SC SC - Dail Dinwiddie, 23, Columbia, 24 Sep 1992

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kfschneider said:
Bumping this thread...I’ve recently become very interested in this case; I’m a senior at USC and have grown attached to Columbia. But this case sticks out; there’s just so much that doesn’t make sense.
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Welcome to Ws kfschneider, it is great to have locals on thread, thanks for joining !
 
dotr said:
Welcome to Ws kfschneider, it is great to have locals on thread, thanks for joining !
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Thanks for the welcome!

I'm actually a journalism student at USC and just did a project on this case, with it being the 25-year anniversary and all.

Despite turning the project in this morning, I want to learn more and talk to more people about this case. I've already talked with police and someone who was friends with her, but I still have questions about Dail's disappearance--like all of us do.

This is just something I'm going to pursue in my free time between school and work. If anyone has thoughts, ideas, etc., feel free to message me if you don't want to publish on the thread.
 
I did a bit more research yesterday, which created some questions:

-Why does the timeline keep changing? At first, she was last seen at 1:30 a.m., but more recently, it's become 2 or 2:30. I know details shift over the years, but that seems weird.

-Did she go back and leave again? I've seen multiple accounts of her leaving once, coming back, and then leaving the bar again for the final time. Also, her exit is up in the air as well; did she talk to the bartender, or did she run out? I've seen both stories.

-Why would she leave her purse at the bar? Did she plan on coming back? People do things different when they're drunk, yes, but all accounts I've read suggest Dail wasn't *that* intoxicated.

-Recently saw a man on FB comment and say Dail was his college roommate's girlfriend. So there's a boyfriend no one ever mentions? I plan to pursue that and talk with the guy, along with some of the people mentioned in this thread (friends, bouncer, etc).


That's all I have right now, but I'll post again soon. Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks :)
 
kfschneider said:
I did a bit more research yesterday, which created some questions:

-Why does the timeline keep changing? At first, she was last seen at 1:30 a.m., but more recently, it's become 2 or 2:30. I know details shift over the years, but that seems weird.

-Did she go back and leave again? I've seen multiple accounts of her leaving once, coming back, and then leaving the bar again for the final time. Also, her exit is up in the air as well; did she talk to the bartender, or did she run out? I've seen both stories.

-Why would she leave her purse at the bar? Did she plan on coming back? People do things different when they're drunk, yes, but all accounts I've read suggest Dail wasn't *that* intoxicated.

-Recently saw a man on FB comment and say Dail was his college roommate's girlfriend. So there's a boyfriend no one ever mentions? I plan to pursue that and talk with the guy, along with some of the people mentioned in this thread (friends, bouncer, etc).


That's all I have right now, but I'll post again soon. Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks :)
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Cannot help but wonder if somebody spiked Dail's drink with GHB or other date rape drug when she was in the club.
Maybe she went outside because she felt sick or dizzy, explaining perhaps why her purse was apparently left behind, maybe she was followed out the door and scooped up outside the club?

complete speculation.
https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs07/717/odd.htm
rbbm
South Carolina Drug Threat Assessment
December 2001
Other Dangerous Drugs

The other dangerous drugs (ODD) category includes club drugs, hallucinogens, and illegally diverted pharmaceuticals, in addition to household products and over-the-counter medications abused mostly by youth.

Club Drugs

Other dangerous drugs include those classified as "club drugs." Club drugs are used by teens and young adults at all-night dance parties called raves that are generally held in clubs in cities and beach resorts in South Carolina. Raves feature loud music, flashing light displays, and often extensive drug use. Some club drugs are MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), and ketamine. These drugs run the gamut from stimulants to sedatives to hallucinogens. Local law enforcement agencies in South Carolina report increases in the popularity of club drugs in the larger metropolitan areas and in some beach communities. However, low levels of abuse are reported throughout the rest of the state. Club drugs primarily are distributed by Caucasian criminal groups and local independent dealers.



GHB and GBL

Of the club drugs available in South Carolina, GHB poses the greatest threat. GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy, scoop, grievous bodily harm, and Georgia home boy, is abused for its euphoric, sedative, and anabolic effects. However, use can induce coma and cause insomnia, anxiety, tremors, and sweating. When GHB is combined with methamphetamine, there is an increased risk of seizures. Overdoses can occur quickly; some of the signs include drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and impaired breathing, and even death. The drug increasingly is involved in poisonings, overdoses, date rapes, and fatalities nationwide, including South Carolina
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This is a very good point. From what I've gathered, Five Points wasn't frightening and sketchy like it is now. The friend I talked with was shocked when I said I was told to stay away. She said they never felt that way, that it never even crossed their minds.

Thanks for bringing this up!
 
