LA LA - Arrilla Webb-Vaul, 23, Bossier Parish, 15 March 1979

Richard

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
11,425
Reaction score
18,779
Arrilla Naomi Webb-Vaul
Missing since March 15, 1979 from Bossier Parish, Louisiana.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: September 27, 1955.
Age at Time of Disappearance: 23 years old
Height and Weight: 61"; 100 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
Marks, Scars: Small mole on right side of nose
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a purple or maroon dress, a full length blue and gray plaid hooded coat and was possibly wearing white high heel shoes.
Jewelry: A small emerald ring worn on right hand, and a white gold wedding set on left hand with two wide bands with the center of the second band having a 1/3 karat diamond, also wearing a silver watch.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Webb dropped her husband off at "Shrevecity" Shopping Center on 70th Street in Shreveport, LA the day of her disappearance. Her tire had been slashed yet was not completely flat. She left the shopping center and traveled about 200 yards over the bridge into Bossier Parish.

Witnesses saw Webb pull over on the side of the road just over the bridge and watched a white male in a truck pull up behind her. Her car was later located on the shoulder of the road with no sign of Webb's whereabouts.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office 318-965-2203

Agency Case Number: 14514
NCIC Number: M-094129034
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Center for Missing Adults
The Doe Network: Case File 743DFLA

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/743dfla.html
 
I did a search for Arilla in the archives to see if any articles popped up and found nothing.

I did a variant spelling of her name and found this: (Note: not quite sure what this is, it appears to be a transcription of an interview of some sort).

http://files.ktbs.com/ktbspublicfile/ascertainments/ktbs-2007-qtr2.pdf

(pages 69-70)

AND THERE'S JAMES WOOD.. A FORMER TRUCK DRIVER WHO MARRIED A WOMAN IN DESOTO PARISH. HE LEFT TOWN IN 19-92 AMID CHARGES HE HAD SEX WITH A TEENAGER.
((SOT)) (Det. Morris) "He lived north of Grand Cane and we had just begun an investigation on him for harming a child when he fled."
MORRIS, WHO'S READ THIS BOOK ABOUT WOOD, SAYS AFTER HE GOT ARRSESTED FOR MURDERING A LITTLE GIRL IN IDAHO, WOOD STARTED CONFESING.
HE SAYS HE KILLED SHIRLEY COLEMAN, WHO DISAPPEARED CHRISTMAS EVE 1976 WHILE LOOKING FOR ONE LAST CHRISTMAS GIFT.
MORRIS CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER IF WOOD'S KILLED EVEN MORE IN THE AREA.. ONE CASE IN PARTICULAR IS THAT OF DODIE GAY. A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR WHO DISAPPEARED FROM A SHREVEPORT SHOPPING CENTER IN 1979.. HER BODY WAS
FOUND UNDER A BRIDGE IN DESOTO PARISH SIX WEEKS LATER. THEN THERE'S ARILLA VAUL.. SHE DISAPPEARED JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE GAY. SHE TOO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN KIDNAP FROM A SHREVEPORT SHOPPING AREA.. HER CAR WAS FOUND WITH A PUNCTURED TIRE ON 70TH.. HER BODY HAS YET TO BE FOUND. VAUL AND GAY ARE JUST TWO OF MANY WHO HAVEN'T BEEN FOUND.. OR HAVE BEEN FOUND DEAD. IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY.. SOME SAY IS A "BERMUDA TRIANGLE" FOR FEMALES.
 
I'm doing a little research on Arrilla Webb-Vaul because there's a newly listed Jane Doe out of Biloxi Mississippi whose teeth have very unevenly spacing and alignment very similar to Arrilla's teeth.

NamUs UP # 11582 https://identifyus.org/cases/11582

Unidentified White Female

c8184a0f-8578-44d2-b97d-8a61c11f7392.jpg
145043ae-7462-467f-acb6-e22265358b91.jpg
760aa547-7e58-4d1e-baae-b9179aba94ea.jpg


I don't have any indication that she had a pigeon-chest condition like the Jane Doe did, and she is a little bit short compared to the Jane Doe's height estimate.

But her age and the timeline are good, and Biloxi is not too far away from Shreveport LA.

I contacted Helen Bouzon this morning, and she says that they are having difficulty getting any identifiers of any kind on her. They supposedly had a clump of her hair, but when they located it, all they had was a single strand, and that strand yielded no DNA.

I've done a little research on her to see if I could locate any living relatives, and I'll post it here.

