OH OH - Billie Groff, 28, Hubbard, 4 July 1977

[Gardener1850]

[h=2]

Billie Lynn Groff[/h]Trumbull County, Ohio
28 year old white female

Height: 61
Weight: 120
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel

Clothes:
White T-Shirt, Blue cut-off jeans
thong sandals


Circumstances:
Last seen by her husband on July 4, 1977 near Westview Avenue. She was speaking with a friend by telephone the same evening about 10:00 PM, when she abruptly ended the conversation, stating "They are coming up the driveway, I have to go". It is unknown whom she meant by "they". Her husband and two children were attending the city's July 4 celebration at the time, and returned about 11:00 PM. Her husband filed a missing person report two days later.

She left all of her belongings and clothing behind.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/33479/

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Billie has been missing for 41 years today ... located another photo on NAMUS

 

[Coffee56]

Billie Lynn Groff – The Charley Project

 

[Coffee56]

Publication: News Location: Hubbard, Ohio, United States Of America Issue Date: July 20, 1977

OCR

Police continue search for missing woman MRS BILLIE LYNN GROFF HUBBARD- City police are continuing their search for Mrs. Billie Lynn Groff, who has been missing since the Fourth of July. Police have been running an intensive investigation, but would not comment on the progress made. Mrs. Groff, 28, of 321 Westview Ave., was reportedly last seen about 6 pm on the 4th near Westview Ave. She was reported missing July 6 by husband. Edward Groff. When last seen she was wearing a white T-shirt, cut off jeans and tongs. The missing woman is 5 feet I inch tall and weighs 120 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes.

 

[Nate_Bro]

I found a possible curious connection in a missing persons case from 1977. The links are below.

Billie Groff was reported missing on July 4, 1977. The curious part is that 1 year early on March 25, 1976 an unidentified woman was found deceased 230 miles away, also known as Billie, and possibly from the same state as Billie Groff. Namus only lists 4 woman in total with that name, but these 2 woman also bear a resemblance. Granted there is a height difference of 6-8 inches. I theorize that either there was a transcription error at some point with either of the cases, or there was some type of conspiracy with the missing woman's reported date and details.

The Doe Network: 1195UFMI
http://namus.gov/unidentifiedpersons/case#/12115
http://namus.gov/missingpersons/case#/33479

 

[Gardener1850]

I found a possible curious connection in a missing persons case from 1977. The links are below.

Billie Groff was reported missing on July 4, 1977. The curious part is that 1 year early on March 25, 1976 an unidentified woman was found deceased 230 miles away, also known as Billie, and possibly from the same state as Billie Groff. Namus only lists 4 woman in total with that name, but these 2 woman also bear a resemblance. Granted there is a height difference of 6-8 inches. I theorize that either there was a transcription error at some point with either of the cases, or there was some type of conspiracy with the missing woman's reported date and details.

The Doe Network: 1195UFMI
http://namus.gov/unidentifiedpersons/case#/12115
http://namus.gov/missingpersons/case#/33479

Interesting thinking outside the box Nate_Bro. I can't get NAMUS to open for some reason, but I think it is only a coincidence on the name Billie. The UID was thought to be a teen or young twenty-something and was 5'8" tall. According Billie Groff's Charley Project she was only 5'1". The UID had blue or blue-green eyes. Billie Groff had Hazel eyes. And then there is her friend talking to her on the phone and her husband filing the missing report 2 days later. If her husband had not filed a report or no report had been made and no one talked to her for a long time (i.e. years) I would say there is more of chance of a date mix up. But if the report was made 2 days later and they have the friend's statement about talking on the phone it's much less likely the date on the missing file is wrong. JMO.

ETA: Here is the thread for the UID: MI - MI - Highland Park, WhtFem UP12115, 15-25, may be runaway from Ohio, Mar'76
If you really think there could be a mix up in dates it might be a good idea to post there (more posters on that thread to give feedback).

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for Billie...this month is 43 years since she disappeared.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Hubbard Detective Michael Banic addressed rumors on Saturday regarding a missing persons cold case.

Hubbard Police is lead agency in an operation involving Farrell Police and the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office in excavating a property on Memorial Drive in Farrell, Pennsylvania.

Banic said the department is aware of rumors that “Multiple bodies have been located in Farrell,” and said, “It’s just that, a rumor.”

She was speaking to a friend on the phone at around 10 p.m. that night when she ended the conversation abruptly, stating “They are coming up the driveway, I have to go.” It’s not known who she was referring to.

Groff’s husband and their two children were attending the city’s Fourth of July celebration and when they got home at around 11 p.m., she was gone. Her husband filed a missing person’s report two days later.

