NY NY - Joseph Rodriguez, 4, New York City, 6 Sept 1936

[Archangel85]

I know the world itself was very different back then but presumably her family would have been in touch with her or people in PR. If she was back in a village where her family knew people or something then IMO word would have reached their relatives in NY. I can't imagine Joseph's aunt (and grandfather I think it was, who lived in NY too) never mentioning to anyone else in the family or other Puerto Ricans at all that her nephew has disappeared. Word would get around, even if it took time.

The only scenario I can imagine is her being hidden in a very isolated area where her family didn't know anyone, where people who knew her family didn't know anyone either. That's just not plausible to me though for the reasons I've stated before, why would she? Why would she then return to NY? Why would she never tell anyone, even in her old age, about it? It seems much more far-fetched than someone else kidnapping him IMO.

Puerto Rico suffered through mass poverty during the first half of the 20th century and a lot of records got lost. The only possible thing is that she moved into the mountain area/center of Puerto Rico. great way to exile yourself specially during those days.

 

[Satch]

Interesting Case!

I would like to add that I tend to agree with what is below:

Most of this post is just me thinking out loud but to be honest it is my opinion that Joseph wandered off from the other children playing on the street that day and was then abducted either by a stranger or by someone familiar to him/his family or was involved in some sort of accident without anyone witnessing it. The culprit could then have panicked and fled with Joseph and there we have the telegram 6 days later.

However, why would LE not release signed name on the telegram? the dictator of the message? Or witnesses to the telegram communication? Could there have been some sort of Mafia connections connected to Joseph's family or his abduction, and the telegram information that could help with clues in this case was never released to protect Joseph and his family?

Even if that were the case, and if Joseph was abducted, or simply wandered away, lost, or injured, due to the passage of time, those responsible would certainly be long deceased and no loner a threat, so why not release the information to any surviving members of the Rodriquez family, at least for the courtesy of closure?

Satch

 

[Boomeroreo]

I found this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Rodriguez_(photographer)

http://www.josephrodriguezphotography.com/#mi=1&pt=0&pi=2&p=-1&a=0&at=0

Joseph Rodriguez
Photographer
Joseph Rodriguez is a Documentary photographer born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He studied photography in the School of Visual Arts and in the Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Program ... Wikipedia
Born: Brooklyn, New York City, NY
Education: School of Visual Arts

 

[liz b.]

I grew up on the edge of Spanish Harlem. I recall people saying this child was taken to Puerto Rico by a relative. Don't know any other details though. fwiw...

 

[CastlesBurning]

It all makes me wonder if possibly Dora wanted her son back, took him to P.R. to raise him and later returned to the U.S. Interesting case.

I wonder why his aunt had him from birth in the first place, especially if mom lived nearby?

Mom was 25 at the time Joseph went missing, so she was young, but certainly not too young to be a mother or support the two of them, especially by standards of the '30s.

 

[Diane Redfern]

I agree it's weird the authorities haven't released the name of the person who signed the telegram and I think there's only one explanation for this: the telegram was lost or destroyed and so the name. I also think the theory of the accident is very plausible.
BTW, 1637 Park Avenue is in front of the railroad tracks... Was there any way to access the railroad back then? I don't really think he got hit by a train, because his death may have been almost instant and it would have been known... but it's another possibility.

 

[Richard]

This case will be 85 years old this year...

Joseph Rodriguez

Joseph, circa 1936

• Missing Since 09/06/1936
• Missing From Manhattan, New York
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race Hispanic
• Age 4 years old
• Height and Weight 3'0, 35 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A navy blue sweater with a red-striped collar and a yellow sweater underneath it, white knickers with blue dots and blue sandals.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic male. Black hair, brown eyes. Joseph has a mole on his right wrist. He has a small scar above his right eye. His nickname is Joe.

Details of Disappearance

Joseph lived with his aunt, Pauline Rodriguez, in 1936; she'd raised him since birth. They lived in the 1600 block of Park Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City. His mother, Dora Olivo, lived within walking distance, in the 1300 block of Fifth Avenue.

On September 6, 1936, Pauline left Joseph with a neighbor for the day. The neighbor took him down the street early that afternoon to play with other children. When Joseph's babysitter returned later, she couldn't find him. He has never been heard from again.

Joseph's aunt received a telegram on September 12, six days after his disappearance. It stated: "Joseph will be back on Wednesday. Doctor will not let me move him."

Many reports are that the telegram was anonymous, but it was in fact signed with a name Pauline didn't recognize. The name on the telegram has never been publicly released. There was no further communication from the writer and Joseph never returned to his aunt's Spanish Harlem residence.

Joseph's case is one of the oldest in the New York Police Department's files. His disappearance remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• New York Police Department 646-610-6914

Source Information

• New York Police Department
• The New York Post
• Whereabouts Still Unknown
• Joseph Rodriguez – The Charley Project

 

[pennyaline]

[QUOTE="
BTW, 1637 Park Avenue is in front of the railroad tracks... Was there any way to access the railroad back then?[/QUOTE]

No. That's the Metro North route from upstate to Grand Central, and that portion of it is entirely elevated and accessible only by transit personal and much older daredevils. Though a few very rough maintenance bridges still existed then no four-year-old would have been able to get there with a lot of help.

 

[steff13]

I was looking at the Google streetview of the address, too, and saw the train track thing. Was that there in 1936? I Googled it, and it said it was built in 1983. Was it just a street there in the 30s?

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Joseph Rodriguez – The Charley Project

 

[Diane Redfern]

An improved photo

 

[spartanx]

I grew up on the edge of Spanish Harlem. I recall people saying this child was taken to Puerto Rico by a relative. Don't know any other details though. fwiw...

You're right, someone must have taken him back to Puerto Rico, because how could he just disappear like that? and the police because he did not give the name? There were also Latino people at that time with money in the area and perhaps they paid for the silence of the police... the aunt did not recognize the sender's name... or perhaps she omitted it... but after 85 years I don't think anyone go talk...
rest in peace little one