NV NV - Donnis Redman, 14, & Michael Griffin, 18, Las Vegas, 1 March 1958

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Lady Stardust said:
Wow, I see a definite resemblance!

Do you think it would be appropriate to contact the lady?
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Lol, what would we say "hey you look alot like Donnis Redmond/Redman and I was just wondering if you disappeared 52 years ago?"

Hmmm, I'm going to have to do somemore searching to see if I can find anything else out.
 
http://charleyross.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/missing-children-id-really-like-to-know-more-about/

About half way down the page, the second response is from the blogger, it says..

Meaghan Says:

May 15, 2009 at 4:45 pm | Reply
It occurred to me after I wrote this entry to dig through Ancestry.com and see if I could come up with any info — not about the disappearances themselves, of course, but about missing people and their families. So far I think I’ve just wasted the $20 membership fee. The only thing I’ve found is a birth record for Donnis Redman. She was born in Los Angeles and her mother’s maiden name was Moris. You can order a copy of the birth certificate, but only if you know the full names of both parents, which I do not.
 
I am looking for any firm information about the Donnis Redman case, more than what can be found on sites already out there but more importantly information about her boyfriend, Michael James Griffin.

Are there any newspaper reports about Griffin's car? Make, Model year available?

Any unidentified male remains found in the area or Coconino County after 1958?

Anyone know of his family or friends? Anything might put pieces to this puzzle on the table for us to sort through. I appreciate the interest and assistance of everyone here.

Does anyone have a copy of the book:
Over the edge: Death in Grand Canyon : gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps in the most famous of the world's seven natural wonders

by Michael Patrick Ghiglieri, Thomas M. Myers

There might be a listing that has not been checked out yet.

Thanks...
 
Angels_Not_Forgotten said:
was her boyfriend ever officially reported missing? was there any evidence of a struggle around the area the car was found?
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No Michael Griffin was never officially been reported missing, he was 18 at the time and law enforcement did not take "missing" reports of adults. I have often wondered if there are any family members to contact so that a missing report can be listed on the web boards. Would love to have someone contact any of us. I know there are many people out there willing to search and provide what information that is available.

There is no information about where or when the car was found, that I have found yet. We would not know about Donnis Redman if her mother had not listed her as missing and has still continued to look for her.

It is certainly a heart breaker. You don't know what happened. What could you have done to drive your child away? The quilt of your last memories of them. And if they are still alive, why they do not contact someone in the family to let them know they are alright...or not. It's the unknowing....
 
Ok, so Donnis Redman was 14 and her boyfriend Michael Griffin was 18 when they disappeared in 1958.

What were they doing in Las Vegas at that time?

Did they go to Las Vegas to get married?

Did their parents knew that they were going to Las Vegas, or did they just took off without telling anyone where they were going?

The age difference between them is a concern. Is there any background info regarding her boyfriend?
 
nerosleuth said:
Ok, so Donnis Redman was 14 and her boyfriend Michael Griffin was 18 when they disappeared in 1958.

What were they doing in Las Vegas at that time?

Did they go to Las Vegas to get married?

Did their parents knew that they were going to Las Vegas, or did they just took off without telling anyone where they were going?

The age difference between them is a concern. Is there any background info regarding her boyfriend?
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We don't know why they went to Las Vegas, and as far as we can find out they did not get married there or Reno.

I have no information on whether the parents knew or not, but I suspect they did not and left without telling anyone. But who saw them in Las Vegas is a question I have wondered about as well as the boyfriends car being found near Williams, AZ.

There is limited information on the boyfriend and no background at this time. He was from the area where Donnis lived, was 18, had a car, was not reported missing because of his age. And he is still missing.
 
After they disappeared back in 1958, were there any news stories from California, Nevada, and Arizona news media back then about this?

Were any charges filed against her boyfriend after they disappeared?

Were there personal belongings left in the car when it was found?

When the car was found, was there any evidence around the car that caused LE to suspect foul play could have been involved?
 
nerosleuth said:
After they disappeared back in 1958, were there any news stories from California, Nevada, and Arizona news media back then about this?

Were any charges filed against her boyfriend after they disappeared?

Were there personal belongings left in the car when it was found?

When the car was found, was there any evidence around the car that caused LE to suspect foul play could have been involved?
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We have not found any stories yet, still looking. As far as I can determine there were no charges filed against the boyfriend.

