of passengers because the weight of hundreds of passengers affects the weight of the plane.

I wonder if the plane that Cooper hijacked, which had only him and four crew members, flew a lot faster than a plane that would otherwise have had full occupancy. It only stands to reason that it would and I wondered if this made the point where he jumped harder to pinpoint since flight times along the same route might not have been trustworthy for measuring times.

Cooper Lost Some of His Ransom Money: Proves He Was Under Major Duress

Also, I don't think that Cooper would have parted with his ransom money without one hell of a fight. That he lost $5880, arguably during his fall, could be taken to mean that he was in great duress while he attempted to negotiate a safe parachuting landing, He was up against gravity, the darkness of night, the uncertainty of the elements, and the terrain of his uncertain landing spot.

With 50 years now gone since that night when he highjacked the plane, perhaps this is a crime that will become more for the historian than someone interested in justice. If he survived the fall, he could easily be dead from old age now. 

The Infographics Show did an episode on DB Cooper on September 4th, 2022. Their top suspect is Richard McCoy (Jr.). 

There's another pretty good half-hour upload on Youtube that deals with this mystery embedded below. I watched it tonight and felt like there wasn't much 'fluff' in the program. It comes from LEMMiNO and it was an informative and inquisitive recounting of the events surrounding the highjacking, complete with guesses as to who D.B. Cooper might have been. At the time of writing, the video had over 11 million views and nearly 500 "likes" attesting to decent quality. The video is embedded below and it is recommended viewing for anyone interested in this "true crime" event.

Identification of Sumter County Does Highlights Shortcomings of Database Records

Author: Shane Lambert

January 22nd, 2021

The Sumter County Does have been identified. For fans of unsolved mysteries, this has been a very long time coming. For Websleuths and amateur investigators, it's a huge sigh of relief. The male and female murder victims that were found dead in August of 1976 now have names: they are James Paul Freund and Pamela Mae Buckley.

Mon, Aug 9, 1982 – 1 · The Item (Sumter, South Carolina) · Newspapers.com

The case should highlight one glaring fact: the number of missing person cases that do not enter the online and searchable documentary record must be immense. I couldn't find missing person reports for either of the two individuals on the Internet nor in newspapers.com's database, a database that scours an immense volume of historical archives. 

I did find legal notices for James P. Freund but not news articles about his disappearance. The difference is important: more people read the news than the classifieds. The following legal notice pertains to the John Doe in the right gravemarker pictured above.

Thu, Sep 19, 1985 – 52 · Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

The implications of James Paul Freund's and Pamela Mae Buckley's missing person details not entering the searchable archives cannot be ignored by those that work on missing person cases. These were not people on the fringe of society. If they go missing without entering the newspapers in authored articles or the databases like NamUs, then what should be expected of the more marginalized? There must be thousands and thousands of missing person's cases that aren't getting solved simply because no one is taking the time to get the reports into the newspapers or into databases.

That's important to note, especially in the case of James Paul Freund. He had a ring that bore his initials "JPF," a ring that was found on the John Doe. If James Paul Freund had been entered into NamUs, then I absolutely think that he would have been identified a very long time ago. I think that because the mystery of the Sumter County Does is not your standard John/Jane Doe mystery: this one had a huge following. 

Such was the interest in this mystery that I am convinced that someone, like a keener Websleuth, would have plugged the relevant dates into NamUs. You can do that by simply looking for someone who went missing prior to the discovery of the bodies. You select the date of death of the John Doe as the end date  for the search and for a start date you could go back a year if you wanted -- or more if you felt it was needed. While such searches would produce small hundreds of matches, it wouldn't take that long to look for someone with the initials JPF that went missing at about the right time. If James Paul Freund had a NamUs profile, then one-half of the Sumter County Does would have been identified ages ago -- I'm sure of that.

The lesson is clear: if you know someone who is missing that is not entered into your government's online resource for missing people, then that is something you should remedy. While it can take a long time to get these databases up to date, there are people that cross-reference missing person's details with John/Jane Does.

Some people who disappear can't be traced, however, many can. That missing person you wonder about needs to be in the searchable archives to stand a better chance of being found. The case of James Paul Freund shows that: he went unidentified for 44 years and, in my opinion, that could have been much shorter. Freund and Buckley were murdered: what a shame it would be if the murderer lived out his natural life when simple data-entry could have produced a break in the case a long time ago.

Ronald and Theresa Yakimchuk -- Missing Since June 1973 on a Road Trip

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 21st, 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person #1: Ronald Yakimchuk
Last-seen date: June 5th, 1973; might be June 1st, 1973

Last-seen location: Brandon, Manitoba

Last-contact: June 12th, 1973. A postcard from Dryden, Ontario (sent by wife)
Link to Government Source: Canada's Missing
Ethnicity/Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 27
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 6'0" and 150 pounds, which would look very lean

Cenotaph: Findagrave

Missing person #2: Theresa Yakimchuk

Alias: Terry Pettit (Terry is a derivative of Theresa, Pettit is likely the maiden name)

Last-seen date: June 5th, 1973; might be June 1st, 1973
Last-seen location: Brandon, Manitoba

Last-contact: A postcard from Dryden, Ontario (June 12th, 1973)
Link to Government Source: Canada's Missing
Ethnicity/Race: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 23
Hair: Blonde
Eye color: Blue
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'4" and 121 pounds

Ronald and Theresa Yakimchuk were from Edmonton, Alberta. They traveled east in the spring of 1973 using a "faded red" Volkswagen Beetle "with an off-green hood and rear fender." This vehicle also had a three-meter-long and white kayak affixed to the top of it.

Mon, Jun 9, 1980 – 4 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

There is some inconsistency between the historical journalism that covered this case and modern government database information. The vehicle in question might be anywhere from 1956 to 1959 (plate: Alberta, CA3-262). The picture below is the last one taken of the missing couple and it shows their vehicle as well.

The missing people were traveling to Montreal to attend a wedding. However, they never made it to that wedding.

The date of the wedding that they were planning on attending was called "mid-June" in an article in the June 9th, 1980 edition of The Edmonton Journal. Another source says the exact date of the wedding was June 16th, 1973 (Nov 17 2007 Edmonton Journal). They sent a postcard on June 12th, 1973 from a town called Dryden, Ontario.

Search Area or Incident Location: Disappearance Event Focus, Dryden to Montreal

Presumptively, something happened to them between Dryden and Montreal between the dates June 12th and June 16th. In fact, the area between Dryden and Ottawa is more probable.

The couple visited someone known as "an associate" in Brandon, Manitoba. I believe that this visitation might be the last physical sighting of them.

Furthermore, Canada's Missing says they went missing on June 1st but some journalism on this matter says they left Edmonton on June 5th, 1973. If that is true and if they visited associates in Brandon, Manitoba, then you would have to think they were last seen on at least June 7th, 1973, as the drive from Edmonton to Brandon is not one that most drivers would complete in a day.

Complicating this case is the lack of clarity regarding the missing couple's travel plans. While they did want to attend a wedding, they "planned to travel indefinitely after that." A news piece on this missing couple from 2023 stated that they were planning to start a new life in the Maritimes.

