MI MI - Detroit's "Missing Trio", Hollywood Cafe in Melvindale,15 October 1937

[Ozoner]

Searching for a car with a grappling hook and a pike pole could easily have missed the car as it could have floated or the current could have carried it downstream from where they searched. I think they should search again using state of the art underwater sonar.

Snipped.

I agree wholeheartedly. Even today, cars are often missed in searches. Even small ponds can hide cars. A while back I read about a car with two bodies in it that was found in a retention pond on a farm; it had been in there for years. I would bet anything that the trio's car went into the water somewhere.

If they took an unpredictable route, there's no telling what body of water the car might have gone into. The Rouge River would be the best bet, of course. There might not be much left of the car after all this time, but some larger pieces should remain in the muck of the riverbed. I'm sure many cars have been pulled out of the water in the last 83 years, too. I doubt whether good records have been maintained.

 

[Mbt]

During Prohibition, smugglers would run booze over the ice when the Detroit River froze. This led, anecdotally at least, to there being more than a few cars at the bottom. Granted, Prohibition ended 4 years before this case but still, if the car is down there, I would think that it'd be hard to distinguish it from other cars even if it were found (assuming it's there). Though I don't know how much the Detroit River preserves or eats up wrecks.

The Rouge River was heavily industrialised with freighter traffic going up to the Ford Plant -- so it was a much used waterway. It was dredged and widened to make this possible, so it's not exactly a remote or wild river. I don't know how often you've got to dredge but I would think it'd be periodically necessary.

1937 is a tad late for a Black Legion murder & there's nothing in their bios to suggest that they'd be a target.

It's very hard seeing any sort of resolution here. If they vanished to start life afresh -- and this seems an unlikely love triangle -- one of their known descendants' DNA could match with a post-1937 descendant. It's an interesting case.

 

[SAMS]

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[Lady77]

During Prohibition, smugglers would run booze over the ice when the Detroit River froze. This led, anecdotally at least, to there being more than a few cars at the bottom. Granted, Prohibition ended 4 years before this case but still, if the car is down there, I would think that it'd be hard to distinguish it from other cars even if it were found (assuming it's there). Though I don't know how much the Detroit River preserves or eats up wrecks.

The Rouge River was heavily industrialised with freighter traffic going up to the Ford Plant -- so it was a much used waterway. It was dredged and widened to make this possible, so it's not exactly a remote or wild river. I don't know how often you've got to dredge but I would think it'd be periodically necessary.

1937 is a tad late for a Black Legion murder & there's nothing in their bios to suggest that they'd be a target.

It's very hard seeing any sort of resolution here. If they vanished to start life afresh -- and this seems an unlikely love triangle -- one of their known descendants' DNA could match with a post-1937 descendant. It's an interesting case.

 

[Lady77]

I think a look for post 1937 descendants would be great idea.

 

[Richard]

I think a look for post 1937 descendants would be great idea.

The parents of Thomas Lorimer moved from Melvindale, Michigan to California in 1941. His father, James, died in 1959 and his mother, Beatrice, died it 1966, never giving up hope that her son would return home.

Evelyn Lorimer, the wife of Thomas Lorimer, left Melvindale with their daughter and remarried in 1943 in Oregon. She died in 1991. Shirley Ann Lorimer was almost 3 years old when her father went missing. She married in 1956 and had two children, but died in Oregon in 1967 at the age of 32.

 

[Mbt]

The parents of Thomas Lorimer moved from Melvindale, Michigan to California in 1941. His father, James, died in 1959 and his mother, Beatrice, died it 1966, never giving up hope that her son would return home.

Evelyn Lorimer, the wife of Thomas Lorimer, left Melvindale with their daughter and remarried in 1943 in Oregon. She died in 1991. Shirley Ann Lorimer was almost 3 years old when her father went missing. She married in 1956 and had two children, but died in Oregon in 1967 at the age of 32.

If they get DNA tests and find that they have some close relatives that they can't account for, that might do it.
I still think they ended up in the water or otherwise dead though.

 

[Ozoner]

If they get DNA tests and find that they have some close relatives that they can't account for, that might do it.
I still think they ended up in the water or otherwise dead though.

BBM
Agreed. I know the general area fairly well. There had to have been SO many places a car could have gone into the water back then.

