FL FL - Barbara Ann Bockwith, 20, Escambia County, 5 Dec 1979

Barbara Ann Bockwith
Missing since December 5, 1979 from Escambia County, Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: December 31, 1958
Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 115 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Barbara Bockwith left home for work but never arrived on the morning of December 5, 1979. A friend reported seeing Bockwith having breakfast at the McDonalds on Navy Boulevard the morning of her disappearance. Bockwith mentioned having problems with her boyfriend, Robert Deaver, but made no indication of threats or fear. Deaver was found dead shortly after Bockwith’s disappearance. His cause of death was later determined to be the result of a suicide. Bockwith’s body was never found, however she is presumed dead and the investigation is continuing.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Escambia County Sheriff's Office 850-436-9599

Agency Case Number: 595851
NCIC Number: M-048787377
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Escambia County Sheriff's Office
The Doe Network: Case File 958DFFL

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/958dffl.html

Richard said:

. . .Circumstances of Disappearance
Barbara Bockwith left home for work but never arrived on the morning of December 5, 1979. A friend reported seeing Bockwith having breakfast at the McDonalds on Navy Boulevard the morning of her disappearance. Bockwith mentioned having problems with her boyfriend, Robert Deaver, but made no indication of threats or fear. Deaver was found dead shortly after Bockwith’s disappearance. His cause of death was later determined to be the result of a suicide. Bockwith’s body was never found, however she is presumed dead and the investigation is continuing.
. . .

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One bad thing about some case summaries is they don't tell you info you need, such as how long it was after she was last seen that he was found dead. If the time of death on him was before she was seen at the McDonalds then she might be more a suspect than a victem, or she could have been running away after seeing him sucide. If, on the other hand, his time of death was after she was last seen it completely changes the possibilities of the case. She still could be a runaway after having seen a grisly suicide or she could have been murdered before he suicided.

Ok - I vented. I feel better now.

docwho3 said:

One bad thing about some case summaries is they don't tell you info you need, such as how long it was after she was last seen that he was found dead. ....

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You hit the nail right on the head. One of the biggest frustrations with most case summaries is lack of facts and details - which are readily available. In this specific case, it is the Escambia County Sheriff Office which provided the origional information.

Notice how it is mentioned that Deaver's death is presumed to be a suicide, and that Bockwith is presumed to be dead? Those are LE conclusions presented as facts. Also, saying that he was found dead a short time later is not the same as saying that she was last seen at xx:xx AM and that he was found dead at yy:yy .

The answers might be found in the details. If the total elapsed time was say three hours, then how far could he have driven from point A, before arriving at point B? Next question would be where (within that area) were Deaver's known hangouts? Where are the remote areas?

Richard said:

You hit the nail right on the head. One of the biggest frustrations with most case summaries is lack of facts and details - which are readily available. In this specific case, it is the Escambia County Sheriff Office which provided the origional information.

Notice how it is mentioned that Deaver's death is presumed to be a suicide, and that Bockwith is presumed to be dead? Those are LE conclusions presented as facts. Also, saying that he was found dead a short time later is not the same as saying that she was last seen at xx:xx AM and that he was found dead at yy:yy .

The answers might be found in the details. If the total elapsed time was say three hours, then how far could he have driven from point A, before arriving at point B? Next question would be where (within that area) were Deaver's known hangouts? Where are the remote areas?

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Yes! Thanks. It is nice to know someone else understands.

I wonder if she was dining alone for breakfast or with a companion?

I also wonder if the time she was seen having breakfast---before or after the time she was due to arrive at work?

Did she seem upset to the person who saw her?

Was she driving or walking, and if she was walking, did she plan to catch a bus or walk to work?

If she was driving, was her car abandoned at the McDonald's? Were her purse, keys, money, etc found in the car?

Richard said:

Barbara Ann Bockwith
Missing since December 5, 1979 from Escambia County, Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: December 31, 1958
Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 115 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Barbara Bockwith left home for work but never arrived on the morning of December 5, 1979. A friend reported seeing Bockwith having breakfast at the McDonalds on Navy Boulevard the morning of her disappearance. Bockwith mentioned having problems with her boyfriend, Robert Deaver, but made no indication of threats or fear. Deaver was found dead shortly after Bockwith’s disappearance. His cause of death was later determined to be the result of a suicide. Bockwith’s body was never found, however she is presumed dead and the investigation is continuing.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Escambia County Sheriff's Office 850-436-9599

Agency Case Number: 595851
NCIC Number: M-048787377
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Escambia County Sheriff's Office
The Doe Network: Case File 958DFFL

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/958dffl.html

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Mullins said:

I wonder if she was dining alone for breakfast or with a companion?
I also wonder if the time she was seen having breakfast---before or after the time she was due to arrive at work?
Did she seem upset to the person who saw her?
Was she driving or walking, and if she was walking, did she plan to catch a bus or walk to work?
If she was driving, was her car abandoned at the McDonald's? Were her purse, keys, money, etc found in the car?

