MD MD - Betty Roberts, 29, Baltimore, 3 Nov 1959

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Betty Marie Roberts
Missing since November 3, 1959 from Baltimore, Maryland.
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: July 16, 1930
Age at Time of Disappearance: 29 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7"; 130-140 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Tattoos: Tattoo of "Jeff" on left arm below the elbow.
Dentals: Dentures. Dental charts not available.
Fingerprints: Not available
Photos at link below.

Circumstances of Disappearance

On November 3, 1959, Betty Marie Roberts left Charlotte, NC, with a male aquaintance. She wrote a letter to her sister, three days later. The letter was postmarked Baltimore, MD. Betty Roberts was never heard from again.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Maryland State Police
Sgt Jack McCauley
410-290-0050

Agency Case Number: 04-40-00269
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source:
The Doe Network: Case File 1364DFMD

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1364dfmd.html
 
From http://www.cyberpages.com/minidb?program=persons&year=1999&month=9&=80
Notice different spelling of Wigaman

Betty Marie Roberts Atwell
Betty was born in Jackson, Tenn. on July 16,1930 Father was John Ira Roberts and Mother Lena Rhodes Roberts. Married to Martin Willliam Jefferson, and George Conrad Atwell. Left Charlotte, NC on Nov.3, 1959 with a man named Charles Wigaman also known as Charles Dennison. Recieved a postcard 3 days later from Baltimore Maryland saying she was all right and would write later. No one has ever heard from her again. Betty has a 2 daughters and her sister Louise Doane looking for her. BETTY WE LOVE YOU PLEASE COME HOME! You have some beautiful grandchildren.
City: Charlotte,NC
Email: Mamagyuver@aol.com
Entry #12474 added on September 11, 1999 Report this entry.
 
I don't know if this is related or not, but thought I'd pass it on- from a post on Rootweb Message boards in 2000:

"I am looking for information on Betty Atwell. Born around 1933. I believe from North Carolina, but known to be in Daytona Beach Fl in Late March or early April of 1963. Anyone able to help me, please e-mail me at xxxxxx@aol.com"

and from the same person later in 2001:
"I am looking for information on my birth parents/family.
I was given up for adoption when I was born 3/31/63 in Daytona Beach, FL.

The only information that I have is that my birth mother came to FL from North Carolina to have the baby/babies (possible twin) and give me up for adoption.
I know this is a long shot, but I was hoping maybe someone could help me."

The following are replies to this query:

"Do you know any more info on Betty Atwell. I have an Aunt Betty who had many children and gave many up for adoption. She was from Baltimore though.I realize that there are many Betty Atwells, but not many who have the adoption link. Please let me know."
and a follow up by the same person:
"xxxx, I just finished talking to my mom. She said that my aunt did have twins. One of them was adopted to the owners of Sander's and Sons funeral home here in Baltimore, MD. I think it is on North ave. I don't know if it still around, but it probally is. She recalls my aunt taking one baby to the train station and giving her to a xxxxxxxx? She said she (xxxx) was delivering the baby to someone. My uncle was stationed in Fort Bragg, NC for a while previously before 1963. I know my grandmother lived in Florida for a short while after retiring, but I think that wasn't around your time frame. My mom said you are welcome to call her if you would like to see if it is the same Betty Atwell."

I doubt it's connected, but with the North Carolina and Baltimore, MD connection, thought it was a possibility.
 
Interesting posts about the adoptee searching for birth mom named Betty Atwell. But I think it likely that these are two separate persons, since the birthmom was around in 1963, and Betty Marie Roberts disappeared in 1959.
 
I'll admit that what I have to say is stupid, but it will get her bumped up in the forum and more people will read about her...

I came across Betty's profile today while looking for possibles that could've been a DE UID.

I saw that she was last seen with a guy that called her "Poo Poo."

I read that just as one of my cats (Ms Poo Poo) was sitting nearby and staring at my chair. She is waiting for me to get up and then she's gonna steal my seat.
BTW... Two of my cats are named Ms Poo Poo and Ms Pee Pee, but they're actually not named after childish terms for biological functions. Their names are short for Puglia and Polly P.