Arrilla Webb attended Friendswood High School in Friendswood (Galveston County) TX. She was from the Class of 1974

This photo comes from the group photo of the Spanish Club. I don't see any indication of a pigeon chest, but the photo isn't clear enough to see for sure.

c88fe1c2-3e3a-4c9d-96ab-6f66069cdb3d.jpg


She married to Scott Brian Vaul on August 28, 1976. Scott Vaul passed away in 2009. Here's his Find A Grave entry.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...ll&GSst=46&GScntry=4&GSsr=5481&GRid=72754559&

Scott filed for divorce in 1983 (4 years after her disappearance). The divorce record indicates that they had no children.

Arrilla is the daughter of June Emily Garbett and John Richard Webb. I see from the 1940 census that there is a June Garbett born in approximately 1922 and who lived in Philadelphia in 1940. It is not clear if this is the June Emily Garbett who is Arrilla's mother, but she is the second of four children born to Robert and Bertha Garbett. Robert Garbett was born about 1895 and Bertha was born about 1898. June's siblings were Robert Garbett Jr. (b. abt 1919), Frank Garbett (b. abt. 1924), and Mary Alice Barton (b. abt. 1918 in Delaware)

There's a Frank Garbett - b. 06-Aug-1923, d. 25-Dec-1980, whose SS# was issued in Virginia, and served in the Air Force during WWII.


That's all I have so far.
 
Here's her sophomore portrait from the 1972 Friendswood TX High School yearbook:

bc346041-b979-49e0-b37c-63eaa4c63903.jpg
 
Wow, Carl-she does resemble the Jane Doe out of Biloxi! As always, I am impressed by your work
 
Her friend posted in MS - Biloxi, WhtFem Skeletal UP11582, 19-25, On Logging Road-Pigeon Chested, Oct'80

I am new to this forum.
Arrilla Webb-Vaul was my best friend in high school. Every now and then I google her name to see if anything has turned up with her missing. So this is new. It is really nice to see that she has not been forgotten.

Having known her so well, I can tell you she did not play in the band and never played a wind instrument. Her posture was straight and I have no recollection of her having any chest abnormality. If she did, she hid it really well.

While I look at the teeth comparison, and they seem similar, I am not positive they are the same. I pulled my senior yearbook, and have no clear picture of her smile in there to compare. I need to locate my box of high school pictures to see if I have any other ones that might help. I also have pictures my brother took of her at her wedding and he might have taken a close up.

Her mother was June and her father was Richard Webb (first name might have been John but I remember her mom calling him Richard). Her grandmother lived with them, and her name was Bertha. I know her mother passed away in 1988. Her father called me to let me know. At that time, they lived in Brookshire, Texas. I have no idea what happened to her father since then.

Arrilla was an only child.

I think about my dear friend often, and miss her dearly. I am thankful for those of you who continue to search.
 
This is a post from the Biloxi Jane Doe thread in the UID Forum:

Here is an article about the efforts of the State of Mississsippi to identify several long-term UID cases.

http://www.wlox.com/story/24821744/wlox-special-report-identifying-john-jane-doe

It's interesting that Kristi Johnson's computer monitor is visible on her desk, showing a side-by-side of Arrilla Webb-Vaul and the Biloxi Jane Doe. So obviously, they are interested in this possible match.
24821744_BG1.jpg


Arrilla Webb-Vaul has been missing 35 years this week.
 
I'm doing a little research on Arrilla Webb-Vaul because there's a newly listed Jane Doe out of Biloxi Mississippi whose teeth have very unevenly spacing and alignment very similar to Arrilla's teeth.

NamUs UP # 11582 https://identifyus.org/cases/11582

Unidentified White Female

c8184a0f-8578-44d2-b97d-8a61c11f7392.jpg
145043ae-7462-467f-acb6-e22265358b91.jpg
760aa547-7e58-4d1e-baae-b9179aba94ea.jpg


I don't have any indication that she had a pigeon-chest condition like the Jane Doe did, and she is a little bit short compared to the Jane Doe's height estimate.

But her age and the timeline are good, and Biloxi is not too far away from Shreveport LA.

I contacted Helen Bouzon this morning, and she says that they are having difficulty getting any identifiers of any kind on her. They supposedly had a clump of her hair, but when they located it, all they had was a single strand, and that strand yielded no DNA.

I've done a little research on her to see if I could locate any living relatives, and I'll post it here.

Arrilla Webb attended Friendswood High School in Friendswood (Galveston County) TX. She was from the Class of 1974

This photo comes from the group photo of the Spanish Club. I don't see any indication of a pigeon chest, but the photo isn't clear enough to see for sure.

c88fe1c2-3e3a-4c9d-96ab-6f66069cdb3d.jpg


She married to Scott Brian Vaul on August 28, 1976. Scott Vaul passed away in 2009. Here's his Find A Grave entry.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...ll&GSst=46&GScntry=4&GSsr=5481&GRid=72754559&

Scott filed for divorce in 1983 (4 years after her disappearance). The divorce record indicates that they had no children.