The family did not start to worry about their well-being until a few months after they were last seen. Furthermore, the police didn't help with this case until seven months after they went missing, as per the source below.

Mon, Jun 9, 1980 – 4 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Unredeemed Cash Draft Should Be Considered a Huge Clue as to Whereabouts

One important detail, in this case, has to do with a banking matter. Terry Pettit (ie. Theresa Yakimchuk) purchased a "cash draft" from her bank account in Edmonton and, from what I'm gleaning from the journalism, she planned to redeem it in Ottawa. However, this was not done.

For that reason, I would limit the focus area to in-between Dryden and Ottawa. They sent the postcard from Dryden so they were there. If they made it to Ottawa, it stands to reason that Theresa would have cashed the bank draft.

Monetary assets are rarely treated in a frivolous matter. In my opinion, when something like a cash draft, money order, paycheque, or personal check goes uncashed in a missing person's case, it should always be considered extremely relevant. For that reason, I do not think they made it to Ottawa.

I think a "cash draft" might be called a "money order" in more modern lingo. Back then, I think it would have been called a cashier's cheque or a bank draft. It's like a cash that cannot bounce because the funds for it are already guaranteed, much like a loaded VISA debit card in contemporary times.

Ottawa, as a potential destination, is important in this case. One early report having to do with this case said the missing people had friends there. These friends never met the couple that summer (Edmonton Journal Jan 22 1974).

Mon, Jun 9, 1980 – 4 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Couple Considered Dead as of 1980

The opinion of family and police on this matter, in 1980, was that the Yakimchuks had somehow died.

Leads have not been numerous, but in 2007 it was reported that someone claimed to have seen them in July 1973. According to this person, she and her husband saw the Yakimchuks highway-side near Parry Sound, Ontario in what would have been late-July of 1973.

The witness described a Volkswagen Beetle, a man that looked like Ronald, a woman that looked like Theresa, a third man, and Alberta license plates.

This sighting did not make a lot of sense to me for a few reasons. I think something happened to them between June 12th and June 16th, 1973. So the late-July 1973 sighting does not make a lot of sense. Also, a route through Parry Sound would not be the most efficient one between Dryden and Ottawa. Lastly, a 34-year gap between the sighting and the reporting date leaves some questions about the person's memory. As per the description below, the kayak on the roof is missing, which simply suggests that it's a different vehicle and different people.

Sat, Nov 17, 2007 – 3 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Note: in the article above, "CFB Shilo" would be a Canadian military base near Brandon, Manitoba.

Even with Alberta plates, the area around the Great Lakes in Ontario is popular enough for tourism that it would not be surprising to see plates from any part of Canada, especially during the summer months.

If the kayak had been on the vehicle, then that would have been a much more convincing sighting. I wouldn't discount this sighting, but it is not convincing to me. It's something that those who are interested in this case need to be familiar with. But my feeling is that something else needs to align with this alleged sighting before it can be taken too seriously.

Remember, the missing people did not make their wedding target in Montreal for June 16th. They sent no communications after the Dryden postcard. Furthermore, Theresa did not redeem her cash draft in Ottawa. I still think that a highway mishap befell this couple somewhere between Dryden and Ottawa.

Dryden Location Means They Had Plenty of Time to Get to Montreal

These were 20-somethings who seemed to be interested in growth via travel at a young point in their lives. They might have explored the back areas of Ontario -- not just the main tourist spots near the main highways. If they were in Dryden on June 12th, then they were close enough to Montreal that they had a few days of free time before the wedding.

That their vehicle has never been found is a major point in this case. However, I did read one article from 1980 that suggested that their vehicle had been found. I did not find a follow-up article to this.

Tue, Jun 17, 1980 – 54 · The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Car Not Found, People Still Missing

There are lots of missing persons cases where the vehicle is found but the driver and passengers remain missing. It seems that finding a vehicle is a lot easier than finding the primary subjects of searches. In fact, "car found person missing" is one of the most common tags on this website.

That the Yakimchuks' vehicle has never been found could mean that the vehicle went missing with the passengers. This is something that has happened numerous times.

One case that this reminded me of is the missing-person case of Janet Farris. In 1992, she was driving from Vancouver Island to a wedding in Alberta. Like the Yakimchuks, she never made the wedding. She was never heard from again and nor was her car ever found -- until 201,9 when it was pulled out of a lake in the Revelstoke area.

Notable Cases of Missing Persons Found Submerged with Their Vehicles

Name	Disappearance Date	Last Known Location	Car Details	Discovery Date	Submersion Location
Janet Farris	August 1992	Vancouver Island, BC, Canada	1969 Plymouth Barracuda	August 2018	Griffin Lake, BC, Canada
David Hannah	1983	Bath, Ontario, Canada	Unspecified car	May 2023	Lake Ontario, near Amherstview
William Moldt	November 7, 1997	Lantana, Florida, USA	White 1994 Toyota Celica	August 2019	Pond near housing development
Donna Graves & Son	January 18, 2013	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada	Dodge Dart	January 20, 2013	Ottawa River, Ottawa, Canada Reported: CBC News
Larry Anderson	2004	Murray, Utah, USA	Leased car (make unspecified)	February 2025	Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah Reported: CBS News

• Janet Farris: Confirmed as a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, per CBC reporting referenced in your blog.
• David Hannah: Car details aren’t widely specified in public reports (e.g., Kingston-area news); it’s simply noted as "his car."
• William Moldt: Identified as a white 1994 Toyota Celica in police and news accounts from 2019.
• Donna Graves: Reported as a Dodge Dart in Ottawa police statements from 2013.
• Larry Anderson: Described as a leased car in Utah news, with no make or model detailed in early 2025 reports.

Missing people in their vehicles are sometimes found in roadside bushes. But Ontario is well known for having thousands of lakes. It can be hard to picture a car going off of the highway and ending up in a deep part of a lake as you might picture the shallow depths stopping the car's momentum. However, cars can go off highways and submerge at significant enough depth to be hidden for decades.

One officer who worked on this case seemed to think that the car and the missing people may have entered Lake Superior -- at least, he acknowledged the possibility. I align my own hunches with his.

I would think Lake Superior and any other water not far off the main route between Dryden and Ottawa would be part of the search area. Unfortunately, the area is so immense that the manpower is not likely to be afforded to cover all the possible areas.

Sat, Nov 17, 2007 – 3 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

But make no mistake -- this is a case that Websleuths and amateur investigators can help with. There was a case in 2019 that was solved when a Google Earth user found a submerged car using that software. The car was located in a small body of water, not far from shore, and inside the car was a missing person who had been there for decades.

Many rivers might have submerged a car that was driven off of a bridge. However, if everyone who reads this took ten minutes to use Google Earth to search the shallow depths of lakes and rivers that come close to highways, then it might yield results in the long run. I don't know what color the car would be now, but maybe a kayak might still be affixed to the top -- maybe not. That's the direction I think this search should go in when it comes to amateur contributions.

