NJ NJ/PA - Missing girls with link to horses, 1970s

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cotta_jan.html
Jan Andre Cotta


Left: Cotta, circa 1973;
Right: Age-progression to age 52 (circa 2006)

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 26, 1973 from Wall Township, New Jersey
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: March 26, 1954
Age: 19 years old
Height and Weight: 5'4, 118 - 125 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Cotta may use the alias Jane Andrea Cotta. She suffered temporary hearing loss when she was seventeen or eighteen years old and had to wear a hearing aid for three months. Cotta has previously fractured her left wrist and lower left arm. She has a mole on her lower right cheek.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A white shirt with a blue design, blue Land Lubbers jeans, brown loafers, a plain gold ring with the initials "JAC" and a gold ring set with a blue topaz birthstone and two diamonds.
Medical Conditions: Cotta was reportly five to seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. She is asthmatic and may also have epilepsy.

Details of Disappearance

Cotta was last seen inside a barn tack house on her family's property in the Allenwood section of Wall Township, New Jersey on June 26, 1973. Her brother and a friend saw her sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. She was carrying a round tweed purse at the time. A vehicle was heard driving away from the farm and afterwards, Cotta was discovered to be missing. She has never been heard from again.
Cotta has seven siblings and is described as an avid equestrian. She was active in the 4-H Club and also attended riding classes at the Morven Park International Equestrian Institute in Leesburg, Virginia and the Princeton Riding Academy. Her family hired a private investigator to find her after she went missing. The investigator discovered Cotta had written a letter to God before she went missing, and also gave a few of her horses to friends. Authorities believe she left of her own accord, at least initially.

Cotta's parents both died in the years following her disappearance, but her siblings are still searching for her. Her case remains unsolved.



http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fox_margaret.html

Margaret Ellen Fox


Left: Fox, circa 1974;
Right: Age-progression to age 44 (circa 2004)

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 24, 1974 from Burlington, New Jersey
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: February 4, 1960
Age: 14 years old
Height and Weight: 5'2 - 5'3, 105 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Fox has freckles. At the time of her disappearance, two of her top front right teeth were missing.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A light blue floral-patterned blouse which was squared at the top and flared at the waist, a black and white checkered waist-length jacket, maroon jeans with a yellow patch on one knee, brown sandals, a gold necklace with flowers and a blue stone on it and a gold charm bracelet with a blue stone.

Details of Disappearance

Fox was last seen in Burlington, New Jersey on June 24, 1974. She was planning to go to High and west Broad Streets in Mount Holly, New Jersey to have an interview with a man who called himself John Marshall. Fox's younger sister accompanied her to the bus stop and saw her on. Witnesses reported seeing her after she got off the bus in Mount Holly, but she has never been heard from again.
Fox had advertised for a baby-sitting job, and Marshall responded to the ad on June 19. He told her he needed a babysitter for the following weekend, but he postponed meeting her several times. Finally he said he would meet her in a red Volkswagen. He gave Fox a telephone number to reach him; the number was traced to a public phone booth at a supermarket in Lumberton, New Jersey.

Fox has never been heard from again. Several other parents in the area complained that someone had attempted to lure their daughters with fake job offers. A suspect's 1976 confession to involvement in her disappearance was widely publicized, but turned out to be a hoax.

Fox took piano lessons in 1974 and she liked to ride horses. She graduted from St. Paul's Grammar School in Burlington two weeks before she vanished. Her case remains unsolved.



http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/thorne_edna.html

Edna Christine Thorne


Left: Thorne, circa 1975;
Right: Age-progression at age 43 (circa 2003)

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 24, 1975 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: February 25, 1960
Age: 15 years old
Height and Weight: 5'1, 105 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Thorne was last seen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 24, 1975. She was departing from a horse stable on a relative's property at the time of her disappearance. Thorne has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case. She is believed to have been abducted by a non-family member.

How strange. Who knows about horses? These places are not far apart. Who would go to different Horse Farms? A trainer , A vet, Who?

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/butler_sandra.html

Sandra Kaye Butler


Left: Butler, circa 1978;
Right: Age-progression at age 40 (circa 2002)

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 26, 1978 from Sparks, Nevada
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: March 27, 1962
Age: 16 years old
Height and Weight: 5'0 - 5'1, 110 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, brown eyes. Butler's nickname is Sandy. Her middle name may be spelled "Kay" by some agencies.

