WI WI - Carmen Owens, 41, Shawano, 2 November 1998

New officers join search for missing woman
Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 20:00

Nearly 13 years ago, a Shawano woman who lived a quiet and mostly reclusive life in the city bought a Greyhound bus ticket and, presumably, took the morning bus to Green Bay.

That is the last thing anyone has been able to confirm about Carmen Maria Owens, who was 41 at the time and has not been heard from since.

Though considered a cold case now, it is still an open one for the Shawano Police Department. Since Nov. 2, 1998, when Owens disappeared, it has been handed down to a new generation of officers.

Officer Heidi Thaves, along with Officer Noah Bunt, are the latest to look into the case, even though there are no new leads to investigate.

“Officer Bunt and I went through the case file with a fine-tooth comb, trying to get any additional leads,” Thaves said.

But at this point, there are only dead ends and little more than a hope that renewed publicity will result in somebody bringing forward some new information.

Owens had few friends when she lived in Shawano, according to police, and the only person here she was known to be close to was her mother, Verona Owens, who passed away in February 2009.

“I think she always hoped that Carmen was coming back,” Thaves said.

Carmen Owens was living on her own, not far from her mother, on Fifth Street before her disappearance.

She could typically be seen walking along Green Bay Street, going to the Pick ‘N Save or Kmart, or to the coffee shop. Police said she walked a lot, drank a lot of coffee and smoked frequently.

She also patronized the library, where her mother used to work. She was said to be an avid reader, but because technology has changed since 1998, there’s no record of what Owens might have been reading before she disappeared.

“There’s not a lot of information,” Thaves said.

Greyhound employees in Green Bay could not even say for certain she had gotten off the bus, Thaves said. Some of the buses leaving Shawano went on to Chicago and some to Upper Michigan, but it’s believed the morning bus that Owens presumably boarded went only as far as Green Bay.

Owens occasionally took trips to Green Bay with her mother and went to the downtown mall.

Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright, who worked on the Owens case when he was with the Shawano Police Department, said it appeared Owens may have taken money out of her checking account to go shopping before she left.

There has been no activity in her checking account or any record of her Social Security number being used anywhere since she disappeared, Thaves said.

It’s unclear whether Owens may have purchased a one-way or round-trip bus ticket, but she had no luggage and carried nothing but a brown purse.

Also, medications that she required had been left at home.

Police have not said what her medical diagnosis was, but Owens apparently suffered from some type of mental health problem.

In 2004, Owens’ mother established the Carmen Maria Owens Fund within the Shawano Area Community Fund, providing grants or scholarships that address mental health issues.

“There was some mental health (issue),” Thaves said. “She required medication.”

Other items found at Owens’ home only add to the mystery, including words or names written on an envelope, “Ashthanoth, Athanor, Carmen Owens Farnam.”

Police speculate one possibility is that Owens had intended to use some combination of those names as an alias.

Police also found a notebook that listed apartments for rent in the Green Bay area and a map of Minnesota.

So far, none of the leads has led to Owens.

“It’s very frustrating,” Wright said. “She got on a bus and she’s gone.”

Wright had the Owens case for about four years — the second officer to take it over — until he was elected sheriff in 2006.

“I don’t think there’s ever a point that you stop working on it,” Wright said. “Every little thing you come across that might be a lead, you have to follow up on it. You can’t give up on those types of cases.”

Information about Owens and her disappearance has been entered into a number of law enforcement databases in the hopes of a possible match turning up someday. Even her DNA is on file, collected from her toothbrush, comb and cigarette butts in her apartment.

There are also plans to add Owens’ photo to decks of playing cards used by prison inmates. The cards feature photos of missing persons in the hopes that an inmate might have seen them or learned something about them from another inmate.

Fliers about Owens have also been sent to homeless shelters in Green Bay.

Networking avenues that weren’t around in 1998 are also being employed, such as Facebook and MySpace.

Several web sites post information about Owens and other missing persons. One of those is the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System at <a href="http://www.namus.org">www.namus.org</a>.

Anyone who knew Owens or might have information that could help locate her can contact Thaves at the Shawano Police Department, 715-524-4545.
 
Carmen Maria Owens

Is there a possibility that the shawano cult is involved? I believe they own the place that sells bus tickets but I’m not sure if that was the case at this date
 
Carmen Maria Owens

Is there a possibility that the shawano cult is involved? I believe they own the place that sells bus tickets but I’m not sure if that was the case at this date
Hey there, I know this reply is like 2 years late but I just stumbled upon this forum here. I grew up in Shawano and have grown up hearing about the cult my whole life. It's an interesting theory, but as far as I've heard they've always been weird but kept to themselves.. I'll have to do some more digging. I wonder if any locals would be willing to talk with me about them
 

Carmen M. Owens​

35529d_b722098d912c4a91be2f04ead4ce7465~mv2.jpg


Carmen Owens was last seen on November 2nd, 1998 at the Shawano bus station in the vicinity of the 1200 block of East Green Bay Street in Shawano, Wisconsin.

