MO MO - Earl Joggerst, 15, Arnold, 4 Aug 1972

[Coffee56]

MISSING
Missing Person / NamUs #MP43261Earl Anthony Joggerst, Male, White / Caucasian
Date of Last ContactAugust 4, 1972
Missing FromArnold, Missouri

Case Information


Case Numbers
NCMEC Number1327423
Demographics
Missing Age15 Years
Current Age61 Years
First NameEarl
Middle NameAnthony
Last NameJoggerst
Nickname/AliasJay

SexMale
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian
Height5' 7" - 5' 9" (67 - 69 Inches)
Weight140 lbs
Circumstances
Date of Last ContactAugust 4, 1972
NamUs Case CreatedApril 29, 2018
Last Known Location Map
LocationArnold, Missouri 63010
CountyJefferson County
Circumstances of DisappearanceLeft home with 30 year old male, name unknown and highschool friend, Geraldine Hearst. Geraldine was found alive in California
Physical Description
Hair ColorBrown
Head Hair DescriptionShoulder length, wavy
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorBlue
Right Eye ColorBlue
Eye Description--
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Other distinctive physical characteristic
Hypo pigmented triangle overlying sternum (looks like an arrowhead)


Clothing and Accessories
No Information Entered
Additional Case Info

Transportation
--

StyleConvertible
ColorRed

Missing Person Case

 

[hanpap]

It looks like Geraldine is Deceased along with Earl's Mother and father.

His mothers orbit is very tragic "Those who knew her best knew of the tragedy in her life and felt she played 'the clown' only to hide the unspeakable pain haunting her memory."

It's unfortunate this wasn't solved before she passed.

 

[nugrapetwins]

Sad. Elements of a short story here.

 

[namstache]

He has been ruled out as one of the remaining unidentified Gacy victims.

 

[Coffee56]

Unidentified Person Case

Unidentified Person Case

 

[namstache]

Missing Boy Ruled Out as Gacy's Victim

 

[sloane7777]

SO what did Geraldine have to say ???

 

[madamx]

SO what did Geraldine have to say ???

Yeah I know. She is one of the people he was last seen with and was found in California.. a bit odd.

 

[madamx]

On August 4th, 1972, Earl Anthony Joggerst (nicknamed Jay) left his Missouri home for the last time. He was 15 years old at the time he went missing, and he wasn't alone. Jay was last seen with a girl he knew from high school named Geraldine Hearst, and a 30 year old unknown man.



In a surprising twist, Geraldine Hearst was later found alive in California. But Jay has never been found. An age progression of what Jay may look like now is attached to his official missing person poster provided by NCMEC.


https://www.theunidentified.org/blog/missing-boy-ruled-out-as-gacy-s-victim

 

[Mrs.Chambers]

Could he have made it to Texas? I keep seeing a reconstruction for a Doe Unidentified Person Case found in relation to Dean Corll(the candyman) and it makes me wonder.

 

[madamx]

Could he have made it to Texas? I keep seeing a reconstruction for a Doe Unidentified Person Case found in relation to Dean Corll(the candyman) and it makes me wonder.

Wow good eye .

 

[Mrs.Chambers]

Wow good eye .

Thank you, I think the reconstruction looks very similar and the few pictures I've seen of Jay seem to have the same face shape.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Earl is showing up as rule outs for the Dean Corll victim.

 

[Thewop356]

I wonder if anyone has ever found anything about any statements this Geraldine Hearst ever made in regards to Earl. I have searched far and wide and can't even find gossip, let alone any facts in regards to where and when she last seen him. Also info about when she was located in CA is not available as well. That would be information relevant to helping LE and the public in trying to locate Earl. You would think that LE would provide that info to any of Earl's missing profiles because it could help locate him and wouldn't hurt any active investigation. If it even is active. This case is really weird, because LE obviously has information that they are not making public, but after all this time I don't see how it could hurt. The only thing that makes any sense is that LE essentially knows what happened, but just does not have enough evidence to prosecute.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Might need to file an FOIA request to get that information.

 

[Betty P]

I wonder if anyone has ever found anything about any statements this Geraldine Hearst ever made in regards to Earl. I have searched far and wide and can't even find gossip, let alone any facts in regards to where and when she last seen him. Also info about when she was located in CA is not available as well. That would be information relevant to helping LE and the public in trying to locate Earl. You would think that LE would provide that info to any of Earl's missing profiles because it could help locate him and wouldn't hurt any active investigation. If it even is active. This case is really weird, because LE obviously has information that they are not making public, but after all this time I don't see how it could hurt. The only thing that makes any sense is that LE essentially knows what happened, but just does not have enough evidence to prosecute.

I'm familiar with this area, school, etc. I graduated from high school there that same year. At that time, the high school had a lot of students, an average of 600-900 students per graduating class, so I don't recall him at all. The last name is familiar and one of my sibs probably knew his older brother. After graduation, I left for college, graduated and moved out of state, so haven't kept up.

IIRC, no one talked about this back then. It wasn't in the news the way it would be today. It must have begun as a situation where the parents thought he ran away. The town had a fairly new police force, they had only recently become incorporated, so had to elect a mayor, start a PD, etc. LE probably wrote it off as a runaway, as they did back then. Young boys his age and older weren't too closely supervised back in those days. It was still the early 70's so a lot of boys still hitched rides around town, hung out and partied, etc. Sounds like he may have gotten in with some bad people who were passing through.