Despite this being a childish (or just flat-out stupid and tacky) comment...
I hope that since it will push her up to the front, more people look over and think about her disappearance.

There haven't been any posts on this thread for around 4-yrs...
 
This is an interesting one and is also one that LE should have been able to progress. It is clear that the man that Betty went with was known to LE and so this should have provided a solid start to enquiries. I presume that, at the time, LE regarded this as a case of Betty choosing to leave and so not requiring investigation. However, you would have thought that after their was no news for several years, they would have looked at the case with fresh eyes. It may be that Betty chose to break contact with her family and/or that Charles Wegman/Dennison was just her latest partner and of no other significance. But any investigation should start with him, at least to determine what he could say about her movements after leaving Charlotte. Which brings us on to the question of 'who was Charles Wegman'?

I would start from a presumption that his real name was Charles Dennison if he was known by that name to the FBI. For obvious reasons it is not easy to identify people of that name who would be known to the FBI in the 1950s. However, there are two such individuals recorded. The first is a Charles Dennison Rowland, recorded in FBI files from California in the early 50s. However the circumstances of the FBI interest seems to rule him out. He was investigated for having communist sympathies and publishing a homosexual journal, an unlikely background for this case. The other individual is more straightforward, but the FBI link is tenuous as they would only known him due to his criminal record. Ancestry holds records of a Charles Clifford Dennison, born 22 September 1922 in Houston, Texas. His birth details put him in the right age group and link him to Houston. Ancestry also holds two records from the Texas Convict and Conduct Register showing him serving prison sentences in 1949 and 1951 to 1953 for burglary and theft. The earlier record also gives his residence as New York, showing that he travelled around and was familiar with the East coast. This Charles Dennison died in 1983. I am not sure whether this is the Charles who accompanied Betty but it seems the best bet on current information. It is possible that Betty's sister and daughters contacted this man or his family and ruled him out as they looked for Dennisons in Houston (see https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=iY4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6681,1673809&hl=en). I also have some trouble matching his height in prison records (5ft 9) with the families description of 'tall', but he was tall enough to make it a possible description at a stretch.

If I was investigating this case my first activity would be to try to confirm or rule out Charles Clifford Dennison, and if I could not rule him out I would look for any surviving family to see if they recall anything he may have said which could help.
 
I was wondering if anyone ever thought that Betty could be the Lady of the Dunes.. Her stats seem to fit.. and what struck me is that Betty has tattoo of Jeff right under her elbow and the Lady of the dunes hands were severed and discarded but only one arm was severed right beneath the elbow.
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/119ufma.html
Date of Discovery: July 26, 1974
Location of Discovery: Race Point Dunes, Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Estimated Date of Death: 10 days to 3 weeks prior
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Cause of Death: Homicide by blunt-force trauma to the head.
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 20-49 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6" to 5'8"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Hair Color: Auburn
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Athletic build. Toenails painted pink.
http://www.masslive.com/bostonspirit/2014/10/whitey_bulger_gays_and_the_lad.html
The part that still confuses me is the dismemberment to conceal her identity. She was nearly decapitated. They never recovered her hands. One hand was severed from the wrist and the other removed from the elbow.

119UFMA1[1].jpgBettyRoberts[1].jpg119UFMA2[1].jpgBettyRoberts3[1].jpg
 
nevermind on Betty and the Lady of the Dunes.. Betty had dentures

I was wondering if anyone ever thought that Betty could be the Lady of the Dunes.. Her stats seem to fit.. and what struck me is that Betty has tattoo of Jeff right under her elbow and the Lady of the dunes hands were severed and discarded but only one arm was severed right beneath the elbow.
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/119ufma.html
Date of Discovery: July 26, 1974
Location of Discovery: Race Point Dunes, Provincetown, Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Estimated Date of Death: 10 days to 3 weeks prior
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Cause of Death: Homicide by blunt-force trauma to the head.
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 20-49 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6" to 5'8"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Hair Color: Auburn
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Athletic build. Toenails painted pink.
http://www.masslive.com/bostonspirit/2014/10/whitey_bulger_gays_and_the_lad.html
The part that still confuses me is the dismemberment to conceal her identity. She was nearly decapitated. They never recovered her hands. One hand was severed from the wrist and the other removed from the elbow.