Arrilla is the daughter of June Emily Garbett and John Richard Webb. I see from the 1940 census that there is a June Garbett born in approximately 1922 and who lived in Philadelphia in 1940. It is not clear if this is the June Emily Garbett who is Arrilla's mother, but she is the second of four children born to Robert and Bertha Garbett. Robert Garbett was born about 1895 and Bertha was born about 1898. June's siblings were Robert Garbett Jr. (b. abt 1919), Frank Garbett (b. abt. 1924), and Mary Alice Barton (b. abt. 1918 in Delaware)

There's a Frank Garbett - b. 06-Aug-1923, d. 25-Dec-1980, whose SS# was issued in Virginia, and served in the Air Force during WWII.


That's all I have so far.

I've tried to do some digging, and found the obituary of Robert Garbett Sr, listing children and survivors. Robert Garbett Jr died in 1944 in the war, I am reasonably sure childless. Frank Garbett died in 1980.

Mary Alice ended up as Mary Alice Koett (married a Charles Koett in 1960 at the age of 43). She died in 1990. I'm unsure if she had any children at all, and if she did I am presuming it was before she remarried to Mr Koett.

The obituary said that Robert Garbett Sr was survived by 3 grandchildren - so Arrilla, and 2 cousins. If the cousins are via Mary Alice, they are useful for mtDNA, if via Frank or Robert Jr they're not. If Frank Garbett had 2 children by 1960, then we can assume that Mary Alice had none, and that lead on mtDNA for Arrilla is dry, unless we go up a generation.
 
Small update just to say that Arrilla's maternal aunt almost certainly had no children (the other two grand children were via the uncle). All maternal-side relations that are remotely near seem to be deceased. :(
 
Richard Webb moved to California to live with family after June passed. He has since passed and both are buried in Pearland, TX, along with Grandmother, Bertha. He kept in touch with Scott over the years. Every March 15th was very hard on Scott, and I can only pray, that in death, he finally had all his questions answered.
I know that Bossier still has this as an active case, they have called over the years to ask questions or seek permission to visit inmates known to be in the area at the time, or making claims to such.
RIP Richard & Scott.... I hope you have the answers to all your questions.
 
NamUs shows DNA sample submitted - tests not completed for Arrilla. I wonder if that's leftover from the failed sample or if there is a valid sample in process.
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/734

A year later it's still saying the same thing. Gonna try to email Michael Nance to see what's up. Her Doe net page says DNA available


Her friend posted again

I am a high school friend of Arrilla Webb-Vaul's and posted information I had on her a while back.
This is the time of year I think about her for obvious reasons. I am very interested in the DNA testing and very happy to see that she is still looked for.
I found another photo of her that might be of use, attaching it here. Maybe it will of use if you don't already have it.
View attachment 90611
 
The below quotes are taken from MS - Biloxi, WhtFem Skeletal UP11582, 19-25, On Logging Road-Pigeon Chested, Oct'80. Details about webrocket finding distant cousins hopefully to get a DNA sample for Arrilla. I then sent all of the info to Michael Nance this morning. I asked that he let me know how it works out. The only other option would be to exhume her mom.

A year later it's still saying the same thing. Gonna try to email Michael Nance to see what's up. Her Doe net page says DNA available

I have a friend at Doe Network who told me the DNA sample associated with Arrilla is at UNT. Apparently there is something wrong with it since it has not processed in a year since someone posted it was on her NamUs profile. Michael Nance did not tell me what was wrong but said he is interested in relatives if they could be found.

Arrilla's Doe Net profile
Arrilla Naomi Webb-Vaul
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 15, 1979
Location Last Seen: Bossier Parish, Bossier County, Louisiana

Physical Description
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.

Date of Birth: September 27, 1955
Age at Time of Disappearance: 23 yrs old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height at Time of Disappearance: 5'1"
Weight at Time of Disappearance: 100 lbs
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Alias(s) / Nickname(s): N/A

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Small mole on right side of nose

Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available

___________________________

Posts from MS - Biloxi, WhtFem Skeletal UP11582, 19-25, On Logging Road-Pigeon Chested, Oct'80http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...Pigeon-Chested-Oct-80&p=12420015#post12420015

I am a high school friend of Arrilla Webb-Vaul's and posted information I had on her a while back.
This is the time of year I think about her for obvious reasons. I am very interested in the DNA testing and very happy to see that she is still looked for.
I found another photo of her that might be of use, attaching it here. Maybe it will of use if you don't already have it.
View attachment 90611

That is a great photo of her teeth to compare to the representation of her teeth in the sculpture. There are some interesting similarities.

