MO MO - Christene Nickle Seal, 22, Verona, 19 June 1972

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Christene Nickle Seal

Missing Since: June 19, 1972 from Mount Vernon, Lawrence County, Missouri
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: November 2, 1949
Age: 22
Race: White
Gender: Female
AKA: Chris, Christy, Christine
Brown hair, blue eyes. Prior to her disappearance, Seal had her hair frosted so it may appear blonde.


On the morning of June 19, 1972, wife and mother Christene Nickle Seal disappeared from her home in Lawrence County. Her husband had left for work shortly after 8:00 am, leaving Christene and their two-year-old son asleep. When he returned at 9:45 am to check on them he found the child unattended, and crying. Everything but the pajamas she had been wearing had been left behind - her purse, clothing, car, keys, and identification. The mailman later told authorities that he had stopped by the home at 9:30 am and saw the toddler behind the screen door, crying, leading investigators to believe that Seal had vanished sometime before that.

Her husband obtained a divorce in 1974, remarried and his second wife adopted his and Christene's son. Her parents, like the authorities, suspect that Seal met with foul play, but they continue to hope for information in the case and even offered a reward in 2012 for anyone who has knowledge of what became of their daughter.


http://www.nampn.org/cases/seal_christene.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/seal_christene.html

http://www.monett-times.com/story/1902895.html


Striking similarities to the cases of Evelyn Hartley, Joan Risch and Jane Rowell Clement.
 
That's an interesting question, because neither of those websites nor the article address that. I found it strange about the divorce part, on what grounds? Unless he believed that she left on her own accord, but there was no proof of that. And her parents have stated she would never have done such a thing, that she was a devoted mother.

The original case file was lost, which resulted in bad blood between her family and the local sheriff's office at the time.
 
The title of this thread sound be missing in Mo for Missouri, not Mi as in Michigan.
 
I wonder what kind of work the husband did. It says he left for work at 8:00 am and came back to check on his wife and child at 9:45 am. Why did he check on them? Was he self-employed and able to go back and forth from his house during the workday? Would be interesting to know.
 
I wonder what kind of work the husband did. It says he left for work at 8:00 am and came back to check on his wife and child at 9:45 am. Why did he check on them? Was he self-employed and able to go back and forth from his house during the workday? Would be interesting to know.

All this information is in the book link provided in #5 above. It seems the husband was working on a farm owned by a Paul Calico (where they also had the mobile home), meaning it was normal for him to be back and forth in between jobs on the farm.
 
Charley Project recently updated and as such all their links are broken. http://charleyproject.org/case/christene-nickle-seal

It's a shame, too, because Christene is linked and name dropped in a new article about Charley Project.

https://longreads.com/2018/01/11/the-encylopedia-of-the-missing/

Here are some recent links:

In 2012 there was renewed interest and a $25,000 reward offered by her parents

http://www.monett-times.com/story/1902895.html

The Seal case has perplexed authorities from the outset. An attractive 22 year-old who worked at Duane's, a Monett beauty shop, Seal was at home with her young son after her husband went to work on the day she disappeared. A mail carrier found the boy crying at the door, looking for his mother. Her husband found only her pajamas and a light coat missing, in addition to his wife.

http://www.cassville-democrat.com/story/2271819.html

If you have a subscription to newspapers.com, you can read this article from the Mexico, MO Mexico Ledger. 22 June 1972

https://www.newspapers.com/image/2362909/

In the article, her husband is quoted as saying when he returned from work to find their 3 yo child, her purse, etc. He said the only clothing missing was the nightgown and bathrobe she had been wearing. She would have been barefoot.

A passerby told the sheriff he had seen Chrisine run nude from the back door of the Lee Church located northwest of Verona as the passerby approached the front door of the church late that afternoon. No mention of who else was inside the church. He said the woman disappeared over a ridge before he could stop her.

I could be wrong, but I don't recall reading that detail before. Did someone stalk her, abduct her from her home and take her to that church to assault her? Perhaps the attacker was distracted by the person who came to the front door of the church, giving her a chance to escape. It would be interesting to know who else was in the Lee Church and what evidence was found there.. Seems unlikely she would just be hanging out there by herself, in the nude.

Link to article from same newspaper a couple days earlier

https://www.newspapers.com/image/2362639/?terms=seal

This article states the husband returned home at 10:00 am to find her missing. A mail carrier reported seeing their son standing crying at the door at 9:35 am. The bloodhounds traced her scent from the trailer to an area behind where the family car was parked in the driveway. IIRC, the husband returned home for lunch, but that seems a little early.
 
The bloodhounds traced her scent from the trailer to an area behind where the family car was parked ?

Hmmmm....
 

