Cases That Haunt You

The Sharin Morningstar Keenan case. In 1983, the 9yr old was abducted,molested , murdered and stuffed in a refridgerator in Toronto, Ont. She was found 10 days later, only a couple of house down the street from her home.Dennis Melvin Howe has been charged with first degree murder. He has never been caught. If you have any information regarding this case, please contact me at olivertrio@shaw.ca. Thank you. Todd

Bumping this thread. I wish they would solve this case. I am from St. Louis and remember this like it was yesterday. They have fingerprints. Here is an update from the St. Louis Major Case Squad on 11/17/04:

http://www.majorcasesquad.org/releaseb.asp?ID=265

"Angie was 9 years old when two deer hunters found her body in the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. Angie had died from exposure. . .

Police responded to a wooded crime scene on Nov. 27, finding Angie's partially clothed body duct taped to a tree in St. Charles County. Someone had sexually abused the girl and left her to die. . .

St. Ann Police Chief Bob Schrader said investigators have used the best talent and the best technology to crack the Housman case, but to no avail.

"We haven't had that little bit of luck you need in every investigation," Schrader said. "At some point, you need to be in the right place at the right time, like overhearing somebody say something. That hasn't happened. This is a baffling case."

The problem is not a lack of evidence. Schrader said police found fingerprints on the adhesive side of the duct tape.

"We haven't found anyone who matches the fingerprints," he said. "This is not a case where we know who did it and can't prove it. If we had him, we could prove it."

Lt. Robert Boerding, of the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department, said local police make inquiries every time a similar crime occurs anywhere in the United States.

"We want to make sure there is not someone else out there continually preying on kids," Boerding said. "This person is still at large, so there is always a chance he is still preying on children. But it does not appear that he has the latest lead was 53-year-old Ronnie Johnson, a trucker accused of abducting a 13-year-old Illinois girl and leaving her to die in a manner similar to the Housman case.

"We found out that suspect was locked up at the time of the Housman crime," Schrader said.

Boerding said the leads in the Housman investigation fill about 20 binders, each 4 inches thick. Angie's photograph is on the cover of the first binder."

MaryBelle said:

I just had to mention Angie Housmann on this thread. Hers is the most disturbing child abduction / murder case I have ever known of in my entire life.

Angie was found dead a short distance from where I live in a nature preserve area. She had been molested and tortured for days before being tied to a tree naked and left in the forest alone in freezing temperatures. Her clothes were in a bag nearby. Police believe she had been kept and tortured for about a week and then left in the forest for about 3 days & nights afterwards before she died - which by that time had to be a blessing for her. My husband used to be in law enforcement and one of the LE who was called to the scene when she was found (by hunters) told my husband that the things that had been done to this little girl were so horrible they could never be talked about.

She was just a sweet little girl who wanted to be everyone's friend. PLEASE read this article about Angie and remember her. It is just so sad. Periodically the local news does an update feature talking with her poor mother. My heart breaks for her. The monster who did this has never been caught.

[snip]
St. Louis, MO -- On Nov. 18, 1993, Angie Housman, a trusting fourth-grader, vanished after getting off her school bus up the street from her home. Nine days after her disappearance, a deer hunter found her body in a wooded area. Angie had been tied to a tree and died slowly of exposure.
She had been raped and tortured.

Police are nowhere near solving the case.

Detectives have tracked down more than 300 leads in their fruitless investigation into Angie's death. "If you're looking for a bunch of frustrated policeman, this is the place to come," said St. Louis Sgt. Riley Hughes, who is heading the Major Case effort.

"This is the most frustrating case I've encountered in my 30 1/2 years as a policeman."

[snip]
"It's our feeling she got in a car on her own," Hughes said. "She was starved for affection.
She told people, `I want to be your friend.' She was a little more trusting than many kids."

Another Major Case squad investigator added: "We've learned that Angie would meet you two or three times and you were her friend. We've been told that she'd go up to people and say,
`Hi. My name is Angie. Are you my friend?'

<http://www.kgl900.com/html/body_angie.htm>

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Marjorie West-1934, 3 y/o, stolen and adopted?
Sheila Fox-1944, 6 y/o
The Beaumont Children-1966

The cases of children that were from so long ago and is assumed that we will never know whatevery happened to them.