If you are researching this case, then it may be fruitful to use "Ron Yakimchuk" or "Terry Pettit" as your keywords. Those are the names that turned up hits in the newspaper archives that I looked at.

Other details:

• Their car was not in good condition
• Lt. Col Sid Stephen was the last person to see them near Brandon, Manitoba
• He warned them about dangerous stretches en route to Montreal
• Someone found what appears to be a VW Beetle buried in their backyard; it will be interesting if leads develop (see the Websleuths forum)

Prediction: They Will Be Found

I don't think there's a police budget in Ontario big enough to search every highway-side body of water. But my prediction for this case is that they will be found by a random citizen or dedicated volunteer because these people aren't on the clock. Fishermen, swimmers/divers with new underwater technology, or magnet fishers are all the kinds of people who might find a submerged vehicle, whether while looking for it or accidentally.

Timeline of Ronald and Theresa Yakimchuk’s Disappearance

Date	Event
Early Spring 1973	Ronald and Theresa plan a trip east from Edmonton, Alberta, in their VW Beetle.
June 1st, 1973	Official disappearance date per Canada’s Missing (RCMP); contested by June 5th departure.
June 5th, 1973	Depart Edmonton, per journalism.
June 5th–7th, 1973	Last seen in Brandon, Manitoba, by Lt. Col. Sid Stephen; warned about dangerous routes.
June 12th, 1973	Theresa sends postcard from Dryden, Ontario (last contact).
June 12th–16th, 1973	Disappear between Dryden and Ottawa; miss Montreal wedding on June 16th.
June 16th, 1973	Wedding date in Montreal they fail to attend.
Late July 1973	Unverified sighting of a similar VW Beetle near Parry Sound, Ontario (no kayak).
Late 1973	Family begins worrying after months of no contact.
January 1974	Police investigation begins, seven months after disappearance.
1980	Family and police presume couple dead; unconfirmed report suggests vehicle found.

Kami Luella Vollendroff -- Missing Since November 2001, Thought to be Drowned

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 9th. 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Mon, Nov 25, 2002 – Page 2 · Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) · Newspapers.com

Missing person: Kami Luella Vollendroff

Last-seen date: November 21st, 2001
Last-seen location: Newport, Oregon at what sounds like an oceanview condo of a relative's near Depoe Bay
Link to Government Source: NamUs #MP6781
Ethnicity/Race: White
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 16 years old
Hair: Blonde streaks in hair
Eye color: blue
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'7" and 130 lbs
Clothing: black pants and a white sweatshirt

Commentary and opinion: 

Kami Luella Vollendroff went missing at the same time as her boyfriend, Eugene Hyatt. In the journalism from the time of these two people's disappearance, it was noted that they were going walking beachside in Newport, Oregon at Depoe Bay.

The day in question saw storms in what is an area noted for large waves. It is thought that these two people were lost to the sea when a wave knocked them from a cliff. This was partly thought because an article of clothing thought to be of Eugene's washed up on shore. 

This is not a case that I recommend working on for amateur investigators or Websleuths. Lost at sea quite often means lost for all time.

When people go into the ocean in tumultuous areas, the swell and undertow might dismember their corpses in days. If anything, there is a chance that individual bones might be in the sand around this area. The news from Newport could be scoured for keywords associated with individual bones or body parts found on the beaches of the area, like a mandible.

In situations like these, sometimes people think "What if they ran away." It's important to note that 20 years have now past and there has been no communication from them. Ideas of them disappearing, entering society under different names, doing that successfully, and never thinking to bring closure to their families are too fanciful to accept.

Sun, Nov 25, 2001 – 13 · Longview Daily News (Longview, Washington) · Newspapers.com

Patricia Lorraine Gentle -- Missing From Redondo Beach Since 1973

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 7th, 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Patricia Lorraine Gentle, from her NamUs photo (circa 1973).

Missing Person: Patricia Lorraine Gentle
Last-Contact Date: Sometime in 1973 (listed as January 1 in some sources, but this may be a placeholder—common when exact dates are unknown. I find this misleading, as she could have vanished that day, muddling the record.)
Last-Seen Location: Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California
Link to Government Source: NamUs #MP76904
Ethnicity/Race: White
Sex: Female
Age at Disappearance: 33 years old
Hair: Brown per NamUs, though the photo shows blonde—perhaps a wig or lighting effect
Eye Color: Brown per NamUs, but appears greener in the photo

Height and Weight at Disappearance: 5'4" to 5'5", 120 to 130 pounds
Based on her height and weight ranges, her Body Mass Index (BMI) at the time of disappearance is calculated to be approximately 20.6 to 21.6, indicating a healthy weight range according to standard health metrics.

Birthdate: Estimated between March 2nd, 1939, and December 31st, 1939
This range is calculated from her reported age of 33 in 1973, accounting for the January 1 date being a placeholder, meaning she was 33 at some point during that year, with her exact birthdate falling within this period based on possible disappearance dates throughout 1973.

Summary: I Found Nothing on This Missing Person

Patricia Lorraine Gentle disappeared in 1973, yet her case only hit NamUs on January 6th, 2021—48 years later. Official details are scant: NamUs says “unknown circumstances,” leaving a blank slate. For more, check the Websleuths forum, which had very little in terms of promising leads as of 2025. However, there was a family member active in the case. I’ve found no 1973 newspaper reports of her disappearance, which I found a bit odd for a populated area like Redondo Beach.

I did have a hard look at her, using 27 different combinations of her name. Feel free to work with those but then for a bit. But if you are finding nothing, then move on.

Number	Name Variation
1	Patricia Gentle
2	Pat Gentle
3	Patty Gentle
4	Patti Gentle
5	Patsy Gentle
6	Trish Gentle
7	Tricia Gentle
8	Trisha Gentle
9	Trixie Gentle
10	Patricia Lorraine Gentle
11	Pat Lorraine Gentle
12	Patty Lorraine Gentle
13	Patti Lorraine Gentle
14	Patsy Lorraine Gentle
15	Trish Lorraine Gentle
16	Tricia Lorraine Gentle
17	Trisha Lorraine Gentle
18	Trixie Lorraine Gentle
19	Patricia L. Gentle
20	Pat L. Gentle
21	Patty L. Gentle
22	Patti L. Gentle
23	Patsy L. Gentle
24	Trish L. Gentle
25	Tricia L. Gentle
26	Trisha L. Gentle
27	Trixie L. Gentle

Shelly Dene -- Last Seen in Edmonton in August 2013

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 6th, 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shelly Dene. Appears to be a selfie of her last Facebook post from May 17th, 2013.

Missing person: Shelly Tanis (might be Tannis) Dene

Last-seen date: August 2013; one report said July 2013
Last-seen location: Edmonton, Alberta, I think at her grandmother's house near 114th street and 102nd avenue

Last-communication: I think it was August 28th, 2013 via text message to her sister.
Link to Government Source: Case 2014006306
Ethnicity/Race: Aboriginal (of the Fort McKay First Nation)

Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: Click the tag "missing and murdered aboriginal women" to see all the relevant cases at this website
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 25 years old
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'7" and 110 pounds
Scar: right cheek according to Canada's Missing; however, in a Youtube video I watched the scar(s) may have been on the left side of her face; they are from a dog bite.

