FL FL - Peggy Byars-Baisden, 23, Highland City, 2 April 1965

Richard

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Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden, 23, Missing 2 April 1965 from Highland City, FL

Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden
Missing since April 2, 1965 from Highland City, Polk County, Florida.
Classification: Involuntary

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: July 1, 1941
Age at Time of Disappearance: 23 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 120 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes

Circumstances of Disappearance
Byars-Baisden left her home in Highland City, FL between 6:00 - 7:00 PM on April 2, 1965. She was headed to The Chatterbox Bar, which was located where the Polk County Parkway intersects with Highway 98 south near Eaton Park. (The bar has since been closed down).

Byars-Baisden was driving a 1959 light green two-door Chevrolet coupe. A witness observed Byars-Baisden in The Chatterbox Bar's parking lot with an unidentified Caucasian male. Her car was apparently having mechanical problems and the man was assisting her. There's no description available of the man. Byars-Baisden's Chevrolet Coupe was never found. Her family reported her missing the day after she was seen at the bar. There has never been any suspects identified in the disappearance.

Byars-Baisden was divorced with two children when she disappeared. She worked as a waitress while raising her children.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Polk County Sheriff's Office 863-533-0344 OR 800-226-0344
E-Mail

Source Information:
Polk County Sheriff's Office
The Ledger
The Doe Network: Case File 84DFFL

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/84dffl.html
 
Richard said:
Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden, 23, Missing 2 April 1965 from Highland City, FL

Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden
Missing since April 2, 1965 from Highland City, Polk County, Florida.
Classification: Involuntary

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: July 1, 1941
Age at Time of Disappearance: 23 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 120 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes

Circumstances of Disappearance
Byars-Baisden left her home in Highland City, FL between 6:00 - 7:00 PM on April 2, 1965. She was headed to The Chatterbox Bar, which was located where the Polk County Parkway intersects with Highway 98 south near Eaton Park. (The bar has since been closed down).

Byars-Baisden was driving a 1959 light green two-door Chevrolet coupe. A witness observed Byars-Baisden in The Chatterbox Bar's parking lot with an unidentified Caucasian male. Her car was apparently having mechanical problems and the man was assisting her. There's no description available of the man. Byars-Baisden's Chevrolet Coupe was never found. Her family reported her missing the day after she was seen at the bar. There has never been any suspects identified in the disappearance.

Byars-Baisden was divorced with two children when she disappeared. She worked as a waitress while raising her children.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Polk County Sheriff's Office 863-533-0344 OR 800-226-0344
E-Mail

Source Information:
Polk County Sheriff's Office
The Ledger
The Doe Network: Case File 84DFFL

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/84dffl.html
I have a few questions about this that I will try to check out:

1. Where did she waitress?

2. What was her relationship like with her ex-husband? Any custody battles?

3. How often did she frequent the Chatterbox Bar?

4. Was she in the habit of leaving with men from the bar?

5. Did anyone see the unidentified caucasian male in the bar either before or after her disappearance?

6. Had she experienced trouble with her car before this time? (I wonder if someone tampered with her car as a ploy to make contact with her).
 
Marilynilpa said:
I have a few questions about this that I will try to check out:

1. Where did she waitress?

2. What was her relationship like with her ex-husband? Any custody battles?

3. How often did she frequent the Chatterbox Bar?

4. Was she in the habit of leaving with men from the bar?

5. Did anyone see the unidentified caucasian male in the bar either before or after her disappearance?

6. Had she experienced trouble with her car before this time? (I wonder if someone tampered with her car as a ploy to make contact with her).
All good questions, especially the last one. This seems to be a common thread in stories of abductions of women, where a woman or girl is last seen having car trouble, and is being "helped" by a friendly stranger.

There are also many stories of how a man will point to a woman's tire and tell her that it looks flat, hoping that she will pull over. Later, when checking the tire, the woman finds that there is nothing wrong with it.
 
Hi,

There was another woman that went missing, who lived on the same street on November 14,1970. Mary Margaret Cook. Can her information can be posted here? It's listed briefly on the Charlie Project and the Doe Network. The Lakeland Ledger ran quite a few articles in March, 2003. Any help would be appreciated.
 
The children and I appreciate your interest. What does "bumping up" mean or do? Even though I don't get to spend as much time on the computer, I get an email alert whenever there's news on these cases. The Lakeland Ledger was suppose to spotlight a cold case once a month. Wish they would take an interest in these. If I can help, let me know. Take care, D
 
It is basically just a generic post to get the thread "bumped" to the top of the cold case page again so poeple will satart looking at it again.
 
