KY KY - Juanita Ritchie, 38, Dwarf, 1 Nov 1966

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Irish_Eyes

Irish_Eyes

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Juanita Ritchie:

Cold_case_Family_looking_for_answers_in_sister’s_disappearance0_1347911217.jpg


It appears after all this time the authorities are actively searching for Juanita thanks to the continued efforts of her family. Here is an article:

http://hazard-herald.com/pages/full...nswers+in+sister’s+disappearance &id=20181300
 
You really hope that this brings some closure for the family after all of these years. Just a couple of questions. Why was the Kentucky State Police involved in the initial investigation rather than the Perry County Sheriff's Office? In all respect to the family, why didn't they put pressure put on the K.S.P. for not doing more about this at the time? Someone from K.S.P. making a couple of phone calls and writing a letter for a missing mother of six? That's just simple desk work and pretty weak.
 
Cincinnati Kid said:
Why was the Kentucky State Police involved in the initial investigation rather than the Perry County Sheriff's Office?
Click to expand...

Back then most rural county sheriff offices in Kentucky only had a sheriff and a couple of deputies in their department.

They didn't have the kind of resources, such as detectives, crime lab, or manpower that the Kentucky State Police had.

The Kentucky State Police had statewide jurisdiction and county sheriff offices only had jurisdiction in their own county.

Years ago in Kentucky, most local law enforcement agencies in Kentucky didn't take a missing person report if the missing person was an adult on account that an adult was old enough to go anywhere they wanted and there wasn't anything they could do about it if an adult went missing.

That's why there is an awful lot of adult folks in Kentucky that haven't been reported as missing by local law enforcement agencies years ago.

They're not listed as missing on any missing persons databases, and they are still missing to this day.
 
Thank you for the information.

In questioning the jurisdiction of the KSP over the county sheriff, I noted that Juanita Ritchie lived in Perry County and the last place she was seen was in that county as well. As such, I was reminded of the disappearance of Melanie Flynn some years later in Lexington. In the book that I read about that, it noted the KSP did not have immediate jurisdiction to be involved and the initial investigation was handled by Lexington Metro Police. KSP later became involved in the case after Ms. Flynn's purse was found along the Kentucky River near Camp Nelson.

You do hope something now comes of this matter after all of these years.
 
Seems that with technology and such, that another better search can be done on the well. I have read about this case elsewhere and it is always in the back of my mind for some reason.
 
Isn't there a case of an unidentified woman found in a well in Ohio? I don't remember the year found or exact location. Could it be near where Juanita went missing over the boarder? Can't think of the case name. There's a thread on Websleuths.
 
Owutatangledweb said:
Isn't there a case of an unidentified woman found in a well in Ohio? I don't remember the year found or exact location. Could it be near where Juanita went missing over the boarder? Can't think of the case name. There's a thread on Websleuths.
Click to expand...

Yes there is a case of an unidentified woman that was found in a well in Lawrence County, Ohio in April 1981. That case is known as the Belle in the Well.

Her body was found a few days before Buckskin Girl was also found in April 1981 in Miami County, Ohio.


Here is the link to the Websleuths thread Belle in the Well:


OH - Dobbstown, 'Belle in the Well' WhtFem UP6259, 30-60, in cistern, Apr'81


http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...he-Well-WhtFem-UP6259-30-60-in-cistern-Apr-81


The area where Juanita Ritchie went missing in November 1966 is 128 miles from where the body of the unidentified woman was found in a well in April 1981.
 
nerosleuth said:
Yes there is a case of an unidentified woman that was found in a well in Lawrence County, Ohio in April 1981. That case is known as the Belle in the Well.

Her body was found a few days before Buckskin Girl was also found in April 1981 in Miami County, Ohio.


Here is the link to the Websleuths thread Belle in the Well:


OH - Dobbstown, 'Belle in the Well' WhtFem UP6259, 30-60, in cistern, Apr'81


http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...he-Well-WhtFem-UP6259-30-60-in-cistern-Apr-81


The area where Juanita Ritchie went missing in November 1966 is 128 miles from where the body of the unidentified woman was found in a well in April 1981.
Click to expand...

Thanks Nerosleuth! Good to see you. Haven't seen you in awhile. Can always count on your good memory. Unlike my CRS memory. :(
 
Looks like she has a pronounced overbite that has not been mentioned.
 
Cincinnati Kid said:
You really hope that this brings some closure for the family after all of these years. Just a couple of questions. Why was the Kentucky State Police involved in the initial investigation rather than the Perry County Sheriff's Office? In all respect to the family, why didn't they put pressure put on the K.S.P. for not doing more about this at the time? Someone from K.S.P. making a couple of phone calls and writing a letter for a missing mother of six? That's just simple desk work and pretty weak.
Click to expand...

In my own opinion and experience I am going to say upfront I realize this is a response years after the post but since I grew up in in Perry county first in Scuddy (close to Vicco) and later in Busy (In Big Willard) most of us would rather deal with KSP than Perry County Sheriff's office because KSP are known for not being bought. Most of us have a general distrust for the Sheriff's office we make sure we tell our children to call KSP always. I am not saying all of the Sheriff's office is corrupt but there have been instances in the past that are questionable. I do not know why KSP dropped the ball back in 1966 or how their policies differ on looking for missing people then and now. I just know we trust KSP a lot more than we do the Sheriff's office today. I can only imagine that it was even worse back in 1966.
 
I found some old news stories I can no longer validate with a link is there a way to pull old news links? I did try WayBackMachine but it was a no go. I found two articles, one from The Hazard Herald and WYMT someone posted the whole thing in another forum but the links no longer work.
 
Juanita Ritchie
  • juanita_ritchie_1.jpg
Ritchie, circa 1966

  • Missing Since 11/01/1966
  • Missing From Dwarf, Kentucky
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 09/10/1928 (91)
  • Age 38 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'7, 120 - 150 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Ritchie was last seen in Dwarf, Kentucky on November 1, 1966. She left home to go to the grocery store and never returned.

Her family reported her disappearance to the police about a week later, but they stated there was no investigation conducted at the time, and the police later misplaced the missing persons report and all the other information they had on her case. Ritchie left behind six children. She has never been heard from again.

In the early 1990s, a man gave the police a written statement that another man had confessed to killing Ritchie in a rape attempt. Nothing came of the lead, however. In 2012, Ritchie's brother got an anonymous phone call from a blocked number saying Ritchie's body was in a certain well in Rowdy, Kentucky.

The police pumped the well and found nothing, and decided it wouldn't be safe to send a person inside it to look around. Ritchie's brother had the well pumped a second time and found a piece of concrete at the bottom.

Foul play is suspected in Ritchie's case. Her Social Security number was never used after her disappearance, and there hasn't been any indication of her whereabouts since 1966. The investigation into her disappearance was reopened in 2012.
Investigating Agency
  • Kentucky State Police 606-435-6069
Source Information
 

Juanita Richie, 38
Missing
November 01, 1966

Circumstances:

Left the residence to go grocery shopping and never returned home.

Details
Age When Last Known Alive: 38
Race: White
Ethnicity: Other
Sex: Female
Height: 62.0 to
Weight: 120.0 to
Location
City: Dwarf
State: Kentucky
County: Perry

Appearance
Hair: Brown
Head Hair: Shoulder length
Eye: Brown

LINK:

Juanita Ritchie - Kentucky Missing Person Directory
 
Here is a poster I just made for this case. If we have any Perry Countians on here, please print and distribute around the area. Also share it on social media.
 

Attachments

  • MISSING RITCHIE.jpg
    MISSING RITCHIE.jpg
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