I read the book, it was helpful with some follow up information about Christine's son David. He was raised by his father, who re-married soon after Christine went missing. He doesn't think his father did it, but that's also understandable. He said he didn't like seeing his father get upset every time the case is revisited. Fortunately, Christine's parents and siblings have kept public interest alive in the case.

I wonder what became of the witness report from the local newspaper - the man who said he saw her running, nude from the back of a church outside of town. Did local police rule it out? Could she have had a local stalker who waited until her husband left, then used a ruse to abduct her? Someone with a local church could conceivably do that.
 
More links from local news

Springfield News Leader 20 Jun 1972

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310891998

Same basic account of how she was found missing. Use of blood hounds from Springfield, MO. LE from 2 or 3 counties were helping with search.

Springfield News Leader 22 Jun 1972

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310892265

Police were wondering if there was a link between Christene's disappearance and the assault next day of two elderly people who lived nearby in Youngerville. Two men wearing white hoods broke into the home of an elderly brother and sister at 2 am on Tuesday. The couple were tied up, beaten and robbed.

Springfield News Leader 22 Jun 1972

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310892658

This covers the story of a witness seeing her running from a church, nude. About 360 volunteers showed up to search the area.

The church was located 4 miles west of Hwy P and 2 miles north of Verona.

The man had a flat tire on the road in front of the church. He heard a door slam as he was changing it, and went to investigate. The nude woman ran out the back door as he opened the front door. Police said it looks like someone had been living there a while.

Here's a link to a very long 2 page article in the Springfield News Leader 02 Aug 1973, giving a wrap-up and summary of the case a year later. It has an interview with her husband, who thinks she was abducted.

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310939038
 
More links from local news

Springfield News Leader 20 Jun 1972

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310891998

Same basic account of how she was found missing. Use of blood hounds from Springfield, MO. LE from 2 or 3 counties were helping with search.

Springfield News Leader 22 Jun 1972

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310892265

Police were wondering if there was a link between Christene's disappearance and the assault next day of two elderly people who lived nearby in Youngerville. Two men wearing white hoods broke into the home of an elderly brother and sister at 2 am on Tuesday. The couple were tied up, beaten and robbed.

Springfield News Leader 22 Jun 1972

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310892658

This covers the story of a witness seeing her running from a church, nude. About 360 volunteers showed up to search the area.

The church was located 4 miles west of Hwy P and 2 miles north of Verona.

The man had a flat tire on the road in front of the church. He heard a door slam as he was changing it, and went to investigate. The nude woman ran out the back door as he opened the front door. Police said it looks like someone had been living there a while.

Here's a link to a very long 2 page article in the Springfield News Leader 02 Aug 1973, giving a wrap-up and summary of the case a year later. It has an interview with her husband, who thinks she was abducted.

http://news-leader.newspapers.com/image/310939038
Was this an abandoned church? I wonder whether any evidence was saved from the church; it would probably have DNA a-plenty.
 
He thought she may have been abducted ? Did he have any idea who would have done that?

No, he didn't say. He indicated he thought it was some kind of stranger abduction. Police had speculated that it could be linked to some similar crimes in the area - break ins and robberies. He also said she would have NEVER voluntarily left their son there alone. The evidence does seem to indicate she was taken suddenly:

In the morning around 8:30 to 9:30am

Still wearing her night gown and bath robe

Not wearing shoes

Purse sitting out on kitchen table

Hadn't fixed breakfast yet for her son. One news story said her son had fixed toast for himself before he was found

Her scent traced out of house to the driveway, just behind the family car. Husband had rode his motorcycle to work that morning


JMO, from reading the articles, etc. it sounds like someone was watching her. They went to her home as soon as her husband left for work, broke in and abducted her. It's possible she didn't have the door locked. People didn't always do that living out in the country. Her purse was out on the kitchen table, perhaps she was offering the person money to get them to leave. Sounds like it started as a robbery.
 
Was this an abandoned church? I wonder whether any evidence was saved from the church; it would probably have DNA a-plenty.

Good question. It didn't sound like it was abandoned. Probably just no one there during the week, between services.

I kind of wonder if the nude woman running out the back door startled the witness. He may have looked inside the church, but was distracted enough that he didn't notice the perp hiding there? Just a theory. If there was a nude woman running out the back door, there had to be someone else on the premises or very close by. That person likely escaped when the witness left to call police. (no cell phones back in those days).

They had hundreds of volunteers who searched the area around the church after it was reported and found nothing. There also was no mention of the witness seeing a vehicle of any kind at the church. Wonder if there were tire tracks or anything to indicate someone had driven up there recently.
 
I thought you said, the article said: it looked like someone had been living there?
 
For some reason I don't think it was her.
 

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