NY NY - Barbara Aleksivich, 24, Village of Bath, 3 Oct 1973

My travels took me through Bath, NY. I took a ride down mail route rd.

The road cuts around the side of a large hill.

I started from the Eagle valley side, which is the northern most end. This is a very thick wooded area. The road runs north/ south. It is very steep slope on both sides. Very steep. If you wanted to go up the hill, you would have to use all 4 limbs, and climb up. No way to walk.

If you wanted to go down the slope you would have to go from tree to tree to control your decent.

There are a few driveways carved out on the uphill side at the north end. As you go south it flattens out a bit, and there are a cluster of homes on the west side of the road.

I didn't see any open lots where this guy could have had a home at one time. My guess is that whatever he built was torn down, and someone rebuilt a newer home.

It would take a month of Sundays to search this area.
 
My travels took me through Bath, NY. I took a ride down mail route rd.

The road cuts around the side of a large hill.

I started from the Eagle valley side, which is the northern most end. This is a very thick wooded area. The road runs north/ south. It is very steep slope on both sides. Very steep. If you wanted to go up the hill, you would have to use all 4 limbs, and climb up. No way to walk.

If you wanted to go down the slope you would have to go from tree to tree to control your decent.

There are a few driveways carved out on the uphill side at the north end. As you go south it flattens out a bit, and there are a cluster of homes on the west side of the road.

I didn't see any open lots where this guy could have had a home at one time. My guess is that whatever he built was torn down, and someone rebuilt a newer home.

It would take a month of Sundays to search this area.
 
BATH, N.Y. (WETM) – Law enforcement is continuing its search for a woman who went missing from the Village of Bath late one night almost 50 years ago.

Barbara Jean Aleksivich went missing on October 3, 1973, while walking home from the Bath Elks Club at 10:45 p.m., according to the FBI. The information on her disappearance says that Aleksivich, who was 24 at the time, lived only two blocks away, but her husband reported her missing after she never arrived at home.

At the time she went missing, Aleksivich was 5’6″ tall, 140 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair. She was last seen wearing a white blouse, a blue and white plaid skirt, a green pullover, and brown loafers, according to the Village of Bath Police Department.

 
Based on the cases I've researched, it seems to me that sex offenders are mostly opportunistic. If it is too risky to target a child, they might take an opportunity to target a vulnerable woman, and vice versa.

The FBI states "Serial sex offenders frequently assault both strangers and acquaintances and often exhibit intraserial variations in victim relationship, age, and even gender."

From the BJA: "Sexual predators are more opportunistic than we thought, based on the crossover we discovered. By that we mean that they often mix their victims – the same predator who assaults a teenaged girl may also assault someone elderly, or across racial or even gender lines. Exploiting victims' vulnerabilities became more of a common thread than other variables."

Richard Davis attempted to abduct an 8-year-old approximately 4 months before Barbara disappeared. He was questioned by the police and it probably scared him. It is possible that this event made him believe it was too risky to abduct a child in broad daylight. In contrast, it was much less risky to abduct Barbara, who was a woman walking home alone at night. It's also interesting to note that the abduction attempt and the disappearance of Barbara occurred at the same intersection.

In regards to the confession by Frederick Bush, he subsequently denied it and never confessed to the police. He merely made a passing comment to one of his co-conspirators, which I think was an attempt to sound tough and scare them. It's not clear what his motive to abduct and kill Barbara would be, as his other murder was vastly different.

I'm not completely sold on either suspect. However, I wouldn't rule Richard Davis out considering it was stated he had a history of coercing both girls and women, he lived in Bath at the time, the abduction attempt was at the same intersection where Barbara disappeared, etc. MOO.
I wonder what the acquaintance of Frederick Bush's, Gary Storms, said when the police (I would assume) asked him about Frederick Bush's mentioning him as knowing about Frederick's supposed murder of Barbara? I think Barbara may have been killed by someone else other than the suspects mentioned above, though. Maybe by someone passing through?
 

''They Haven't Been Forgotten - Cold Cases Upstate NY

Oct 24, 2023 — Barbara Jean Aleksivich. Mary Lou Bostwick. Janet F. Campana. Darlene Ellen Conklin. Julie Anne Guthrie. Leslie Anne Guthrie. Sophie Hull. Patricia M.''
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