Marjorie West... is alive somewhere out there.

[blueclouds]

Illegal adoption agencies occasionally kidnapped children to "supply" their high paying clients with a child to their liking and description. This story has me curious and truly wondering if she really IS alive somewhere out there.

What do you think? There's also a $10,000 reward if someone actually finds her. BTW, she also went missing on mothers day. Terribly sad.

http://www.mlrmag.com/sections/m_west/m_west_what_happened.html

http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/mwest.html

EDITED:

I guess I should have given more background. This child disappeared in 1938 in the height of illegal adoption groups all over the country. There is a very good chance she was picked up by a broker for them who was "hunting" to get a child to their liking. I personally think that the "parents" of this adopted child probably didn't know they were getting a kidnapped child as well. It's very interesting and I think the only way someone will "find her" is that they will come across the website pictures and think it looks something like their great aunt or second cousin...etc...

[joellegirl]

That is so terrible and sad. I really hope she is alive and is found.Her poor parents had to go to their graves not knowing what happened to her. It always amazes me how quickly someone can vanish, only out of sight for a moment...And what sickos these people were who stole these children, absolutely no conscience. Just sick.

[smile22]

so sad, when i was driving the other day i saw 2 little boys outside on the side of their house playing with the water im sure the mother was inside and i would hope she was watching from the window, the nighborhood was a safe one but u just never know, and then one day i was watching my godson at my grandmas he gets the school bus at her house, she was runnig errands with my aunt i told my godson to stay in the porch and watch for the bus, then i went over with him the dangers of standing outside alone, and talking to strangers

[shadowangel]

I just got around to reading this thread. Contrast this story and the article linked to the story from my thread, Missing in WV. It definitely seems that the adoption theory has some credence....

[istgirl]

Could this be Marjorie West? Hair color/age match. Just wondering..

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/245ufva.html

[Richard]

Here is a link to another thread in this forum:

Marjorie West Missing since May 8, 1938 from McKean County, PA - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33107

[outofthedark]

I'm curious about the Dorothea West photos- other than the fact that she resembles Marjorie, was there another reason why they're posted?

[MacPlus512]

Remember, in 1938 nobody would have really doubted the parents. I say this because in the 1980s nobody doubted parents.

The proof? Sharon Marshall. Look at all the times she switched schools around 1983-1984. No questions were asked about FDF being a real father, the real background of the mother, etc.

The guy who kidnapped Marjorie probably also enrolled her in a school without problems.

[reb]

bumping up this thread.... has there ever been more research done on these illegal adoption agencies?? a book maybe,, an expose' including details from those who may have worked for them years ago?? or those who suspect they may have been abducted?? who was doing the kidnapping.. hired guns- guys who already had a criminal history,, the mafia? someone should do research on all info/records that can be found on these 'high paying clients' who have adopted kids... who were they? any famous people? what agencies did they adopt in? and what did their adopted kids look like? comparisons should be done on these people with kids who went missing around the same time.... yeah, in a perfect world,, right??

i'm just so curious about these rumors.... is there really proof of this happening? i know its heyday was in the earlier part of the 1900's.. but does it still happen? and why has it not been looked into more?

[reb]

oh,, AND..... what was the conclusion of the comparison between this jane doe and majorie west?? i'm assuming it's not a match....

[reb]

i thought this was worth repeating:

<Additional speculation pointed towards the Tennessee Children's Home Society near Memphis, Tennessee. The facility was operated by Georgia Tann, who was initially lauded for placing at-risk children in adoptive homes. Authorities eventually learned that Tann had kidnapped over 1200 young children during the years 1932 through 1951. The majority of victims were abducted from states bordering Tennessee, although some children resided in Connecticut. Judge Camille Kelly approved Tann's custody bids for the majority of the victims. Tann placed most of the children with childless couples in New York City, New York or Los Angeles, California.>

so.. how many OTHER agencies have done this over the years...? and were these kids ever reunited with their real parents...?

[meggilyweggily]

Barbara Raymond recently wrote an excellent book about Georgia Tann, called The Baby Thief. I read it and was appalled by that damage that horrible woman inflicted. Sadly, most of the children she stole were never reunited with their biological parents.

[Bluecat]

If Marjorie was 4 or 5 years old, wouldn't she have said something to the adoptive parents if she was kidnapped? She would have been quite capable of carrying on a conversation with an adult at that point. She definitely would have been able to inquire about her parents, and wonder why the bad person took her away from the fun time in the park, or that sort of thing.

After reading everything about this, it seems to me that Georgia Tann's M.O. was to use her power to persuade or command people to give up their babies, using a corrupt judge to reinforce her wishes. It does not seem likely that she would have risked taking a child away from a functional family like this. They do not seem particularly poor (or at least, not in the same way as the parents she victimized).

I favor the idea that she either wandered further than anyone realized, or expired relatively close by but her small body was lost in underbrush and was not found. It can be extremely difficult to locate a body with a lot of brush on the ground - just look at the case of Chandra Levy - how long did her body lie in Rock Creek Park before she was found? In an area that was searched as thoroughly as humanly possible? How much easier would it be to not find a 5-year-old?

[Gina_M]

If Marjorie was 4 or 5 years old, wouldn't she have said something to the adoptive parents if she was kidnapped? She would have been quite capable of carrying on a conversation with an adult at that point. She definitely would have been able to inquire about her parents, and wonder why the bad person took her away from the fun time in the park, or that sort of thing.


I think children are still easily influenced at that age. If the kidnapper knows how to manipulate, they can make up a story and make sure the child either believes it or at least goes along with it. Look at Shawn Hornbeck, and Sharon Marshall. Shawn was taken at age 11, Sharon likely around age 6. We've discussed this in the Anna Waters forum too, because she was taken at age 5 and likely raised by another family. Whoever kidnapped her could have told her that something had happened to her family and she was being adopted.

[meggilyweggily]

After reading everything about this, it seems to me that Georgia Tann's M.O. was to use her power to persuade or command people to give up their babies, using a corrupt judge to reinforce her wishes. It does not seem likely that she would have risked taking a child away from a functional family like this.

Usually, Georgia Tann did coerce people into giving up their babies; however in the book I mentioned above, several instances were mentioned where she outright kidnapped children, usually by snatching them off the street. I would put nothing past this woman.

The book also mentioned a boy who had been taken from his mother when he was about four, Marjorie's age. He was placed in a foster home for a short time, then adopted by a family. The boy had dim memories of his real mother and tried to tell his adoptive parents about her, but they didn't believe him -- they had been told he'd been given up by his mother shortly after birth. They told him so many times that it was just his imagination that he came to believe them, and it wasn't until this boy was an adult and decided to do his own research that he realized his "imaginary" memories were in fact true. So it wouldn't be impossible for Marjorie to have been abducted and placed for adoption and not be able to either communicate what happened to her at the time, or remember it after she grew up.