AL AL - Christina Carter, 3, Hueytown, 17 Sept 1973

[HollywoodBound]

Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: May 29, 1970
Age: 3 years old
Height and Weight: 3'2, 30 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, Carter wore a toddler's size 3 and walked pigeon-toed. Her nickname is Christy.

Details of Disappearance

Christina was last seen in Hueytown, Alabama on September 17, 1973. At the time of her disappearance, she lived alone with her mother, Janet Gail Carter. Janet was originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was employed with an insurance company in Birmingham, Alabama in September 1973. She disappeared at the same time as her daughter. Janet and Christina's father had divorced two months before, and Christina's father was seeking custody of the child. It was believed that Janet went into hiding with Christina as a result.

On October 7, Janet's nude, bound body was found inside a duffel bag alongside Clingman's Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She had been killed by suffocation the same day she was found. Her remains were not identified for a month. It was after the identification that authorities realized Christina was missing. An extensive search of the park turned up no indication of Christina's whereabouts.

Because of the circumstances, authorities suggested Janet gave Christina to someone else to care for prior to her murder and Christina might still be alive. This theory has never been confirmed, however. Janet's murder has never been solved and there has been no sign of Christina since 1973.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/carter_christina.html

 

[HollywoodBound]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2528dfal.html

 

[raindrops300]

Thanks for making a thread on this little girl.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1 084835&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&sear chLang=en_US

 

[raindrops300]

Here is a picture of Christina's mother, Janet Gail Calhoun Carter, compared to Sharon Marshall. DNA testing is in process for comparison. Janet is on the left, Sharon on the right. Does anyone else see similarities or is it just my imagination? There is discussion on this in the Sharon Marshall thread.

 

[anthrobones]

"walked pigeon-toed."

Well, any way of knowing if Sharon did?

 

[meggilyweggily]

Even if Sharon wasn't pigeon-toed, that doesn't mean a whole lot. A lot of little kids grow out of that.

 

[*02]

Here is a picture of Christina's mother, Janet Gail Calhoun Carter, compared to Sharon Marshall. DNA testing is in process for comparison. Janet is on the left, Sharon on the right. Does anyone else see similarities or is it just my imagination? There is discussion on this in the Sharon Marshall thread.

I think the two pics at the top are eerily similar, I'm waiting on pins and needles for the results of this one. I so hope it solves both cases, or would it be three cases, Janet's muder, Christina's disappearance, and who Sharon really was?

 

[kandoo76]

How long do you think it will take for results?

 

[*02]

How long do you think it will take for results?

Typically with cases like these they do not consider them high priority and it takes quite a while, sometimes months. Sad

 

[HollywoodBound]

Who are they DNA testing Sharon's DNA to since they don't have Christina Carter?

 

[raindrops300]

Who are they DNA testing Sharon's DNA to since they don't have Christina Carter?

Christina's cousin said they were going to test the dad and grandmother, but I don't know if this has happened yet. That was on the Sharon Marshall thread.

 

[forthelost]

I wonder why Janet went into hiding. In 1973 the chances of a dad getting custody of his kid was almost nonexistant, and if that was a small girl even less.

 

[*02]

I'd say we have quite a few similarities here, maybe the most out of all the girls we have compared so far. Still hoping and praying for answers.

copying over here from my post on Sharon's thread for raindrops300.

 

[smile22]

i saw to the simalarites in the first picture i think it was. of a younger Sharon. so how long is it going to take to get the results?

 

[MsRusty]

I think of all the comparisons we've had on the boards, this is the one that looks closest to Sharon. Maybe the results will bring welcomed news.

 

[Richard]

... last seen in Hueytown, Alabama on September 17, 1973. ...
On October 7, Janet's nude, bound body was found inside a duffel bag alongside Clingman's Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She had been killed by suffocation the same day she was found. ...

Twenty days elapsed between the time they disappeared and the time Janet was murdered and her body found. The questions would be where was she and her child during the interim?

What kind of car did she have and was it ever found? What things did she take and what did she leave in her home? What "circumstances" lead investigators to believe that she was "in hiding" other than the assumption that she might lose custody of Christina?

A number of possibilities exist:

- Janet might have left Christina with someone and then was abducted herself.

- Both might have been abducted at the same time.

If the father had been involved, he would only have stood to gain if he got custody of Christina. Since Christina remains missing, he likely was NOT involved in Janet's death.

 

[MartieLee]

A couple of answers about Christy's case....

Forgive me for being sketching about some things, but I’m trying to protect the privacy of the family.

Her father (my cousin) is waiting to give the DNA sample. I'll be sure to post here when that happens. Plans are to also contact Christy's biological grandmother (in another state) for a sample.

We've always felt like we knew who killed her mother Janet. She was dating the (married) man and talked to her coworkers about being excited about going to the Smokies with him. Lots of details I can't go into, but at the time we all assumed they did just that – went to the Smokies. When her body was found there later, we felt sure that he was involved. We do know he was in the area the night/morning she died but his wife provided an alibi for him. He died a couple of years ago, so we’ll never get the true story of that night/morning.

What we don’t know is – (if he is the one who killed Janet) – What did he do with Christy? Did he kill/dispose of her and wild animals got to her body? Or give her to someone? Or abandon her alive with her mother’s dead body and someone kidnapped her? No trace of her or her clothing were ever found.

Unfortunately, the identity of Janet’s body was not known until a month after her death, so no one was looking for a dead child near the place where she was found. No one had a reason to suspect that Janet or Christy were even dead – or missing – we thought they were just hiding because of the custody case. Anything could have happened to Christy during that time. And any evidence of the boyfriend’s and Janet’s whereabouts would be missing or cold (e.g., hotels and chalets vacuum and clean the rooms daily; contents from the dumpsters are long gone).

By the way, I never met the man, but from what I’ve heard from those who have – his personality fits one who could have known or met Floyd. It’s also possible that Janet met Floyd while her boyfriend was at home working (in between trips up to see her).

So many unanswered questions.

Many thanks to Cass (CuriousInAtlanta) for bringing this to my attention so that Christy’s father could have this case reopened.

 

[*02]

Thank you for posting MartieLee, we know how hard it can be for families. I hope you find the answers for your family.

 

[Richard]

Was there ever an investigation which involved the interviewing of Janet's co-workers or employer? Are any of them still living, or do any depositions from them still exist?

What Law Enforcement agency has jurisdiction in Christina's case?

Also, what did the "boyfriend" have to say in regard to Janet's death?

 

[*02]

bumping