I don't have any information on who, when or where the car was found nor do we know the make or model of the car. Police files have not been located on this, as the Grand Canyon has been used as a dumping ground for bodies for a very long time. There is a special unit in the Coconino Sheriffs department that is digging into the cold cases they have and they are extensive.

Look here: http://unsolveditn.blogspot.com/2008/11/special-report-cold-cases-to-heat-up.html
 
talelights said:
I am looking for any firm information about the Donnis Redman case, more than what can be found on sites already out there but more importantly information about her boyfriend, Michael James Griffin.

Does anyone have a copy of the book:
Over the edge: Death in Grand Canyon : gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps in the most famous of the world's seven natural wonders

by Michael Patrick Ghiglieri, Thomas M. Myers

There might be a listing that has not been checked out yet.

Thanks...
Click to expand...

If it helps, several copies of this book are available on Bookfinder.com ranging in price from $7 and up depending on condition.
http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?a...er%20the%20edge%20death%20in%20grand%20canyon
 
Looking for Michael Griffin, boyfriend to Donnis, it was reported that his car was discovered near Williams, AZ. But no report of either of them ever being seen again.

He could be an unidentified buried in a potters site someplace in AZ, and so could she. Ideas, anyone?

Newspapers are being searched for the discovery of any bodies in 1958 that were unidentified. Might have a lead on John Doe in Prescott but still checking.
 
talelights said:
Looking for Michael Griffin, boyfriend to Donnis, it was reported that his car was discovered near Williams, AZ. But no report of either of them ever being seen again.

He could be an unidentified buried in a potters site someplace in AZ, and so could she. Ideas, anyone?

Newspapers are being searched for the discovery of any bodies in 1958 that were unidentified. Might have a lead on John Doe in Prescott but still checking.
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The highways in 1958 had to be different than what they are today. For example, Interstate 40 did not exist in Arizona in 1958. It's more likely that they traveled on U.S. Route 66 in Arizona back then.

If you can find a 1958 state highway road map from Arizona, California, and Nevada, it should give you an idea of which highways and towns that they may have went through.

You also might try contacting funeral homes that were in business back in 1958 and are still in operation today to see if they have any records of any burials of any unidentified persons in 1958.
 
talelights said:
Newspapers are being searched for the discovery of any bodies in 1958 that were unidentified.
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Here is what I'm thinking. Their car likely was found in a remote area and it's also likely that their bodies were left in a remote area somewhere else.

So it's also possible that their bodies could have been found after 1958. You may want to look at newspapers from 1959 to 1961 to see if there were any discovery of unidentified bodies around that time.

I also would suggest contacting the county historical society and also the county genealogical society. They could have information about deaths from years ago and they also could have newspaper articles about it.
 
Sleuthster said:
Wow, the nose is alot a like but what really blows my mind is the smile.
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It's a "little clown" nose, that means a small upturned nose with a tiny "ball" on the tip. The noses do look similar but it's a relatively common nose shape in women of European descent. Incidentally my fiancee has the same nose, as does her mother.

It's the smile I find hard to match because the older woman is wearing dentures -I can tell, I have them as well- and no lipstick. The difference in weight also makes it difficult to compare facial bone structure.
 
We have been scouring newspaper archives, contact with funeral homes, old LE officers, historians, museums, colleges, anthropologist, newspaper reporters, sheriff's office, national park service officers, vital statistics office, and now 1959 and before deaths in AZ are listed on line. Found one UID that looks interesting, but to find where he is buried, that's another story.

We might even have found that the boyfriends car was later sold at state auction but can not be sure as do not have a family contact to check with.

Remember, he was 18 and over the age of consent, LE would not take a missing person report on him. And as far as I know there has not been one taken of recent either, but since they are two missing persons who started out together it does not mean they will be found together, it's a large state with miles and miles of nothing, so who knows. Maybe someone out there has new thoughts, ideas, ways of looking at things or saw something or knows something. That's what I am counting on... one small piece of the puzzle that link to the next and the next. Perhaps we'll have a beginning line to move from
 
talelights said:
but since they are two missing persons who started out together it does not mean they will be found together, it's a large state with miles and miles of nothing, so who knows.
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Yes, that is true too. Anything is possible.

Regarding the Grand Canyon area, has there been any other reports of young women that have gone missing from Northern Arizona, Southern Nevada, or Southern Utah during the late 1950's and early 1960's and never heard from again?
 
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