I went to USC 2012-2016. Junior year I lived at 501 Harden Street, it's a duplex literally right behind the T-Mobile in 5 points at that intersection w/ T-Mobile, a bank/Bar None. If Dails parents lived in Shandon it could be possible she walked towards/down harden towards blossom b/c that whole back neighborhood part of Harden/Wilmot is residential enough & She could have felt safe taking that route. One other random note- when I lived at that duplex our cats escaped and we found them in a large crawl space under the house like a sort of basement; also accessible from the outside if you were desperate enough to crawl in it. (The crawl space/basement leads to stairs & a door upward toward the main level of the house,but that door was pad locked and shut the day we got the rental keys from the rental company. Anyways when me & my roommates had to find the cats we realized they were under there so we crawled in and it was a large space with gravel & we saw a sleeping bag in the corner with an old liquor bottle- so assumed a homeless person or squatter had lived under there at some point. I wish Could remember better bc I swear there were creepy objects like a smashed picture frame, a dark almost rotting jacket. I wish I took pictures bc I swear I remember seeing a very dirty old white shoe. The whole place was creepy & it freaked all my roommates out that it was so accessible to the outside/strangers. I think the realty company had taken precautions over the years but can only imagine what it was like 25 years ago. I know this probably has nothing to do with anything & is just random and unrelated. Just can't help thinking how close the area is to five points and where she disappeared. Not sure who lived at that house at the time. It was built in the 1940s. A more plausible theory of what could have happened to Dail is if a bouncer or bar regular could have offered to give her a ride home & then something went wrong from there (why else would she have "left her purse" at the bar like the witness claimed). That witness's/bouncers account has always come off as a little sketchy IMO.
 
ibharper08 said:
I went to USC 2012-2016. Junior year I lived at 501 Harden Street, it's a duplex literally right behind the T-Mobile in 5 points at that intersection w/ T-Mobile, a bank/Bar None. If Dails parents lived in Shandon it could be possible she walked towards/down harden towards blossom b/c that whole back neighborhood part of Harden/Wilmot is residential enough & She could have felt safe taking that route. One other random note- when I lived at that duplex our cats escaped and we found them in a large crawl space under the house like a sort of basement; also accessible from the outside if you were desperate enough to crawl in it. (The crawl space/basement leads to stairs & a door upward toward the main level of the house,but that door was pad locked and shut the day we got the rental keys from the rental company. Anyways when me & my roommates had to find the cats we realized they were under there so we crawled in and it was a large space with gravel & we saw a sleeping bag in the corner with an old liquor bottle- so assumed a homeless person or squatter had lived under there at some point. I wish Could remember better bc I swear there were creepy objects like a smashed picture frame, a dark almost rotting jacket. I wish I took pictures bc I swear I remember seeing a very dirty old white shoe. The whole place was creepy & it freaked all my roommates out that it was so accessible to the outside/strangers. I think the realty company had taken precautions over the years but can only imagine what it was like 25 years ago. I know this probably has nothing to do with anything & is just random and unrelated. Just can't help thinking how close the area is to five points and where she disappeared. Not sure who lived at that house at the time. It was built in the 1940s. A more plausible theory of what could have happened to Dail is if a bouncer or bar regular could have offered to give her a ride home & then something went wrong from there (why else would she have "left her purse" at the bar like the witness claimed). That witness's/bouncers account has always come off as a little sketchy IMO.
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Welcome to Ws ibharper08!
You were pretty brave to venture into that crawl space, ewww.
Thinking it would be a good idea if cadaver dogs were taken around the neighbourhood, you just never know, imo.
 
Dail Dinwiddie: 26 Years Later, Her Disappearance Remains a Mystery

It's been 26 years since Dail Dinwiddie went missing in Columbia's Five Points. And though we're seemingly no closer to finding our what happened to her, police are asking the public if there's anyone who may have information on her disappearance.

597655588_750x422.jpg

The 23-year-old was reported missing on September 24, 1992. She'd attended a U2 concert at Williams-Brice Stadium that night, and was last seen at the former Jungle Jim's bar and nightclub.
 
Glad to find the thread on Dail Dinwiddie. I live just outside of Columbia now and was living in a small town about 30 miles from Columbia when Dail disappeared. She had just gone missing when my then-fiancé and I took my daughters to a festival on the grounds of a historic house in Columbia, and posters with Dail's picture were everywhere. The case made a big impression on my oldest daughter who was 9 yo at the time. I've been reading the thread and a couple of things said herein strike me as wrong, the number one thing is saying LE knew and were hiding/ignoring the perp. Believe me, I know about corruption in LE and Columbia has it's share of bad guys, but it doesn't make sense to cover up in this case. If they had done nothing at all, I might entertain the idea, but they have actually spent a lot of time and resources on Dail's case. Now, there are some circumstances where I might believe LE covered up, for example, if the perp was an athlete at USC, but no one has ever had any suggestion that might be the case. There's been a lot of discussion about the area being sketchy. It is and it was back then, too. I don't have a problem walking around in the Harden Street area in the daytime, but I would not do the same at night, especially the sections of Harden from the intersection at Gervais down and from Green Street on up. I think Dail did get snatched and probably killed. Someone could have dragged her into a van or a car. I'm sure there were cars parked in every available space that night. I don't think she had a reason to want to run away, and she was 23, had been to college out of state, so she was old enough to leave home without resorting to running away and not telling her family where she was. Of the few POIs mentioned, I think Rivera is the most likely, but with no body, no evidence and no confession, there's nothing to go on. Dail is probably still in the area, they just haven't found her. I think she was grabbed and was killed or may have died because of her asthma or other condition, in which case the perp hid or dumped her. The perp could have dumped her body in the river from the bridge on I-126 or nearby Elmwood Cemetery, but I think her body has been hidden in someone's house or yard. I hope Dail's family will one day learn what happened to her and can find peace.
 
