OH OH - Elizabeth Franks, 17, Toledo, April 1965

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Elizabeth Franks Missing since April 1965 from Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio

Elizabeth Franks
Missing since April 1965 from Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics
Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Red hair; blue eyes.
AKA: Beth or Bethie

Circumstances of Disappearance
Franks was last seen in Toledo, Ohio before Easter in April 1965.

Toledo Police say it could be the city's oldest "missing persons" case. A Toledo teenager vanished in 1965, and now almost 40 years later, her strange disappearance is getting re-newed interest from detectives.

Elizabeth Franks was 17 when she was reported missing and would be 57 now. Her daughter was only a year old when her mother disappeared. She grew up believing that Elizabeth abandoned the family in 1965 because that was the story her father told her.

But, Toledo detectives believe Elizabeth was murdered and they've re-opened the case. Police say Elizabeth has never contacted any relatives and has never used her Social Security number. Her family is hoping for answers four decades later. If, by some slim chance, Franks is alive, they hope someone will recognize a sketch police have released showing what she could look like.

Or, if some one knows how Frank's died, it would bring closure to her family.
Elizabeth Franks was married to a 20-year-old man at the time of her disappearance in 1965. Several months ago, police re-interviewed him, and investigators consider him "a person of interest" in the case.

Mr. Franks admits to getting into a fight with Beth Franks just before she disappeared, but said he didn't hurt her. He said he and his wife argued after he caught her with another man. He said he pushed her. Investigators said he knocked her down a set of steps. "Right after that, she disappeared and I never saw her again," Mr. Franks said. "Basically, I assumed she picked up and left."

Franks' mother spent years looking for her daughter, whom she last saw before Easter in April, 1965, when Beth stopped by her home to give her a bottle of cologne. Frank's mother was making Easter baskets for her daughter and her granddaughter. A few days later, she took the baskets to Beth's residence at 1512 Western Ave. The landlady let her in when no one answered the door.

When she got in, the apartment was trashed. Drapes were half-torn, like there had been a battle, a big fight. Clothes, everything strewn around. The landlady told her she heard a lot of commotion the night before. The baby's bed was empty and there was no bedding, her mother said.

She said she made a police report on her daughter's disappearance and she and her sister canvassed Toledo looking for the teen. She hired a private detective to try and find her daughter. She wrote to the FBI, then under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, and even tried a radio psychic.

When detectives reopened the case, they didn't have much to go on. They don't have the original missing persons report. They only had a small powder-blue card with two entries.

The first was from July 21, 1965, indicating a letter was sent from Toledo police to the OSR, which detectives believe is the Ohio State Reformatory, referencing "this girl" reported missing to police and identifying Robert James Crosby as an acquaintance.

The other entry, dated Feb. 2, 1966, talks of a phone call from the OSR advising that Mr. Crosby was in New Orleans. Sergeant Noble said he found nothing when he contacted authorities in New Orleans. Investigators said Mr. Crosby since has died.
Although Beth Franks didn't graduate from Genoa High School, she was a member of the chess club, a local church, and Girl Scouts, her mother said. She said her daughter was a meek child who was very sweet and loved by everyone. Mr. Franks said he met his wife at a quarry in Genoa. He went into the Navy and when he returned, the pair married after Beth became pregnant. Because of her age, a judge had to give them permission to marry. They were married just over a year when she disappeared.

A few days after the argument, Mr. Franks said he saw her sitting with a man on the front porch of a house on Dale Street near Western. He said that was the last time he saw her.

Mr. Franks said he got a divorce and has since twice remarried.

Toledo Police Department 419-245-3142

Source Information:
Toledo Blade
WTOL News 11

link
Filehttp://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1531dfoh.html
 
That is a very interesting and sad case. I hope she is still alive. However, I can't help but wonder whether or not anyone ever searched the rock quarry for remains?
 
i'm confused...above it said the baby's bed was empty...like the baby was missing...where was the baby during this?
 
Daughter hopes for clues of mom missing since '65
For most of Tammy Franks' life, she believed the story her father had told since she was a toddler. He said Tammy's mother picked up and left the family when Tammy was still in diapers.


Now 41, Miss Franks knows there may be more to the story. Toledo police are looking for Elizabeth Franks - nicknamed Beth or Bethie, who last was seen in April, 1965. And they believe she was killed. "She had no reason to run off and get a new identity," Detective Vicki Stevens said

Much more info on case here:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041227/NEWS08/412270307
 
carolina said:
i'm confused...above it said the baby's bed was empty...like the baby was missing...where was the baby during this?
With the father, presumably.

At 17, Elizabeth is young enough to be listed on the NCMEC. I don't really see why she shouldn't be -- they have a case from 1944, after all.
 