View attachment 115438View attachment 115439View attachment 115440View attachment 115441
 
Betty Marie Roberts – The Charley Project

Betty Marie Roberts
  • betty_marie_roberts_1.jpg
  • betty_marie_roberts_2.jpg
  • betty_marie_roberts_3.jpg
  • betty_marie_roberts_4.jpg
Roberts, circa 1959

  • Missing Since11/03/1959
  • Missing FromBaltimore, Maryland
  • ClassificationMissing
  • Date of Birth07/16/1930 (88)
  • Age29 years old
  • Height and Weight5'6 - 5'7, 130 - 140 pounds
  • Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, blue/hazel eyes. Roberts has a scar on her abdomen and a tattoo of the name "Jeff" on her left forearm. She wears dentures. Her nickname is Poo Poo.
Details of Disappearance
Roberts lived in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1959. She was divorced and had two daughters, aged three and four. That year she met a man who called himself Charles Wegman. He said he was a traveling photographer and Roberts and her sister met him when they applied for jobs as his assistants. Wegman appeared to be in his late thirties and said he was from Houston, Texas.

On November 3, Roberts told her sister she was leaving town with Wegman. Her sister was angry about it and told her, "If you walk out, you're not my sister. Don't ever come back." Roberts left anyway, leaving her daughters behind, and three days later she sent her sister a letter saying she was doing well and would write more later. The letter was postmarked Baltimore, Maryland.

Roberts's family never heard from her again. Her children were sent to an orphanage and then to foster homes. Her sister, whom she was close to, searched for her, checking with the Social Security office and driver's license bureaus, and discovered there were no records for her after 1959.

Roberts's sister sent photos of Roberts and Wegman to the FBI, and an agent told her Wegman was actually named Charles Dennison, but didn't disclose any further information about him.

Roberts's case remains unsolved and little information is available, but her sister and her daughters are still hoping to find out what happened to her. Maryland police are investigating.
 
Betty Marie Roberts and The Mysterious Stranger
betty-roberts.jpeg

On November 3, 1959 29-year-old Betty Marie Roberts of Charlotte, North Carolina informed her sister Louise that she and photographer Charles Wegman were leaving town together without her two young daughters.

The last words Betty heard from her sister’s angry lips would haunt Louise Doane for the rest of her life. “If you walk out, you’re not my sister. Don’t ever come back.

In 1959 Betty was divorced from George Conrad Atwell, which is why some reports refer to her as Betty Atwell. Their daughters, Della and Nancy were ages four and three.

Betty met Charles through a classified ad he placed earlier in 1959 seeking receptionist-type assistance with his traveling photography business. Louise and Betty both responded to the ad. Louise later described Houston native Charles as “tall and thick, and pleasant-looking, in his late 30s.

The time between the job interview and November 3 wasn’t reported, nor was the precise nature of Betty’s relationship with Charles.

Despite Louise’s warning, Betty left that day. A letter postmarked from Baltimore, Maryland arrived a week later. Betty claimed that she was well and promised to keep in contact; a promise she didn’t honor.

roberts_betty-143x160.jpg


According to the 1994 article, “Mysterious Stranger Tears Family Apart” when Louise showed Charles’ photo to the FBI an agent told her that they knew the man as Charles Dennison, not Charles Wegman. Agents refused to share any additional information about Charles’ possible criminal history or involvement with their organization...

LINK:

Betty Marie Roberts and The Mysterious Stranger
 
Missing for 63 years...

betty

Betty Marie Roberts, age 29
Missing since 3 November 1959

LINK:
 

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