Shelly Dene was last seen in August of 2013. However, she was not reported missing until November 8th of that year. This is a case involving a lot of activism on the parts of some of those who knew her. In fact, I lived in Edmonton from 2014 to 2015 and I remember seeing her missing-person posters around the downtown area. 

She had only moved to Edmonton in January of 2013 (one source said June) with a previous residency in Kelowna. At other times in her life, she lived in Fort McMurray, Fort McKay, and Vernon.

In the months or weeks prior to her last communication, she had learned that she would not be getting custody of her child back. Reportedly, this wasn't good for her emotional well-being. In the following excerpt from an Edmonton Journal article, "Candice" refers to Shelly's sister and "Yvonne" refers to Shelly's mother. In what I believe is Shelly's last-known communication, she indicated that she was going to the Yukon.

Mon, May 11, 2015 – 4 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

The balance of the picture I got when reading about this case was that Shelly may have been heading to the Yukon in a red truck with a man who was of First Nations descent.

Wed, Aug 27, 2014 – 2 · Whitehorse Daily Star (Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada) · Newspapers.com

          

Someone traveling from Edmonton to the Yukon using the highway would likely head west on the Yellowhead Highway. After that, there are two ways to go: one through White Court and Grand Prairie or one through Grand Cache and Grand Prairie. That she may have been traveling with a man with a vehicle seems to reduce the chances of her using hitchhiking. 

Yet, all leads, in this case, appear to be tenuous. If you read the journalism in an effort to get an inkling of what happened to Shelly, at some points you think suicide because she had a history of substance use. Furthermore, she seemed to be, at least, upset or disappointed at the time of her disappearance over not having custody of her child. Yet, that she may have been motivated to have custody of him or her speaks to a reason to live.

There is a text message that Shelly sent her sister before she disappeared (August 28th, 2013). This is one that answered in the negative when Candice asked if Shelly was okay. That negative response is really hard to ignore. I also read that Shelly's cell phone went out of service in November. I'm wondering what that means exactly in terms of her activity with the phone.

Another circumstance, in this case, is just who exactly was the man she was seen with -- the man with the red truck. I'm sure he is someone that the police would want to question. Shelly's case has received some news exposure. I've wondered if the man has confronted any coverage of her disappearance and, if so, why he hasn't come forward.

Did they go to the Yukon together? Is he missing too? The person that saw him says he was wearing beige clothes and she wondered if he might have been a Truck Driver by profession. Was the red truck actually a rig?

A break, in this case, would be if someone ever came across a missing person's report involving an aboriginal man in western Canada who was last known to be driving a red truck before he disappeared in 2013. Sometimes, when people use the highway they go off the highway. If Shelly disappeared with the man she was last seen with then his case file might generate a lead. Keep an aboriginal male with a red truck in mind if you are among those that peruse through missing people reports.

But, to be honest, there is not much to go on for Shelly. The search area is immense as the trip from Edmonton to Whitehorse is 22 hours or so. At present, I would have to say that the chances of an amateur or websleuth providing a useful lead in this case is low.

Carbon, Alberta Jane Doe: Unidentified Remains Mystery and a Bizarre Case (1995)

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 4th, 2021

Updated: August 23rd, 2025

January 10th, 2025: A websleuth (kara1218)  recently attempted to match this Jane Doe to a missing person named Julie Ann Derouin.

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Unidentified Jane Doe in Carbon, Alberta

Who: Jane Doe found roadside near Carbon, Alberta, Canada

When: Discovered on April 20th, 1995 or April 21st, 1995

Post-mortem period: Thought to be dead for 10 to 15 years, meaning missing people last seen in April 1980 to April 1985 are all in play. However, missing people outside of this range cannot be ruled out based only on the post-mortem period's estimation.

Case Profile: Service Canada Reference #2016069642

Ethnicity/Race: Uncertain. Appears aboriginal by the construction; could be other ethnicities for sure but does not look Caucasian. One source says she may have been of north African descent but that dark skin color does not come through in the bust above. Mixed background possible.

Sex: Female

Age at time of death: 22 to 35 years old, estimated. Broadened range 20 to 40.
Height: 5'0" to 5'4" (combined range from Service Canada and the Youtube video below which is of a press conference that was held, in part, for this Jane Doe)

Other: she had suffered from a disease called brucellosis

Case Details and Indigenous Connection

This is a case that doesn't have a lengthy profile with Canada's National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains. However, the Youtube video posted above will help deliver some case details.

I thought, at first glance, that this individual was one of the missing aboriginal women of Canada, a group that some think doesn't get a lot of police attention. However, I'm not sure this Jane Doe is actually in any missing person's database. Part of me wonders if no one at all is looking for her.

Be warned, this isn't an article for the weak-stomached. I don't apologize. If you are seeking out articles on missing people or Jane Does then you have to be ready for some topics that aren't exactly those for the pleasure reader.

I think she is aboriginal but my basis for designating her as such is tenuous. Firstly, she was found in the Albertan plains and that area has plenty of aboriginals. Secondly, she looks aboriginal to me in the police recreation but she could be of other groups. I've wondered if Indian reserves of Alberta might be alerted to this case. However, I really have low confidence that this person will be identified. I don't think there's a soul out there that is looking for her.

Websleuths or amateurs looking at this case should know that Carbon, Alberta is tiny. It's a village northeast of Calgary by about an hour. If she was from Carbon then she would have been identified, I think. Her roadside location sounds like a body dump to me and a person doing that would be looking for somewhere far away from where people knew her, I think.

Media Coverage and Grave Site Mystery

It was hard to find news that covered this Jane Doe. However, I believe that the following article from the April 25th, 1995 Calgary Herald might pertain to her. There is a statement in this news article that brings bizarreness into play.

Tue, Apr 25, 1995 – 25 · Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Note, that the "last Thursday" that is referenced in the article would actually be April 20th, 1995 as opposed to April 21st, 1995 (the date that Service Canada reports as the date that the Jane Doe was found). Furthermore, the age range in the news article is different.

Both inconsistencies can be explained: dates are often a tad off in reporting and age ranges that are based on estimates can change over time. The reason I think that the reporting pertains to the Jane Doe pictured at the start of this article is just that Carbon, Alberta is puny. I don't think two Jane Does pop up in consecutive days but it's possible.

The news article says something that's very unique when it comes to Jane Does. According to the news article, this Jane Doe "may have been removed from a grave site."

What does that make you think? The RCMP might have been able to study the body and conjectured that it had been serviced by a mortician? That's what I think when I read that. Maybe there was a presence of embalming fluid. However, maybe they had different reasons for believing that she was previously buried. A lot more information is needed about the grave site that this person came from. 

Was it a marked grave?

Was it a clandestine grave?