Carmen is a white woman, 5’4”, and 100 pounds. She has brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles. Carmen was last seen wearing a brown polyester car coat with a hood. She was carrying a brown, long-strapped purse possibly containing a house key, safe key, and her checkbook.

She has a medical condition and needs medication.

Carmen may go by the names Carmen Owens Farnam, Ashthanoth, or Athanor.

She purchased a ticket for a Greyhound bus headed for Green Bay. It is possible that she was planning to go on to Minnesota after arriving in Green Bay. She did not have any luggage with her.

35529d_c4fbc40cb60f48ce905f00a6528d3e79~mv2.jpg


After her disappearance, authorities went to her apartment and found a map of Minnesota along with apartment listings in Green Bay.

Carmen lived quietly in Shawano. She had a few friends, but was very close with her mother who passed away in 2009.

Since Carmen disappeared, there hasn’t been any activity on her Social Security number or her checking account.

Carmen was 41 years old when she went missing. She would be 65 years old today.

 
Hey there, I know this reply is like 2 years late but I just stumbled upon this forum here. I grew up in Shawano and have grown up hearing about the cult my whole life. It's an interesting theory, but as far as I've heard they've always been weird but kept to themselves.. I'll have to do some more digging. I wonder if any locals would be willing to talk with me about them
There's a writeup on them at Wiki

 
Last edited:
New officers join search for missing woman
Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 20:00

Nearly 13 years ago, a Shawano woman who lived a quiet and mostly reclusive life in the city bought a Greyhound bus ticket and, presumably, took the morning bus to Green Bay.

That is the last thing anyone has been able to confirm about Carmen Maria Owens, who was 41 at the time and has not been heard from since.

Though considered a cold case now, it is still an open one for the Shawano Police Department. Since Nov. 2, 1998, when Owens disappeared, it has been handed down to a new generation of officers.

Officer Heidi Thaves, along with Officer Noah Bunt, are the latest to look into the case, even though there are no new leads to investigate.

&#8220;Officer Bunt and I went through the case file with a fine-tooth comb, trying to get any additional leads,&#8221; Thaves said.

But at this point, there are only dead ends and little more than a hope that renewed publicity will result in somebody bringing forward some new information.

Owens had few friends when she lived in Shawano, according to police, and the only person here she was known to be close to was her mother, Verona Owens, who passed away in February 2009.

&#8220;I think she always hoped that Carmen was coming back,&#8221; Thaves said.

Carmen Owens was living on her own, not far from her mother, on Fifth Street before her disappearance.

She could typically be seen walking along Green Bay Street, going to the Pick &#8216;N Save or Kmart, or to the coffee shop. Police said she walked a lot, drank a lot of coffee and smoked frequently.

She also patronized the library, where her mother used to work. She was said to be an avid reader, but because technology has changed since 1998, there&#8217;s no record of what Owens might have been reading before she disappeared.

&#8220;There&#8217;s not a lot of information,&#8221; Thaves said.

Greyhound employees in Green Bay could not even say for certain she had gotten off the bus, Thaves said. Some of the buses leaving Shawano went on to Chicago and some to Upper Michigan, but it&#8217;s believed the morning bus that Owens presumably boarded went only as far as Green Bay.

Owens occasionally took trips to Green Bay with her mother and went to the downtown mall.

Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright, who worked on the Owens case when he was with the Shawano Police Department, said it appeared Owens may have taken money out of her checking account to go shopping before she left.

There has been no activity in her checking account or any record of her Social Security number being used anywhere since she disappeared, Thaves said.

It&#8217;s unclear whether Owens may have purchased a one-way or round-trip bus ticket, but she had no luggage and carried nothing but a brown purse.

Also, medications that she required had been left at home.

Police have not said what her medical diagnosis was, but Owens apparently suffered from some type of mental health problem.

In 2004, Owens&#8217; mother established the Carmen Maria Owens Fund within the Shawano Area Community Fund, providing grants or scholarships that address mental health issues.

&#8220;There was some mental health (issue),&#8221; Thaves said. &#8220;She required medication.&#8221;

Other items found at Owens&#8217; home only add to the mystery, including words or names written on an envelope, &#8220;Ashthanoth, Athanor, Carmen Owens Farnam.&#8221;

Police speculate one possibility is that Owens had intended to use some combination of those names as an alias.

Police also found a notebook that listed apartments for rent in the Green Bay area and a map of Minnesota.

So far, none of the leads has led to Owens.

&#8220;It&#8217;s very frustrating,&#8221; Wright said. &#8220;She got on a bus and she&#8217;s gone.&#8221;

Wright had the Owens case for about four years &#8212; the second officer to take it over &#8212; until he was elected sheriff in 2006.

&#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s ever a point that you stop working on it,&#8221; Wright said. &#8220;Every little thing you come across that might be a lead, you have to follow up on it. You can&#8217;t give up on those types of cases.&#8221;

Information about Owens and her disappearance has been entered into a number of law enforcement databases in the hopes of a possible match turning up someday. Even her DNA is on file, collected from her toothbrush, comb and cigarette butts in her apartment.