 

[spikeelvis]

I wonder after over 80 years in the water if there would be anything left of their car or them?

 

[Ozoner]

I wonder after over 80 years in the water if there would be anything left of their car or them?

If you sifted the muck in the right spot, you'd probably find their engine block—that's if their car hasn't been pulled out of the water already. The Detroit police or the army corps of engineers may have pulled it out 50 or 75 years ago during some kind of cleanup effort, and there most likely wouldn't be any surviving record of it.

 

[Molly's Mom]

So, I'm really intrigued by the 2 fathers that disappeared without a trace. Has anyone looked into this?

 

[Richard]

1937 Oldsmobile, similar to the one in which the Trio was last seen.

 

[Stella]

Dive crews uncover 20 cars at Port of Nashville ramp in hope of ending Nashville cold case

Maybe these guys would be interested in taking a dive to find the car. According to this article, they've solved 4 cold cases in a 1 year period. I've watched them on YT and they are very dedicated to their work.

 

[Ozoner]

Dive crews uncover 20 cars at Port of Nashville ramp in hope of ending Nashville cold case

Maybe these guys would be interested in taking a dive to find the car. According to this article, they've solved 4 cold cases in a 1 year period. I've watched them on YT and they are very dedicated to their work.

Maybe. Unfortunately, there are many, many places where the car could've entered the water. I might be possible to look at some road maps from the 1930s and prioritize some sites.

 

[Stella]

I imagine the landscape/roads have changed since then too so those original maps, if they still exist, would be good find.

 

[Richard]

I imagine the landscape/roads have changed since then too so those originalmaps, if they still exist, would be good find.

1937 Map of Detroit

If you compare this map with maps of today, you will see that most of the roads are the same.

 

[alb1on]

Bump. A few comments;
The original post says that James Reddon, the husband of Margaret (who was questioned twice about the missing) dropped out of sight after receiving the life insurance. This is incorrect. Firstly the name is incorrect. It should be Redden, not Reddon. He was born James B Redden in Lexington, Kentucky circa 1904 and married Margaret H Boyd in Detroit in October 1925. This is all confirmed by both marriage records and other records on Ancestry. Secondly, he remained in Detroit, remarried in 1950 (not 1940) and died in 1957. These facts reduce the suspicions which would attach to a disappearing spouse. There were also suggestions that the police were less than beyond reproach. When James Redden was arrested for burglary in 1938 he claimed he was being fitted up by police as they feared being sued for false arrest after the disappearance (see Burglary Charge James Redden and Missing Person Margaret Boyd - Newspapers.com).
None of this moves matters forward but it may help divert too much attention being given to James Redden.

 

[Ozoner]

Bump. A few comments;
The original post says that James Reddon, the husband of Margaret (who was questioned twice about the missing) dropped out of sight after receiving the life insurance. This is incorrect. Firstly the name is incorrect. It should be Redden, not Reddon. He was born James B Redden in Lexington, Kentucky circa 1904 and married Margaret H Boyd in Detroit in October 1925. This is all confirmed by both marriage records and other records on Ancestry. Secondly, he remained in Detroit, remarried in 1950 (not 1940) and died in 1957. These facts reduce the suspicions which would attach to a disappearing spouse. There were also suggestions that the police were less than beyond reproach. When James Redden was arrested for burglary in 1938 he claimed he was being fitted up by police as they feared being sued for false arrest after the disappearance (see Burglary Charge James Redden and Missing Person Margaret Boyd - Newspapers.com).
None of this moves matters forward but it may help divert too much attention being given to James Redden.

The trio probably drove into the Rouge River. Despite the amount of time that has passed, it might still be possible to find some evidence. The challenge is that there were probably several places where they might have gone into the water, and there have undoubtedly been many changes to the roadways since 1937. Locating an accurate roadmap from that time period would be a good starting point.

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up. This Detroit triple disappearance in 1937 remains unsolved.

 

[Quoththeraven]

The trio probably drove into the Rouge River. Despite the amount of time that has passed, it might still be possible to find some evidence. The challenge is that there were probably several places where they might have gone into the water, and there have undoubtedly been many changes to the roadways since 1937. Locating an accurate roadmap from that time period would be a good starting point.

I agree, probably in the Rogue River.