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These are all excellent questions. And ones which could/should have been included in the police summary of the case. A possible source of some answers might be the archives of the Pensacola News-Journal, which is and was the main newspaper for that area.

Knowing where she lived and where she worked would also be of interest. She was known to be at the McDonalds that morning. Her next destination would have been her work place.

Where did the boy friend come from/go?

bumping case up...

Barbara has been missing for 28 years now. Here is an updated link to her file in the Doenetwork:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/958dffl.html

Charlie Bockwith of Pensacola combs through a photo album. For Bockwith, it's no ordinary album. "It just has all the chronological history, all the newspaper articles and clippings." Clippings and pictures of his sister Barbara, who's been missing since 1979.

Recently Charlie submitted his DNA to the FBI's mitochondrial data base in hopes someday there will be a match, a match that could coincide with DNA from dozens of unidentified bodies. Some have been found along Interstate 10.

~snip~

Charlie Bockwith knows the feeling well. For years he and his parents hoped his sister was still alive. But time has changed things, Bockwith says. "Both my parents have since deceased and if there was ever anything to trigger her coming back, it would have been one of those events, so I do not believe she's alive." But he knows she could be one of those many nameless victims somewhere out there.

http://www.nbc15online.com/news/loc...=a601a916-f5ac-4d74-9e7c-356512dbe07b&rss=217

(PENSACOLA Fla. ) May 20 - By far the most difficult cold cases to solve are the one's with nameless faces. A body with no I.D. Earlier this year the FBI launched what's called "The President's DNA Initiative" to get family members to submit DNA in hopes that many of these cases could be solved. Our area is no stranger to these type of crimes.

Charlie Bockwith of Pensacola combs through a photo album. For Bockwith, it's no ordinary album. "It just has all the chronological history, all the newspaper articles and clippings." Clippings and pictures of his sister Barbara, who's been missing since 1979.

Recently Charlie submitted his DNA to the FBI's mitochondrial data base in hopes someday there will be a match, a match that could coincide with DNA from dozens of unidentified bodies. Some have been found along Interstate 10.

Special agent Kenny Pinkard with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says I -10 and many other interstates have become a dumping ground for murder victims.

Pinkard is investigating one case in particular, a case that is featured in the FDLE deck of cards given to inmates in hopes they will talk about the case, if they have any information about it.

Pinkard's case dates back to 1994 when a Jane Doe left only her jewelry and her skull behind. Her remains were found at the Holt exit off I-10 east of Pensacola. "There's a family out there somewhere wondering, you know, where their daughter, their wife or their sister is," the FDLE investigator says.

In another investigation, Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Hoss Mack has only tattoos and a drawing to go by. He calls this victim, also found off 1-10, "The Seminole Doe." Sheriff Mack says:"This person may be transient in nature, but obviously something brought him to this area of Alabama and Florida because it was on the state line."

Mack says this victim left little to go by. "This individual was so decomposed were only able to get partial prints,not full prints." Sheriff Mck is also hoping that someone will come forward and help solve this crime that dates back to 2000. So what we have here is probably an individual that was not reported missing initially or that someone may think is still alive and living somewhere else and they're not."

Charlie Bockwith knows the feeling well. For years he and his parents hoped his sister was still alive. But time has changed things, Bockwith says. "Both my parents have since deceased and if there was ever anything to trigger her coming back, it would have been one of those events, so I do not believe she's alive." But he knows she could be one of those many nameless victims somewhere out there.

While very sad, it seems clear in this case that Robert Deaver killed this girl and then himself. I don't know if her car was ever dusted (I assume it was) but having been found at the airport and the seat moved back, it is clea rit was planted there. The fact that the coward killed hiself five days after being questioned in a HUGE red flag. It would be very very helpful in a lot of these cases if the "locality of known facts" where published: this is basically a map showing markers from the case; i.e. the McDonalds where she was last seen, her house in relation to that, her boyfriends house in relation to that, where the car was found, where her place of employment was. We use these when we do a search here (I am a member of the Placer County Search and Rescue team). Also, details like: do any of their friends remember places the two liked to go together, local "hiding spots" (urban forests, abandoned buildings, etc). It is remarkable to me that local law enforcement does not seek volunteer help in putting these cases together. Volunteers could go through a background check, be bonded and fingerprinted and be allowed to handle the file (not the evidence, just the paperwork). Frustrating.

