PA PA - Ilonka Cann, 22, Huntington Mills, 26 May 1970

[beubeubeu]

Wow. So Ilonka's inlaws decided to notify her in local newspaper that they're taking it to court to adopt her son cause she abandoned him for more than six months. Wow. That's something else.
Also husband constantly in the spotlight for violent behaviour towards neighbours. Yeah... really "mysterious" case.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Details updated today. Ilonka Cann – The Charley Project

 

[fred&edna]

Details updated today. Ilonka Cann – The Charley Project

'Seems the extensive property search yielded nothing.

 

[beubeubeu]

'Seems the extensive property search yielded nothing.

“All information related to the search is under seal. So do not expect to have further comment in the near future. If today’s activity results in any information which can or should be made available to the public, we will notify everyone in the media so it can be released. Otherwise, we cannot comment further on the investigation.”

Or maybe they did found something, just keeping it close to the chest.

 

[fred&edna]

Or maybe they did found something, just keeping it close to the chest.

Could be.

 

[Redux]

Fire Destroys Home At Center of Missing Person Case

Fire destroys home at center of missing person case

A raging fire that broke out Monday morning tore through and destroyed a Huntington Twp. home that was the site of a renewed search over the summer for a pregnant

www.citizensvoice.com

It has a paywall, but the only thing in the article anyway is this:

"A raging fire that broke out Monday morning tore through and destroyed a Huntington Twp. home that was the site of a renewed search over the summer for a pregnant mother who abruptly vanished 52 years ago."

Found another article that is no more illuminating.

Crews battle blaze in Huntington Township

HUNTINGTON TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Crews responded to an overwhelming house fire Monday morning in near Shickshinny. Officials say the fire was called in around 10:00 a.m., on Monday…

www.pahomepage.com

 

[beubeubeu]

Were they searching only the husband's house then, or residences of his (equally heavily involved in violent events reported in local newspapers at the time) family were also searched?

 

[beubeubeu]

Wow. So Ilonka's inlaws decided to notify her in local newspaper that they're taking it to court to adopt her son cause she abandoned him for more than six months. Wow. That's something else.
Also husband constantly in the spotlight for violent behaviour towards neighbours. Yeah... really "mysterious" case.

My apologies. I wasn't aware that it was obligatory for people to make such announcement in press in order to have any legal thing done. So apparently inlaws did what they had to do to take custody of the kid.
But... my point remains the same. Cause Ilonka's husband, in order to get a divorce would have to do same thing: buy an ad in local newspaper to "notify" her about the court date. He decided to not do that but instead went for bigamy. Why? To not risk spiking bit too much interest in the community and prevent someone from possibly recalling something important about the day when Ilonka disappeared?

 

[Richard]

53 years missing...​

Ilonka Cann, age 22, Missing since 26 May 1970​

• Missing Since 05/26/1970
• Missing From Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 22 years old
• Height and Weight 5'6, 130 pounds
• Medical Conditions Cann was pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Cann's nickname is Tootsie. Her hair was long at the time of her disappearance.

Details of Disappearance​

Ilonka was last seen at her home in Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania on May 26, 1970. Her husband of two years, Charles Cann II, saw her at 7:20 a.m. before he went to his teaching job at the Berwick Junior High School.

hen he returned home at 3:30 p.m., Ilonka was gone and the couple's fifteen-month-old son was alone in the house, crying in his crib upstairs. She has never been heard from again. Charles reported her missing the next day. An extensive search of the area, including a dive team checking a nearby pond, turned up no indication of Ilonka's whereabouts.

In 1971, the year after Ilonka's disappearance, Charles began seeing another woman, Grace P. Brown. Grace moved into the home he'd formerly shared with Ilonka and took Charles's last name, and the couple lived together until 1987, without Charles ever filing for divorce from Ilonka or trying to have her declared legally dead.

In 1987, Grace filed for divorce, saying her cohabitation with Charles made him her common-law husband. Charles claimed they had never been legally married and he was still married to Ilonka; Grace said they were presumed married in 1972.

Ultimately, the court ruled that Grace and Charles had entered into a common-law marriage on June 1, 1982 and that Grace could proceed with her divorce action. The divorce was granted in 1990. Charles appealed, and the appeals court ruled that, even though he had never tried to have her declared legally dead, Ilonka was presumed deceased as of 1977, seven years after her disappearance.

In the summer of 2022, authorities searched a pond and a wooded area near Cann Road for evidence in Ilonka's case. This location was on the property where Ilonka went missing. Investigators haven't said whether their search turned up anything of value.

There has been no indication of Ilonka's whereabouts since she went missing, and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear.

Investigating Agency​

• Pennsylvania State Police 570-542-4117

Source Information​

• Pennsylvania Missing Persons
• NamUs
• The Wilkes Barre Times Leader
• Justia
• The Citizens' Voice
• Fox 56 WOLF
• PA Homepage
• Ilonka Cann – The Charley Project

 

[Pennysmom2]

Ilonka Harless Conn (1948-1970) - Find a Grave...

