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
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