Hubbard Police address missing person cold case rumors

Hubbard Detective Michael Banic addressed rumors on Saturday regarding a missing persons cold case.

www.wkbn.com

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Farrell excavation part of search for Hubbard woman missing 45 years

Police were told that Groff was speaking with a friend by telephone the same evening at about 10:00 PM, when she abruptly ended the conversation, stating “They are coming up the driveway, I have to go

www.wfmj.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

Billie's case was featured on Cold Justice tonight. After all the outstanding work Kelly and her team put in, I thought for sure the husband Ed was going to be indicted. Ed's sister even contradicted his alibi. Unfortunately the DA did not think there is enough to indict without a body or confession

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Billie's case was featured on Cold Justice tonight. After all the outstanding work Kelly and her team put in, I thought for sure the husband Ed was going to be indicted. Ed's sister even contradicted his alibi. Unfortunately the DA did not think there is enough to indict without a body or confession

On July 4, 1977, Billie Lynn Groff, 28, a dance teacher and devoted mother of two children aged 10 and 7, went missing after a July 4 community event. She was in the process of splitting from her husband, Ed, who had been her high school sweetheart.

Despite the stigma of divorce at the time, “she was excited about her future,” said Siegler.

She added that police always suspected that Ed may have buried Billie Lynn near his mom’s house.

Until recently the Hubbard Police Department had lacked resources to execute a dig to search for remains. But then, the dig was underway when the “Cold Justice” team arrived.

Siegler and Rider reviewed the facts of the case with the local law enforcement officers. On Monday, July 4, 1977, Billie Lynn went to a church near her home to practice piano, while Ed and their kids, Michelle and Mark, went to a community ox roast.

After the event, the children rode home with their grandmother and an aunt. Billie Lynn was nowhere to be found.

Ed returned home and said he didn’t know where his wife was. He reported Billie Lynn missing two days later.

“He did not seem overly concerned about her whereabouts,” said Siegler, “but he did hand the police this four-page manifesto that outlines all of her shortcomings as a wife and a mother.”

Where Is Billie Lynn Groff? ‘Cold Justice’ Investigates The Ohio Mom’s 1977 Disappearance | Oxygen Official Site

"Cold Justice" reviews the disappearance of an Ohio woman, Billie Lynn Groff. Here's what the team discovered about the cold case.

www.oxygen.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

More photos of Billie from Farrell High School

 

[PommyMommy]

Billie Lynn Groff – The Charley Project

Billie Lynn Groff​

Groff, circa 1977

• Missing Since 07/04/1977
• Missing From Hubbard, Ohio
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 28 years old
• Height and Weight 5'1, 120 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt, blue cut-off jeans and thong sandals.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Groff's maiden name is Cianciolo.

Details of Disappearance​

Billie was last seen by her husband, Ed Groff, near Westview Avenue in Hubbard, Ohio at 7:30 p.m. on July 4, 1977. She lived with him and their two children, aged ten and seven, in the 300 block of Westview Avenue.

At 10:00 p.m. that day she was speaking to a female friend on the phone when she ended the conversation abruptly, saying, "They are coming up the driveway, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." It isn't known who Groff meant by "they", but her husband and children were away from home at the time, attending a community ox roast in celebration of Independence Day.

The two children rode home from the event with their aunt and grandmother, and Billie wasn't home when they arrived at 11:00 p.m. Ed returned home later and said he didn't know her whereabouts. He reported her missing after two days. Billie left all her clothing and belongings behind and has never been heard from again.

Ed reportedly didn't seem very interested in learning Billie's whereabouts, but did give the police a four-page-long "manifesto" about her shortcomings. According to the Groff children, who are now grown, Ed told them not to talk about Billie. The children noted their father had a violent temper.

One of the couple's longtime friends said Ed was controlling; another friend said Billie told her Ed had hit her, and showed the friend photos of a bathroom door she said Ed had broken. The friend Billie spoke to on the phone the day of her disappearance said Ed was "very abusive" to Billie and that Billie planned to divorce him. She had planned to bring some money to her friend on July 5, to secretly keep for her, but she disappeared a day earlier.

On the day of Billie's disappearance, Ed's mother reportedly said she'd seen her son walking out of the woods with a shovel. When Ed was asked what he'd been doing, he said he'd gone into the woods to dig up a plant at Billie's request. However, he hadn't actually dug anything up and his sister did not believe his explanation.

Billie graduated from Farrell High School in Pennsylvania in 1966. She worked as a dance teacher at the time of her disappearance. Although her loved ones believe Ed could have been involved in her disappearance, no one has ever been charged in her case.

Last updated April 4, 2023; details of disappearance updated.

 

[Pennysmom2]

Missing Person -

www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov

July 18, 2022

Farrell dig uncovers 'items of interest' in 1977 cold case

FARRELL— An excavation at a property on Memorial Drive earlier this month may shed light on the decades-old case of a Farrell High School graduate last seen in 1977.

www.sharonherald.com

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

Just watched the Cold Justice episode on this case: Digging for Justice.

After description of strong smell of bleach in the basement in the home days after - I know it’s been ~45 years - but wonder why no mention of possibly trying to access that home and look for any possible blood presence. MOO

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Billie Lynn Groff – The Charley Project

 

[Betty P]

I just finished watching the Cold Case Files episode about Billie. There's quite a lot of evidence, witness testimony, etc. It's frustrating that the prosecutor doesn't want to proceed against Billie's husband without having a body.

Great work and commitment by the police/detectives who have worked so hard to solve this murder. Great people. I just wonder if there's more information that people might have that could help? It doesn't sound like her ex husband will ever confess, unless there was some way to put a scare into him.