DE DE - Tina Faye Kemp, 14, Felton, 3 February 1979 *NamUs #MP6937*

  • #401
This may very well have been discussed further up in the thread, but I do believe it is poignant to note (even again) if not. Reviewing articles of February 1979, it appears that the Felton PD was a single individual who then took on the position as Chief of a 5-person department with very little involvement in Felton LE affairs, as mentioned by the mayor in the below excerpted portion of an article.

The Morning News, Sat, Feb 10, 1979 ·Page 1​


1767467647942.webp
 
  • #402
That explains so much about the baffling lack of records or even a clear timeline of when TIna disappeared.

Are there ANY contemporary articles about Tina's disappearance? I believe the earliest one was a 1999 retrospective on 20th century cold cases in Delaware.

I ran into similar problems with Anne Manchester. She did get some coverage, but UD deigned to give her about three paragraphs because she disappeared in the summer while the paper was on break, and the Newark Post was only a couple circular at the time Anne went missing.
 
  • #403
HopeRains said:
This may very well have been discussed further up in the thread, but I do believe it is poignant to note (even again) if not. Reviewing articles of February 1979, it appears that the Felton PD was a single individual who then took on the position as Chief of a 5-person department with very little involvement in Felton LE affairs, as mentioned by the mayor in the below excerpted portion of an article.

The Morning News, Sat, Feb 10, 1979 ·Page 1​


View attachment 634841
Click to expand...

This article and case reminds me of the "two hatted" military officer who would walk around in the morning to be seen, then place his hat on his desk and sneak out the back door, wearing his second hat.

When anyone came around looking for him, others would say, "I saw him a while ago. He must be around here somewhere, there's his hat."
 
Last edited:
  • #404
February 3, 1979..thinking of Tina today!
 
  • #405
Tina has been missing for 47 years today.
 
  • #406
Thinking about the horse racing angle, she was tiny. 5’ and 100 lbs? A racehorse trainers dream. Bowie Racetrack in MD had a 1230 post time on 2/3/79. She may have convinced some trainer she was older or trainer just didn’t worry about it. Backside of the track is definitely no place for a teenage girl
 
  • #407
Just to give people context about the Felton PD back in 1979. The Felton PD DID NOT and would not investigate missing persons in 1979. Tina's case has ALWAYS been investigated from the start by the Delaware State Police, which had the main barracks less than 5 miles from Felton and plenty of resources to investigate. Felton in 1979 was patrolled by and supported by the Delaware State Police for any criminal offense. That Felton/Harrington Police Chief in 1979 never investigated a single crime or issued a single criminal citation back then, it was a ceremonial position only and he would help with only administrative things for the town of Felton...like evicting residents, school event security, and whatever else the town needed from him. I lived in Felton back then and I know because the Delaware State Police always responded to any domestic issue and I was pulled over in Felton by the State Police with my parent a couple times.
 
  • #408
Thewop356 said:
Just to give people context about the Felton PD back in 1979. The Felton PD DID NOT and would not investigate missing persons in 1979. Tina's case has ALWAYS been investigated from the start by the Delaware State Police, which had the main barracks less than 5 miles from Felton and plenty of resources to investigate. Felton in 1979 was patrolled by and supported by the Delaware State Police for any criminal offense. That Felton/Harrington Police Chief in 1979 never investigated a single crime or issued a single criminal citation back then, it was a ceremonial position only and he would help with only administrative things for the town of Felton...like evicting residents, school event security, and whatever else the town needed from him. I lived in Felton back then and I know because the Delaware State Police always responded to any domestic issue and I was pulled over in Felton by the State Police with my parent a couple times.
Click to expand...
That feels true of Delaware in general. For the most part, the Delaware State Police are the ones with the real power and the municipal cops don't do much. Hell, Middletown didn't even have a police force until 2007.

I imagine that because most towns in Delaware actually really tiny in terms of area it's easier to use the DSP because of jurisdiction issues. How much can a town police really do if your local town is like 1 square mile?
 
  • #409
As stated in a previous 2020 post (#202) the investigating agency for this case is the Delaware State Police.
 
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