OH OH - "The Red Shoe Mystery" - Lola Celli, 24, Grandview Heights, Feb 1946

[Marilynilpa]

I think it's possible that the red shoe got picked back up.

Either,

The kidnapper knew not to leave evidence like this behind,

OR,

She was leaving willingly with him and wanted her shoe.

If this car was parked in a remote location, maybe this witness spotted something illicit in the car and not violent?? Maybe they were parking!!

The missing neighbor seems just too much to be a coincidence.

The missing neighbor story was investigated by police in Ohio and in California, where the former wife of the "missing neighbor" lives, and it was determined there was nothing to this claim.

Lola's family says they knew nothing at the time about any missing neighbor, and feel it was just a disgruntled ex-wife trying to cause trouble.

As for the red shoe, the motorist who witnessed the struggle in the red coupe between a man and a woman was able to describe what I was told was a rather unique shoe. This took place in a fairly busy area, not in a secluded or "lover's lane" type of area. The shoe could have been picked up by the kidnapper, but the police were looking for the vehicle (a red coupe with a broken side window) so I doubt he would have taken the risk of returning to the area.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Reading the articles on newspaperarchives for the last couple of hours:

she had about a 2 1/2 block walk to the bus station to catch a bus to downtown Columbus to shop. One account said she never made it to the bus stop.

The Riverside CA police were involved at one point in trying to find the missing neighbor. His wife told police he may have some info about Lola since he left near the same time as her.

Convents were searched based on rumors that Lola was not straight-laced enough for her family and she was forced into being a nun. Not true.

A skeleton found 15 yards off Olentangy River Road in a shallow grave were believed to be her. Later determined to be a dog or a sheep.

Marriage licenses in neighboring counties were checked, nothing founrd....

Lola certainly got lots of press.

You are right that Lola got a lot of press, but from what I've learned from her family, there were numerous inaccurate, and in some cases totally untrue, articles published over the years regarding this case.

You are right about the distance to the bus - it was 2 1/2 blocks in a residential area from her house to the bus stop at Cambridge and W. 3rd. No one saw her on the bus, and the assumption is that she disappeared (by whatever means) sometime during that 2 1/2 block walk.

In addition to newspaperarchives articles, I have at least 50 more articles from papers not connected with newspaperarchives. A lot of the stories are repetitive and deal with the initial stages of the search for Lola.

The story about the convent was misreported, according to her family. The convents were searched, but not because it was felt that Lola was forced into a convent by her parents. It was actually felt that Lola was so nervous about her first teaching assignment that she might have gone to a convent to get her thoughts together. She was a very devout Catholic, so it would not have been out of the question that she might have done so. However, the police, as well as the Celli's priest, checked all of the convents to no avail.

I feel that Lola got into a car with someone she knew, and that things went very wrong. Whether the person driving the car was a former classmate, a neighbor, a friend of the family, a fellow parishioner - there is no way to know. Her family is emphatic that she would never get into a stranger's car.

Two other possible scenarios:

1. A stranger pulls up and asks for directions, and somehow manages to get Lola into the car.

2. Someone living along the 2 1/2 blocks to the bus stop got Lola into their house by some ruse, and later took her (or her body) somewhere else.

There wasn't much of the immediate area that was not searched thoroughly. High school boys were let out of school early on at least two occasions to help with the search. Quarries were searched, lakes were dragged, wooded areas were searched - literally no stone left unturned.

I do not believe Lola left willingly to be with a lover her family disapproved of, or any of the other reasons one might "disappear". After learning more about her family, it just doesn't fit.

 

[LisainWV]

Good info Marilyn.

There was some info in one article that local LE received an anonymous phone call at one point telling them not to worry about Lola because she was all right.

Any news on this? True story, but a quack calling? Complete BS?

I have no doubt that much of the info is inaccurate.

Keep us posted.

 

[Marilynilpa]

LE did receive several phone calls over the years from people either claiming Lola was alive and well, or that she was dead. According to Chief Livingston of the Grandview Heights PD, he ran down every tip that came in but nothing panned out. Apparently all of these types of calls were hoaxes.

 

[LisainWV]

Marilyn, I get the feeling you think she met with foul play?

And I tend to believe that now as well.

Why would she decide to walk away when she was home during a weekend visit? If she wanted to leave, it would be much easier to do while away during the week at her teaching job. Everyone around her parent's house had to have known her or at least recognized her.

Wonder if they had gotten any new neighbors along the route to the bus stop?

Were those houses searched or people questioned?

Any construction going on along that route at the time?

