IA IA - Colleen Simpson, 14, Bedford, 5 Oct 1975

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There is a post on that Iowa Cold Cases page that makes no sense. A woman claiming to have been Colleen's bestie says that the family was living outside of Grant, Iowa-so far, Colleen's home has been placed in 3 different cities-Bedford, Clearfield and Grant. Why and how close are these towns to each other?The best friend goes on to say that Colleen and her family went to an out of town function and that Colleen disappeared from that function. So why not raise a huge fuss? If it was a family function, why didn’t her family contact the media, do all they could? Her mother is dead, but what about her dad? My spidey senses are tingling and that’s not good.
 
Forgive me for being addled, but I don't see anything about Colleen's dad being LE. Where did I miss that? Also, I don't think anyone in Bedford knew her because she wasn't from there. It's possible that she and her family went to a function in Bedford, returned home to Clearfield and she disappeared from there. It doesn't astound me that so little information was available on this case when she disappeared, but I'd expect SOMEONE in her family/friends would have written/started a webpage/added to Doe/Charley at this point.
 
galateasca said:
Forgive me for being addled, but I don't see anything about Colleen's dad being LE. Where did I miss that?
Click to expand...

Here's a story done in 2006 that says he was law enforcement.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/3438706.html

Colleen's father, Jerry Simpson, now lives in Logan, Iowa and looking over the Bradford photos, he focuses on number 49.

"That one sure looks like Colleen," he says.

Jerry spent his career as a lawman in Clearfield and later in Logan.
Click to expand...
 
It was a Saturday night so I can see her possibly sneaking out to meet someone or to go to a party then meeting with some misadventure. Hard to imagine her being abducted from the home and no one hearing anything.
 
Was anything of hers missing from the house the morning after her disappearence? Clothes? A hold-all or similar bag? Sentimental possessions such as a photograph or toy?

And how could she have actually left Clearfield without help? It's effectively a village in the middle of nowhere, at least 5 miles from any other village. It's not on the railway system, and the only way out seems to be hitching a ride on road 25 or being given a lift by someone she knew.

Did anyone else go missing from the area at that time? If not, then she can't have run away with anyone.
 
My grandpa was a part time deputy sheriff back in the 60s. My mother couldn't go anywhere as a teen without someone seeing her and reporting it back to him. I'm really surprised no one saw her or ran into her or heard something credible as to her whereabouts.
 
Colleen Vanita Simpson – The Charley Project

Colleen Vanita Simpson
  • colleen_vanita_simpson_1.jpg
  • colleen_vanita_simpson_2.jpg
Colleen, circa 1975; Age-progression to age 52 (circa 2012)

  • Missing Since10/05/1975
  • Missing FromClearfield, Iowa
  • ClassificationNon-Family Abduction
  • Date of Birth12/05/1960 (58)
  • Age14 years old
  • Height and Weight5'7, 90 pounds
  • Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Black/brown hair, hazel eyes. Colleen has a moon-shaped scar on her right forearm just below her elbow. She has a mole on the left side of her chin.
Details of Disappearance
Colleen was last seen at her family's home in Clearfield, Iowa during the evening hours of October 5, 1975. Authorities believe that she disappeared sometime during the overnight hours. Colleen has never been heard from again.

A possible lead in her case developed when a photograph of a woman resembling Colleen was found in the possession of the serial killer William Bradford, but Colleen's father stated the woman in the picture was not his daughter. Both her parents are now deceased. Her case remains unsolved.
 
I read a bit more, and found news articles stating that Colleen's father thought the photo WAS Colleen, but the woman was found by LA police alive, so Colleen was ruled out.
Photo not of missing woman
" Former Logan Police Chief Jerry Simpson said authorities have told him the girl in a photograph confiscated from a convicted California serial killer's home is not his daughter.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office had released 50 photos taken by William Bradford, who is awaiting a death sentence for murdering several women. Simpson thought one of the photos was his daughter, Colleen, who disappeared in 1975. She was 14 years old when she was last seen in Clearfield, where the Simpsons then lived.

Authorities told Simpson the woman in that photograph had been found alive, but it was not Colleen. "
 
CSimpson.jpg
CSimpson1.jpg

Left: Simpson, circa 1975; Right: Age-Progression to 46 years (Circa 2007)


Colleen Vanita Simpson
Missing since October 5, 1975 from Bedford, Taylor County, Iowa.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics
    • Date Of Birth: December 5, 1960
    • Age at Time of Disappearance: 14 years old
    • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7; 90 pounds
    • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Black hair; hazel eyes.
    • Marks, Scars: Moon-shaped scar just below her elbow on her right forearm and a mole on the left side of chin.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Simpson was last seen at her family's home in Bedford, Iowa on October 5, 1975.