Search Still on For Missing Mother

After 38 years, a family and detectives still look for her.

By AMY L. EDWARDS
The Ledger


HIGHLAND CITY -- Waymone Baisden Sr. was only 2 years old when his mother disappeared almost four decades ago.

Despite having no memories of his mom, Baisden has spent years looking for an answer to the mystery.

"I'd just like some rest," he said. "Anything that would bring rest."

Thirty-eight years ago this week, Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden was reported missing from Highland City.

She was last seen having car trouble on April 2, 1965, at the Chatterbox Bar on U.S. 98.

Decades later, the Polk County Sheriff's Office is still investigating her "suspicious" disappearance.

But investigators say there apparently have never been any suspects identified in the disappearance.

Byars-Baisden's unsolved case has outlived some of her family, potential witnesses and authorities who originally investigated her disappearance.

Byars-Baisden, who was 24 when she disappeared, holds a distinct position at the Sheriff's Office: hers is the oldest open unsolved missing person case, said Sgt. Gary Klinger, who works in the Sheriff's Office missing persons unit.

Despite years of investigating, little is known about her disappearance.

Witnesses told the Sheriff's Office they saw Byars-Baisden outside the bar, which once stood where U.S. 98 and the Polk Parkway now intersect, Klinger said. It appeared a man was assisting Byars-Baisden with her car.

There's no description of the man -- he was either too far away for the witnesses to make a description or it was too dark, according to Lt. Andy Ray, head of Sheriff's Office missing person investigations.

Byars-Baisden's light green 1959 Chevrolet Coupe was never found.

Gene Pharis, who is married to Byars-Baisden's sister, said the family reported her missing the day after she was seen at the bar.

"No one really knew what happened," Pharis said.

From "time to time," Pharis said, investigators would contact and interview family members.

Pharis, eager to find his sister-in-law, did some of his own investigating.

"People would say they saw her," Pharis said. "I would get in my car and go to Ocala, Jacksonville, Miami. I pursued it as best I could."

Pharis said he would visit junk yards in search of her car and show her picture to people.

In all his searches, Pharis said, he came up empty-handed.

Byars-Baisden was divorced with two children when she disappeared.

The children -- Waymone Baisden and his 3-year-old sister -- moved in with Pharis and his wife.

"I raised the two kids as far as my paycheck would carry me," Pharis said. "I supported them and gave them as much as I gave my own son."

After a long dormant period, the Sheriff's Office began to actively investigate the Byars-Baisden case again in 1996 when a family member called to see if there were any leads in Byars-Baisden's disappearance.

Investigators re-interviewed family members and witnesses -- if they were still alive -- but got no breaks.

Last year, the case was transferred to the homicide unit.

However, the Sheriff's Office said it can't officially classify Byars-Baisden as a homicide case.

"Right now, she's missing under suspicious circumstances," said Capt. Joe Halman, who oversees homicide investigations.

Today's investigators don't know what happened in the Sheriff's Office search between 1965 and 1996.

"In 1965, they looked for her," Halman said. "To what extent, I don't know."

Halman said he isn't aware of any suspect in her disappearance. DNA tests have been requested from both of Byars-Baisden's children, which is standard procedure.

Byars-Baisden, who lived on Third Street and Central Avenue in Highland City, worked as a waitress while raising her two children.

Pharis said Byars-Baisden once worked at a restaurant in Plant City, but didn't remember if she was a waitress there at the time of her disappearance.

Pharis said his wife and Byars-Baisden were very close.

"Me and my wife baby-sat for the kids," he said. "If she had a problem, she always came to my house."

Pharis said the family has no theory for what happened the night Byars-Baisden disappeared. But he doesn't think she ran away.

"I don't believe Peggy was the type to run off and leave the kids," Pharis said. "She loved them too much."

Byars-Baisden had no enemies, Pharis said. He doesn't know of anyone who would have wanted to hurt his sister-in-law.

Waymone Baisden, who remembers his mom only through old family photos, said he's done Internet searches and called people around the country who had the same last name.

"I tried to explain that I was looking for my mom," Baisden said. "I was looking for a lead."

Like his uncle, he, too, came up empty-handed.

Detectives are hoping friends, witnesses or family members may be able to give them new details.

"We can always go back and pick the family's brains," Klinger said. "It may spark some memories and can be a big help."

From 1965 to the present, there are 26 unsolved open missing person cases at the Sheriff's Office, Klinger said.

