July 5, 1949 St. Charles County, Missouri Jane Doe

On July 5, 1949, the body of a woman was found 1/4 mile north of St. Charles, Missouri in the Missouri River. 

Jane Doe was around 50-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

May 18, 1995 Toronto, Ontario, Canada

On May 18, 1995, the remains of a woman were found under a cement floor at the former site of Robertson Motors on 1515 Danforth Ave. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The floor had been poured in 1949 meaning she likely died in 1949.

Jane Doe was a white female between 19 to 40-years-old. She was 165cm to 170 cm (5'5" to 5'7"). She had brown/red hair. 

SOURCES:

Canda's Missing

Doe Network

Disappearance of Marga Hillmer

 

On Jan. 18, 1949, 16-year-old Marga Hillmer went to her vocational school in Westersted, Germany. After school, she and two classmates cycled back to their homes that were 7 kilometers away in Ihausen. At the exit of the forest, the girls separated and Marga was to ride alone for a few hundred meters to her home. She would never make it back home. 

There was evidence of where she was before she was abducted on the path she would have taken home in Ihorst.  Her bike was found in a ditch with her trouser clip and her comb was 250 meters further up the path. There was evidence of a struggle and she was nowhere to be found. Police and the locals searched for the girl everywhere for days, but there was no sign of her.

Marga is a white female and had just turned 16 on Jan 2nd. She had blonde hair.

SOURCES: 

Internation Missing Persons Wiki

NWZ Online

November 19, 1949 New Lenox Township, Illinois John Doe

 On November 19, 1949, the body of a man was found in Pilcher Park in New Lenox Township, Illinois. It's likely he died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

John Doe is a white male and was pre-40-years-old. He was 5'6". His hair color is unknown as he was bald. He has a scar on the right side of his face from his lip to ear across the cheek. He was wearing a khaki aviator wool-lined jacket with a brown fur collar, grey fedora, light yellow shirt with pencil stripes, tweed trousers with a light brown and black check pattern, black leather belt, tan oxfords with cream-colored paint, Handkerchief with the letter R on it and eyeglasses.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Crime Watchers

Disappearance of Patricia Crandall

On March 13, 1949, 19-year-old Patricia Crandall was last seen in Redding, California. There is little information in this case. 

Patricia is a white female and was 19-years-old at the time. She is 5'3" and 112 lbs. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a green hooded cape coat and carrying a black suitcase.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Charley Project

Disappearance of Lora Skaggs

Sometime between 1948 to 1950 Lora Skaggs went hitchhiking in Charleston, West Virginia. She was either on her way to Ohio for work or was on her way to pay bills. Little information is known in this case.

Lora was a white female around 27-years-old when she disappeared. She was 5'0" to 5'4" and 115 to 130 lbs. She has red/auburn hair and her family believes she has brown eyes but weren't positive. She had an appendectomy scar.

SOURCES:
NamUs

Murder of Joanne Ena Lynn

On September 19, 1949, 11-year-old Janne Lynn left her home in Hemlock, New York at 8 a.m. This was not unusual for the girl as she walked to school every weekday morning. When Joanne passed the Smith's home she waved a hollered at Mrs. Smith. "Good morning Mrs. Smith. It's a nice morning isn't it?" Mrs. Smith responded with a yes. Joanne continued down the road and Mrs. Smith told her 7-year-old son Eddie to catch up with her. When he rushed to try to catch her he did not see her when he got to the highway. This was the last time she was seen alive. 

When she didn't return home from school her parents worried for her and called the police. A search was done for the missing girl. The hills and gullies were combed and lakes were dragged in the surrounding area. After four days the national guard was called in and on the 23rd guardsmen searched in the pouring rain.

On September 24th  14-year-old Norma Marsden was gathering butternuts four miles from Hemlock and 7 miles away from where she was last seen. In the pasture, Joanne's body was found. She had been shot twice. 

It's believed that she was either coaxed or forced into a car and possibly waited a day before killing her as people in the area stated they heard gunshots on Tuesday. Her killer had attempted to sexually assault her and Even though Joanne was fully clothed her undergarments and sweater were missing. The killer then took her to a grove of locust trees and pointed the gun at her. One bullet entered her arm and then forehead as she was blocking her face. She was then shot a second time through her left breast and the bullet came out of her back.  Her fingernail scrapping suggested she fought hard with her attacker. The gun used was a German Luger semi-automatic pistol. The gun was possible well taken care of.

SOURCES:

New York State Police

Kidnapping, Murder, and Mayhem
Hemlock and Candice Lakes

Find a Grave

The Daily Messenger September 27, 1949

Democrat and Chronicle October 1, 1949

Democrat and Chronicle September 1, 1963

Murder of Harold "Murph" Murphy Cohen

On November 3, 1949, 38-year-old Harold" Murph" Cohen was reported missing to the Denver, Colorado Police Department. Murph would leave a note stating he wouldn't be seen for several days. He had also told his wife that he was going to a special dinner. He reportedly attended a ceremonial dinner at Gaetano's in Denver prior to his disappearance. At the time he was a known gambler and was a fight referee. 

It wasn't known what had happened to him as he went missing for months, but on Feb. 11, 1950 His body was found in Blue Lake located south of Highway 58 at Indiana St. He had been hit in the head and then tied up and tied to railroad iron and tossed into the lake alive. He was likely attacked during the dinner or right after. They intended for his body to sink to the bottom of the lake, but it landed on a ledge. 

SOURCES:

Colorado Bureau of Investigations

Jefferson County, Colorado

Fort Collins Coloradoan Feb. 13, 1950 

Greeley Daily Tribune Feb 13, 1950

St. Louis Post-Dispatch April 17, 1950

Disappearance of Ricky Jean Bryant

On December 19, 1949, 4-year-old Ricky Bryant who went by Jeanie was home with two of her siblings and grandparents in Mauston, Wisconsin. One of her siblings were at school at the time and her parents were out of the house as her grandparents watched. That was when a fire broke out in the home.

Her brother who was 5 at the time said that Jeanie was standing in the yard with him. During the fire, a woman drove up in an expensive car and she got out of the car. She distracted Jeanie's brother by telling him they needed to get help and pointed down the street. Leaving Jeanie alone. When her brother returned Jeanie was gone.

The grandmother contradicted and said that only two of the three siblings had gotten out of the house. That Jeanie had still been inside and when the Grandmother went in she couldn't find her. She called out to Jeanie and got no response.

Most authorities believe that Jeanie had died in the fire, but being that there was nobody and the bone fragments found couldn't conclusively be determined to Jeanies they've opened a case. Her siblings think it's possible that the fire was on purpose and that Jeanie was taken and hidden by family members, or that it was possible she may have had a different father and was sent to live with her biological father.

Jeanie was 4 at the time and is a white female. She was 3'4" and 40 lbs. He had blonde hair and hazel eyes.

SOURCES:
https://missingadultskids.com/find-missing-ricky-jean-bryant/
https://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/15927722.html
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/5890/details
http://charleyproject.org/case/ricky-jean-bryant