MI MI - Nikole Betterson, 2, Dearborn, Dec 1977

Even though this article is old, I wonder if her grandparents are still alive and living in the same place. I'd like to see a better picture of this girl (well, now woman) and possibly even get her listed. Does anyone think it's a good idea to try to contact them ? I can't even tell her race from that photo.
 
Hollow said:
Even though this article is old, I wonder if her grandparents are still alive and living in the same place. I'd like to see a better picture of this girl (well, now woman) and possibly even get her listed. Does anyone think it's a good idea to try to contact them ? I can't even tell her race from that photo.
From the article it seems as though her mother was white, or non-black and her father was black.
 
14UFAZ.jpg



Unidentified White Female
Little Jane Doe

Body located on March 24, 1979 in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona.
Cause of death is unknown due to skeletal remains. The child's neck was possibly broken as a post-mortem injury.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vital Statistics


Estimated age: 3 - 5 years old.
Approximate Height and Weight: 3'3"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Long brown hair, 16 inches in length.
Clothing: Her remains were strewn with pieces of decaying fabric. One item appeared to have been an off-white coarse-weaved cotton garment; another piece could have possibly been a dark blue or dark gray loose-weaved blanket

http://doenetwork.us/cases/14ufaz.html

nikole.jpg


http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1998/Jun-15-Mon-1998/news/7680212.html


I'm not sure if the first pic is showing up now or not????
 
Thanks for the picture tsnana !!! That looks like a good match to me too, and they were all living down in that general area too ?? I've asked a few people on here if I should get her information and see if she could be listed as missing, everyone is sort of with the same concencus that she's probably dead , seeing as how her father said he was going to prison (there must have been some reason he thought this) and then killed himself. I wonder what happened to this little girl ??
 
I, sadly, agree that she is probably dead. Poor little Angel. Isn't she just adorable? Well, both pictures show an adorable little girl. This is just so sad!
Hollow said:
Thanks for the picture tsnana !!! That looks like a good match to me too, and they were all living down in that general area too ?? I've asked a few people on here if I should get her information and see if she could be listed as missing, everyone is sort of with the same concencus that she's probably dead , seeing as how her father said he was going to prison (there must have been some reason he thought this) and then killed himself. I wonder what happened to this little girl ??
 
Nikole Betterson
Missing since Circa January 5, 1978 from Las Vegas, Nevada
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 2 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: Biracial female. (Black/White)

Circumstances of Disappearance

Nikole disappeared some time after 1977, when her father and his girlfriend left Dearborn, Michigan, with the child.

In Labor Day weekend 1977, Jarrett was at the wheel when the car he was riding in with his girlfriend, Susan Klingel, and their young daughter, Nikole, went out of control and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop. Susan was thrown from the vehicle and died. Jarrett and Nikole were not seriously injured.

Jarrett and Susan had never married. Soon, Jarrett had a new girlfriend, Barbara, and the two had plans to take Nikole with them and start a new life out West.

Jarrett and Barbara didn't say where they were going. He told some friends they were headed toward Las Vegas. Someone else said they were on their way to California.

In 1997s Nikole's grandparents hired a private investigator who found the Bettersons living in Las Vegas. But there was no trace of Nikole. Records were searched, but no evidence was found that she ever made it with her father to their new home. It was as though Nikole, sometime in early 1978, had simply ceased to exist. Except in the eyes of the Social Security Administration. Until she turned 18, it kept sending her the monthly survivor benefit that goes to children whose parents have died. Jarrett picked the check up each month at a local post office.

When a detective questioned the Bettersons about Nikole's wherabouts, they promised to get back to him in a week. Jarrett called the detective four days later and said he had no other option but to cooperate. But he needed time. Give me a few weeks, Jarrett said, and I'll set up a meeting with Nikole. Ten days later, Jarrett called again, asking for more time. The Bettersons then committed suicide. Barbara had written a letter to Jarrett's mother;
"By the time you get this we should be dead," Barbara wrote. "Jarrett is about to go to jail and I don't want to live without him. I'm sorry about living apart from our family. I'm sorry about so many things. We've had a sad and difficult life."

Inside the envelope was a money order for $900 to pay for their cremation. It wasn't until three weeks later that the bodies were discovered by the apartment manager. No suicide note was found in the apartment and no mention was made of Nikole, who would now be 22 if still alive.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Las Vegas Police Department
Detective Jeff Rosgen
702-229-3521

Agency Case Number: 970620-0755
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Doe Network: Case File 1971DFNV

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1971dfnv.html
 
That's horrible. Maybe the dad and girlfriend's prior residence history can be searched and neighbors can be talked to so it can be determined what happened to the little girl. Doesn't sound good though.
 
So, when the dad and wife were questioned, they just asked for more time to tell the story, and didn't say ANYTHING? I would think they'd have had to give some kind of info about Nikole at the time and couldn't just keep totally silent...

Also, doesn't Social Security ever follow up on the benefit recipients? Seems a little weird IMO that they would never require an in-person office visit or some kind of proof, i.e. school registration or something, to prove the person is still alive and well and in need of the benefits...
 
It sadly does sound like this poor little girl is passed on. I don't think the dad would have been afraid of prison if she wasn't dead & if he wasn't somehow responsible, whether intentional through abuse or whether by some sort of neglect. The poor dear is probably hidden or buried someplace that she may never be found. It would be hard to know at what age she might have died, although the 1970s is likely since the grandparents never heard anything from her or about her ever again.
As far as the social security benefits, I wonder if she was receiving them before her dad married Barbara or after. If it was before, then probably all he had to do was notify them of a change of address for the checks. If he applied for them after the move, would he have had to present the child and her birth certificate, mom's death certificate, and so forth at the social security office? If so it would narrow down the last time she was seen alive.
 
From the news story in the first post "Go to your Bibles to see peace," she wrote, "and please forgive us for all the wounds we have put in your hearts with our tragic and youthful blunders."

I actually read this as there is a possibility that she is still alive. "tragic and youthful blunders" The tragic I think could be their suicide. Blunders does not indicate that they murdered someone IMO.

I think they could have sold her to someone.
 
Kinda odd the obits for both of them were in Denton record chronicle in Tx.

http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/denton/obits/98drcobidx.txt

I think if this poor child is ever going to be found, one would need to know where the Betterson's moved from in Michigan and where they moved to. I know there is only speculation as to what state...but you would think SS would have kept records of what addresses they sent the checks to for 18 years. Any one good at skip tracing?
 

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