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

Skigirl said:

How is it known in what manner the kids were questioned? Connie was 10 when she disappeared in 1952. Statistically speaking, many of her bunkmates should still be alive, since the average life expectancy of a woman in the US is 81 years old and these women would be 73/74 years old. Furthermore, I don't know why a relative of one of her bunkmates would be a more likely abductor than a random pedophile. Peoples' relatives rarely hang around sleep-away camp.

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Not to mention, Connie didn't disappear from the camp - she disappeared while walking down the highway looking for a phone so she could call home.

jpo74 said:

how well could she see without her glasses? i dont think she would leave them behind if possible, but if could see somewhat and was in a hurry to try to leave then she might. but IMHO, something happened at the camp and there is plenty of coverup to go around and those "mean" girls, they knew more than they are saying

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It's still a stretch that she was harmed there, and she was seen walking. Not sure why she would need her glasses for that. Lot's of older people only need glasses for reading and she was only 10.

To me the saddest aspect of her story is that it appears she'd been more or less dumped at the camp while her mother went through the upheaval of marital breakup. When I was a kid you went to camp for a week. She'd been there far longer and had more to go. It lead to her desperate attempt to leave, perhaps thinking that was the only way to impress her mom that she didn't want to be there.

This is in no way intended as bashing her mom, she lived in pain over this for the rest of her life. It in my mind may account for her behavior that day.

Snick1946 said:

To me the saddest aspect of her story is that it appears she'd been more or less dumped at the camp while her mother went through the upheaval of marital breakup. When I was a kid you went to camp for a week. She'd been there far longer and had more to go. It lead to her desperate attempt to leave, perhaps thinking that was the only way to impress her mom that she didn't want to be there.

This is in no way intended as bashing her mom, she lived in pain over this for the rest of her life. It in my mind may account for her behavior that day.

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Lots of kids I knew went to camp for the whole summer when I was growing up -- 9 weeks. Perhaps she really wanted to go. Many kids do.

I was wondering if Connie had ever been compared to the skull found in Canada of the approx. 12 year old girl? Canadas missing and unidentified case number tel:2014007309

How late in the day was Connie last seen hitchhiking along Rt 44? Have been on that road many times, being from CT myself. Beautiful land in that part of the state. It happened in the middle of July? If Connie was that nearsighted would she have "run into" Lake Wononscopomuc accidentally?

http://articles.courant.com/2009-05-17/news/hc-cc-smith-051709_1_missing-girl-tent-dna

Google Maps shows 44 and Belgo - I have to wonder how old those buildings are to the south of Belgo Rd above Lake Wononscopomuc? That is where she was supposedly last seen, by that intersection?

:bump:

It's been 65 years since Connie disappeared.

This was written back in November:

Vanished: What became of Connie Smith?

I always seem to come back to Connie, Georgia Weckler, Evelyn Hartley, Michaela Garecht, and so many others that evil interrupted their lives. I might ramble here a bit as I ponder our loss. It really does affect us all. Knowing that evil in men still exists. The thirst for conflict, and war.

We know they are out there. We have eliminated so many support systems, so many mental hospitals (and the horrors those represented), and yet we have nothing in place to get these monsters off of our streets. Sorry, I don't mean to invade Connie's space.

I just cry a little when I picture her trying to get to town. To call her mommy, and ask her to come rescue her from that which had been a fun experience. Good men, and women, had chances to intercede that day. That evil was on any of those roads, was the ending of a spectacular young girl.

I can't imagine her endeavors would have been boring. So, I'll dream that precious Connie was raised by whoever took her that day. I'll dream similar dreams for all those lives we have lost over all of these years. I will also hope that those we find, are able to make their way back to their families.

talelights said:

I wonder if we could find any of the girls that shared Connie's tent that summer and if any of them would be willing to write their version of what happened. It's always been a mystery to me where she was headed that morning, so determined to do what she thought she had to do.

Since that time, LE still reviews her case, parts and pieces of a puzzle come into play, some of them "red herrings" like a mystery novel, some... are even true.

Finding someone who could enlighten us with the story of that night and next day, I think, might give us a turn, a thought or even an idea of what she was doing who she was looking for. Did she find him/her and confront them? Was she picked up by a passing motorist who took her for as a prize? Or was there someone cruising the area when he spotted such a fine young thing. Connie was a strong willed cowgirl who I would think took no guff. She could have gotten into more trouble than she bargained for if she demanded to be released or returned.

Someone out there might be so bold as to tell us that they saw her last and where she might be, someone who, because of age, might reflect on the incident and release the secret to the world, then again it could be that they are no longer of this world and we'd never be able to return her home to WY.

Maybe someplace in the Northwest hills of CT there is a secret and even a clandestine grave where Connie await to be found. We continue to search, will she ever be found?

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I keep coming back to the tent mates saying she left the tent with the ice pack, but later when they came back from breakfast the ice pack was in the tent. There seems to be something missing there.

luvcats6@hotmail.com said:

I keep coming back to the tent mates saying she left the tent with the ice pack, but later when they came back from breakfast the ice pack was in the tent. There seems to be something missing there.

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Maybe the tent mates had something to do with her deciding to leave the camp, but I can't really imagine the children having anything to do with what happened to her after she stopped to ask directions at the house on the road outside of the camp. She was seen by at least a few different adults after leaving.

Skigirl said:

She was seen by at least a few different adults after leaving.

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Yes, and she was alone each time.

