January 4, 1961Desert Foothills, California Jane Doe

On January 4, 1961, the skeletal remains of a woman were found by a road in Desert Foothills, California by a hunter. She had been dead for around 15 months. 

Jane Doe is a white female between 35 to 55-years-old. She had red/greyish/blond hair. He had Bony growths on all vertebrae and some phalanges. She had well-manicured nails. She was wearing a white cotton dress with a lavender floral print, a beige cotton sweater, a white nylon slip, possibly wearing snuggie underwear, and size 5 blue wedge shoes.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Doe Network

Webslueths

Murder of Rosetta Witt

On October 2, 1961, 74-year-old Rosetta Witt was in her small grocery store that was attached to her house on 5050 Carr St. in Arvada, Colorado. At about 10:44 am Rosetta was found dead in the grocery store. Money was also missing from the register. 

A man was last seen in the store. The man is a white male between 30 to 35-years-old old. He was between 5'8" and 5'10" and around 165 to 175 lbs. He has dark hair and was sporting it in a pompadour style. He appeared to have needed a shave. He was wearing a windbreaker-style jacket, dark pants, and brown, heavy work boots. He would leave in a two-tone blue or blueish green 1950 to 1954 Oldsmobile-like car. There was a white woman in her late 20s in the car. She had short dark hair.

On October 2, 1961, 74-year-old Rosetta Witt was shot in her small grocery store attached to her home at 5050 Carr St. at about 10:44 a.m. Money was missing from the cash register. Shortly before the shooting, a white male (depicted in the composite drawing), about 30 to 35 years of age was seen in the store.
The man, described as being between 5 foot 8 to 5 foot 10 inches tall and 165 to 175 pounds, had dark hair in a pompadour style and appeared to need a shave. He was wearing a windbreaker-style jacket, dark pants and brown, heavy work boots. The man got into a two-tone blue or bluish-green 1950 to '54 Oldsmobile-type car. A white female about 25 to 30 with short dark hair was in the car.

SOURCES:

Jefferson County

Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Murder of James E. Smith

At 2 a.m. on August 15, 1961, 31-year-old James Smith went to work at the Hi Joy Bowling Alley in Port Orchard, Washington. James was working as a custodian for the bowling alley at the time. At 8 a.m. other staff of the bowling alley arrived and found James lying on the floor near the register counter. He had been assaulted and then struck in the head multiple times with a hatchet or axe.

A back window of the business was broken. Nothing was stolen, but it's believed that James may have interrupted a robbery and struggled with the intruder.

SOURCES
Port Orchard

Kitsap Sun

Uncovered

Longview Daily News August 16, 1961

Disappearance of Diane Marie Webb

18-year-old Diane Webb lived with her family in San Bernadino, California until 1959. In March her family would move to Dolan Springs, Arizona, and Diane would stay. She would then stay with her 16-year-old boyfriend, Bennie Webb, who would soon become her husband.

At least one time that year she stayed with her family in Arizona for a week. During the visit, she told her parents she was pregnant and that she was going to marry. Her father disapproved of the relationship, but her younger brother and mother made it to the wedding in Indio, California. 

The wedding was the last time her family saw her, but they would receive letters for several months after her wedding. The last letter was mailed on August 22, 1959, for her little sister's birthday. It included handkerchiefs that she crocheted for her. 

A letter would then arrive to Diane's family from Bennie in late 1960. He had believed that she was with them in Dolan Springs, and this confused them. They would send a letter back asking what had happened and when she had left. 

On January 5, 1961, he responded back stating that he hadn't heard from or seen Diane in a very long time. That he had given her $100 and put her on a bus to Dolan Springs. He stated she wrote one letter to him after she left and stated she had a miscarriage. Bennie recommended they to talk to a friend of Diane's in California to see if she knew something.

In August of 1961 Diane or someone else using her name visited a dentist's office in California. This was the last possible sign of her. 

Diane's family suspects that her husband had done something to her. Her father went to Bennies hometown in New Mexico where Bennies brother was a police chief. He was searching to see if he can find information on Diane. Allegedly Bennies brother chased him out of town. 