Details of Disappearance

Butler was last seen in Sparks, Nevada on June 26, 1978. She was walking to a store located across the street from her family's residence at the time of her disappearance. Butler has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case.
Some accounts state that Butler disappeared from a Reno Rodeo carnival.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Sparks Police Department
775-353-2231

Oh my God!!!!!

I am sure they have. I just kept thinking of the dates and had to post it. It freaked me out.
I wonder if they knew the same person through riding or training? Shows maybe . i don't know this is all I can put together.

Wow, the connections to horses/horse riding is hard to ignore when looking at these disappearances. Perhaps if there were a way to determine if a rodeo/horse shoe was in the area at the time of these disppearances, it would be possible to learn who might have had contact with any/all of these girls.

I'll check on NewspaperArchives.com and search these names to see if there is any other info about these disappearances. I'll post any results here.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/louks_brookley.html

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 24, 2002 from Greenwood, Indiana Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: December 12, 1982
Age: 19 years old
Height and Weight: 5'2, 120 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Dark brown hair, blue eyes. Brookley's ears are pierced multiple times. She wore size 3 clothing at the time of her disappearance.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A light-colored blouse, dark-colored capri pants, pink sandals, and a gold ring with two hearts and diamonds around the hearts.


Details of Disappearance

Brookley was last seen in Greenwood, Indiana on June 24, 2002. She stopped at her father's residence in the 1400 block of Cottonwood Drive at approximately 4:00 p.m. to retrieve some of her clothing. Brookley summoned authorities to the house after realizing that her father's personal computer had been stolen. Officers completed the burglary report at approximately 5:30 p.m. and departed from the scene. A witness may have seen Brookley enter the passenger side of her 1990 Chevrolet Corsica shortly afterwards. An unidentified young male may have been driving the vehicle at the time. Later, she told her mother she was going to spend the night at a friend's house. Brookley has never been heard from again.
Brookley was reported missing on June 26, two days after her disappearance. Authorities received an anonymous tip and located her vehicle in Waverly, Indiana on July 1, 2002. The car was abandoned in a parking lot near Indiana State Road 37 and Highway 144, approximately ten miles from her father's apartment. There was no sign of her at the scene.

Brookley's mother, Kim, said that her daughter had criminal problems in 2001, but had changed her lifestyle by June 2002. She had previously been addicted to methamphetamines but by the time of her disappearance appeared to be recovering from her addiction, and was pursuing a modeling career. Kim said that Brookley had nearly completed her probation and community service by the time of her disappearance. Her father, Scott A. Louks, agreed and said that it was uncharacteristic of Brookley to leave without warning. Scott's photo is posted below this case summary. Brookley left all of her clothing behind and also left her kitten unattended. She did not hold any credit cards at the time of her disappearance, making it difficult to track her possible financial activity since that time.

Investigators searched Joseph Nowicki's residence in the 4600 block of Old Smith Valley Road in late July 2002. His photo is posted below this case summary. Nowicki had an extensive criminal history that dates back to his teen years includes convictions for murder, robbery, and rape. Kim said that her daughter knew Nowicki and often assisted him care for his horses. Officials seized his van and personal computer during the search. Nowicki was not allowed to possess firearms as the result of his previous convictions; he was arrested on weapons charges after authorities discovered guns inside his family's home. Nowicki claimed the weapons belonged to his wife and he only cleaned the firearms

click to read the rest.

Why are all of these in June? It's as if there is a Rodeo circuit or something similar that travels this area during the month of June.

Judygirl said:

Why are all of these in June? It's as if there is a Rodeo circuit or something similar that travels this area during the month of June.

Click to expand...

Maybe the perps are students, or even teachers, who are finished school for the summer?

I just came upon this thread and wow.. this is strange how all these girls went missing on pretty much the same date...

Bumping

Came across this searching NJ cases and my mind is blown.

Nowicki was in his 50s in 2002 according to this article. So in the mid 70s he was in his 20s if I’m subtracting correctly. Did he have any connection to NJ?

Greenwood man has ties to two missing person cases