There is thread about Marjorie West back in the pages of this Forum (page 6)...I would also add to this list the five missing Sodder children, who disappeared from a burning house in West Virginia in 1945 (page 7). The mother got out of the house with the youngest and two oldest children, but no trace of the other five was ever found. I strongly believe that the Orphanage industry, which was big business and made money for many people in the '30s and '40s, is to blame for many of these unexplained disappearances.

mysteriew said:

I just started a thread on this case today:
16 yo Cheryl Fossyl Georgetown, Ohio She was taking law enforcement classes at the local vocational school. Her head was located in Adams County. Ohio and her torso was located in Brown County. Ohio. Still unsolved. Allegations of an offical coverup.

http://www.kdbs.us/help_the_children_link.htm


Carrie Culberson Blanchester, Ohio 24 yo disappeared in 1996 and presumed dead. Body has never been found. Boyfriend has convicted of the murder and his brother of helping to cover up the murder. A civil suit was filed against the city of Blanchester by the victim's mother for misconduct by the police chief in investigating the murder.

http://www.findcarrieculberson.com/index.html
http://www.justice4vinceandtracey.com/

The two cases are in adjoining counties: Brown County Ohio and Clinton County Ohio.

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I just sent an email to dateline asking that they profile the Cheryl Fossyl case the other day. I was about the same age as she was. I lived everything she missed. Her killers have always been suspected- but according to rumor, there may be some coverup involved in her murder.

A case that has haunted me for years is the disappearance of 9 year old Dorien Thomas. I lived in the Amarillo / Canyon, TX area at the time, and it's disturbing that this sweet little boy just vanished, and it doesn't seem like there will ever be any answers. It has received a bit of national attention (America's Most Wanted), but still no answers or viable leads. He was riding his bicycle, and they have never even been able to find the bike either. There was an appx. 24 hour delay in reporting him missing (I am not aware of the reason for this... presumably his family thought he was with a friend, I think) They do suspect foul play, and there's a possibility that the man who murdered the child in the bathroom in California is responsible because he may have been in the area at the time... I will never forget this little boy.

Some info & photos: (Use http://www.bugmenot.com for a username/password if prompted to register on any of these sites)

http://www.nampn.doenetwork.us/cases/thomas_dorien.html

http://amarillo.com/stories/112198/new_thomas.shtml

http://amarillo.com/stories/111898/new_search.shtml

http://www.pollyklaas.org/missing/kids/page.jsp?itemID=27044400



Another case that stays with me is someone I know... gone without a trace after all these years. He disappeared from Canyon, TX in '98 (Fred Moseley)... a gun was missing from his residence (supposedly suicidal), along with him & his vehicle... his vehicle (a black Neon) was found around the same day he was reported missing by his parents - but nothing of him has ever turned up. The FBI was involved, and they determined there was no foul play involved. Obviously, they know more than me, but I heard a lot of things around town at the time of his disappearance about what had really happened to Fred, however, no proof... just people talking. However, the talking always led back to the same person being involved in his death (if in fact a death really occured)... I know that person very well, and certainly wouldn't put it past them in doing something horrible like what was being said. I got in touch with one of the detectives not long ago to see if there was any update in his case, since I no longer live in TX and am no longer associated with the group of people who also knew Fred... and he said that Fred's father recently passed away (his parents were elderly), and they were expecting Fred to possibly show up at the funeral because they feel he is alive and well. However, he did not show up. I check weekly online hoping that his missing page is updated saying he has been found, one way or another.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mpdetails.asp?id='M10/17/20013:01:24PM'

http://www.nampn.doenetwork.us/cases/moseley_fred.html

http://www.childsearch.org/fred_moseley.html



And finally... another case that stays with me is the disappearance of 3 females just before Christmas 1974 in Fort Worth, TX. I would have never known about this case, but I moved to Fort Worth in late '99 / early 2000... and was told about it by locals. It is disturbing to think that 3 girls can just disappear like that and never be found... as far as I know, this shopping center / mall - used to be a popular place... but when I lived in Ft. Worth.... it was definitely not a popular place, and I did not feel safe there... it was more of a run down area with just a few stores left, just off I-35.

Here is a great website dedicated to their disappearance. I think you'll be fascinated just like me after reading all about it. Coincidentally, one of the missing girls has the same last name as the person I wrote about above... Fred Moseley.

http://www.missingtrio.com/trio/

Joseph Rodriguez, who disappeared in 1936 from NYC. His aunt received a note stating that he would be returned, that a doctor had said he "couldn't be moved." The boy was never returned. I wonder if he was hurt by accident, and someone feared getting into trouble, or if he was abducted, molested, and hurt at that time. I fear he probably died at that time, but who knows.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/rodriguez_joseph.html

The John David Gosch case. I remember reading about it in papers and magazines when I was a kid; I was around the same age at that time, and it fascinated me. His parents separated; his mother has her theory about what happened and his father thinks she's crazy. I have a friend who lived in that area at that time and said both the parents were "weird," and she doesn't believe Johnny saw his 13th birthday.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gosch_john.html

Katherine and Robert Baskin -- I think it's very creepy that they haven't been heard from in all this time. It wasn't as if they were tiny babies that wouldn't remember a past life, either.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/baskin_katharine.html

Nyleen Kay Marshall -- I believe she is still alive and probably has no idea who she really is.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/marshall_nyleen.html