Bennie is still alive, but is not cooperating with the police and refuses a polygraph. He allegedly never recalled marrying Diane, but their marriage certificate exists. This however seems suspicious but does not mean he is guilty. 

Diane is a white female and was 18-years-old at the time. She's 5'2" to 5'4" and 110 to 120lbs. She has brown hair and grey eyes. She was pregnant at the time but may have had a miscarriage, one of her breasts was larger than the other, she has freckles on the tip of her nose, and her ears are pierced. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Charley Project

International Missing Persons

November 1, 1962 Harris County, Texas Jane Doe

 On November 1, 1962  skull of a woman was found in Harris County, Texas. It's believed she had been dead for around a year. There is little information in this case. 

Jane Doe was an African American woman between 40 to 60-years-old. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Murder of Helen Dunnagan

 On September 16, 1961, 50-year-old Helen Dunnagan's body was found on the Matanuska Sandbar in Sutton, Alaska. She had been shot twice with one in the chest and the other in her stomach with a high-powered rifle. Earl Dunnagan, her husband, had left for Icy Straights on August 19th. She was last seen alive a week after her husband had left.

SOURCES: 

Alaska Bureau of Investigation

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner September 20, 1961

Jan 21, 1961 Spokane, Washington John Doe

 On Jan 21, 1961, the body of a man was found sitting upright on the north bank of the Spokane River on Howard St. in Spokane, Washington. He had died around 3 days prior from a heart attack and was believed to possibly be transient or homeless. He was considered unrecognizable due to rats. He was a white male between 50 and 70-years-old. His fingerprints were taken at the time and put through the FBI database without a match. It's unknown if the fingerprints card has been located and put into AFIS. 

SOURCES:

Doe Network

NamUs

Murder of Linda Smith

On 16 Jan. 1961 12-year-old Linda Smith left her great aunt's house in the village of Earls Colne, Essex, England. She went on an errand she did most days. This errand typically took 15 minutes. She was seen by people walking down Burrows Rd to the local newsagents, but she didn't enter the shop. She just looked through the window. She then walked across the road and talked with the local cobbler. She was not seen after this even though there were many people. 

Four days later the body of the 12-year-old was found. She was found in a field 18.5 miles away in Polstead, Suffolk. She was found with her brown duffle coat spread over her and the hood over her head. She had been strangled to death with her school scarf. 

She was killed elsewhere as there was evidence a car pulled into the field and there were a man's footsteps that led to the body and to where a vehicle had pulled in. 

SOURCES:

Suffolk Constabulary
BBC
The Guardian

Disappearance of John "Johnny" Arthur Butler

On August 21, 1961, 15-year-old John "Johnny" Arthur Butler went surfing in Newport Beach, California. His surfboard was found the same day and police noted some "questionable markings" on it. It's indicated that John may have drowned.

Johnny is a white male and was 15 at the time. He was 6'1" and 159 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He had scars on his face caused by acne.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Charley Project
DoeNetwork

Disappearance of Martha Alice Mertz

On June 22, 1961, 47-year-old Martha Alice Mertz was last seen in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There is not much information on this case. Her bank account wasn't touched until it was given to heirs after she was declared dead. She was declared dead 7 years after her disappearance.

Martha is a white female and was 47 at the time. She was 5'0" to 5'2" and 100lbs-120lbs. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and black pedal-pusher pants.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Charley Project
National Missing Person Directory

March 17, 1961 San Clemente, California Baby Doe

On March 17, 1961, the body of a baby was found at the Calafia entrance to the California State Park in San Clemente, California. He was located near culvert under railroad tracks and had been dead around 24 hours. He was a white male age 0 and was 1 ft and 2 lbs. It isn't stated how long they think he had been alive or the nature of his death.

SOURCES:
NamUs

Disappearance of Tuck Esenituk

30-year-old Tuck Esenituk was last seen in Brevig Mission, Alaska on June 1, 1961. He was supposedly traveling to Teller. He hadn't been seen since and not much information is known in this case.

Tuck was 30 years old and was Native American or Alaska Native. He 5'8" and 160 lbs. He had black hair and brown eyes.

SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/42364

March 27, 1961 Bibb County, Alabama John Doe

In October of 2021 15-year-old Daniel "Danny" Armantrout. He had run away from home in Paris Tennessee. His older brother was away in the military when Danny ran away. Their home life was not easy as their stepfather and mother were abusive to Danny and his brothers Donald, and David. David (19) the oldest of the 3 left home in 1960 and Donald joined the military when Danny ran away. Currently, David's whereabouts are also unknown.

````````````````````````````````

On March 27, 1961, A man traveling through River Bend, Alabama picked up a teenage hitchhiker on Highway 25 south of Wilton. Danny had told the man that he had run away from home after his parents split. The boy also said he was heading west to San Diego. He didn't say anything else as they soon got into a wreck.

The vehicle they were in hit the bridge rail and plunged them into the Cahaba River. The driver swam to safety but he lost his life. Several hours later his body was recovered from the car.

John Doe was a Caucasian male believed to be between 14 and 17 years old. He had light brown hair,  he may have bleached his hair for it to be a lighter brown. His eyebrows and eyelashes were dark brown.  He was around 5'6 and around 120 lbs. He may have walked with a limp. He had a self-inflicted tattoo (possibly on his left arm) with R.Y. +Love, some of the newspapers reported that it was R + K+ Love or R.K. Love. There is possibly a 4-inch scar on his right ankle and a half-inch crescent scar on his upper right forehead.

He had a Timex watch, a carrying bag with several shirts, and pants, a brown plastic wallet, and a pack of Mall Palls with a South Carolina tax stamp. Some newspapers at the time reported that there was also a blurred photo of a boy and girl with the inscription " Think of me always and remember how we used to go places together."

SOURCES:

Doe Network

NamUs

Unidentified Wiki

Alabama

CBS

Identifinders

Scott Andreas Douglas

On July 1st 1950 Scott Andreas Douglas who went by Andy was born to Ellen and Donald Douglas. He has an older brother, Donald, a year older than him. After his parents were divorced and his Mother remarried William, Billy, Sims both him and his brother took the last name Sims. Their stepfather treated the boys like they were his own children. Their biological father was living in California with his second wife.

Andy was a well liked kid. He was a Tenderfoot the first rank in Scouting and new to Boy Scout Troop 22. Him and his family only lived in Wichita falls for a short time.On December 9th 1961 the 11 year old fifth grade-student of Jefferson Elementary went out to play. This would be the last time anyone saw him as he had disappeared.

On this morning Andy had been home with his brother Donald. Their mother who was a nurse at the time was working and their stepfather was in Louisiana for the National Guard. Between 12:00 to 12:30 their mother called the house to check up on the kids. She spoke to Donald on the phone and Andy had been home at the time.

Donald claimed that his little brother had left between 12:45 and 1:00 to go and play. The boy typically would had ridden his bike, but at the time it was broken so he went out on foot. When 2:30 came around Ellen had arrived home to find that only one of the boys were home. Initially She sent Donald out to go find his brother then later other family members went out and helped with the search.

By 8:00 Andy was still not found and they had phoned the police. Fort Sill, Civil Defense, Marine Reserves, members of the Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol and others worked with volunteers to comb the area, searching Andy’s usual hangouts and places it seemed a child might have gone to escape the cold.

One person reported seeing someone who matched Andy’s description at the Boy Scout Hut near Lake Wichita about 3:00 P.M., just a few hours after Andy left his house. The search of the Boy Scout Hut turned up nothing. There were no other reported sightings for the boy.

Lake Wichita was dragged several times and the search from land to air was unsuccessful. He just seemed to have disappeared. There was no evidence of what even happened to the boy. He just seemed to disappeared

Even with everyone preparing for Christmas the boy scouts of troop 22 were also preparing for a camping trip. The troops hoped that the missing boy would show up, but unfortunately he never did.

Andy was 11 years old he was 4’11’’ he weighed 90lbs. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. Was wearing his glasses, a black winter coat, a black turtleneck sweater, a black knitted cap, and blue jeans.

SOURCES:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/sims_scott.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4667/31
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3942dmtx.html