Almedia Carolyn Melcher - Missing from Louisville Since 1964

Paraphrased details from government source**: Almedia Carolyn Melcher disappeared in late 1963/early 1964 shortly after beginning to reconcile with her oldest daughter. A.C. Melcher's last known contact was a call to tell her daughter she was engaged. No one has heard from Almedia since. There was a rumor that she took off with a truck driver.

Missing Person: Almedia Carolyn Melcher

Last-contact date: January 1st, 1964 (this may be a placeholder date, meaning the exact date of disappearance is not known but NamUs needed to enter some data in the empty field)
The area where the MP was last seen: Louisville, Kentucky
Link to government source: NamUs MP#87281

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 43 years old
Birthdate: Almedia Carolyn Melcher was born between January 2nd, 1920, and January 1st, 1921 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact. However, I wondered if she might have been born in 1922.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Unknown
Scar: Unknown
Height/weight: 5-foot-8 and 125-130 pounds
BMI*: Almedia Carolyn Melcher was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Almedia Carolyn Melcher did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

Almedia Carolyn Melcher was last heard from in late 1963 or early 1964 when she was exactly or close to 43 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 57 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

This wasn't a missing person's case where it was easy to find information. I did not find any news reports of her disappearance. Furthermore, it does not seem as though she disappeared under circumstances that were inherently suspicious.

What I did find was a profile at Ancestry for an individual named Almedia Carolyn Flood. I wondered if this was the missing person's maiden name. However, I could not authenticate AC Flood and NamUs MP#87281 as being the same person.

But there were reasons to believe that they were the same person. Flood had a Louisville address associated with her profile as of 1956. NamUs MP#87281 went missing from Lousiville in later years.

Furthermore, it is stated in Flood's ancestry profile that Vernon Melcher, her husband, died in 1976.  If Flood is NamUs#87281 then the divorce (see the newspaper clipping below) might have been in absentia. The marriage between Almedia Carolyn Flood and Vernon Melcher would have created a name change that matches our missing person, Almedia Carolyn Melcher, if normal conventions were followed. 

Additionally, the individual in the Ancestry profile's pictures resembles the missing person but this is a matter of opinion. Furthermore, Almedia Carolyn Flood had the following information entered for date of death: 

"Death

??? • ????"

An unknown date of death is what you would expect for a missing person. I do think that the Ancestry profile for Almedia Carolyn Flood was for the same person as NamUs #87281 but I am still seeking to authenticate this. I reached out to the person in charge of the Ancestry profile on that matter.

NamUs #MP87281 24 Jan 1969, Fri The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Yet, the NamUs description, in some ways, is not really consistent with the two profiles being of the same person. There's some marriage-date mismatching information and the year of birth would be off by one year. Perhaps, if I get an affirmative answer more work could be done on this matter.

Author: S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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Barbara Joe Kelley - Missing Since June 1950

Paraphrased details from government source**: On June 18, 1950, Barbara Joe Kelley’s boyfriend Henry Baird was located deceased on the beach at Table Bluff. Kelley’s belongings were located nearby Baird’s remains. Law enforcement and family have been unable to contact Kelley and she remains missing today.

Missing Person: Barbara Joe Kelley ("Barbara Kelly" in journalism)
Last-contact date: June 18th, 1950 (Sunday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Fortuna, California; she was thought to have been at Table Bluff Beach, which was 20 miles south of Eureka, California.
Link to government source: NamUs MP83728


VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 17 years old
Birthdate: Barbara Joe Kelley was born between June 19th, 1932, and June 18th, 1933 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Light-brown hair, according to journalism
Eyes: Hazel, according to journalism
Scar: She had a scar on her left eyebrow.

19 Jun 1950, Mon Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (Hollywood, California) Newspapers.com

Height/weight: 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-7 and 150 to 165 pounds

BMI*: The missing person was overweight by BMI at the time of the last contact based on the upper ranges. Does not appear overweight in her picture.
Tattoos: Barbara Joe Kelley did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

By: Shane Lambert

This one sounded like a lover's lane double murder. That could start to evoke bad memories of people like The Zodiac Killer and the Phantom Killer of Texarkana.