I don't think the boyfriend's suicide five days after Barbara's disappearance is necessarily an indication of guilt. I mean, he might have killed her, but the fact that he did himself in is not proof that he was involved. Speaking as a person who's suffered from severe depression all her life -- anything, virtually any stressor can set you off on a self-destructive course. And having one's girlfriend drop off the face of the earth would certainly qualify as a stressor, even if you had nothing to do with it.

Is there any new information on the Barbara Ann bockwith?

BARBARA ANN BOCKWITH
Missing since December 5, 1979 from Escambia County, Florida.Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Date Of Birth: December 31, 1958
Age at Time of Disappearance: 20 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4"; 115 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female.
Brown hair; blue eyes.
Dentals: Available. She has had a lot of dentistry.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Barbara Bockwith, an accounting major, left home for class at the University of West Florida but never arrived on the morning of December 5, 1979.

A friend, driving through the intersection at Creighton Road and Ninth Avenue, reported seeing Bockwith having breakfast at the McDonald's on Navy Boulevard the morning of her disappearance.

A week later, her car was found at Pensacola Regional Airport, her books inside, the driver's seat pushed all the way back.

Bockwith mentioned having problems with her boyfriend, Robert Deaver, but made no indication of threats or fear.

Five days after being questioned by investigators, Deaver was found dead. His cause of death was later determined to be the result of a suicide.

Bockwith’s body was never found, however she is presumed dead and the investigation is continuing.


Investigators If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Escambia County Sheriff's Office
850-436-9599

Agency Case Number: 595851

NCIC Number: M-048787377

Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

Escambia County Sheriff's Office
FDLE
Cold Case Missing | Missing Person Report | NW Florida and SE Alabama


LINK:

https://missingpersonreport.org/cold-case-missing/

Flipper said:

Is there any new information on the Barbara Ann bockwith?

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Barbara was having breakfast with one of her best friends at Mc D's on Navy Blvd. at appx 7 or 7:30am. This person was the roommate of her ex boyfriend Robert (Mac.) Deaver.


Barbara was last sene at the University of West Florida talking to two friends outside her accounting class, this was the final.

Barbara's car was found at the Pensacola airport parking lot after Wackenhut investigators interview several of Barbards friends including her ex boyfriend, the car was found the next day, the car was NOT fingerprint by Law Enforcement.

Barbara and her ex boyfriend lived about a city block apart.

Barbara's ex boyfriend was arrested for vandalism to Barb's car. Mac was a very jealous person even after they broke up he tried to stop her from dating other men.

Robert (Mac.) Deaver committed suicide the day he was to take a polygraph test at the Wackenhut office.

Their is so much more to this case that needs to come out...

Where did Deaver live? Was his house or yard ever searched?

Mac. lived on SE Syrcle dr., Barbara lived on Greve rd. The house and area were searched, a suicide note to his mother was found, Barbara was not mentioned...

The Barbara Ann Bockwith missing person case is 35yr. old and believe it or not their is still things about this case that need to be looked into and people reinterviewed intently.

The information that I'm going to bring comes from LE public record request, period news paper articals and interview with friends and family.

You could say this case started 18 mo. before BABs disappearance. It was at this time her and her boyfriend Robert McClelland Deave, (Mac.) broke up. Mac was described as a w/m, 25yr old, 6'5", 210 lb, well built. BABs was described as a w/f, 20yr. old, 5'3", 113 lb, blue eyes and long brown hair.

After their breakup Mac began stalking her every social move. If BABs went out with someone their was a good chance their vehicle would be vandalize. Things started to come to a head in April of 1978. BABs and a new boyfriend went to a house party on Pensacola Beach. Mac. either found out about the party or followed them. Mac broke into the house and " PUMMELED" the new boyfriend. Mac was arrested for burglary, assault, battery and trespassing. Mac. pled guilty and received one year probation along wih restitution. That same year in May Mac was arrested again for battery, criminal mischief and theft. Mac. reportly rammed BABs vehicle wih his, stopping her vehicle in the street, Mac then grabbed her by the neck and began choking her, Mac snatched a gold neckless from around her neck, punched her in the left arm and drove off. This incident happened because BABs wanted him to return some articles he had taken earlier. These charges were later dropped by the States Attorneys office. ( no reason given ) Mac. was very jealous of any male that showed any intrest toward her, he loved her very much to the point of obsession. The above activists continued, it is clear from the reports and witnesses that a lot of people knew what was going on.

Here is a link to a thread in the ws "Missing in the 1970's" topic on Barbara Ann Bockwith:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ra-Ann-Bockwith-20-Escambia-County-5-Dec-1979