NJ NJ - Margaret Fox, 14, Burlington, 24 June 1974

[ExJourno]

In one article I found the cousins brother was interviewed. He said the caller ("John Marshall") called to ask about the cousin babysitting.

This is a really interesting new detail! Can you please link to that article/do you recall where you found it?

 

[ExJourno]

The Jack Marshall that worked at the same store that "John Marshall" gave as his phone number also knew Margaret through a personal connection. He was interviewed by LE but that was it. He wasn't given a lie detector or anything else...it's seems the reason they cleared him was that his daughter and Margaret's sis in law says "he couldn't have done it". How many murderers and pedophiles do we hear that about?

Do you recall where you found this newspaper clip? I’d love to see the full article.

 

[cherrymeg]

Do you recall where you found this newspaper clip? I’d love to see the full article.

Here is an article that mentions someone that worked near the payphone being questioned.

 

[ExJourno]

Here is an article that mentions someone that worked near the payphone being questioned.

Thank you!

 

[CCJD]

I posted part of this on post # 188 (re: Store Mgr. John Marshall) but here's the whole article.

"But he had an alibi and a polygraph determined he was truthful."

 

[cherrymeg]

Thank you!

There are other articles that talk about people receiving odd phone calls from a modeling agency at that time. I can post more articles that show up with her name.

 

[Alleykins]

Thank you for the article.
I find it strange that someone would insist or ask a babysitter take a bus one way, esp. when they had access to a car (at least in my area where public transit was scarce back then). When I babysat, if it weren't within walking distance, the people I sat for gave me rides both ways. I also would have found it strange if a man called for a babysitter (unless it was a friend of my mom's). I don't recall ever a man asking me to babysit. Usually, the mom made the arrangements & picked me up & the dad paid me & dropped me off. This would have been in the late 70s.

 

[SAMS]

Thank you for the article.
I find it strange that someone would insist or ask a babysitter take a bus one way, esp. when they had access to a car (at least in my area where public transit was scarce back then). When I babysat, if it weren't within walking distance, the people I sat for gave me rides both ways. I also would have found it strange if a man called for a babysitter (unless it was a friend of my mom's). I don't recall ever a man asking me to babysit. Usually, the mom made the arrangements & picked me up & the dad paid me & dropped me off. This would have been in the late 70s.

I hate that this seemed ok to the parents. Even back then, my parents (I was born in ‘72) would not have been ok with this and we lived in a very small town. MOO

 

[Alleykins]

I hate that this seemed ok to the parents. Even back then, my parents (I was born in ‘72) would not have been ok with this and we lived in a very small town. MOO

My mum never screened our babysitting jobs, but they were local, neighborhood families. Unless she knew the people, I don't think she would have let me sit for an out of town stranger's kids, least of all if I had to take a bus there. My youngest sister used to sit for my mum's bff, who lived two towns over. But out of all of us girls, that's the only example I have of us babysitting "away".
And I think if my mum had spoken to the man, like her father did, she'd have asked to speak to his wife or asked him to have the wife call back. At the very least, she'd have asked him why he was calling instead of the Mrs, especially back then when child care and management still traditionally fell to the mother. She was leery about things like like that.
This is not to blame the parents in the least, things may have been different in that neck of the woods.

 

[SAMS]

My mum never screened our babysitting jobs, but they were local, neighborhood families. Unless she knew the people, I don't think she would have let me sit for an out of town stranger's kids, least of all if I had to take a bus there. My youngest sister used to sit for my mum's bff, who lived two towns over. But out of all of us girls, that's the only example I have of us babysitting "away".
And I think if my mum had spoken to the man, like her father did, she'd have asked to speak to his wife or asked him to have the wife call back. At the very least, she'd have asked him why he was calling instead of the Mrs, especially back then when child care and management still traditionally fell to the mother. She was leery about things like like that.
This is not to blame the parents in the least, things may have been different in that neck of the woods.

Yes, I totally agree. Certainly no blaming here either. Different Strokes for Different Folks. MOO

 

[Alleykins]

Yes, I totally agree. Certainly no blaming here either. Different Strokes for Different Folks. MOO

Yep.

 

[heyjudette]

Anyone have any thoughts on Teresa Caseiro? Was murdered in Willingboro, very close to Burlington and Mt. Holly. A man was seen in a red car at her house. And regarding Margaret’s case, a man was wanted for questioning as he had tried to lure a young girl in Mt. Holly a month before Margaret’s disappearance. He drove a red car and also had sandy hair like the man in Teresa’s case. Could be totally unrelated, but who knows...

Here’s an article about Teresa, the article that mentions the red car and luring in Mt. Holly, and a snippet from another board I posted a few months ago on here.

Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey on July 21, 1973 · Page 1

FBI announces reward, releases recording in Margaret Fox case

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachments/ad773a96-e6a1-4c96-bfba-297a1bbbde07-jpeg.191598/

ETA: Not sure if first link is behind pay wall. If you google “Teresa Caserio Willingboro” the link should pop up where you can view it without the pay wall.

 

[Moonwalker9]

096 - The Disappearance of Margaret Ellen Fox — Trace Evidence

Interesting podcast about the case.

 

[SAMS]

Thinking of you Margaret. What happened?

