OK OK - Kathleen, 30, & Royce Henson, 1, Tulsa, 23 March 1979

I recently learned about this case. It probably could have been solved back in 1979 but after the initial investigation, it wasn't examined again until 1984. Kathleen Henson was reportedly afraid of a male acquaintance who was involved in criminal activity. I guess there was never enough evidence to list him as a suspect and his name has never been released. In a more recent article, both her father and Eamon (her other son, who was nine or ten at the time) believe that her abusive boyfriend had her killed. It's not specified if the abusive boyfriend is the same person as the male acquaintance. Also, I'm not sure if Eamon and Royce were brothers or half-brothers. They have the same last name but "the abusive boyfriend" is specified as Royce's father and not Eamon's father. I only mention this because that night they disappeared, Eamon was with his father. Therefore if they do have the same dad, I doubt he was involved.


NamUs - Kathleen Henson

NamUs - Royce Henson

Doe Network - Kathleen Henson

Doe Network - Royce Henson

Charley Project - Kathleen Henson

Charley Project - Royce Henson




Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: March 23, 1979 from Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth: October 5, 1977
• Age: 1 year old
• Height and Weight: 2'9, 35 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Biracial (African-American/Caucasian) male. Black hair, brown eyes.



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: March 23, 1979 from Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth: July 30, 1948
• Age: 30 years old
• Height and Weight: 5'7, 125 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Kathleen's nickname is Kathy. Her ears are pierced and she may wear contact lenses.

Details of Disappearance
Kathleen disappeared with her baby son, Royce. They were last seen together in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 23, 1979. Kathleen worked at Roger's Records in the 5000 block of north Peoria Avenue and had access to concert tickets as a result of her job. At 11:30 p.m. on the day of her disappearance, she called some friends and said she was going to their home to give them tickets and would be there within an hour. Kathleen was driving her father's car, a brown four-door 1969 Chrysler sedan. She and Royce never arrived and have never been heard from again.

Kathleen is divorced and left behind a ten-year-old son, Eamon, whom she was very close to. She dropped him off at his father's place of business the evening of March 23. Eamon was supposed to only stay with his father for a few hours. Later that evening, Eamon's father dropped him off at Kathleen's house without realizing Kathleen wasn't there. The house was locked and Eamon didn't have a key, so he crawled in through a window and went to bed. When he woke up in the morning and realized his mother still wasn't home, he called her best friend, who called Kathleen's parents.

On March 25, Kathleen's father's vehicle was found locked and abandoned at the corner of Ute Street and Peoria Avenue in Tulsa. It was parked crookedly, which is uncharacteristic of her driving. There was no sign of the Hensons at the scene. Kathleen's straw coin purse, driver's license, Social Security card, a baby bottle and one credit card were inside the car. She wasn't carrying any money, extra clothing, or diapers or bottles for Royce at the time of her disappearance. Kathleen's loved ones don't believe she knew anyone living in the area where her car was found. When authorities searched the Hensons' home, they found no indications of a struggle.

Prior to her disappearance, Kathleen mentioned being afraid of a male acquaintance who was involved with criminal activity. At first her parents believed she'd left of her own accord to get a break, but as weeks passed and no one heard from her, they concluded something else must have happened to her and Royce. There's been no sign of either of them since 1979.

When Kathleen and Royce were initially reported missing, the police checked her car and apartment for evidence but didn't investigate their cases any further. They didn't reopen their investigation until 1984, when Kathleen's mother inquired as to the status of her daughter's case. Foul play is suspected in Kathleen and Royce's disappearances, which remain unsolved.


Parents mystified by disappearance - September 29, 1979

Police cite need for missing persons bureau - July 8, 1984

DNA Project May Help Families Of Missing - April 9, 2008

If she left of her own accord, she would have taken both children. The area of 51st and Peoria was not a safe area at night back in 1979. I cannot remember where Ute Street is in relation to her work place, but my best guess is back towards downtown. That would be an even higher crime area 35 years ago. If Tulsa has a Cold Case unit, I wonder what a renewed visit by a detective could shake out of an abusive acquaintance or ex-lover??
I wonder if her parents are still alive?
(I grew up in Tulsa. I still visit sometimes and the city has a special place in my heart.)