If it was the latter, then it's hard to think of a way to generate leads. It's also perplexing: why would someone unearth an individual in a clandestine grave and leave her on the side of the highway? If her grave was of a clandestine nature, then one would conjecture that the grave site was a better hiding spot than on the side of the road. However, the article also said that foul play was ruled out. That suggests that her original resting place was not clandestine in nature.

Timeline and Identification Challenges

If it was the former (ie. she was in a marked grave), then leads are possible. The timeline with this Jane Doe could be as follows: 

• a death between April 1980 and April 1985
• a burial in a gravesite assumingly near her time of death
• removal from the gravesite at some point
• then she ends up roadside near Carbon, Alberta
• discovered there on April 20th or April 21st, 1995 after laying dead outdoors for maybe 10 to 15 years

If all that is true then this Jane Doe case isn't going to be solved through any conventional means. Conventionally, when an amateur or websleuth is working on a Jane Doe's case, that person would cross reference the Jane Doe against missing person's reports.

That's worked in the past for many cases but if this particular Jane Doe died and was buried in a marked grave, then maybe she wasn't missing at the time of her death. Maybe the family and friends had a funeral for her and had a sense of closure. If that's true then it brings the following into consideration: maybe nobody that encounters this Jane Doe's profile, that actually knew her in life, will ever think to connect her to the person that she/he knew. This truly is a problematic Jane Doe when one considers that she was unearthed from a grave.

In this peculiar case, identifying the Jane Doe might involve looking for an empty grave in the region, one that belongs to a woman who died between the ages of 20 and 40, one who matched the height range, and someone who died between 1980 and 1985. I'm not sure how a Websleuth or amateur investigator goes about checking graves for empty coffins without stepping on a whole bunch of toes. But I do have ideas as to why someone would dig up human remains from a grave.

One understandable reason is exhumation for a legal reason, a historical one, or a scientific one. However, exhumation is not a good explanation in this case so long as you accept the following. Someone in charge of exhuming a body would be someone responsible enough to put it where it belonged afterward. The authorities, if they exhumed this person, wouldn't discard her remains on the side of a highway.

Another reason someone would dig up human remains borders on the bizarre and the grotesque: necrophilia. If you find it difficult to accept that someone would dig up a body for that purpose, then the definitive answer is that such acts are known to have happened before.

Wed, Sep 6, 2006 – 1 · Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com

Furthermore, another reason why someone would take a body from a grave for clandestine purposes is to fake a death. That's believed to have happened before as well.

Wed, Sep 30, 1981 – 69 · Red Deer Advocate (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

I think another reason someone might dig up a body from a marked grave is one that's less sinister in nature: extreme mourning. Somebody who is psychologically changed due to someone's death might have an insane episode and seek out the remains. I didn't find any historical news article about that but, I think, it can happen. Read the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe. It tells a tale of a man who sought out his wife's tomb for comfort.

I really don't see this case as probable to be solved due to a lead from a missing relative. Firstly, there's hardly any news coverage that I could find. Secondly, there is barely anything in her profile. Lastly, I don't think there is anyone looking for her. If her grave was a marked one then the people that knew this Jane Doe might have buried her according to their customs and they might already have closure -- for decades. They might not know at all that she was removed.

The only point to take away is that if you ever come across any news from Alberta about an empty grave then think of this Jane Doe and cross-reference her particulars with that of the relevant grave marker or obituary.

Brucellosis Outbreak in Alberta

In the YouTube video, Staff Sergeant Jason Zazulak of the RCMP made the following statement: 

"She may be or appeared to have been of north African ancestry or possibly of indigenous or mixed ancestry. She was approximately 5-foot to 5-foot-three inches in height...She had suffered from a disease called brucellosis and repetitive fever. Brucellosis is not a disease commonly found in Canada and may suggest that this person was born abroad."

I do not think that this person was born abroad.

Alberta’s 1980s Brucellosis Context

It's important to note that brucellosis might not be a common disease in Canada in modern times. However, the Jane Doe in question is believed to have died in the early 1980s and her remains were found in Alberta. It's important to note, I think, that there was a brucellosis outbreak in Alberta in the 1980s. The balance of my research on this outbreak makes me think that this individual was an Albertan and that she had some kind of exposure to a farm or farm products.

Lethbridge Outbreak and Potential Leads

The second snipped article below is interesting. It says that there was an outbreak that affected people in Lethbridge in 1980. Note, that you didn't have to work on a farm to get brucellosis. It seems like any work related to cattle could expose you to the disease. It's also interesting that this outbreak is within the range of the Jane Doe's estimated death.

Wed, May 14, 1980 – 54 · Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Sat, Jan 12, 1980 – 42 · Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

The second snipped article above is interesting. It says that there was an outbreak that affected people in Lethbridge in 1980. Lethbridge is not particularly close to where the Jane Doe was found, however, nor can it be considered out of range for someone who owned a vehicle. According to Google Maps, a drive from Lethbridge to where the body was dumped in Carbon would be just under three hours.

The six employees in the news article might know something about who this person is. They had the disease she had and they may have transmitted it to people they knew. Furthermore, it's not impossible that the Jane Doe was one of the six employees, yet, that would seem like a fluke if it was so.

Note, that you didn't have to work on a farm to get brucellosis. It seems like any work related to cattle could expose you to the disease. It's also interesting that this outbreak is within the range of the Jane Doe's estimated death.

Alberta’s Agricultural Link to Brucellosis

Farms in Alberta are very common. You will find them across a huge range of the province and the province itself is enormous. The only place in Alberta where you won't find many farms would be in the mountain parks on the province's western border.

Accordingly, that she might have worked or lived near cattle or their products isn't necessarily going to be a case-breaker. However, I would reject the opinion that she was of foreign originations based on her exposure to a disease that's not common in Canada. At the time when she lived and in the province where her remains were found, brucellosis was part of life.

Cemeteries Near Carbon, Alberta

• Carbon Cemetery

Wesley Keith Billingsly -- Car Found, Person Still Missing

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 2nd, 2020
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person: Wesley Keith Billingsly

Last-seen date: June 7th, 2018 (Source: State of California's Department of Justice)

Last-contact date: June 12th, 2018

Last-seen location: Pacific Beach, California

Wesley Keith Billingsly has been missing since June 12th, 2018. At the time of his last contact, he was in Pacific Beach, California. His vehicle was found in the San Ysidro area in August of 2018. His vehicle was a black 2001 Ford Expedition and one poster for Wesley's case claims that "ALL OF" his personal belongings were found in this vehicle (emphasis the same as in the poster).

The emphasis on "ALL OF" in the poster is interesting. It would be interesting to know if that included identification and his wallet (please comment if you know). If so, then it would be hard to picture him going to Mexico as the border crossing might prove difficult, let alone a return. But the San Ysidro area is close to the Mexican border, a circumstance that seemed to have caused the mother of the missing person to file a missing person's report in that country in addition to the one that has been filed in California. 

In the time frame leading up to his disappearance, Wesley seems to have been semi-transient. He was staying at three different places according to the journalism covering his disappearance. That suggests that he was at a time in his life where budget-friendly accommodation was of importance. Furthermore, staying at three different places might have been a way to reduce the chances of coming into conflict with any particular host.