Barbara Joe Kelley, a missing person, was last heard from on June 18th, 1950 when she was 17 years old. This individual has now been missing for about 71 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. All research with this individual pointed to death at about the time of her disappearance.

One thing that stood out with this case, is that several newspaper sources spelled her last name as "Kelly." It's not a case of it being a different person as all the case details aligned. Her name was spelled Barbara Kelly or Barbara Kelley so if you are researching this case, then be sure to toggle between spellings for your keyword searches.

The early journalism for this missing person covered the murder of her boyfriend. Kelley's clothes were found near his on a beach 20 miles south of Eureka. It appears that Kelly and Henry Baird, her boyfriend, were at or near a lover's lane beach. The boyfriend was murdered and Kelly has not been seen since June 18th, 1950. That she was apparently naked as she was held captive would strongly suggest that a sex fiend disappeared her.

19 Jun 1950, Mon Long Beach Press-Telegram (Long Beach, California) Newspapers.com
Early guesses (ie. bad guesses) with this missing person had to do with a murder-suicide pact. Baird's gun was missing and it was thought that Kelly may have shot her boyfriend with it and then committed suicide in the ocean. However, the missing gun was considered too light to cause the damage that was caused. A search of the ocean and beaches in the area revealed nothing as to where Barbara may have gone.

In the 1960s, one Gail Patrick Irish emerged as the suspected murderer of both Baird and Kelley/Kelly. He wasn't mentally stable and he confessed. His odd personality will certainly bring into question whether he was telling the truth but from what I gathered in reading about this case, he seemed to be believed.

As for the chances of locating the missing person, I think the following news article, which was published about 13 years after Kelley's disappearance, contains information that needs to be considered. That Kelly was not found where Irish said she would be could be due to reasons covered in the article.

25 Mar 1963, Mon The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California) Newspapers.com

Please share this article to social media using hashtags that are related to where the missing person went missing from, which is Fortuna, California, and the Eureka area.

Author: S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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Christine Marianne Harron - Missing in Hanover, Ontario Since 1993

Paraphrased details from government source**: On the morning of May 18th, 1993, Christine Harron stayed home from school as she was not feeling well. Around lunchtime, Christine and her mother argued about Christine returning to school for the afternoon. Her mother heard Christine leave the house at about 1:30 pm. Christine did not attend school that afternoon and has not been seen since. The investigation revealed that Christine left the house without her purse, money, or knapsack. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest and conviction of a male regarding the disappearance of Christine Harron, however, she remains missing.

Missing Person: Christine Marianne Harron

Last-contact date: May 18th, 1993 (Tuesday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Hanover, Ontario; it sounded like she disappeared between her residence and John Diefenbaker High School.
Link to government source: Canada's Missing 2010001799

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 15 years old
Birthdate: Christine Marianne Harron was born between May 19th, 1977, and May 18th, 1978 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown, long
Eyes: Blue
Scar: None known
Height/weight: 5'3" and 110 pounds
BMI*: Christine Marianne Harron was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Christine Marianne Harron had no tattoos associated with her profile.

Christine Marianne Harron was last heard from on May 18th, 1993 when she was 15 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 32 years as of early 2025. However, her disappearance is not as clouded in mystery as many other disappearances.

A man named Anthony Edward Ringel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Harron's case. According to a National Post article from October 2016, he abducted, raped, and murdered the teenage girl before leaving her dead near the Saugeen River. When this river flooded in what I think was 1994 (as communicated by the NP article), the resulting currents and water flow may have moved her body.

Taking everything at face value, this isn't a case that amateurs will be able to help with much. People who go missing in water are often missing until a chance event of a geological nature or even real-estate developmental reveals them. Missing people in flooded areas are often buried underneath a lot of sediment. 

I would say that amateurs probably will not find a clue in this case. However, a news report in the area of human remains being found in association with the Saugeen River or even Lake Huron would be interesting. That said, people who are absolutely known to have fallen into a river often stay missing for decades and decades.

