CT CT - Connie Smith, 10, Salisbury, 16 July 1952

Talelights, can't LE request the camp records and interview any living witnesses? Are there camp records available now that could be reexamined? Did LE interview all campers and camp staff at the time of Connie's disappearance? Somewhere in that info lies a clue or two, don't you think?
 
The camp's concern has been the worry of bad publicity for the camp, To my knowledge, LE has the campers names, but in today's world of private information, they don't want to share that with us.

Let me say this, staff was at least questioned, I don't believe at that time, anyone stuck out as a perpetrator, and for the longest time, "they" thought Connie walked away and would turn up at family or friends. Searches, conducted on horseback, some lead by Connie's father as well as local riding clubs, continued until winter weather hampered further searching by this method.

At that period in law enforcement history, police did not investigate missing people or children, as sad as that sounds, but Connecticut's commissioner of state police kept the pressure on his men to continue the search, maybe not with the idea of finding her alive by then, but that she had gotten lost and perished in the elements. Ground searches went on for months, with special patrols searching back country, abandon property, as well as following up leads from around the country. The thought that she might have been abducted and slain by a pedophilic was not on anybodies radar, not that LE did not think she may have met with foul play or could have, at the hands of someone, it is the who that has alluded them. There has been a few suspects, but evidence lacking. Pedophilic persons were found to have worked in area camps, and once found to be so, we're fired from that camp but was hired by another camp in the area. The person or persons were eliminated because they were seen working at the time of her disappearance.

A few things have floated around in my mind, one, could Connie have witnessed something at camp that she felt was unfair or worst, and two, once she was reported missing did the person she may have felt was the problem and the reason she needed to seek outside help, be a person with a vehicle at the camp, who may have picked her up and took care of the problem, by killing and hiding the body. And three, it was a crime of opportunity not planned. A person drove by, picked her up, with the whole idea of helping get her to town, and disposed of her, who knows where after who knows what kind of injuries. Remember Route 44, which was the roadway she walked, was a main thoroughfare moving people and cargo from cities east to cities west. Way before any federal expressways were developed. So it could be a person outside of the local.

And I have to agree ,that finding and speaking to tent mates today, might open the door to a whole unknown reason or reasons of why Connie left that day. Perhaps enough time, age of the people along with maturity may have gone by whereas they might want to clear the air.

On the other hand, a visit to camp by Connie's mother and grandparents to celebrate Connie's tenth birthday could have been developed into a disagreement and she wanted to apologize, but without access to a phone, because that was the camp's rule, she left the camp to find one.
 
It would be very interesting to hear the accounts of others who went to that camp, especially the girls from the camp area Connie stayed with. If she had vanished years later, I have always believed her case would be solved, but due to the lack of investigation back then since missing persons and kids werent taken as seriously, it may be one for the books:/
 
I don't understand how the camp could be upset about bad pr for the camp-not when it is over 50 years later and there was a lot of publicity about the case when it happened. So, the camp has the names of the girls at the camp when Connie was there and they won't release them? Can't they get a subpoena? This smells of coverup to me.
 
I don't understand how the camp could be upset about bad pr for the camp-not when it is over 50 years later and there was a lot of publicity about the case when it happened. So, the camp has the names of the girls at the camp when Connie was there and they won't release them? Can't they get a subpoena? This smells of coverup to me.

That's been my take ever since reading about this case. Someone at the camp was covering something up- maybe not even anything major, just perhaps some physical abuse being tolerated, something like that. It just grew and grew and was perpetrated into the next generations of camp management. I'd sure like to know about any other 'incidents' at this camp in following years.

On a recent trip to Yellowstone, we stopped for a break in the town of Sundance, Wyoming. While there I remembered this was near Connie's family ranch, it is a nice area of NE Wyoming. I couldn't help thinking- if she could just have stayed there and if her parents hadn't divorced, etc, etc. If she lies someplace near the camp, it's a long way from home, very sad..
 
how do you know the abuse kept growing and was carried out for years to come?
 
I don't know whether anyone from camp was involved in her disappearance, but it does sound like she was being bullied by other campers, which probably led to her walking away from the camp.
 
Connie Smith July 11, 1942 - July 16, 1952

On a July 16 sunny morning, sixty-one years ago today, Connie Smith's made up her mind she was going to do something and she was determined to get to town to accomplish it.

That morning, she did not attend breakfast but instead walked the long dirt driveway down and between two large stone pillars at the camps entry and away from her summer camp in Northwest Connecticut. Her birthday, only a few days before, was celebrated at camp. She was 10.

A four way intersection of roads just ahead worried Connie as she was not familiar with the area and had no way of knowing which way to town. Being resourceful, she walked up the path to knock on the doors of at least three houses along her route, each time when either the road turned or intersected with another she would knock on doors to ask direction and make sure she was going right. She didn't want to get lost.