A vehicle that is found with all of a missing person's possessions hints of hardship. People don't generally keep all of their possessions in a car unless there is something challenging when it comes to maintaining a residence. Websleuths or amateurs working on this case have to wonder if secret depression was a factor in Wesley's disappearance.

As for leads, Wesley's semi-transient lifestyle may be a clue. Someone who is attracted to budget accommodation will probably be attracted to CouchSurfing, AirBnb, and hostels. A particular point should be made to make sure that San Ysidro residents who offered these kinds of accommodations in the summer of 2018 are made familiar with his missing person's case. Someone might be able to provide a last-seen time that's later than the one that is currently being worked with.

NamUs # and Link: #MP57866

Lastly, at the time of writing Wesley's tattoos were not a part of his NamUs profile. If a John Doe was found with matching tattoos then it would expedite identification to have that information included. Someone with specific knowledge of his tattoos should make sure they are included in his NamUs profile.

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 24 years old
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'8" and 130 pounds

D'wan Sims and Azaria Chamberlain -- When the Mother is Not Believed

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: January 1st, 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person: D'Wan Sims

Last-seen date: December 11th, 1994

Last-seen location: Livonia, Michigan at Wonderland Mall -- disputed

NamUs # and Link: #MP6656
Ethnicity/Race: Black

Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 4 years old
Hair: black
Eye color: brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 3'0" and 50 pounds

This is one of the most unique missing person's cases I've come across. What's known for sure is that D'Wan Sims is missing as of December 11th, 1994.

Coming up with a plausible explanation for what happened to Sims is difficult in this case. However, I decided to assume that the mother was honest in her rendition of events -- so long as honesty doesn't mean accurate. People can tell the truth as far as they know but it's only that they aren't perfect in ascertaining what exactly has happened around them. When that happens, a lot of confusion can result.

My basis for believing the mother in the case of D'Wan Sims is that she was the subject of police scrutiny for a long time before she died and they never arrested her nor charged her with anything that I could find. The mother, Dwanna Harris, claimed that her son went missing from Wonderland Mall. However, neither video footage inside the mall nor witness testimony can actually place the child in the mall in this strange case.

Accordingly, the focus, in this case, has been partly on Dwanna Harris. Now deceased, her claim that she last saw her son in Wonderland Mall has not been accepted by all. 

That does remind me of another famous missing person's case, where the mother's claim was not believed when she recounted to investigators what happened to her child. Australia's Azaria Chamberlain case may be food for thought when it comes to similar cases. This was a case where the mother's account of her missing child was not deemed credible.

The case was very different in terms of setting and events. Wonderland Mall in Michigan was not the Australian outback. Furthermore, the Australian case is resolved whereas the Sims case, at the original time of writing, was not.

Starting with the Aussie case, Azaria Chamberlain, according to the mother, was taken away by a dingo, a small carnivore of the Australian outback that might be 40 pounds for a large male. Due to its diminutive size, it doesn't generally pose as a mortal threat to humans.

The mother's claim that her child was taken by a dingo, for bizarre reasons, was considered to be incredulous by some. These people that considered it incredulous had enough clout and ability to obscure the facts to cause a false conviction. As events unfolded, suspicion grew towards the mother, her rendition of events was discounted, and she ended up being convicted of murdering her own child.

After spending a few years in prison, she was released after a nature enthusiast died in the same area that two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain went missing from. When his remains, the nature enthusiast's, were searched for the search included looking in the lairs of dingo's. It was during these efforts that they found the missing child's jacket in a dingo's lair and that was considered proof that the mother's claim was correct all along.

Mon, Feb 10, 1986 – Page 4 · The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) · Newspapers.com

The connection between the Sims case and the Chamberlain case is that they both feature a mother who was not believed when she recounted the events that surrounded her child's disappearance. In the Chamberlain case, disbelief was certainly due to inept professionals in the Australian legal apparatus. 

Yet, there were also professionals that believed Chamberlain's mother all along, including a coroner. The coroner in Australia, Mr. Barritt in the snip below, agreed that the child had been taken away by a dingo. The snipped section of an article below contains a reference to limitations on what he could say because he was part of the judicial system.

Mon, Feb 10, 1986 – Page 4 · The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) · Newspapers.com

It would be interesting to know whether D'Wan Sims' mother has allies in the American judicial system whose point of view may have been filtered out somehow. If you don't think that this filtering can happen, the definitive answer to that is that it's what happened in the Chamberlain case. It's true that America and Australia are different countries but everyone involved is equally human.

Dwanna Harris's account of the disappearance of her child is that the child went missing from a mall. If the mother's account is to be taken as honest, then the assumption has to reconcile the fact that she claimed her child went missing from the mall yet no video footage exists that places the child inside of the mall. There's also a lack of witnesses making claims that support her rendition of events.

One explanation would be that the child walked in video-blind spots and that witnesses aren't too important because a woman walking with a child in a mall just isn't memorable. The latter point, regarding the witnesses, isn't difficult to accept: it's known that witnesses error or don't remember the banal. 

However, the lack of video footage is tougher to accept. A child walking in blind spots both before and after a mall abduction doesn't seem too plausible.

Yet, what we can start with, if we accept the mother's rendition of events, is one firm premise: she wasn't paying close attention to her child. She's that parent -- the one that goes to a public place with her kid and then doesn't pay attention to him. The best explanation, if we accept the mother's rendition, is that she was being honest about what happened but simply errored in her interpretation of events.

This scenario could see abduction occurring, for example, in the parking lot. Then Harris, the mother, walking into the mall believing that her son D'Wan Sims was nearby the whole time. Perhaps she believed she saw the child with the corner of her eye but really saw things that were not the child.

Along these lines, the toughest part to accept is the entry into the mall. She entered a Target store. This store had an entrance from the parking lot and the store also had an exit into the mall corridors.

The following Youtube video contains footage of the mall where the child is said to be missing from. I don't recommend the entire video but appreciate the footage of the possible abduction scene. Watch from the 30-second mark of the video until about the 53-second mark of the video.

 

For the entrance to Target (a still is just above), I picture heavy doors that are designed to close automatically when opened unless someone keeps them open -- the kind of doors that four-year-olds might not be able to handle themselves. Thus, upon entry into the mall, you would think the mother would have held the door for her child and noticed him at this point -- almost certainly. 

Therefore, I think the doorway footage if it exists, is the critical footage in this case. It's pervasiveness, clarity, and blindspots are of the utmost importance.

Related to that matter, the police have maintained that the child cannot be placed in the mall. Yet, that simply doesn't mean that the child was not there. I question the logical-reasoning abilities of anyone who thinks that a lack of evidence of something happening conclusively means it did not happen. Things happen that are outside of the scope of tracing all the time -- including what happened to Azaria Chamberlain, at least for long enough for a wrongful conviction to develop.