I know you don't have these answers, just my thoughts and possibly something to ask the family when you speak with them again. Esp the new neighbor question.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Yes, I do think Lola was abducted and murdered. I entered into researching this with a relatively open mind, but it didn't take long before the picture I got of Lola didn't fit into any other scenario but abduction. Talking with her family just reinforces that. And you are right, there would have been much simpler ways to disappear if she had wanted to.

Your question about the new neighbor is a good one, I hadn't thought about that. I will definitely ask Lola's siter that question. I don't know if a house to house "search" as such was conducted, it was more of a door to door check to see if anyone had seen Lola. I don't believe any extensive questioning took place.

Regarding construction, my understanding is that this was a residential area with no construction (road or housing) taking place at the time.

Marilyn

 

[MaryLiz]

[/quote] I feel that Lola got into a car with someone she knew, and that things went very wrong. [/quote]

After reading some of the articles and reading the info you found out, Marilyn, I believe this is the most likely scenario.

I would like to find out more about the neighbor too. It could just be coincidence. This might sound kind of dumb but if the neighbor man disappeared to run off with someone else, he might have chose that particular time so his wife and everyone else would think that maybe it was Lola he ran off with, when in fact it was someone else entirely, you know, to throw everyone off track. It is very odd though that he and his son disappeared at the same time.

 

[LisainWV]

Maybe she didn't run off with this neighbor.
Maybe he's the one who abducted and killed her.
Maybe he saw something and took off.

Marilyn, do you think we can get any pictures of her street - get an idea of what things looked like - from the family, I meant.

 

[MaryLiz]

Maybe she didn't run off with this neighbor.
Maybe he's the one who abducted and killed her.
Maybe he saw something and took off.

Marilyn, do you think we can get any pictures of her street - get an idea of what things looked like - from the family, I meant.

Wow, #2 is something I hadn't thought of. That would probably be someone she might get into a car with easily.

 

[Richard]

You are right, she had just gotten out of college and was working at her first teaching assignment. Lola attended Ohio State University, and lived at home with her parents while in college.

I am hoping to learn more about Lola's friends when I speak to her sister later this week. I did locate her high school yearbook, and wrote to a couple of individuals who were in her senior class and still living. So far, I've gotten no reply from them.

Have you checked with the OSU Library to see if they might have a yearbook collection? It is quite possible that Lola's photo will be in one - at least for the year she graduated. There might also be a little more information about her, such as what her interests and activities were.

1946 was a year when thousands of servicemen were returning home from World War II. There were a lot of men looking for work and also a lot of them starting college on the origional G.I. bill. Because Columbus is home to OSU, which is (or was) the largest university in the world, it is a good chance that the suspect who drove the Red Coupe, was a recently returned serviceman in town to start college, or perhaps just between military and civilian life looking for a job.

The Red Coupe in the story was very likely an older car - a 1941 or earlier model - because all car production had been suspended in early 1942 when the car makers began war production. Almost all of the 1942 model cars went to the military as staff cars. When civilian car production resumed in late 1946, the models were pretty much the same as the 1942 models, with only slight changes in trim.

Back in 1946, most cars in America were from the big three auto makers:
General Motors Corporation (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac),
The Ford Motor Company (Lincoln, Ford, Mercury),
and Chrysler Corporation (Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto)

 

[Marilynilpa]

Richard, as always you are a font of information. Thanks so much for a little more insight into the time period during which Lola disappeared.

I am trying to locate a college yearbook, in fact I am waiting for a call back from a college librarian. I'm also trying to see if they have archives of the school's newspaper during that time period to see if there is any reference to Lola. I'll let you know what I find.

Lisain WV wanted to know if I could get pictures of Lola's neighborhood at the time of her disappearance. I have spoken to a very knowledgeable man with the Grandview Heights Historical Society (who is also a professor at OSU), who provided a general street map of the area, but no photos. I will be obtaining photos, Lola's scrapbook, and other items in the near future. If there are pictures of the neighborhood, I'll post them here.

The "new neighbor" idea is one I will definitely follow up on, I never thought to ask that question. No one mentioned anything to me about them having a new neighbor, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one.

With regard to the "missing" neighbor, I was quite excited about that idea for a while. I know that a person's loyalties often change over the years, and some cold cases are solved because of that. I had hoped the ex-wife's accusations about her ex-husband would pan out, but it appears both California and Ohio police investigated her claim and found it to be without merit. However, I am still trying to find out the name of this woman in order to do some researching on my own.

Thanks to everyone for their input!

 

[MaryLiz]

I looked up a couple old articles on this..