There are also plans to add Owens&#8217; photo to decks of playing cards used by prison inmates. The cards feature photos of missing persons in the hopes that an inmate might have seen them or learned something about them from another inmate.

Fliers about Owens have also been sent to homeless shelters in Green Bay.

Networking avenues that weren&#8217;t around in 1998 are also being employed, such as Facebook and MySpace.

Several web sites post information about Owens and other missing persons. One of those is the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System at <a href="Loading...">www.namus.org</a>.

Anyone who knew Owens or might have information that could help locate her can contact Thaves at the Shawano Police Department, 715-524-4545.
Other items found at Owes home only add to the mystery, including words or names written on an envelope,
Ashthanoth,
Athanor,
Carmen Owens Farnam

I wonder if these were last names of men she had met. Or if they are from any books she read or even if they are written backwards mean something else.
 
Other items found at Owes home only add to the mystery, including words or names written on an envelope,
Ashthanoth,
Athanor,
Carmen Owens Farnam

I wonder if these were last names of men she had met. Or if they are from any books she read or even if they are written backwards mean something else.

I found no instances of the word/name Ashthanoth on either Ancestry.com or Newspapers.com. It appears to be a made up name.

I did find the name Athanor in Newspapers.com as the name of a furnace company, Athanor.

“The athanor was the legendary furnace in which medieval alchemists purportedly changed base metals into gold using the ancient elements of water, air, earth and fire.”


Also, an article on Wicca witches in The Atlanta Journal 27 Jan 1990, Sat ·Page 101
“Lady Sintana, Lord Athanor and Lady Galadriel said they came into Wicca because other religions did not meet their needs.”

Also, The St. Helena Star, 21 Apr 1977, Thu ·Page 11, mentions the theatrical company, “Athanor Productions”

 
For those of you following the post, skeletel remains of a female along with a hoop earring were found in Florence County - it is believed the remains had been there from 2-10 years. Idk if any DNA was done and if there were any matches to missing individuals.
 
I found no instances of the word/name Ashthanoth on either Ancestry.com or Newspapers.com. It appears to be a made up name.

I'd also like to add that I think that Ashthanoth might be a mispelling of the name Ashtaroth. Maybe the 'n' is actually an 'r' and was either misspelled by Carmen or misread by the police, especially if it was handwritten. Cursive R's and N's are easily misread and miswrote. Ashthanoth = Ashtharoth = Ashtaroth.

The name Ashtaroth would have more of an evidentiary relationship with the name Athanor and would point to a possible involvement of Carmen with the occult. Instead of picking out an alias last name (especially one that can't be found anywhere in a search for that name; Ashthanoth), she was picking out a coven name. Using a pseudonym in coven activities would prevent other members in the coven from revealing other members real names in case they were 'caught'. They also believe their pseudonym name gives them more power when casting spells.

Wiki: "Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth) is a demon who serves as a Great Duke of Hell in the hierarchy of Hell with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he is part of the evil trinity. He is a male figure most likely named after the Near Eastern goddess Astarte."

"The name "Astaroth" as a male demon is first known from The Book of Abramelin, written in 1458, and recurred in most occult grimoires of the following centuries. Astaroth also features as an archdemon associated with the qliphoth (adverse forces) according to later Kabbalistic texts, as he rules over the qlipha of Jupiter, known as Gha'agsheblah."

There are instances of victims being lured into cults/covens, etc and then killed.

 
I'd also like to add that I think that Ashthanoth might be a mispelling of the name Ashtaroth. Maybe the 'n' is actually an 'r' and was either misspelled by Carmen or misread by the police, especially if it was handwritten. Cursive R's and N's are easily misread and miswrote. Ashthanoth = Ashtharoth = Ashtaroth.

The name Ashtaroth would have more of an evidentiary relationship with the name Athanor and would point to a possible involvement of Carmen with the occult. Instead of picking out an alias last name (especially one that can't be found anywhere in a search for that name; Ashthanoth), she was picking out a coven name. Using a pseudonym in coven activities would prevent other members in the coven from revealing other members real names in case they were 'caught'. They also believe their pseudonym name gives them more power when casting spells.

Wiki: "Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth) is a demon who serves as a Great Duke of Hell in the hierarchy of Hell with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he is part of the evil trinity. He is a male figure most likely named after the Near Eastern goddess Astarte."

"The name "Astaroth" as a male demon is first known from The Book of Abramelin, written in 1458, and recurred in most occult grimoires of the following centuries. Astaroth also features as an archdemon associated with the qliphoth (adverse forces) according to later Kabbalistic texts, as he rules over the qlipha of Jupiter, known as Gha'agsheblah."

There are instances of victims being lured into cults/covens, etc and then killed.

Wow this is so very interesting. Great observation. I can totally see the N and R being confused if it’s in script. I wonder if she was involved in cult activity or met someone who was. I know it’s mentioned she used to go to the library a lot. I wonder if they found any occult books among her belongings?
 

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