Christine's clothing could be cross-referenced against any Jane Does in the area. She may have had the following articles when she disappeared: a light-blue denim jacket, blue denim pants, black running shoes, and plastic glasses that were brown and had tape.

One interesting takeaway from this case is that the teen disappeared after an argument with her mother. Perhaps, that fueled the idea that Christine had been a runaway. But based on the conviction, it's clear that she met up with a clandestine individual.

There were many alleged sightings of Christine, all of which would be false if the words of Ringel were to be trusted. Given that he received a lengthy sentence for his admissions, it doesn't make sense that he's lying. But that many people reported seeing her even though she is conclusively dead is a point that can be taken away from this case. Unfortunately, sightings of missing people can be pretty frivolous. 

That does bring to mind a lot of cases involving missing people, like Paula Jean Welden. Sightings of missing people that are ambiguous should be taken with a big grain of salt in my view, but never discounted.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Non-opinionated information at this site generally comes from government sources or police reports. Other sources may be used.

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NamUs #UP87267 - Jane Doe's Skull Found in Washington DC in December 2001

By: Shane Lambert

NamUs description: "Construction workers renovating an apartment found a skull in a crawl space of a ground floor apartment located at 1926 I street, NE apt 1."

Sex: Female

Race: Caucasian/White

Age: Thought to be an adult

Height and weight: no estimates, skull only

Date body found: The body has not been found or, if found, I don't think it has been associated with the skull that was found on December 17th, 2001 (Monday)

Where was the skull found: Washington, DC.

With so few details available in this case, this is one that amateur investigators might feel as though they should back away from. How can you hope to name a Jane Doe based only on a skull and sparse demographics?

However, I think this is a case that Websleuths or amateurs might be able to contribute to. Remember, you aren't really trying to solve a case here. As an amateur, you are trying to find a lead that police or professional investigators might take seriously with the hopes that the lead does help solve the case. On that matter, this is what I think amateurs should do: focus on the street address.

A skull can be in a crawlspace for decades. Did someone who lived there end up going missing? Did someone who lived there have a rap sheet for violent crimes?

The address appeared to be a place with up to four apartments. I found the street address in Ancestry files subdivided into Apt. 1, Apt. 2, Apt. 3, and Apt. 4. It's possible that more apartments may have evaded my searching but it appeared to have at least four apartments. The earliest use of the street address I found in Ancestry was for 1983. The earliest use of the apartment's address where the skull was found, Apt. 1, was also for 1983. 

Honestly, I expected to find earlier uses of the address. Also, newspaper reports of the skull's discovery evaded my searching. 

I did look at the street address using Google Maps. The building that is there in 2021 was there in at least 2007 according to the street views from that site. The building is one of those brick buildings that stands the test of time.

I think the building was constructed in 1946. A modern online advertisement I found said that the apartments were built that year. I'm thinking that missing women from that year onward are all in play, unfortunately. A missing person with some kind of connection to the address or a connection to a former resident would be interesting, I think.

As far as NamUs goes, The missing person in NamUs that might be worth looking at is Patsy Arlene Gaisor. However, the connection to the skull is very tenuous. She matches the skull in terms of NamUs's listed race and sex. Furthermore, she went missing in 1980, over two decades before the skull was found.

Her body was thought to have been dumped into the nearby Anacostia River at Anacostia Park. This park is not that long of a drive away from the address, however, it's a tenuous lead, meaning there is no significant connection. Two men were convicted of her murder in 1982. I'm not sure if there is any follow-up news on the conviction. Someone dumping a body in a river might remove the skull if they understand that dentals can be used for identification. However, that's not what was stated in the reporting for Gaisor so I'm not thinking the skull is hers. Perhaps other missing women in the area will be added to the database in time.

08 May 1982, Sat Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York) Newspapers.com

I don't mind people building off my notes, which I have decided not to publish online for this case. However, feel free to contact me if you are looking at this case.

NamUs #UP107 - Barren County Jane Doe Found November 2nd, 1973

By: Shane Lambert

The Barren County Jane Doe is NamUs #UP107. This is an individual who was found with a gunshot wound that was fatal near Park City, Kentucky. The Kentucky State Police say she was "stashed in a small ravine." Here are the details for this case that I found from various sources, as mentioned throughout.

