MO MO - Elizabeth 'Betsy' Gill, 2, Cape Girardeau, 13 June 1965

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There are no updates I can report here. There are a couple women who law enforcement is doing backgrounds on and may proceed to submit DNA. Thank you for following Beth’s story. Our family has had major tragedies in 2017 and we needed some time to start to heal before we could devote more efforts to Finding Beth. We have not given up and will continue our search. Thank you again.
 
Did you guys ever submit DNA to ancestry and 23 and me? Not saying Beth herself would submit DNA but maybe even a child of hers did. Then you can find your matches and work from there. That is how the mystery of Lori Ruff was solved, they submitted her daughter's DNA and found a match through a cousin and were able to find out who she really was. I think in the future that is how a lot of these cases will be solved.
 
Elizabeth Ann Gill – The Charley Project

Details of Disappearance
Elizabeth was last seen in the front yard of her home in the 300 block of south Lorimer Street in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at 4:00 p.m. on June 13, 1965. She was carrying a small pail of sand at the time of her disappearance. She has never been heard from again.

An extensive search of the area turned up no sign of her. Authorities at first believed she wandered away from home and fell into the Mississippi River a few blocks away, but this theory has since been discounted because Elizabeth would have had to cross streets and railroad tracks and then go down a bluff to reach the water's edge.

In 1970, Phillip Odell Clark, a Missouri man serving a life sentence for murder, told police he'd accidentally run over Elizabeth in his car and killed her on the day of her disappearance. He said he panicked and buried her body because he'd been drinking and was afraid he'd be charged in her death. A photo of Clark is posted with this case summary. He had murdered his ex-wife's grandmother in 1966 and held five other people hostage.

Clark told several different stories about where he'd put Elizabeth's body, and investigators were unable to find any evidence to support his story about her. They concluded Clark's confession was a fabrication. In 1971, he killed a fellow prison inmate and was convicted of manslaughter. He was himself murdered in prison in 1977.

The day after her disappearance, police got a tip from a local auto dealer about a couple who had been staying in a motel behind the Gill home. The couple had been waiting for a part for their pickup truck, a light tan 1965 Chevrolet, to come in so the vehicle could be repaired. The dealer told them it wasn't expected until June 14, and they said that was fine because they planned on staying in town for another week. But when the part arrived on June 14, the dealer learned the couple had checked out of the motel early and disappeared, leaving their disabled car behind.

Police looked into the couple and learned they had been using alias names and switching the license plates on their vehicles. They had been in Cape Girardeau for some time and were selling purses door-to-door in the neighborhood. Multiple witnesses, including one of Elizabeth's sisters, reported seeing the woman from the motel talking to Elizabeth, trying to get her to come to her car. Another witness reported seeing the couple from the motel buying clothes for a child who was with them, crying for her mother.

In 2010, forty-five years after Elizabeth's disappearance, authorities stated they were investigating her case as a non-family abduction. The couple selling purses, whom the police were never locate, are the prime suspects in her disappearance.

Investigators were able to trace the couple's vehicle back to the original dealer where it was purchased, in Lake Orion, Michigan. They also traced the purses the couple sold back to their manufacturer, but weren't able to find out who bought them.

Authorities would like to identify two couples who were staying in the motel behind the Gill house before Elizabeth disappeared. One man is described as 60 to 65 years of age and a "natty dresser." He drove a black and white 1965 Ford Thunderbird with three different sets of license plates: an Alabama plate numbered 38-19438, a Virginia plate numbered A25-1356, and a possible Florida plate.

The man's companion was a Caucasian female over 60 years old, with white white, 5'1 and 150 pounds. The second woman was younger and is believed to have been the daughter of the older woman, and is described as 5'2 with red hair. Her husband was also Caucasian, 6'1 tall with a slender build. These individuals are probably no longer alive, but police hope their acquaintances or relatives might recognize them.

Elizabeth is the youngest of ten children. At the time she went missing, she was in the care of her older siblings while their mother took her father to St. Louis, Missouri where he worked. Elizabeth's father died in 1970 and two of her siblings are also deceased, but her mother and remaining seven brothers and sisters are still alive.

Elizabeth may resemble one of her sisters; photographs of them as adults are posted with this case summary.
 
Much more at link....

In a portion of the original police report, which Beth’s father included in his letter to President Johnson, two couples seen at the motel behind the Gill house are noted. A white male aged 60-65, described as a “natty dresser.” His companion was a white female with white hair, over 60 years old, 5’1”, 150 lbs. The second couple was a white female, believed to be the daughter of the other woman, 5’2” with red hair, and her husband, also white, 6’1”, with a slender build. While all those noted would probably no longer be living, the FBI has interviewed people who might be acquaintances or relatives of those in the report.

In the years since Beth disappeared, her sister Martha has devoted time to volunteering with Team Hope at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to offer support for other families of the missing.