Re the "missing neighbor": I don't think he had anything to do with this. I found an article in the Lima News from 4/4/1949 and it said they were seeking the man in Riverside, CA. However, it said he lived in Upper Arlington and Lola lived in Grandview. They are adjacent suburbs so he actually wasn't really a "neighbor" at all. At least in the sense that I think of a neighbor as being next door or across the street or in the same block.

I think Marilyn said in a previous post too that the Celli family didn't know about the missing neighbor and thought it perhaps was a disgruntled wife making the claim. I believe that was all it was too after reading that he and Lola actually lived in "neighboring suburbs".

 

[Marilynilpa]

I looked up a couple old articles on this..

Re the "missing neighbor": I don't think he had anything to do with this. I found an article in the Lima News from 4/4/1949 and it said they were seeking the man in Riverside, CA. However, it said he lived in Upper Arlington and Lola lived in Grandview. They are adjacent suburbs so he actually wasn't really a "neighbor" at all. At least in the sense that I think of a neighbor as being next door or across the street or in the same block.

I think Marilyn said in a previous post too that the Celli family didn't know about the missing neighbor and thought it perhaps was a disgruntled wife making the claim. I believe that was all it was too after reading that he and Lola actually lived in "neighboring suburbs".

You're right about them being neighboring suburbs, although they were not very far apart. By no stretch of the imagination would I call them "neighbors". But I am still curious about the man's name - I'd like to do a little research on him to make sure there weren't any other missing women in or near his neighborhood, either in Ohio or in California. A long shot, for sure, but I'm trying to cover any possibility.

 

[Angie4b1g]

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51979

?

 

[iNTERESTEDWOMAN]

You're right about them being neighboring suburbs, although they were not very far apart. By no stretch of the imagination would I call them "neighbors". But I am still curious about the man's name - I'd like to do a little research on him to make sure there weren't any other missing women in or near his neighborhood, either in Ohio or in California. A long shot, for sure, but I'm trying to cover any possibility.

Maybe the neighbor is the infamous "George Brody" from the Anna Waters spot light case. After hours of research I personally have come to the conclusion he might be from Ohio. He moved to CA sometime between 1940 to 1949 (IMO) and he might have been previously married. I sure would like to find out more on this missing neighbor man. George Brody is a missing man, that wasn't searched for. It more than likely isn't his real name either. I wonder if this missing OH man is named Robert?

 

[Marilynilpa]

Maybe the neighbor is the infamous "George Brody" from the Anna Waters spot light case. After hours of research I personally have come to the conclusion he might be from Ohio. He moved to CA sometime between 1940 to 1949 (IMO) and he might have been previously married. I sure would like to find out more on this missing neighbor man. George Brody is a missing man, that wasn't searched for. It more than likely isn't his real name either. I wonder if this missing OH man is named Robert?

That is an interesting idea - I'll keep on trying to learn the man's name. I am supposed to visit the Grandview Heights Police Department and look at the file they have on Lola's case, and hopefully this man's name will be in there somewhere.

 

[LisainWV]

Maybe the neighbor is the infamous "George Brody" from the Anna Waters spot light case. After hours of research I personally have come to the conclusion he might be from Ohio. He moved to CA sometime between 1940 to 1949 (IMO) and he might have been previously married. I sure would like to find out more on this missing neighbor man. George Brody is a missing man, that wasn't searched for. It more than likely isn't his real name either. I wonder if this missing OH man is named Robert?

IW, warped minds think alike!!

I was wondering the same thing last night, but didn't want to post it.

This is a sure sign that you're wrapped up in TOO MANY of these cases!!:laugh:

On a serious note, I think it's a possible as any other theory that exists.

 

[LisainWV]

PS Marilyn, I agree that we really need to find out the name of this neighbor.

I am of the opinion now that Lola did not run away with this man, but he needs to be looked at for other info.

What did HE drive, I wonder? Just thinking of the car with window broken that was witnessed.

 

[LisainWV]

That is an interesting idea - I'll keep on trying to learn the man's name. I am supposed to visit the Grandview Heights Police Department and look at the file they have on Lola's case, and hopefully this man's name will be in there somewhere.

I was looking at the George Brody idea and missed that you were going to the PD to look at the file. How exciting!! When are you going??

 

[Marilynilpa]

I was looking at the George Brody idea and missed that you were going to the PD to look at the file. How exciting!! When are you going??

I'll be going at the end of this month, hopefully. I was pretty excited about it at first, but after talking to Lola's family I learned that the police file doesn't contain much useful information. They have looked at it a couple of times hoping to find anything at all that would be useful. But maybe I'll at least be able to learn the identity of the "missing neighbor".