I'm really suspicious about the husband, especially since investigators believed he pushed her down the stairs. If he's violent enough to shove her down the stairs, then he's probably violently enough to kill her. The story about him catching her with another man sounds like a lie made to cover up his own behavior and deflect suspicion.
 
anthrobones said:
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2736819There are no photos of her available at that age. Is that strange??
Well, Elizabeth was no longer living at home by then. And some people just don't like having their pictures taken -- like me. I have a recent pic of me (from August) but that's only from my brother's wedding. If it wasn't for that all pictures of me would be four or five years old.
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Police Reopen 40-Year-Old Missing Person Case
Monday, December 27, 2004

TOLEDO -- Toledo Police say it could be the city's oldest "missing persons" case. A Toledo teenager vanished in 1965, and now almost 40 years later, her strange disappearance is getting re-newed interest from detectives. News 11 first told you about this case Sunday, and now we have new details.

Elizabeth Franks was 17 when she was reported missing and would be 57 now. Tammy Franks was only a year old when her mother disappeared. She says she grew up believing that Elizabeth abandoned the family in 1965 because that was the story her father told her.

But, Toledo detectives believe Elizabeth was murdered and they've re-opened the case. Police say Elizabeth has never contacted any relatives and has never used her Social Security number. Tammy Franks is hoping for answers four decades later. If, by some slim chance, her mother is alive, Tammy is hoping someone will recognize a sketch police have released showing what she could look like.

Or, if some one knows how her mom died, it would bring Tammy closure. "If they know that she's dead like if they saw her body or if they have serious reason to believe that they witnessed something that could have resulted in her death, than they would be important to me because it would mean that she didn't just abandon me," Franks said.

Elizabeth Franks was married to a 20-year-old man at the time of her disappearance in 1965. Several months ago, police re-interviewed him, and investigators consider him "a person of interest" in the case.Count on News 11 to follow this story as it develops. If you think you have any information on the 1965 disappearance of Elizabeth Franks, call Crimestopper at 419-255-1111.


Source Information:
WTOL-TV Toledo, OH: Police Reopen 40-Year-Old Missing Person Case

Link:
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2736819
 
This is the reason I wanted to join WS in the first place as I am so looking forward to getting others opinions on this. I believe I know what happened to Elizabeth Franks. In fact, I have felt ever since I found this article that I have found Elizabeth Franks. At the bus depot in Cleveland in January of 1967 the Greyhound bus depot sold a load of luggage to the Everhart Auction House & the son of the owner of Everhart was going through some of this luggage & throwing some of it on a burn pile when he found the skull of a white female approximately 16 years old. She had been dead at minimum of 6 months it was estimated at the time. The Stark county coroner's office was very unhelpful when I called them approx 1 & a half years ago about this skull but the coroner in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) was wonderful & went through all his records & could not find a record of it despite the Stark county coroner saying in 1967 he had delivered it there. I want to transcribe the entire article but I'm on my Droid & hard to write much on here. Also despite the current detectives saying how much they care in a newspaper article, I couldn't tell by how he didn't return my calls or emails. But when the skull of a Caucasian teenaged female shows up in a bus locker 21 months after a female Caucasian adolescent went missing approximately 113 miles away, I think it could be a viable lead. So Im now asking: HELP PLEASE! What do I do next? Thanks a lot. Dena
 
I ignored my security settings & opened anyway. Yes Detective Noble is the lead but the man not only would not return my phone calls he had stopped returning phone calls to Elizabeth's daughter as well. So Im not sure how he can be investigating anything about Elizabeth Franks. I had also sent him several emails that he had not deigned to reply to as well. Dena
 
Elizabeth Franks has been missing for 45 years as of this month.
 
Elizabeth Franks has been missing for 45 years as of this month.


I didn't even realize that. Her daughter certainly deserves to know what happened after 45 years. The detective in charge infuriated me as he was obviously just putting on a show for the newspapers. When I talked to Elizabeth's daughter last year he had not returned her calls in some time. And I'm not often so sure an old newspaper might provide a match. But I'm sure this time it could be viable. Thanks for letting me know its been 45 years. You know, I might possibly just go ahead this detective's head. They might have to follow a chain of command. But I don't. Dena
 
Dena let us know if you get any response. Thank you.
 
I didn't even realize that. Her daughter certainly deserves to know what happened after 45 years. The detective in charge infuriated me as he was obviously just putting on a show for the newspapers. When I talked to Elizabeth's daughter last year he had not returned her calls in some time. And I'm not often so sure an old newspaper might provide a match. But I'm sure this time it could be viable. Thanks for letting me know its been 45 years. You know, I might possibly just go ahead this detective's head. They might have to follow a chain of command. But I don't. Dena

Can you contact the person who wrote the article that the detective was quoted in and let him know about the skull information. If he/she cared enough to write the original article maybe he would do a follow up?

Also bolded below is snipped from the bottom of that article. Have you tried calling crimestoppers??

Count on News 11 to follow this story as it develops. If you think you have any information on the 1965 disappearance of Elizabeth Franks, call Crimestopper at 419-255-1111.

Posted 1:10pm, Monday, December 27, 2004 by AEB
 
Dena, I posted a message for you last month on your user ID page to ask if you called the Crimestopper's number also. I think that's a good idea, like ilovemew suggested.
 

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