There's something vaguely familiar about the name Geraldine Hearst. I'll dig out my old yearbooks to see if I can get more info.

But I can say for certain, this wasn't on the radar back in 72-73.

 

[Betty P]

I think this is Jay's mom's obituary. She was a school bus driver for the local high school. Sounds like she was a nice lady who probably kept searching for him. His name is mentioned in her obit.

View Ida Joggerst's Obituary on stltoday.com and share memories

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I think his father passed in 2000, he had the same name, so Jay was probably a junior.

I've done a lot of online searches, including Newspapers.com, and there's nothing at all about Jay or his friend Geraldine. Also checked the high school yearbooks from that time and found neither. Jay would have been starting his freshman year at Fox High a few weeks after he disappeared.

I'm trying to figure out how the two of them would have met up with a 30 yr old man. Did they meet him hanging out in Arnold or did they run away from home and meet him elsewhere? For now, I'm reading it as if he met the 30 yo man there in Arnold.

The neighborhood where they disappeared from, on Pomme Rd. in Arnold, was not isolated, but it was back in a hilly area with a lot of small neighborhoods/subdivisions around.

Google Maps

Back then, there may have been a neighborhood convenience store to go for soda & candy, etc. but it would have been a long walk and probably hitching, to get to the local swimming pool or teens rec center to hang out in the summer. From what I understand from sibs, there was a teen rec center in town back then, but they probably hung out at Valli Hi Swimming Pool and Park It was down Old Lemay Ferry Rd. (Big Bill Rd.) about a mile from the Pomme Rd address. Kids his age would hang out there all day, swim, play pinball, etc. He may have had a 10 speed, but wasn't old enough to drive or have a car.

So it sounds like he and Geraldine may have gotten a ride from a man in a red convertible.
Assume the man was attracted to Geraldine and talked them into going someplace with him or offering a ride if they wanted to go farther into town. The older man was probably interested in Geraldine and got rid of Jay so he could take off with the girl.

It would help to know if there was anything to indicate if these kids were running away or not. Did they pack a suitcase or backpack? Did they tell any of their friends they were taking off? Where is Geraldine now? Did anyone interview her about Jay's whereabouts?

 

[Betty P]

Ok, one of my siblings was in the same class as Jay through grade and middle school. They say Geraldine sounds familiar, too. He was a nice kid, didn't get in trouble or act out, lived with his mom, possibly dad wasn't around. Not into drugs, at least not through middle school. He should have been starting his sophomore year in HS, but doesn't show up in the yearbook during his freshman year.

He was shy and was bullied a little by other boys. He liked to hang out with the girls.

 

[Betty P]

My sibling and I also discussed how a couple of 15 yo kids, unable to drive, could come in contact with a 30 yo male who would take them away from Arnold to California or elsewhere. The location from which they disappeared wasn't near major highways or downtown. A stranger coming in from out of town wouldn't likely have wandered in there.

Of places to encounter older strangers, one would be at the nearby shopping mall - South County Shopping Center. Its a very busy area near the intersection of 2 interstate highways. There was probably some drug dealing around the mall area, but not much. St Louis County SD patrolled it regularly. In 1972, Arnold kids could buy grass, etc. back in their hometown. A lot of Arnold kids worked at the stores in the mall or shopped there, so it might not be too difficult to catch a ride there with someone.

Google Maps

Early August, school was about to start. If Jay was being bullied at school, he may have wanted to drop out and leave town. Maybe Geraldine was in the same mood. He was probably close to his mom, though, and wouldn't have wanted to trouble her by disappearing to CA or elsewhere for a long time. It would help to know if the kids left with their belongings. They could have met the 30 yo man at the Mall or the pool, got talked into going somewhere with him, returning home to pick up clothes before leaving.

 

[Thewop356]

My sibling and I also discussed how a couple of 15 yo kids, unable to drive, could come in contact with a 30 yo male who would take them away from Arnold to California or elsewhere. The location from which they disappeared wasn't near major highways or downtown. A stranger coming in from out of town wouldn't likely have wandered in there.

Of places to encounter older strangers, one would be at the nearby shopping mall - South County Shopping Center. Its a very busy area near the intersection of 2 interstate highways. There was probably some drug dealing around the mall area, but not much. St Louis County SD patrolled it regularly. In 1972, Arnold kids could buy grass, etc. back in their hometown. A lot of Arnold kids worked at the stores in the mall or shopped there, so it might not be too difficult to catch a ride there with someone.

Google Maps

Early August, school was about to start. If Jay was being bullied at school, he may have wanted to drop out and leave town. Maybe Geraldine was in the same mood. He was probably close to his mom, though, and wouldn't have wanted to trouble her by disappearing to CA or elsewhere for a long time. It would help to know if the kids left with their belongings. They could have met the 30 yo man at the Mall or the pool, got talked into going somewhere with him, returning home to pick up clothes before leaving.

In an early post, someone alluded to the fact the Geraldine Hearst had passed away. In the statement on his missing persons profile, it says Jay left his home with an unknown 30- year old male and a high school friend which was Geraldine Hearst. It does not indicate whether or not he was running away, but I would have to assume that if they thought he ran away that they would have included that information. However it was so long ago, that it could have easily been forgotten or left out. The question of whether or not he was running away is a good one because it helps put his story into some sort of perspective. I wish I could find more info on this Grealdine Hearst and exactly what she said when she was located in CA.