More than 1,000 people are reported missing each year in Polk County, and Klinger said most of the cases are solved.

Very few are considered suspicious, he said.

The Sheriff's Office also recently began to actively investigate the case of another woman long missing from Highland City.

Mary Margaret Cook, who also lived on Third Street, was reported missing in 1970 after she went to J.M. Fields department store on Lake Parker Avenue in Lakeland.

Her car was recovered, but no one saw Cook again.

The Sheriff's Office last month dug up the garage floor at Cook's former home in hopes of finding her buried body.

On March 28, the Sheriff's Office said it finished digging and that Cook was not buried under the garage.

Despite the fact Cook and Byars-Baisden lived only two blocks away from each other, the Sheriff's Office said the two disappearances are not likely related.

"There is no credible evidence to link the two," said Col. Grady Judd. "But we always leave the window open."

Cook's husband, Leathern "Earl" Cook, has been publicly named a suspect in her disappearance by the Sheriff's Office.

Cook has denied having anything to do with his former wife's disappearance.

Pharis said he doesn't think Cook and Byars-Baisden were friends.

He also said when Cook was reported missing, the family didn't think her disappearance was related to Byars-Baisden's.

"No one ever thought there was a connection," Pharis said.

To report information about Cook or Byars-Baisden, contact the Sheriff's Office at 533-0344 or e-mail missingperson(at)polksheriff.org. To report an anonymous tip, call Polk County Crime Stoppers at 800-226-TIPS.


 
othermother,
Thank you for the two articles. Not hearing anything on these cases for some time, I searched for them and "bumped" them, hoping that someone might have more information. It certainly sounds like there are some coincidental features between these two cases.
 
According to the charley project info I read both young women drove cars made in 1959. Was there anything significant about that year for E. Cook?
Child born or marriage, miscarriage, divorce?
 
I didn't know him then. But, not marriage or divorce. They got married in 62 and bought that house soon after. He was born in 41. He liked old cars. He still has the Studebaker. Was Peggy's a 59 too? I'm typing on a laptop, no mouse!
 
othermother said:
I didn't know him then. But, not marriage or divorce. They got married in 62 and bought that house soon after. He was born in 41. He liked old cars. He still has the Studebaker. Was Peggy's a 59 too? I'm typing on a laptop, no mouse!
This is what I read:
. . . Byars-Baisden was driving her light green two-door 1959 Chevrolet coupe with Florida license plates numbered 5W-21118. . .
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/byars-baisden_peggy.html

also doenet has
. . .Byars-Baisden was driving a 1959 light green two-door Chevrolet coupe with Florida license plates number 5W-21118. . . .
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/84dffl.html

http://www.polksheriff.org/missing/byars.html

. . .Her white 1959 Cadillac was found abandoned in the store's parking lot the following day. Mary's wallet was inside the car, but $200 which she had been carrying when she disappeared was missing. . . .
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cook_mary.html

http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1383dffl.html


Perhaps the brand of car is wrong or misprinted in one or both articles but the year is listed as 1959 for both and that strikes me as an interesting coincidence, unless it turns out to be a misprint.

Can you tell me more about his love of old cars? Did he work at a car dealership at some time?
 
othermother, is it at all possible that Earl and Peggy were having an affair? I mean no offence by that, there are just so many coincidences. maybe Peggy wanted more that just being the other woman and threatened to tell? Maybe , years later, maar margaret did something to him, maybe threatened to leave? I have probably been watching too many soaps, but I was just wondering.
 
2sisters said:
othermother, is it at all possible that Earl and Peggy were having an affair? I mean no offence by that, there are just so many coincidences. maybe Peggy wanted more that just being the other woman and threatened to tell? Maybe , years later, maar margaret did something to him, maybe threatened to leave? I have probably been watching too many soaps, but I was just wondering.
That sounds like a good theory. If so, she probably didn't tell anyone about it. I can see with Earl's love of old cars that may be how they met. He drove down the street, saw her car, saw her, started talking...
 
docwho3 said:
... Perhaps the brand of car is wrong or misprinted in one or both articles but the year is listed as 1959 for both and that strikes me as an interesting coincidence, unless it turns out to be a misprint. ...
- Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden, 23, Missing 2 April 1965 from Highland City, FL
Her car was the 1959 green Chevrolet, which is still missing.

- Mary Margaret Cook Missing since November 14, 1970 from Highland City, FL
Her car was the 1959 white Cadillac, which was found.