I was living outside Columbia at the time Dail Dinwiddie disappeared. I remember how upsetting it was for the whole Midlands community. Three of the Midland's worse crimes, in my opinion, happened in a few short years back then...Bobbi Rossi, Shari Smith and Debra Helmick, and Dail Dinwiddie. The others were solved. This one just sits there. I wish after all these years they would open the file up to the public. Maybe something might jog someone's memory. Personally my thought is that the Rivera guy is responsible for her disappearance. Why he would not own up to it when he apparently owned up to others I can't explain, but having an active serial killer in your midst at that time can't simply be dismissed.
My only other observation that I have thought about for a awhile is they need to look at people who worked in USC's graduate admission's office at that time. I say this because Dail Dinwiddie, IIRC, was set to start graduate school and also Paula Merchant, who disappeared a few years later, was also set to start grad school. Maybe Dail Dinwiddie's disappearance has less to do with the craziness of Five Points that night after the concert and more to do with who she met that night that offered her help(someone from Grad Admissions she recognized?) Maybe Paula Merchant ran into the same familiar face from Grad Admissions. A stretch for sure and just my own thoughts and opinions but that one similarity between the cases has always jumped out at me.
At any rate, I'm glad the case is still being discussed.
 
StarryStarryNight said:
I was living outside Columbia at the time Dail Dinwiddie disappeared. I remember how upsetting it was for the whole Midlands community. Three of the Midland's worse crimes, in my opinion, happened in a few short years back then...Bobbi Rossi, Shari Smith and Debra Helmick, and Dail Dinwiddie. The others were solved. This one just sits there. I wish after all these years they would open the file up to the public. Maybe something might jog someone's memory. Personally my thought is that the Rivera guy is responsible for her disappearance. Why he would not own up to it when he apparently owned up to others I can't explain, but having an active serial killer in your midst at that time can't simply be dismissed.
My only other observation that I have thought about for a awhile is they need to look at people who worked in USC's graduate admission's office at that time. I say this because Dail Dinwiddie, IIRC, was set to start graduate school and also Paula Merchant, who disappeared a few years later, was also set to start grad school. Maybe Dail Dinwiddie's disappearance has less to do with the craziness of Five Points that night after the concert and more to do with who she met that night that offered her help(someone from Grad Admissions she recognized?) Maybe Paula Merchant ran into the same familiar face from Grad Admissions. A stretch for sure and just my own thoughts and opinions but that one similarity between the cases has always jumped out at me.
At any rate, I'm glad the case is still being discussed.
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Well that was very interesting, thanks for the insight!
Wonder if both women were in the same field of study?
 
Dail Dinwiddie was 23 years old when she went missing on September 24, 1992. She had just completed an art history degree at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia and had returned to her native Columbia, South Carolina to enroll at the University of South Carolina for graduate school. The night Dail went missing, she had attended a U2 concert with some friends at Williams-Brice stadium. After the concert, the friends went to a local bar called Jungle Jim’s, now renamed The Horseshoe. Dail somehow got separated from the group and was never seen again, despite many extensive searches. Her case is the oldest on the Columbia Police Department’s books.

Five years of Dateline’s Missing in America: 109 still missing
 
JerseyGirl said:
Dail Dinwiddie was 23 years old when she went missing on September 24, 1992. She had just completed an art history degree at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia and had returned to her native Columbia, South Carolina to enroll at the University of South Carolina for graduate school. The night Dail went missing, she had attended a U2 concert with some friends at Williams-Brice stadium. After the concert, the friends went to a local bar called Jungle Jim’s, now renamed The Horseshoe. Dail somehow got separated from the group and was never seen again, despite many extensive searches. Her case is the oldest on the Columbia Police Department’s books.

Five years of Dateline’s Missing in America: 109 still missing
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I am new to this site. Is this the only information you all have about this case?
 
Sam3313 said:
I am new to this site. Is this the only information you all have about this case?
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Welcome to Ws Sam3313, that is the known information in a nutshell, looking forward to more!
 
One thing that always stood out to me was her leaving her purse behind. Did she forget it, or did she tell a friend to hold it while she went to the restroom or something? I could see either scenario happening. I've forgotten my purse a few times, and if I was going to a restroom and knew there was no place to hold my purse, I'd ask a friend to hold it so it wouldn't be setting on a nasty floor. I would love to ask the friends she was with some questions.
 
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