It's really no mystery what happened to her. All that's missing is the identity of her killer(s() and the location of her body. The latter may never be found at this point, but we can still try our level best to figure out the former. There are suspects, though, and they are as follows:

1.) Frederick Pope - Pope, a traveling salesman, confessed to police in Ohio that he and a traveling partner named Jack Walker picked Connie up and that Walker murdered the girl and left her body in the Arizona desert. Pope went on to claim that he later killed Walker. Frederick Pope's story fell apart when police could find no record of a Jack Walker having ever existed as well as several other people Pope mentioned in his story. He then admitted to having made it up. However, a set of bones was found near Flagstaff and while they were initially ID'ed as belonging to Connie, an examination of dental records later cast doubt on this match. Little Miss X, as she became known, remains unidentified to this day.

2.) George Davies - a serial killer operating out of the Nutmeg State in the 50s, Davies was sentenced to death for the brutal murders of Gaetane Boivine and Brenda Doucette. While awaiting execution, Davies teased authorities that he had inside knowledge of Connie Smith's disappearance and, in fact, was responsible for her murder. This lead was exhausted when a search of the Naugatuck River bank where Davies claimed to have buried Connie turned up nothing. George Davies, like Frederick Pope, later changed his tune and told the police that his story about Connie was nothing more than a ploy to get a stay of execution.

3.) The Tolland County Child Killer - Now, this is a leap and one I've only made in my own head but beginning a decade later, there was a series of disappearances of young girls in Tolland County, CT. Like Connie, these were usually preteen girls who went missing while out walking or riding their bicycles in rural areas. This series is generally acknowledged to have begun with Debra Spickler in 1968 and includes Lisa White and Janice Pockett. It may have continued as late as 1979, when Deborah Quimby disappeared from Townsend, MA. There are some issues with geography but given the span of time and the fact that, all things considered, we're not talking about a huge region, it's possible that whoever was behind the Tolland/Vernon disappearances could have whetted his murderous appetite beginning with Connie Smith. Officially, no connection has been made by any of the investigating agencies.

Skigirl said:

Maybe the tent mates had something to do with her deciding to leave the camp, but I can't really imagine the children having anything to do with what happened to her after she stopped to ask directions at the house on the road outside of the camp. She was seen by at least a few different adults after leaving.

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Yes, I agree. I think the person responsible for her disappearance was someone who picked her up as she walked along the road, an adult male with a car.

I was thinking more along the lines of an adult from the camp following her. I can't work out the details but the things that were said to be happening at the camp, leave me with a bad feeling. It's a sad story.

luvcats6@hotmail.com said:

I was thinking more along the lines of an adult from the camp following her. I can't work out the details but the things that were said to be happening at the camp, leave me with a bad feeling. It's a sad story.

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If someone else had been missing from the camp during the same timeline, they would have zeroed in immediately on him. All of the camp staff was interviewed and ruled out pretty early and (I can't stress this enough) she was seen by multiple witnesses after leaving camp and was alone each time. A person in a vehicle trailing her would have been a massive red flag and come up quickly during the investigation.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: whatever happened to Connie at camp is only important insasmuch as it set her upon her path that day. What happened next isn't difficult to imagine.

dogperson said:

Yes, I agree. I think the person responsible for her disappearance was someone who picked her up as she walked along the road, an adult male with a car.

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It could have been an adult female on a motorcycle, for all we know. It may have been someone who lived nearby. Or someone just passing through. However we think anything transpired, it is supremely heartbreaking that we may never know exactly what happened to this young cowgirl. At least not in our lifetime.

Jim_M said:

It could have been an adult female on a motorcycle, for all we know. It may have been someone who lived nearby. Or someone just passing through. However we think anything transpired, it is supremely heartbreaking that we may never know exactly what happened to this young cowgirl. At least not in our lifetime.

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A woman on a motorcycle in 1952 would draw infinitely more attention than a creepy man in a sedan or truck, so that's kind of a strange thing to say.

As for not knowing what happened, I refuse to shrug it off and say "I guess we'll never know" and frankly, don't see the point of being on a forum like this with that attitude.

Pettibon Junction said:

A woman on a motorcycle in 1952 would draw infinitely more attention than a creepy man in a sedan or truck, so that's kind of a strange thing to say.

As for not knowing what happened, I refuse to shrug it off and say "I guess we'll never know" and frankly, don't see the point of being on a forum like this with that attitude.

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I was merely pointing out the FACT that no one knows if this was a male, or a female, that was involved in this child's disappearance. If you can prove otherwise, I'm always open to a factual discussion on these matters.

Stella said:

Maybe she changed her mind about running away and was trying to hitch-hike back to camp?

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Perhaps she made it to Lakeville and calmed down or realized her efforts were futile and getting to where ever she wanted to go and figured she could easily hitch a ride back to the camp which I assume was well known in that area. Sadly seems she came across an unsavory character.

artful.dodger said:

Perhaps she made it to Lakeville and calmed down or realized her efforts were futile and getting to where ever she wanted to go and figured she could easily hitch a ride back to the camp which I assume was well known in that area. Sadly seems she came across an unsavory character.

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All of the articles paint a picture of a sad, crying little girl, walking into oblivion. That she was an experienced cowgirl, who appeared to be more mature, mind and body, than her peers.

Connie had one more week remaining in her stay at this camp. Was she really homesick? Was she being bullied? Was she at the end of her patience in dealing with her circumstances?

10 years old. Clearly upset to the point of leaving the camp. Crying while making her trek. Seen by, and interacting with adults, on her way to destiny.

Did she run into evil while hitchhiking? Did she wander into swamp land, or the lake?

Do any of our LEAs still have any kind of investigation going on in Connie's case?