How tragic. Kathleen Henson's sister, Patricia Higginbotham Klein, was my college roommate in 1969. The same year that Kathleen disappeared, Patricia died in her sleep. So the parents lost both their daughters and a grandchild. Patricia was a lovely person and very smart. So sad that both girls lives were cut short.

Not the same father, and Eamon certainly seems to think Royce's dad is the perpetrator. Screenshot attached.

I wonder who Royce's father was, if he's still alive, & what he's been up to since 1979.

http://www.newson6.com/story/8143974/dna-project-may-help-families-of-missing

"Eamon Henson and Bill Higginbotham, Kathleen's father, believe her abusive boyfriend, who was also the father of baby, Royce, had her killed."

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/loca...cle_c7557583-ced6-5e2e-b1e7-bc58d056dafa.html

"When I got inside the house and she was not home, I was immediately panic-stricken. She was always home when I was home, and Royce was gone, too," he said. "I cried myself to sleep. When I woke the next day and they were still not there, it was all I could do to get to the phone and call someone."
He said his mother was involved with a man who was a known drug-trafficker, according to police. Royce is their son."

Bumping

Could she be this Jane Doe? http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/255ufok.html

1) The height and weight are right;
2) same state, within hours of where she disappeared;
3) this Jane Doe could have gone missing in 1979, which was when Kathleen went missing;
4) the age is high, I realize, but to me, the faces are similar, esp. the pointed/prominent chin.
5) While there's no mention of Kathleen having a tattoo, it's possible she was just discreet about it with those in her family; the area where the tatt was would be easy to hide under clothing.

Kathleen Henson is not on the Exclusion List for this Jane Doe, but I am not sure how to go about telling someone about this, because I have never made a match. Does anyone else think it's a possibility? If so, what is next?

Thank you!

Bumping for Kathleen & Royce!

Bumping again for Kathleen & Royce.

After giving this case some though and letting it set for some time, Something has occurred to me.

1. She disappeared between where she dropped Eamon (her older son) off, and wherever she was headed to meet the friend who wanted the Siegfried show.

2. Kathleen's car (her fathers actually) was later found at UTE street and Peoria. By the same person she was going to meet.

3 It certainly strikes me as a bit odd that her belongings were found in the car, but No kathleen, no Royce and not much else, "When she vanished, Mrs.Henson “had only the clothes that she stood in. She had the baby in a sleeper, but she had no bottle, no diapers and no money,” [1]

The car was apparently not torn up. . .Makes me wonder. .


1.Parents mystified by disappearance

Still wondering where Kathleen and Royce are and wishing her oldest son peace. I can’t find the name of Royce’s father anywhere.

taramarie said:

Still wondering where Kathleen and Royce are and wishing her oldest son peace. I can’t find the name of Royce’s father anywhere.

Click to expand...

The Tulsa police never released his name. In fact that kept the persons name pretty close to their vest.

But in considering the thing, 42 years later, one has to ask, "who would have benefitted?"

I think the answer is apparent, Kathleen was was obviously strapped for money, as she had two children, Eamon, and Royce, and she was living on her own. So, it seems money was tight. I have to wonder if she had threatened the father of Royce with child support payments. (The average wage in '79 was $16,530. or $1377 a month, she was making half of that at best -$550 a month)

Consider too, why was she delivering personally tickets to the concert or show in her fathers car if she was not having financial problems.

The article notes:
"Kathy didn’t have any money that we could account for. Her coin purse containing a few dollars was found in the car and so was her identification. Besides, she only made $550 a month and that wasn’t much when she was trying to stretch it out to feed, clothe and house herself and two kids.”[1]

It goes on later:

"When she vanished, Mrs.Henson “had only the clothes that she stood in. She had the baby in a sleeper, but she had no bottle, no diapers and no money,” Says Mrs. Higginbotham."[1]

It seems likely that IF this is the case, the way a criminally connected father would be inclined to make the problem disappear is to make Kathleen and Royce disappear. Especially when you remember that her fathers car was found hastily parked at Ute and Peoria. WHY? Someone wanted to make it clear that maybe she just LEFT.