 

[Gruffin]

Where Margaret Fox was last for sure seen alive at High and Broad in Burlington is apparently where the old Camden and Amboy depot was located. On August 29, 1855, the 10am up train from Philadelphia left this depot at 11:02am, after having waited 10 minutes for the down train going to Philadelphia. It met the down train just east of Burlington and subsequently attempted to back up to reach the Burlington and Mount Holly railroad, which took off southward toward Mount Holly just east of Assicunk Creek, in order to free the tracks for the down train. (The Burlington and Mount Holly crossed the creek and followed Truck 541 and the Burlington Bypass south to 541 and Mount Holly. I suppose 541 is what Fox's bus mostly would have travelled on.) Before the train could reach the switch for Mount Holly, it collided with the scared-stiff horses pulling Dr. Heinecken's buggy at the Neck Road crossing. Consequently, the rear car, lacking a cow catcher, derailed, causing the three cars behind it to pile up on it and all derail into a ditch. The cars were made of wood and some of the four cars in the ditch were more-or-less completely crushed and splintered, ultimately killing 24 or so people in the process. At the time, I believe it was the third deadliest railway accident in these United States.

The dead bodies were taken by train to the depot at Burlington (at High and Broad). According to the August 30 New York Tribune, "Here the dead were covered with blankets to await the Coroner's investigation, and every aid that humanity could furnish was rendered to the injured sufferers."

One of the passengers interviewed by the Tribune was James E. Ray. He was a merchant who sold hosiery and underwear at 108 Bowery, Chinatown, NYC. He was not seriously injured, but "he sustained a cut upon the head, and had one breast of his coat completely torn off and his shoulder somewhat injured".

 

[dotr]

Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad
''Voices of Evil: The cases of Amber Tuccaro and Margaret Ellen Fox
2 days ago · 65 minutes
Paul and Billy look into two separate cases nearly four decades apart, each haunted with a voice of the offender. The first case, from Canada, is searching for a murderer. A man picked up Amber Tuccaro as she hitchhiked her way into town. He didn’t know his voice was being recorded as she protested. The other is a kidnapping—the apparent abductor of Margaret Ellen Fox calling her parents. Billy and Paul are hoping that the Murder Squad may recognize these evil voices, and help deliver justice. ''
Ws thread
CANADA - Canada - Amber Tuccaro, 20, Nisku, AB, 18 Aug 2010

 

[SAMS]

.

 

[chaddylex]

I just listened to Margaret's case on the Trace Evidence Podcast. I know it was discussed here, but the call the kidnapper made to the parents was very strange. I know investigators didn't release the actual call back when it happened because of technology, but that could have cracked the case back then.. I hope one day Margaret's family will get closure. It's very sad that her parents both passed away not knowing what happened to their daughter.

 

[Richard]

There are many instances in which an abduction or disappearance takes place followed by a call from someone claiming to be the abductor. I do not know how often this occurs, but have seen it in many of these cases. Sometimes it is an actual abductor wanting to demand ransom money, but more often it is someone wanting to antagonize the family or the police.

A lot of these calls are simply hoaxes or crank calls made by someone who wants to insert himself into the case. Probably most such calls are NOT made known to the public, but rather are sifted through by police investigators holding their cards close to the vest.

 

[Richard]

Margaret Ellen Fox

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• 
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Margaret, circa 1974; Age-progression to age 56 (circa 2016)

• Missing Since06/24/1974
• Missing FromBurlington, New Jersey
• ClassificationNon-Family Abduction
• SexFemale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth02/04/1960 (60)
• Age14 years old
• Height and Weight5'2 - 5'3, 105 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA light blue long-sleeved floral-patterned blouse which was squared at the top and flared at the waist, a black and white or blue and white checkered waist-length jacket, a size 34B brassiere, maroon flared jeans with a yellow patch on one knee, brown sandals with a heel strap, a gold necklace with flowers and a blue stone on it, and a gold charm bracelet with a round blue stone. Carrying a brown bag and an eyeglass case with the Huckleberry Hound design.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Margaret has freckles. At the time of her disappearance, two of her top front right teeth were missing. She wears eyeglasses with hexagonal lenses, gold wire frames and broken-off temple and nose pieces.

Details of Disappearance
Margaret was last seen in Burlington, New Jersey on June 24, 1974. She was planning to go to High and west Broad Streets in Mount Holly, New Jersey to have an interview with a man who called himself John Marshall.

Margaret's younger sister accompanied her to the bus stop and saw her get on. Witnesses reported seeing her near Mill and High Streets after she got off the bus in Mount Holly, but she has never been heard from again.

Margaret had advertised for a babysitting job, and "Marshall" responded to the ad on June 19. He told her he needed a babysitter for the following weekend, but he postponed meeting her several times. Finally he said he would meet her in a red Volkswagen. He gave Margaret a telephone number to reach him; the number was traced to a public phone booth at a supermarket in Lumberton, New Jersey.

In the hours after Margaret was reported missing, police started recording all phone calls placed to her residence. Once was from a man who demanded $10,000 for Margaret's safe return. He stated, "$10,000 might be a lot of bread, but your daughter's life is the buttered topping." This caller has never been identified. You can listen the call here on the FBI website.

Margaret has never been heard from again and "John Marshall" has never been identified. Several other parents in the area complained that someone had attempted to lure their daughters with fake job offers. A suspect's 1976 confession to involvement in her disappearance was widely publicized, but turned out to be a hoax.

Margaret took piano lessons in 1974 and she liked to ride horses. She graduated from St. Paul's Grammar School in Burlington two weeks before she vanished. Her parents are now deceased, but her siblings are still alive, and some still live in the Burlington area. Her case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency

• Burlington City Police Department 609-386-3300

Source Information

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Newspaper Archive
• NewsLibrary
• The Burlington County Times
• NamUs
• The Philadelphia Inquirer
• The Asbury Park Press
• Federal
• Margaret Ellen Fox – The Charley Project