“I have very strong faith and I almost feel like this has been a calling for me. Part of healing is helping others,” Martha told Dateline.

Elizabeth Ann Gill would be 56 years old today. At the time of her disappearance, Elizabeth was 2’6” and weighed about 22 lbs. with brown hair and blue eyes. If you have any information on the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth’s disappearance or where she might be today, please call the Cape Girardeau Police Department at 573-335-6621.
Click to expand...

Fifty-four years later, family demands answers in baby sister’s disappearance
 
Bumping for Elizabeth on the anniversary of her disappearance this week. Betsy would be turning 59 in August. I used to read comments from her mother and a sibling on Facebook page but haven't checked in awhile. Sure hope this could be solved.
 
Vehicle purchased in Lake Orion linked to Missouri kidnapping case from 57 years ago

The case wouldn’t be classified as a kidnapping until 2010, which was 45 years after Elizabeth disappeared.

According to the Doe Network, a possible relative of the couple staying in the motel was located in 2010.

Investigators interviewed the elderly woman, and she was reluctant to talk. She mentioned that two of her family members had been involved in the investigation.

She was told by her relative and his wife that he had been held and questioned by police. No record could be found indicating the couple was ever questioned.
Click to expand...
I hope some answers start coming soon. 57 years is too long.
 
Last edited:
Elizabeth Ann Gill

Elizabeth Ann Gill (NamUs)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Elizabeth Ann Gill was just 2 years old when she disappeared from her front yard in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on June 13, 1965.

Elizabeth was the youngest of 10 siblings and had been left in the care of her older siblings while the parents and two children took a short trip, according to the Doe Network.

It was around 4 p.m. that June afternoon when the family noticed she was missing. The family searched outside and inside the house but could not find her, according to NBC

When they said Bethie was missing, my mom passed out'​

Her older sister, Martha Gill Hamilton, told Dateline that when people would approach her little sister she would readily follow them. Their father had grown up in the same neighborhood and trusted the people there.
More at link:
www.clickondetroit.com

Vehicle purchased in Lake Orion linked to Missouri kidnapping case from 57 years ago

Elizabeth Ann Gill was just 2 years old when she disappeared from her front yard in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on June 13, 1965.
www.clickondetroit.com www.clickondetroit.com
 
imstilla.grandma said:
Elizabeth Ann Gill

Elizabeth Ann Gill (NamUs)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Elizabeth Ann Gill was just 2 years old when she disappeared from her front yard in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on June 13, 1965.

Elizabeth was the youngest of 10 siblings and had been left in the care of her older siblings while the parents and two children took a short trip, according to the Doe Network.

It was around 4 p.m. that June afternoon when the family noticed she was missing. The family searched outside and inside the house but could not find her, according to NBC

When they said Bethie was missing, my mom passed out'​

Her older sister, Martha Gill Hamilton, told Dateline that when people would approach her little sister she would readily follow them. Their father had grown up in the same neighborhood and trusted the people there.
More at link:
www.clickondetroit.com

Vehicle purchased in Lake Orion linked to Missouri kidnapping case from 57 years ago

Elizabeth Ann Gill was just 2 years old when she disappeared from her front yard in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on June 13, 1965.
www.clickondetroit.com www.clickondetroit.com
Click to expand...

www.nbcnews.com

Fifty-four years later, family demands answers in baby sister's disappearance

Elizabeth Ann Gill went missing from her own front yard in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on June 13, 1965. The Cape Girardeau Police Department is handling her disappearance.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

natured and trusting, according to Martha, who said that Beth was always doted on by strangers who called her “precious.” Beth was the youngest of ten siblings and had been pampered and spoiled, but, Martha noted, “She was never one to throw a fit.”

As with most two-year-olds, Beth trusted everyone, said Martha, who is 13 years older than Beth. She told Dateline that people would approach her little sister and she would readily follow them. Their father had grown up in the same neighborhood in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the Gill family trusted the people there.

“We always considered it a safe neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone,” Martha said.

I hope that she is still alive and that she will begin to wonder about her past connecting the dots finally reuniting with her family.
 
Poor little and beautiful baby, the most likely thing is that we will never know what happened to him and the guilty party or parties will never be judged... I hope that conscience has devoured them until the last of their days...
little baby rest in peace
 
Websleuths is mentioned in our interview. Elizabeth Ann (Beth) is my youngest sister. A discussion about Beth on this website was the catalyst that prompted us to continue searching for her and brought more people to help... I know it was a long time ago... 58 years, but we have reason to believe that Beth may still be alive. Websleuths helped us find those leads. Some people say that we should let it go, but our search for her and thanks to my sister Martha, has resulted in at least 3 other women, to find their birth families. "The Missouri Missing" has a slogan, by which we stand; "Never, Never Never give up!" This is the story of Beth's disappearance...

Are You Elizabeth Ann Gill?Dateline: Missing In America​

 

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