In the news I've read from the journalism near the time of Sims' disappearance, a lot of the comments were like this: "We find no evidence that D'Wan Sims was at Wonderland Mall nor has anyone come forward to place D'Wan at the mall. The evidence leads us to believe that D'Wan Sims was not at Wonderland Mall" (Pete Kunst qtd. in December 21st, 1994's The Herald-Palladium).

The phrase "leads up to believe" does not reflect confidence. What's needed is this: "The evidence shows that Harris walked into the mall alone." I think the police would say that if they could but that they won't say anything irresponsible and so their passive statements result, statements that therefore hint at insufficient mall footage.

This is important enough to repeat: there is fallacious reasoning on the part of one who takes Kunst's comments or similar ones on this case to mean D'Wan wasn't at the mall. I think it is this mistake that people have run amok with. However, I believe that anyone working on this case should presume that the mother was honest. At the time of the child's disappearance, she had divided attention.

It all makes me think that Harris's entry into the mall wasn't clear in the footage. After this entrance, the mother was flustered enough to lose focus on where her child was. Then, D'Wan simply disappeared into the arms of the type of guy that lurks in malls looking for a chance to abduct. My best guess is that an abduction took place in the parking lot or in the Target store and I'm more partial to the latter than the former. 

Wed, Dec 14, 1994 – Page 6 · Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

D'wan Sims Wed, Dec 21, 1994 – 28 · The Herald-Palladium (Saint Joseph, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

Lorraine Judith Chance -- Missing Since 1948

Original Time of Writing: January 1st, 2021
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person: Lorraine Judith Chance

Last-seen date: January 3rd, 1948

Last-seen location: Sacramento, California (no, the Original Night Stalker wasn't close to active at this time)

NamUs # and Link: #MP22091
Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 26 years old
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 4'11" to 5'5"
Clothing: Maybe size 3.5 high heels
Other: protruding teeth

Recommended Reading on this Case:

And They Were -- Missing Persons, Cold Cases, & Other Vintage True Crime

"On January 3, 1948 twenty-six-year-old Lorraine 'Lee' Judith Barrie Chance took her daughter Donna to a sitter’s house in Santa Cruz, California with the promise of returning later in the evening. There is no record of where she was headed or with whom (if anyone) she departed. Lee never retrieved her daughter and no one has seen or heard from her since.""

Betty Marie Roberts -- Last Known to be With a Man Named Charles

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 31st, 2020
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Betty Marie Roberts: The Unsolved Missing Person Case

Missing Person Overview: Betty Marie Roberts

"She left with a man from Charlotte, NC and went to Baltimore, Maryland. Her sister received a letter 3 days later. The letter stated she was doing fine and she would write later. The letter was postmarked Baltimore, Maryland. Never heard from her again." NamUs profile: Qtd March 19th, 2025.

Key Details of Betty Marie Roberts' Disappearance

Last-seen date: November 6th, 1959

Last-known communication: November 9th, 1959

Last-seen location: Baltimore, Maryland or Charlotte, North Carolina

Identification and Physical Description

NamUs # and Link: #MP7259

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 29 years old

Hair: Brown
Eye color: Hazel
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'6" to 5'7" and 135 pounds
Other: Dentures, scar on stomach, and tattoo saying "Jeff" on left forearm

Background of Betty Marie Roberts' Case

The case of Betty Marie Roberts is a memorable one for the last interaction that she had at her last time. Her sister, who was probably angry with being left in charge of Betty's two children, reportedly said “If you walk out, you’re not my sister. Don’t ever come back.”

In the years that followed, the two children ended up in an orphanage and a foster home. At some point, Louise Doane, the sister, searched for a reference to Betty Marie via her Social Security Number and driver's license. Nothing matched up after the year 1959.

Discrepancies in Missing Person Databases

This is a case with some contradictions when one consults multiple missing person's databases. At the time of writing, I noted the following:

• NamUs said she went missing on November 6th, 1959; CharleyProject said it was November 3rd of that year
• NamUs said she disappeared from Baltimore, Maryland; the same source said this: "She left with a man from Charlotte, NC and went to Baltimore, Maryland." That would suggest she's missing from Charlotte, not Baltimore.

The contradiction can be reconciled if we take a letter to be her last-seen date. However, technically she was last seen on November 3rd, 1959 in what looks to be Charlotte, North Carolina and her last communication was from Baltimore three days later according to a postmarked letter.

That would make the CharleyProject's date of November 3rd make more sense (ie. that's when she was last seen). The November 6th date is more like when she was last heard from.

Potential Leads to Find Betty Marie Roberts

In this case, I submit that the potential for finding her is grounded in two things, one firm and physical and the other much more tenuous.

Physical Evidence: Dentures as a Clue

Firstly, there are the dentures to consider. This is a physical characteristic of Betty's that is unlike the scar on her abdomen and the tattoo on her forearm. If a Jane Doe is found that is skeletonized the dentures will remain a clue for identity. Importantly, "dentures" is a searchable term in some unidentified remains databases, like the one with NamUs.

Websleuths or amateurs that come across a Jane Doe where dentures are mentioned in the report should cross-reference other details of the Jane Doe with Betty Marie Roberts. On that note, remember to note the contradictions above and to keep an open mind to both cities, Baltimore and Charlotte.

The Mysterious Companion: Charles Wegman

The tenuous lead on Betty Marie Roberts has to do with the man who saw her last. She was running off with a man that Louise, Betty's sister, said was named Charles Wegman. CharleyProject offers this: "Roberts's sister sent photos of Roberts and Wegman to the FBI, and an agent told her Wegman was actually named Charles Dennison but didn't disclose any further information about him."

Investigating Charles Dennison: Who Was He?

The identification of Charles Dennison is a subject that some work has been done on. I've consulted AndTheyWere.com's contribution to this case. The description there of Dennison is as follows: “tall and thick, and pleasant-looking, in his late 30s.” Charles also said he was from Houston which, if taken at face value, might be a lead. It's with assumptions like this that efforts start to get tenuous.

Charles Dennison’s Criminal Background

The AndTheyWere.com blogger wrote this:

"I was unable to find information about Charles Wegman, but there were two entries in Texas inmate records for Charles C. Dennison. While some of the demographics differ slightly, Charles was a native-born Texan serving time in the late 1940s and early 1950s for burglary and theft. He had served in the Army and/or merchant marines and at one time lived in New York. This individual likely died in 1983 according to Social Security death records."

Linking Charles Dennison and Charles Wegman

Unifying the identity of Charles Dennison with Charles Wegman is a challenge in this case. Wegman said he was from Houston and Dennison was from there as well. However, that hardly makes them a lock for being one and the same people.

The differing demographics between the Dennison files alluded to in the quote above, have to do with two different birthdates across the two files for Charles C. Dennison in the Texas Convict and Conduct records. However, despite those two different birthdates, it is clear that the two files are for the same person. When I consulted the documents, they were linked by a remark in the latter one that referenced the file number of the former.

Texas Convict Records Analysis

According to the Texas Convict and Conduct Records, there is a Charles Clifford Dennison with a record date of August 3rd, 1949. This individual has a convict number of 114392 and a birth year of 1922. There is also a Charles C Dennison with the birth year of 1920 and a convict number of 120126. Of course, those could be different people except that someone who worked with the document wrote some chicken scratch in the final column which appears to be directing whoever reads it (ie. me) to convict number 120126.