Date body found: November 2nd, 1973 (Friday) in the afternoon.

Time/date of death: This Jane Doe, according to NamUs, was thought to have been dead for "Months." According to the journalism from the time of the discovery, she was thought to have been at the site where she was found for 3 to 10 weeks. It seems that women who went missing in October 1973 or any month before then during that year could be in play for a match.

Where the body was found: In Barren County, Kentucky. NamUs says she was found along the Interstate. According to the journalism I read, she was found one mile north of Park City, along I-65 "near a grove of trees." An article on this matter with Kentucky State Police said "The body was found 100 feet west of the southbound lane of I-65, 7/10 of a mile north of Park City."

04 Nov 1973, Sun The Park City Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Who found the body?: A truck driver using the Interstate.

Age: She was 20 to 50 years old, according to NamUs, and that is a very broad range. According to the Kentucky State Police, she was about 35 years old.

Sex: Female

Race: White/Caucasian

Estimated Height and Weight: 5'7" and 145 pounds, according to NamUs. According to the Kentucky State Police, she was 5'7" to 5'8" and 140 to 150 pounds.

Hair: Red/Auburn

Distinctive: Ivory-colored nail polish on the fingernails of her left hand. "The middle incisor teeth of maxilla were missing" (Kentucky State Police).

Clothing articles:

1. A cotton v-necked dress that was white with blue-horizontal stripes, an elastic waist, and two front buttonholes.
2. Pink panties with lavender polka-dots
3. "Exquisite form" bra with prosthetic inserts "falsies"

Accessories: Near the body, a set of keys was found - one key possibly to a 1969 GM product ignition, one key possibly to a 1969 GM product trunk, one key possibly to a 1967-1971 ignition, and two keys engraved with "114."

Opinion: The 114 keys could be big clues. If those are apartment keys, any missing person who lived in "Unit #114" would be a good candidate. Addresses for missing people can be found using Ancestry. If you know of a missing person in the area and timeframe involving this Jane Doe, try to find the MP's address on Ancestry after cross-referencing the other details.

NamUs #UP84926 - Hillsboro Jane Doe Found in December 1961

By: Shane Lambert

The Hillsboro Jane Doe (NamUs #UP84926) is a young woman who was found dead in December 1961. I researched her case and below are the details that I think amateur investigators and writers should be aware of with this case.

NamUs description: "Remains found off the side of a rural highway in a ditch. Believed to have been dumped there late 12/15/61 or early 12/16/61. Multiple injuries consistent with being beaten noted."

Date body found: December 16th, 1961 (Saturday) at 3:48am in the morning. From the news articles I read from the journalism at about the time of her death, a "sex fiend" was thought to have killed her. However, in subsequent days she was thought to have not been sexually molested.

18 Dec 1961, Mon The Bee (Danville, Virginia) Newspapers.com

Location of the body: NamUs says she was found in a rural highway ditch. From what I gathered, she was found a mile south of Hillsboro in a honeysuckle thicket and was presumptively thrown there from a car. This discovery sounded like it resulted from a body dump.

18 Dec 1961, Mon The Bee (Danville, Virginia) Newspapers.com

Date/time of death: The Jane Doe was thought to be dead for two hours when discovered at 3:48am on the morning of December 16th, 1981. Thus, her estimated time of death would be 1:48am on the same date but could have been earlier.

Cause of death: NamUs said she had been beaten. According to The Bee out of Danville, Virginia, an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be "a subdural hematoma and a brain hemorrhage" (Dec 16, 1961; page 25).

18 Dec 1961, Mon The Bee (Danville, Virginia) Newspapers.com

Age: 15 to 18 years old as per both NamUs the journalism at the time of the body's discovery

Sex: Female

Race: White/Caucasian

Height and weight: 5'1" and 95 pounds, according to NamUs. 5'0" to 5'2" and 85 to 100 pounds is what I gathered as a range from other sources. Qualitatively, she was called "slender" or only slightly built.