Police reports and interviews of homeowners who gave direction said Connie seemed to be upset and maybe even been crying. She was seen walking by a couple out on their morning stroll, that was just before she turned onto the main highway that headed into town. The couple said Connie did not speak or wave and looked to be set to get where she was going.



Once Connie reached Route 44 she turned right onto the highway towards town. A husband and wife, heading to work that morning, thought they saw her with her thumb out as if hitchhiking. That may have been the last sighting as she reached Belgo Road, about a quarter of a mile from town. After that point she disappears.

Did Connie see someone along the roadside she could ask if she was still headed correctly? A farmer or farm hand, perhaps, who brought cans of fresh milk to be placed on a roadside loading dock for pick up by the local milk hauling truck? An every day, early morning, pick up along the same route from local farmers. Did the milk hauler or farmer see Connie? Interviews turned up nothing from anyone like that.

Were strangers in town attending to business, or passing through that may not have been interviewed by the police? Could there have been an accident? A driver on the winding road hit Connie and to hide the evidence pick her up for later disposal without anyones notice.

Could something have happened at camp that caused a guilty person to panic when they discovered she was missing and take a vehicle to look for her before any damage or report could be filed? Yet somehow it turned tragic?

I don't believe Connie became lost or wandered off into the woodland, I can't help but think, that someone somewhere out knows or remembers something. Maybe only an idea of something at camp or maybe being only ten themselves, they might not believe anything wrong or evil happened and Connie just got lost.


Every year I hope that someone will find these thread and contact me with clues. Maybe this year.
 
talelights, I have to commend you for keeping this out there- it's not easy, I know. I did the same on the unsolved double murders of Thomas Hunter and the family housekeeper in Omaha back in 2008. At times I got discouraged and went weeks without posting but I kept it up. I don't know if my efforts had anything to do with it but I do know the posts attracted the attention of local media who in turn pressed LE to put the case on Americas Most Wanted. A tip from a caller resulted in an arrest- five years after the crime.

Was this case ever featured on any of the TV shows?
 
There were two TV shows that I know of where Connie's case was mentioned, the first one was an Art Linkletter show in the 50's where her father appeared and brought his appeal to a national audience. The next one was in the 80's I think, a women with memory loss thought she might be Connie, it was a big deal, can't remember the name of the show, but DNA did not match.
 
The part of the obit regarding those who predeceased Mr. Smith reads like he had Connie legally declared dead or at least believed her to be dead. I hope he didn't give up on finding out what happened.
 
The piece about her eye glasses is an interesting fact! I wonder if she usually did not have them or if she always did. I think it goes to show she was in such disarray from whatever happened at the camp site.
That business about the eye glasses as always made me wonder if she ever really left the camp.
Im near sighted and I dont feature anyone deciding to leave and walk to town and leaving her glasses behind.
I dont put much stock in 'sightings' in cases like this.
Every case where someone turns up missing but later is found dead L.E. is forever hearing from folks who 'saw' them somewhere.
(in the 70's and 80's they were usually accompanied by a pock marked bushy haired man wearing a Levis Jacket.)
 
I've just finished reading through this thread and my gut instinct (for what its worth) is that something untoward definitely happened at the camp. Either Connie was so severely bullied by her campmates that it made her feel the need to try and leave the camp a few days before she was scheduled to, or she was either the victim of or witness to something by one of the camp leaders.

If the camp had absolutely nothing to hide then surely they would happily release all available info to the public to help in the search for Connie, especially now after all the time passed since her disappearance. If its bad publicity they're worried about, surely the fact Connie has never been found after going missing whilst in their supposed 'care' is bad publicity enough? And if I had a child I was considering sending to that camp, then I heard about Connie's case AND more importantly the fact that the people present at the camp at the time have not actively helped in trying to find her, or even revealed themselves in order to try and answer questions that could ultimately be an important piece in Connie's puzzle...well I wouldn't in a million years send a child of mine to such a place!

As there were houses and passing cars/pedestrians in the area that Connie went missing, I don't believe there was a struggle because I think if there had have been, someone would have heard or seen something. This would suggest to me that maybe Connie willingly got into a passing car (either that of someone from the camp or a stranger if she was in fact hitch hiking). Then whatever happened to poor Connie happened after she was in the vehice and therefore any screams or cries for help would have gone unheard.

This is all JMO.

I must say though that I am bowled over by the hard work that you guys have put into this case over the years ESPECIALLY talelights - wow, your work is admirable to say the least.
 
The girls who are still alive and attended camp with Connie should be interviewed.
 
I definitely think that should be done but LE better hurry if they intend to do interviews; these girls are now women in their 70's.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
123
Guests online
1,338
Total visitors
1,461

Forum statistics

Threads
589,162
Messages
17,915,003
Members
227,745
Latest member
branditau.wareham72@gmail
Back
Top