Arrilla%20Webb%20Vaul%20and%20Biloxi%20Jane.gif


Taking into account the front tooth (#8) could have been chipped after her portrait was taken, and the possibility that some of the teeth on her left side (viewer's right) were loose when the casting of the skull was made (which is often the case with skeletal remains), they line up pretty well. I wouldn't say for sure that this is spot on. There is some very slight variation, but I'd say it is very close.

Try as I might, I looked for maternal relatives of Arrilla. She had an aunt, i.e. her mother's sister who was born in 1917. However, she was married multiple times and I have not found any evidence that she had children. She first married in 1936 for a day. She married again in 1944 at the age of 27. She had a new surname by 1954 and then again by 1960. Realistically speaking if she had any children most likely it would have been by husband #2 as she was already 37 y.o. by the time she married a third time. Census records from this period are not available.

She died in Texas in 1990 at the age of 73.
Update on relatives. I should know the answer to this question by now, but by maternal relatives do we want ANY blood relation from the mother's side or just female blood relatives of her mother? I have focused on finding female relatives. Arrilla's mother had two brothers and I had not looked for descendants of theirs.

I am omitting surnames here as not to drag living people into this thread involuntarily. Arrilla's grandmother Bertha had two sisters both of whom had children. She also had two brothers. One sister Louise got married and had four children, one of whom was named Daniel, Jr. He died in 2011 but I found an obituary which names his three other siblings (one of whom was still alive as of 2011) and his five children and the town in which they all reside.

So if I have my degrees of kindred correct, the surviving children of Daniel, Jr. were second cousins to Arrilla.

Descendants of an uncle would not be very useful for nuclear (nucDNA), and not useful at all for mitochondrial (mtDNA).

The uncle on the mother's side would probably be suitable for mtDNA, assuming that his mother is Arrilla's grandmother. It doesn't matter whether the relative submitting the FRS is male or female, it only matters if the ancestral line that connects him/her to Arrilla is all female.

And the children of the grandmother's sisters? Wouldn't that be the female line as well?
Yes, assuming that they shared the same great-grandmother. And the sons/daughters of those "grandmother's sisters" would be suitable for mtDNA testing as well.

All of the people I found are descended from Arrilla's maternal great-grandmother Josephine who gave birth to Bertha (Arrilla's grandmother) and Louise whose descendants I was able to trace with the help of obituaries online.

I would never personally make contact with them as I am a stranger and they may not even have known of Arrilla's existence.

However, if someone is more confident with contacting LE, etc., I could privately send the names.

Could you go through her Namus case manager?
Michael Nance has not answered me; I replied again. We don't know if we need to contact relatives. I don't have a problem doing it.

I've never heard a peep from anyone I've contacted through Namus.
All of the people I found are descended from Arrilla's maternal great-grandmother Josephine who gave birth to Bertha (Arrilla's grandmother) and Louise whose descendants I was able to trace with the help of obituaries online.

I would never personally make contact with them as I am a stranger and they may not even have known of Arrilla's existence.

However, if someone is more confident with contacting LE, etc., I could privately send the names.

I told Michael Nance that someone possibly traced relatives; he replied back to please let him know if we have information about relatives.

I've never heard a peep from anyone I've contacted through Namus.

Unfortunately, that's how it seems to be these days until you throw them the right bone. Very disappointing.
I'm reaching out to another contact to see if they can find out who holds the DNA that's listed on Doe Net. I'm not holding out any hope that it's really available but you never know.

We should discuss Arrilla in her thread lol
I told Michael Nance that someone possibly traced relatives; he replied back to please let him know if we have information about relatives.

Unfortunately, that's how it seems to be these days until you throw them the right bone. Very disappointing.
I'm reaching out to another contact to see if they can find out who holds the DNA that's listed on Doe Net. I'm not holding out any hope that it's really available but you never know.

We should discuss Arrilla in her thread lol

I'll send the names to you roselvr and it would be appreciated if you could pass it along to Michael Nance.

All of the info on Arilla's distant cousins has been sent to Michael Nance. I asked that he let me know how it works out.
Thank you so much for helping another MP to hopefully go home. The only other option would be to exhume her mom.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
100
Guests online
821
Total visitors
921

Forum statistics

Threads
589,926
Messages
17,927,738
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top