NJ NJ - Margaret Fox, 14, Burlington, 24 June 1974

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Date(s) of Birth Used February 4, 1960
Hair Brown
Eyes Blue
Height 5'2" (at time of disappearance)
Weight 105 pounds (at time of disappearance)
Sex Female
Race White
Reward:
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the subject(s) responsible for the disappearance of Margaret Ellen Fox.

Remarks:
At the time of her disappearance, two of Margaret's top front right teeth were missing and she wore eyeglasses. She was last seen wearing jeans with a yellow patch on the knee, a blue blouse, a white and black checkered jacket, and brown sandals with a heel strap. She was also wearing a gold necklace with flowers and a blue stone, and a gold charm bracelet with a blue stone. Margaret was carrying an eyeglass case with a Huckleberry Hound design on it.

Details:
Margaret Ellen Fox was last seen on June 24, 1974, after travelling by bus to meet with a man who called himself "John Marshall" and had advertised for a babysitting job. Margaret was planning to go by bus to Mill and Main Streets in Mount Holly, New Jersey, to have an interview with this man about babysitting his young son. The man's phone number was later traced to a pay phone in a local supermarket. Margaret was seen getting on the bus in Burlington, New Jersey, at approximately 8:40 a.m. en route to Mt. Holly, but she has never been heard from again.

Submit a Tip:
If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

LINK:
MARGARET ELLEN FOX | Federal Bureau of Investigation
 
Hi everyone! I'm brand new to this site. I heard this case on a podcast and it grabbed my attention. I have several questions. Was the phone booth fingerprinted? Additionally I learned that fingerprints from the letter AND her dental records went "missing". This sounds like someone within the department who would have access to this. Also. The retired detective that just took on the cold case a while back. Hes from the station about 5 or 7 miles away from Burlington. Why his interest in the case? Not pointing fingers, I just feel like this case has had zero leads. Who else better to make evidence disappear and control any outcome of the case than an insider? Also does anyone know if the park that was between her home and the pick up point was searched for her body? Is that wooded area still there?
 
As with any case where a person goes missing and is never seen again, just about any scenario is a possibility. However, in Margaret's case, it seems that she boarded a bus headed to a specific destination to meet a certain man.

The most likely outcome is that she did arrive safely at her destination, only to meet with foul play at the hands of this "John Marshall" character. He could have taken her anywhere after meeting with her.

While remotely possible, it is much less likely that some other random, unidentified person abducted Margaret while she waited for the bus or was on the bus between point A and point B.

There would seem to be a strong connection between "John Marshall" and the payphone at the super market. If Margaret had actually spoken to him BEFORE boarding the bus by calling that number (which she got off some posted note?) and possibly contacted him at that same number AFTER arriving at her destination, then it would be likely that this guy worked or hung out near that phone on a fairly regular basis.
 
John Marshall was the name of the store manager that was located by the pay phone. Obviously this person went to this store regularly enough to have noticed and used his name. I still feel strongly it was someone who had access to evidence. Maybe not an officer but. Beat cops would have every reason to go by or use that payphone regularly. 1974 I'm sure there wasnt a huge IA presence.
 
Just read about this on the FBI's website. Very interesting case. I believe this is solve-able! It's like the Delphi case.
 
My question has more to do with the phone numbers posted to the classified ad offering babysitting services. Has anyone ever found the ad from The Burlington County Times dated Tuesday, June 18th with the phone numbers not redacted? The area code for NJ back then was 201, but I wonder if only the seven-digit numbers would have been published, since it was much less likely back then that people were accessing newspapers from outside their local area. I've done a newspapers.com search to attempt to find the classified ad with numbers listed, to no avail (can't find the ad anywhere) Would it be at all helpful if we had their two phone numbers to go off of? I doubt the perpetrator was calling Lynn, then Margaret, then Margaret's father from the supermarket pay phone. Remember this was long before caller ID, so only way to track such a thing would be from June phone bills from 1974, so a needle in the ocean. If he was talking to the girls from the pay phone, were the calls always happening at night? Has the pay phone number ever been mentioned anywhere, or could it be researched? The payphone project website did not yield any accurate results for Lumberton.
 
Casinobus, if you can wait a little while, I can check the Burl Co library but not until after Christmas. (Quarantined w/COVID...ugh!)

I cant get it to quote right. I’m referring to your post about the ad.
 
Casinobus, if you can wait a little while, I can check the Burl Co library but not until after Christmas. (Quarantined w/COVID...ugh!)

I cant get it to quote right. I’m referring to your post about the ad.
Any word on the microfiche of the babysitting advert? I see it inconsistently reported that the girls placed the ad either on the 18th or the 19th, and I am trying to figure out exactly which date. Please do let us know, and thank you!
 
Any word on the microfiche of the babysitting advert? I see it inconsistently reported that the girls placed the ad either on the 18th or the 19th, and I am trying to figure out exactly which date. Please do let us know, and thank you!
I’m still planning on getting over there. 4/5 of my family got COVID in Dec and we are still dealing with some after effects. Hopefully soon!
 
I’m still planning on getting over there. 4/5 of my family got COVID in Dec and we are still dealing with some after effects. Hopefully soon!
Yikes! Hope you are doing well and your family recovers quickly! Looking forward to what you find at the library.
 
I've been doing some investigating into the subsequent murder of Patricia Kuhlthau, and I have to admit, the similarities raise an eyebrow. The convicted murderer in that case, Jack Owens Houseman [sometimes reported as John Owen Houseman], received life in prison, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to him once he got to prison. If you have a source identifying when/if he died or what became of him, I'd be grateful for a link since I'm having no luck.
 

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I've been doing some investigating into the subsequent murder of Patricia Kuhlthau, and I have to admit, the similarities raise an eyebrow. The convicted murderer in that case, Jack Owens Houseman [sometimes reported as John Owen Houseman], received life in prison, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to him once he got to prison. If you have a source identifying when/if he died or what became of him, I'd be grateful for a link since I'm having no luck.

I have noticed lots of weird crimes right after James Earl Ray was recaptured on June 13, 1977, after his escape from Brushy Mountain Penitentiary in Tennessee. The Oklahoma Girl Scout murders were I'm thinking about an hour after the recapture was announced, and the murder of the novitiate nun Roberta Elam, 26, in Wheeling, WV, a few hours after that; then Kuhlthau's murder the next day, and the disappearance of Eddy Segall, 28, from Nashua, NH, on June 15.

I had never heard of the Kuhlthau case before, but one of the articles you posted indicates that Houseman was in jail from March 3, 1974, until July 25, 1974, and so unless the reporter erred, Houseman could not have been directly responsible for Fox's murder. That said, perhaps Houseman could have been taught the lure-babysitter method by someone who used it in the Fox abduction. Eerily similar.
 
If you look at the namus profile it says she has spondylosis. I've not seen anywhere that Margaret fox had that condition.

Spondylosis is arthritis in the spine. Usually found in older people. Plus this UID had some extensive dental work. So unless whomever took Margaret kept her for years and took care of her dental needs, I don't think this is her.
 

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