The Fandel children -- It's just such a strange case.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fandel_scott.html

Jacob Wetterling because the circumstances surrounding his abduction are so bizarre.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wetterling_jacob.html

Other cases that haunt me are ones in which the missing person was spotted later. A boy who was abducted from his mother (I think), and there is a photo taken of him several years later; Clifford Sherwood, from Canada, who disappeared and some think died, but his mother claims his father had a picture of Clifford that had to have been taken after his disappearance; a boy from Canada who was spotted with a black male in (I think) Delaware; Sabrina Fair, whose photo picturing her looking so sad with her hair badly dyed black -- these things disturb me because it means these children are being kept either against their will or against their knowledge.

kitap said:

I doubt this would work as undoubtably kidnappers would take off the item. Anything in the skin would probably get ripped out (ouch!).

kitap

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I doubt they would be able to see a small microchip like the ones vets put in your pets that contain identifying info. I would be all for it. I have 5 kids and I worry about something happening to them constantly.

Breehannah6 said:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/calico_tara.html

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The thing that stands out to me in the photos in the expression in the eyes. To me the girl does not look scared, but the little boy looks absolutely terrified. I am undecided if the picture is of Tara, I see a resemblance but there also seem to be some differences.

I agree that the girl in the photo does not look scared, and that the boy is clearly terrified.

However, the girl does look, to me, angry and defiant. Maybe whatever is going on, she's just had enough.

SimonSays said:

And finally... another case that stays with me is the disappearance of 3 females just before Christmas 1974 in Fort Worth, TX. I would have never known about this case, but I moved to Fort Worth in late '99 / early 2000... and was told about it by locals. It is disturbing to think that 3 girls can just disappear like that and never be found... as far as I know, this shopping center / mall - used to be a popular place... but when I lived in Ft. Worth.... it was definitely not a popular place, and I did not feel safe there... it was more of a run down area with just a few stores left, just off I-35.

Here is a great website dedicated to their disappearance. I think you'll be fascinated just like me after reading all about it. Coincidentally, one of the missing girls has the same last name as the person I wrote about above... Fred Moseley.

http://www.missingtrio.com/trio/

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I was a senior in high school in 1974, living in Dallas, Texas, and I vividly remember the story about these three missing girls. My parents refused to let me go to the mall with my friends for months after this happened. I never realized that this was a cold case, I'd always assumed someone had been apprehended.

Does anyone know if any similar type of abduction/disappearance took place in Texas around that time? It seems to me that if someone is capable of abducting and (most likely) killing three youngs girls, he didn't just commit this one crime.

My college English teacher told us that the prevailing theme in most great literature is man's inhumanity to man. It does seem to be limitless, doesn't it?

Marilynilpa said:

I was a senior in high school in 1974, living in Dallas, Texas, and I vividly remember the story about these three missing girls. My parents refused to let me go to the mall with my friends for months after this happened. I never realized that this was a cold case, I'd always assumed someone had been apprehended.

Does anyone know if any similar type of abduction/disappearance took place in Texas around that time? It seems to me that if someone is capable of abducting and (most likely) killing three youngs girls, he didn't just commit this one crime.

My college English teacher told us that the prevailing theme in most great literature is man's inhumanity to man. It does seem to be limitless, doesn't it?

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Last December marked the 30th anniversary of that case. They are still missing and no one was ever apprehended or charged. There is another thread in this forum dedicated to those three girls.

Texas seems to have a lot of missing persons and Unexplained Disappearances. Check out the Doenetwork to see specifics on some of them.

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.org/

What an interesting case! I think it is safe to say someone approached the girls in the parking lot and perhaps someone one of them knew. It is hard to believe no solid witness emergered or bodies discovered.

http://www.marylandmissing.com/pages/24/index.htm This is the link to a girl named tracie mosley that my friends and i went to school with and she has been missing ever since with no leads.......We dont think she ran away, we think she was abducted.....I think about her often and many of these other missing people i cant seem to ever get them out of my mind....its so sad...

Derrick Engebretson. Can you imagine a more horrible twist of fate than to emerge from being lost in the woods only to be abducted by a child killer?

www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/engebretson_derrick.html

Auggie, that is so sad!!

Richard said:

Last December marked the 30th anniversary of that case. They are still missing and no one was ever apprehended or charged. There is another thread in this forum dedicated to those three girls.

Texas seems to have a lot of missing persons and Unexplained Disappearances. Check out the Doenetwork to see specifics on some of them.

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.org/

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I will have to search and find that thread, would love to read it. Thank you!

Does anybody have any more information on this case? I understand that it looked like he was picked up in the woods by a stranger. And wasn't there a clue some time later regarding some words written on a rest area bathroom wall?

The cold cases that haunt me the most are definately the Zodiac killins in California in the 70's and My own dear sister Jan's murder which was never even investigated.