So the car was found two days later, which would give the person a full day of driving to take them somewhere and dispose of them before returning. Although in reality, they are probably not so far. Just likely buried somewhere known to the killer. A published account gives her time of disappearance as 11:30:

"A police report shows Miss Henson also told the friend she had to stop somewhere, but didn’t say where she was going." [2] So what was the additional stop? Likely where she was kidnapped. but the same account notes:

"When nothing was found, the report was filed, and no action was taken until April 1984."[2]

Oh brother, no wonder nothing happened in the case. A five year time period to make a clean get away as apparently no one in Tulsa considered it to be anything but someone who just "left." It gets worse:

"Mrs. Higginbotham said she was upset “because the file was lost."

I don't know if Tulsa has a cold case squad, but I would wager that the father is the one connected to the disappearance. Another article notes:

"The answer: officers apparently had not investigated Miss Henson’s disappearance since March 29, 1979.That news “was really distressing,” Mrs. Higginbotham said. Although this is an isolated case, Det. Sgt. Buck Gardner said, it’s time the department assigned detectives on a full-time basis to missing persons detail. “People are starting to demand attention of the police department (in regards to missing persons)"[2].

I also wonder if Eamon knows the name of his missing brothers father? Or whose name is on Royce's birth certificate as the father? Heaven knows, I have spent time on NAMUS looking at unidentified bodies and have found nothing, which leads me to believe they were buried somewhere or worse. And as the car turned up, it is clear they did not end up in a submerged car in a lake or river.

One additional article supports this:

"Eamon Henson and Bill Higginbotham, Kathleen's father, believe her abusive boyfriend, who was also the father of baby, Royce, had her killed."[3]

Lastly the fact that she never bothered to return home to her elder son, or life, or attempt to make contact makes it pretty clear she did not voluntarily leave.


1.Parents mystified by disappearance

2. Police cite need for missing persons bureau, Jul 8, 1984
Police cite need for missing persons bureau

3. DNA project may help families of missing April 9, 2008; DNA Project May Help Families Of Missing

What do you think about this UID for Kathleen? She was found about 30min away.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Anika said:

Could she be this Jane Doe? 255UFOK

1) The height and weight are right;
2) same state, within hours of where she disappeared;
3) this Jane Doe could have gone missing in 1979, which was when Kathleen went missing;
4) the age is high, I realize, but to me, the faces are similar, esp. the pointed/prominent chin.
5) While there's no mention of Kathleen having a tattoo, it's possible she was just discreet about it with those in her family; the area where the tatt was would be easy to hide under clothing.

Kathleen Henson is not on the Exclusion List for this Jane Doe, but I am not sure how to go about telling someone about this, because I have never made a match. Does anyone else think it's a possibility? If so, what is next?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

The lime lady was identified recently, she is NOT Kathleen Henson.

taramarie said:

What do you think about this UID for Kathleen? She was found about 30min away.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Click to expand...

It does look interesting, I noticed that Eamon had given a DNA sample to help with identity. Mannford is certainly well within an easy driving range of Tulsa. The time frame is correct. . .No idea if she is on the excluded list either.

whorton said:

It does look interesting, I noticed that Eamon had given a DNA sample to help with identity. Mannford is certainly well within an easy driving range of Tulsa. The time frame is correct. . .No idea if she is on the excluded list either.

Click to expand...

no, this UID has no exclusions. There is no dna available for her. Here’s her thread:
OK - OK - Pawnee Co, Fem UP12202, 21-35, remains north Mannford, pubis defect, Aug'82

taramarie said:

no, this UID has no exclusions. There is no dna available for her. Here’s her thread:
OK - OK - Pawnee Co, Fem UP12202, 21-35, remains north Mannford, pubis defect, Aug'82

Click to expand...

According to the UID’s NamUs listing, no dna is available but dentals are. According to Kathleen’s Doe network listing, her dental charts are available. I think I’ll submit this week.