Pennsylvania Missing Persons and Unidentified Victims Home Page Ilonka Cann Missing May 26, 1970 from Huntington Mills, Luzerne County Vital Statistics Age at Time of Disappearance: 22 Height: 5'6 Weight: 122 lbs Hair Color: Blonde, long Eye Color: Blue Clothing: unknown Case Details On...

www.findagrave.com

 

[CCJD]

COLD CASE: Pregnant Luzerne County Woman Disappeared From Her Home Without A Trace

More than half a century after she vanished, Pennsylvania State Police are actively investigating the disappearance of Ilonka Cann. The 22-year-old was pregnant and living with her husband Charles Cann II and their 15-month-old s…

dailyvoice.com

CASE: COLD CASE - 22-YEAR-OLD MISSING PERSON ILONKA CANN - HUNTINGTON MILLS - LUZERNE

The Pennsylvania State Police Troop P – Wilkes-Barre Station continues their investigation on missing person 22-year-old Ilonka Cann.Ilonka was last seen at her home in Huntington Mills, Luzerne County on May 26, 1970. Her husband of two...

www.crimewatchpa.com

 

[dotr]

Jan 14 2023

Police seek new information in 1970 disappearance case

Pennsylvania State Police are continuing the investigation into a woman who disappeared without a trace more than 50 years ago.

www.wfmz.com

''An extensive search of the area, including a dive team checking a nearby pond, turned up no indication of Ilonka's whereabouts.

The investigation continues to this day, with investigators recently draining two ponds and excavating an island on the Cann property in July 2022.''

Anyone with information is urged to contact PSP Wilkes-Barre at 570-822-5400 or anonymously contact the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers Toll Free at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477) or online at Tip Form

Jan 14 2023

Tip is offered up to try and heat up cold case in Luzerne County

Ilonka Cann disappeared in May 1970

www.wnep.com

'LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — A $5,000 reward is on the table for tips that might heat up a Luzerne County homicide investigation that went cold more than five decades ago.'

 

[dotr]

@ 0:20 - The husband may have travelled to Hackettstown NJ after the murder.
Jan 14 '24

 

[mst]

Interesting case. Very convenient that she disappeared while he was at school. He waited 24 hours to report her missing even though he found the baby alone crying. Her mother says she talked to her a day or two before and Ilonka was homesick and feeling her marriage was ending. Neighbor states she saw a car at dusk on the driveway on day of disappearance but Cann says he got home at 3:30 pm, hardly dusk. Shortly after, Cann has new chick.

My opinion. Charles was having affair and entertaining ending it and being that Ilonka was only 3 months pregnant, she told him and he was furious. I think he killed her or had her killed. Body taken to Hackettstown. Interesting side note, article speaking about twins dying in the fire mentions Charles III was in construction business with his father. Father went from being school teacher to construction? Do we know who owned the home in PA when it burned?

 

[CCJD]

A Huntington Twp. woman who mysteriously disappeared without a trace more than 53 years ago, leading to a decades-long cold-case investigation, has been declared legally dead, authorities said.

Ilonka Cann was 22 years old when she disappeared without a trace from the family home at 70 Cann Road on May 26, 1970. Extensive searches, including pond drainages, have failed to turn up evidence of the whereabouts of Cann, who would now be 75 years old.

Missing Huntington Twp. woman declared dead

A Huntington Twp. woman who mysteriously disappeared without a trace more than 53 years ago, leading to a decades-long cold-case investigation, has been declared legally dead, authorities said.

www.citizensvoice.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ilonka Cann, 22, was married and had a 15-month-old son when she was reported missing on May 27, 1970, from her home on Cann Road in Huntingdon Township, Luzerne County. She’d last spoken to her parents on May 25, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Cann’s husband last saw her around 7:20 a.m. May 26 before he left for his teaching job at Berwick Junior High School. When he came home around 3:30 p.m., the couple’s son was crying in his crib, and Cann was gone, according to WRNJ Radio. Her husband reported her missing the next day.

Pa. woman missing since 1970 declared dead, paving way for homicide investigation

The 22-year-old was married, possibly pregnant and the mother of a toddler when she was reported missing 50+ years ago from Luzerne County.

www.pennlive.com

 

[Richard]

Ilonka Cann, age 22, Missing since 26 May 1970​

LINK:

Ilonka Cann – The Charley Project

 

[dotr]

Rare ‘coroner’s inquest’ to be held for 53-year-old Luzerne County cold case

EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — State police announced there will be a Coroner’s Inquest to determine the cause of death in a 53-year-old cold case in Luzerne County. Investigators said 22-year…

www.pahomepage.com

'EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — State police announced there will be a Coroner’s Inquest to determine the cause of death in a 53-year-old cold case in Luzerne County.'

''Officials said six jurors and two alternates will hear the coroner’s testimony before rendering any decision on Cann’s cause of death.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office will be presenting witnesses and evidence on behalf of the commonwealth.''

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Next month, there will be a coroner's inquest in Luzerne County to try and determine how Cann may have died. A jury will be empaneled and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office will be presenting witnesses and evidence on behalf of the Commonwealth.

In July 2022, the state police drained two ponds and excavated an island on the Cann's property. It was not clear if they found anything. Divers searched the ponds decades earlier and found no sign of her

Coroner's inquest planned in Luzerne County cold case

Ilonka Cann, 20, disappeared in 1970 from a home in Huntington Township.

www.wnep.com

 

[fred&edna]

Next month, there will be a coroner's inquest in Luzerne County to try and determine how Cann may have died. A jury will be empaneled and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office will be presenting witnesses and evidence on behalf of the Commonwealth.

In July 2022, the state police drained two ponds and excavated an island on the Cann's property. It was not clear if they found anything. Divers searched the ponds decades earlier and found no sign of her

Coroner's inquest planned in Luzerne County cold case

Ilonka Cann, 20, disappeared in 1970 from a home in Huntington Township.

www.wnep.com

Thank you for the update.. Interesting this is happening now. I feel so sad for her family.