Also, there is some writing near the convict's name which encourages the reader of the document (ie. me) to look at convict 120126 in conjunction with 114392. The two Dennison's with different birth dates are actually the same person and the birth years are just wrong.

Charles C. Dennison: Biography and Timeline

I think Charles C. Dennison was all of the following according to the documentary records:

• Born: either 22 Sep 1923 in Houston, Texas or 22 Sep 1922 in Houston, Texas
• Died: either 10 Aug 1983 Harris County, Texas or 15 Aug 1983
• Death certificate: 076838
• Possible stepfather: Arthur L Nurse
• Possible biological father: might be James Radley Malin
• Last name: probably connected to Geo K Dennison, a romantic interest of his mother's
• Possible mother: Majorie Pearl Lewis or Mable Lewis
• He was a convicted burglar and thief
• Known to be in custody as of July 25th, 1949; was said to be of New York before this time; appeared to be in prison all the way to Jan 12th, 1953
• His four-year sentence would have ended July 25th, 1953 but a comment suggests that he might have been out as of May 15th, 1951; that date is listed with "Revoked" written beside it on his Texas conviction record
• However, the next record for him suggests that he was not out of prison until January 12th, 1953; I think the first record for Convict #114392 is for a first sentence that lasted from July 25th, 1949 until it was revoked on May 15th, 1951; the Convict #120126 pertains to his second sentence starting without any time out of prison; it ends Jan 12 1953

That he might have been in New York is supported by a passenger list that I found. The passenger list for the Queen Mary vessel is listed as arriving in New York on January 3rd, 1946 as per the records I looked at with Ancestry. They show an "Inf" (infantry?) named Charles C. Dennison on that vessel. There is an Army Serial Number there if anyone wants to have a look and expand further.

Physical Characteristics of Charles Dennison

If someone can read the following then please remark on it. It appears to be something to do with a physical characteristic in the region under his left eye, I think. As far as I can see it says "ct sc under lf eye. app sc st storm."

Also, what does this say exactly? I see "2 at wheel upper rt arm. Scr lo. lft arm." which I interpret to mean he has a scar on his lower left arm and 2 on his upper right?

Challenges in Unifying Identities

I was not able to find anything that substantially unified the identities of Charles C. Dennison and Charles Wegman together. The premise is all based on the description of the FBI's response to the picture of Charles Wegman. One connection I could make, besides both being of Houston, is tenuous: Charles C Dennison had aliases and his real name is hard to find.

Firstly, the C initial for his middle name might stand for Clifford or Clinton. Secondly, according to the 1940 census he might have been Charles Nurse at the age of 17 and of 7427 Avenue O, Houston, Texas in relation to someone who I think was his stepfather (see below). He also might have been known as Charles Malin at birth in relation to his biological father. Charles Dennison comes later in relation to a George K. Dennison. A user on Ancestry wrote this:

"Charles was the biological child of James R. Malin and Marjorie P. Lewis. Marjorie's second husband was George K. Dennison. (Mable Emogene Lewis was Marjorie's sister and the aunt of Charles C. Malin Dennison.)" (postkrispykritters on 1/17/2017).

The Classified Ad: A Possible Clue in Betty’s Disappearance

It was my hope that the classified advertisement that Betty replied to would yield some clue. However, finding the advertisement wasn't easy. My best guess is that it was the following:

Sat, Sep 19, 1959 – 23 · The Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com

The date of the advertisement is about right. Furthermore, Betty's age fits the age range in the ad. Also, it says that she has to be free to travel and she did up and leave. Furthermore, it mentions photography and that's true to the description of Betty's missing person webpages.

Analyzing the Advertisement’s Details

In an expanded look at this ad, it appeared in the Charlotte area newspapers between February 22nd, 1957, and November 3rd, 1961 according to what I found. The wording in the advertisement changed here and there. The alphanumeric code at the end would be a mailbox number or even a phone number, I think, as there is no other form of communication in the ad (ie. 334-2176). There are similar ads placed to a phone number or mailbox number "ED 3-8581."

The Tom Jones that is mentioned was, I think, the owner of a legitimate and successful studio called "Jones & Presnell Studio's." I think their address was 433 Lawton Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28216. I'm wondering if Charles Wegman or Charles Dennison was employed with that company but it's a tenuous connection because I don't even know that this was the ad Betty Marie replied to: it just seems to match-up. This is something Websleuths or amateurs could investigate if they have a brainwave on how to do it. I do know his Social Security Number.

Is the Ad a Red Flag?

The advertisement does strike me as the phony kind. I think this advertisement targets someone who is gullible. $360 pay is about $3200 by modern standards per month. That's pretty good pay for someone with "No experience necessary." Also, "Paid vacations" sounds a little too good to be true but maybe they just meant you get paid time off every year.

This ad targeted women as it was placed in a column designated "FEMALE HELP." I'm not sure why women were needed to be photographers over men. However, this position seemingly was working with children and the 1950s was a time when women were seen as better suited for such work. Perhaps some still feel that way. Other ads with strikingly similar wording that appeared in the area said that they needed a Child Photographer as a large-print headline instead of "Want A Change."

Conclusion: What Happened to Betty Marie Roberts?

My read on this overall situation is not a great one when it comes to finding evidence that Betty Marie Roberts survived much longer after she left with the man named Charles. Firstly, I defer to Louise's efforts to find evidence of her based on her identification which suggests that 1959 was a terminal year in Betty Marie's life.

Family Dynamics and Disappearance

The animosity that Louise communicated toward her sister is a small clue. It doesn't point to Louise but rather, I think, it references Betty Marie's discretion in leaving her children behind to go off with a strange man. Betty Marie was dropping everything and leaving and that speaks to a breakdown of sorts.

The Danger of Charles Wegman/Dennison

The situation seems particularly dangerous because she was running off with a man who an FBI agent seemingly recognized only from a photograph. If that's the case, then that's interesting in and of itself: what kind of man is the kind that an FBI agent recognizes from a photograph alone? That kind of person is likely to be one with a rap sheet -- and not just for jaywalking or going five over in a 50 zone.

So what do we have? A woman who's breaking down is running off with a man who's on the FBI's radar. That doesn't sound like a situation that's going to lead to harmony.

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

Her credentials have not entered the documentary record since. In my opinion, the balance of the conjecture, in this case, would support the notion that Betty Marie is long dead. On that matter, the graves of the people associated with this case might start showing up on Findagrave.com. More and more memorials from the past are being digitalized.

The work on this case has to do with connecting Charles Wegman to Charles Dennison in a convincing way and then tracing his location between 1959 and 1983. Also, remember that if you come across a Jane Doe with dentures, especially one with a date-of-death assumed to be in the ballpark of 1959 near Charlotte or Baltimore or even points in between, that she's a candidate for a rule out. It wouldn't hurt to search for "dentures" in NamUs from time to time and list your Jane Does that match in the comments.