These two women were missing in separate incidents five years apart, but from the same neighborhood.
 
othermother said:
The car he was driving at the time his wife went missing was a 59 as well. A Studebaker Golden Hawk.
Thanks for the info. Thats too much coincidence for me to consider it unrelated.
I wonder what the odds are against it happening that way with the main suspect in one disappearance/murder drives a 1959 car and his victem drives the same year car and another murder victem also drove the same year car although not the same brand of cars?

I think more attention needs to be paid to where the cars were bought and who worked there and also if our main suspect either was known to hang out there or to have worked there at any time. I wonder if all the cars could have been bought at the same dealership. Sometimes used cars of other brands were sold at dealerships as well as new cars of the dealership brand.

It is not necessary to prove he knew the other woman, just that he could have known her because of having worked where she bought her car or hung out with someone who worked where she bought her car.

Or maybe he was just attracted to any car made in 1959 for some as yet unexplained reason. With his wife having one 1959 car and him owning another of that 1959 year it says to me he had a preference for the year.
 
Richard said:
- Peggy Wynell Byars-Baisden, 23, Missing 2 April 1965 from Highland City, FL
Her car was the 1959 green Chevrolet, which is still missing.

- Mary Margaret Cook Missing since November 14, 1970 from Highland City, FL
Her car was the 1959 white Cadillac, which was found.

These two women were missing in separate incidents five years apart, but from the same neighborhood.
Thank you. The reason I questioned a possible misprint is that obviously L.E. has considered a possible link between the two cases. I saw that when reading the doenet account and the charley project account and I realized that if one case had a 1959 car and someone had to write up 2 cases that were thought to be related then maybe info leaked from one cases notes to the others writeup. I did not think it happened that way but needed to rule it out. I see now that was not what happened.
 
Sometimes people stick to what they know. For example. terrorists generally blow things up. Its what they have the most resources and training to do. A killer that runs a junk yard or works in one (Avery?) may try to hide a body there or use the grounds to dispose of a body. Someone like Scott Peterson might have a boat and so would likely use it if he needed to hide a body.

A certain sports figure was once charged in a case that was never proven but the murder had been carried out with the split second timing of a sports play in a game that was down to the 2 minute warning.

If I was looking for where this suspect might have hidden a body I might consider that someone who likes old cars and fixing them up might need to have contact with junkyards to find parts for them and might know someone that would let him get rid of a car and/or a body. I am not certain the victems body could be found this many years later if it was in a car that got crushed and shipped off to be melted down.


Just thinking out loud some more.
 
docwho3 said:
Sometimes people stick to what they know. For example. terrorists generally blow things up. Its what they have the most resources and training to do. A killer that runs a junk yard or works in one (Avery?) may try to hide a body there or use the grounds to dispose of a body. Someone like Scott Peterson might have a boat and so would likely use it if he needed to hide a body.

A certain sports figure was once charged in a case that was never proven but the murder had been carried out with the split second timing of a sports play in a game that was down to the 2 minute warning.

If I was looking for where this suspect might have hidden a body I might consider that someone who likes old cars and fixing them up might need to have contact with junkyards to find parts for them and might know someone that would let him get rid of a car and/or a body. I am not certain the victems body could be found this many years later if it was in a car that got crushed and shipped off to be melted down.


Just thinking out loud some more.
He may have been instrumental in helping these women get their cars. Perhaps he had a friend that sold cars. He may have given these women the cars. having a 59 and the 2 women having 59's brings up the possibilty he chose the cars.
Hwy 98 is a long long hwy that covers much wooded areas. Lots of access to old dumping grounds and water. Could have dumped the car or a body in a pond or clay pit. I have swam in clay pits and saw old cars in them. You cannot see the cars from the top of the water because the water has a silty look. I was trying to see how deep the clay pit was and could not see the cars until I was almost touching them.
Also back then my mother said she knew of a ring that used to steal cars from Alabama and sell them here in FL. ( We are not in the Highland area. Just meant he may have contacts that could have sold a car without a title)
Perhaps when Peggy's car broke down and he could not fix it she complained he sold her a lemon and wanted to sue. If he sold her a stolen car he would not want her to sue. Motive for murder?
 
There are some similarities which are quite apparent between these two cases. The name Peggy is a derivitive of the name Margaret. Both women were from the same town, and they were about the same age at death (23 and 25). Both were driving 1959 cars made by General Motors, and both were away from home a short distance when they were last seen.

Five years went by between these two cases. Could there have been other attempted abductions, assults, or even murders between them? It may be another case which links and solves one or the other of these two.
 

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