Hair: Brown or dark brown, short, and slightly curly according to NamUS.

Eyes: Brown

Fingerprints: Sent to the FBI

Clothing and accessories: 

1. She was found wearing a pullover navy-blue cotton t-shirt type short sleeve shirt with elastic neck and sleeve ends. The label in the neckband said "Jamie." 
2. She wore a white-cloth brassiere with a safety pin on the posterior portion near the elastic hooks. The label said, "Habson Creation, 100% cotton, Sanforized, size 36-B" (Sanforized means preshrunk, meaning that it was shrunk before being sold). Size 36-B would not be very busty. 
3. She wore turquoise-blue corduroy pedal-pusher female pants (called "slacks" in the Bee Hive article) with a back zipper, a button, and a right-rear pocket; it had an imitation leopard-skin corduroy cloth black and white design running down the lateral seam margins as well as the cuffs. 
4. Other clothing that was associated with this Jane Doe was found near the body: a hip-length white coat with a back one-half belt with brass-type buttons; the material is herring-bone type weave. In the pockets of the coat: 2 white cotton socks. 
5. I also found a newspaper article that said she was wearing a light-color jacket.
6. A small and empty pocketbook was found near the body.

17 Dec 1961, Sun The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) Newspapers.com

NamUs #UP85529 - Stony Creek Jane Doe Found in September 1948

By: Shane Lambert

NamUs #UP85529 is a Jane Doe that was found near Stony Creek, Virginia in 1948. Her case was uploaded in October 2021, making for a 73-year interval. It's quite likely that, if she was a murder victim, then there is no justice to be had in this case due to how long ago it was. However, here are all the details that I could find on this Jane Doe.

Age: NamUs estimates an age of 15 to 25 years.

Sex: Female

Race: Black

Height: 5'2" to 5'3" (estimated)

Weight: 130 to 135 pounds (estimated)

Date body found: September 16th, 1948 (a Thursday) according to NamUs. According to the news source I found, the date of discovery was September 17th, 1948 (the source says the body was found on the nearest Friday to the date of publication). When two sources contradict one another, it's not clear which one to go by. It does create potential that the news source is covering a different Jane Doe, however, nearly all the other information lines up. I think the news source and the NamUs profile are covering the same case.

Date of death: NamUs estimates that she had been dead for six weeks. The original journalism in 1948 stated 2-3 weeks. It would be likely that she died sometime between late July and early September of 1948. If you are cross-referencing this case to missing people, then that's the target area for "last seen" dates (but be open to earlier times).

Location of Body: She was buried in what NamUs called a "makeshift" grave. That sounded clandestine in nature. A news report said she was found near Stony Creek, which makes it sound like the outskirts of town. It was near the Sussex-Prince George County Line according to the news source I found.

Who Found the Body: A crew of highway workers.

The date of discovery being either September 16th or 17th is one contradiction. However, it's not too uncommon for a date to be wrong on these matters. Another matter struck me as more substantial.

In the newspaper source, which is below, it is stated that highway workers noticed the Jane Doe when they noticed some disturbed Earth near a picnic table. This disturbed area was her shallow grave, which was described as two feet wide and two feet deep. It is stated in the article that the workers noticed her hand sticking out of the clandestine grave.

Regarding hands, this Jane Doe's NamUs profile states that one or both of her hands were missing from the body. Evidently, only one hand was missing and the other was sticking out of the grave.

The picture I am getting from all this is that someone buried this woman, who was nude, on the side of the highway. Perhaps this person did it near the picnic table so that it would provide a measure of seclusion. 

But why one hand was removed from the corpse is puzzling. Usually, when criminals remove a Doe's hands they are doing it to eliminate the chance of the Doe being identified due to fingerprinting. However, removing one hand and not the other doesn't seem to jive with that. I am thinking that the buried Doe might have been scavenged by an animal and one of her hands was removed that way while the other perhaps was pulled up, allowing for the highway workers to spot her.

NamUs #UP85529 19 Sep 1948, Sun The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) Newspapers.com