She disappeared sometime during the overnight hours.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Simpson's whereabouts, please contact:
Taylor County Sheriff's Office
Missing Persons Unit
712-523-2153
All information may be submitted anonymously.

Agency Case Number: 75-34
NCMEC #: NCMC601905
NCIC Number: M184789907

Source Information:
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
Iowa Missing Persons' Clearinghouse
NamUs MP#6654
The Doe Network: Case File 362DFIA
 
Next month marks 45 years since Colleen went missing...

colleen-simpson-320x400.jpg

Colleen Simpson, 14, Missing since 5 October 1975

Colleen Vanita Simpson
Age at Report: 14
DOB: December 5, 1960
Sex: Female
Race: White
Weight: 90 lbs.
Height: 5′ 7″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Hazel
Missing From: Clearfield, IA
Reported Missing to Taylor County Sheriff’s Office in Bedford, IA
Case Number: 75-34https://iowacoldcases.org/cases-by-county/taylor-county/
NCIC Number: M184789907
NCMEC #: 601905
NamUs MP #: 6654
Incident Type: Endangered/physical
Date Reported Missing: Oct. 5, 1975

Case Summary:

Colleen Simpson, 14, of Clearfield, Iowa, was reported missing to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office in Bedford, Iowa, on October 5, 1975.

She was last seen at her Clearfield home where she disappeared sometime during the night.

Colleen was born December 5, 1960, and has a scar on her right forearm.


Description:

Her physical description — described as a 5-foot-7 white female weighing 90 pounds — is from 1975. Colleen has black hair and hazel eyes.

Her incident type is classified as Endangered/Physical, meaning a person who is missing under circumstances indicating that his/her physical safety is in danger.

A Family Reference Sample (FRS) of DNA has been submitted and is available in this case.

Information Needed

If you have any information regarding Colleen Simpson’s unsolved disappearance, please contact Taylor County Sheriff Josh Weed at (712) 523-2153.

colleen-simpson-age-progressed-46yrs.jpg

Colleen Simpson, age progressed to 46 years

colleen-simpson-age-progressed-52yrs-320x400.jpg

Colleen Simpson age progressed to 52 years.


Sources:
 
DD Byrd said:
She's not on the NamUS ruleout list for Cali, but at 90 lbs are we sure she was really 5'7"? CAUTION: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Click to expand...

I want to bring this forward because I am also VERY skeptical that Colleen was 5'7" and 90 lbs. That would put her BMI at 14, seriously skinny for a young woman. However, if she was 57" (a mistake we've seen before), at 4'9"/4'10" and 90 lbs, she would be a very normal 19.5 BMI.
If she was this tiny, perhaps her remains are unidentified somewhere- even as a child, or at least much shorter female than 5'7"?
 
AnnieOakley said:
I want to bring this forward because I am also VERY skeptical that Colleen was 5'7" and 90 lbs. That would put her BMI at 14, seriously skinny for a young woman. However, if she was 57" (a mistake we've seen before), at 4'9"/4'10" and 90 lbs, she would be a very normal 19.5 BMI.
If she was this tiny, perhaps her remains are unidentified somewhere- even as a child, or at least much shorter female than 5'7"?
Click to expand...

This is an excellent observation. If any school yearbooks or news photos of her standing by others could be located, her height might be more accurately estimated.

Very often, the various missing person websites simply take what other sites have written and reprint or rewrite them. What is needed many times, is to seek out other sources and to question the information that has been printed over and over again.
 
I've done a little bit of digging around and I'm thinking that Colleen might've attended Griswold high school. The only yearbooks on classmates were from after she went missing (1977 &1979) or way before she would've attended school, but there are multiple kids with the last name Simpson whose first names match up with the names of the siblings in the comments on Iowa cold cases.

Griswold Iowa is about 20 minutes from Grant and about 1 hour from both Clearfield and Bedford meaning that the comment from her best friend saying that the family lived in grant is probably correct, unless of course the family moved closer to Griswold after Colleen went missing.

I really can't understand the discrepancies between all the locations.
 
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