I'm trying to recall the circumstances of this story. I know that she disappeared from a casino (does anyone recall which one?) and that she was engaged to an older gentleman named Henderson who was later considered a suspect. I seem to recall him saying that he was in the casino playing his favorite slot machine at the time Jean disappeared yet there was no footage of him on the surveillance tapes. Most of the details are sketchy as it has been a few years since I've seen this story. Could some kind person please fill in the gaps.

Thanks.

Well the guy's name was Al Henderson and I have a feeling the casino was in Reno. The big turning point on this story is nobody could confirm conclusively that Jean Moore was in Nevada that weekend with Al Henderson. Some believe she was murdered elsewhere and the trip to Nevada was an elaborate story dreamed up by Al Henderson to explain Jean's disappearance.

I have this one on video - I can check into it tonight for more details unless someone else has this stuff memorized by heart.

That case was actually in Laughlin, not Reno. Laughlin is a small city in southern Nevada, about 90 miles from Las Vegas on the Colorado River. It's on the Arizona border and most of the people who work at the Laughlin casinos live across the river in Bullhead City, Arizona.

I think Jean Moore was known to be in Laughlin that trip. A waitress saw her with Al Henderson, I believe at the Edgewater buffet or coffee shop, a couple of days before the disappearance. The Edgewater is one of the older Laughlin casinos, along with the Riverside. Al Henderson said he left her at the Flamingo Laughlin, which was a very new property at the time, built about when I stopped traveling to Laughlin regularly, maybe 1990. It's recently been sold by Harrah's and is now called Aquarius.

Does anyone know if Al Henderson is still alive? He seemed quiet elderly on years ago when UM profiled the case.

jeeps

I thought Al Henderson came across as a sweet old man and can't see him being involved in her disappearance. What would be the motive? They weren't even married yet so no life insurance policy or anything. He did say that he dropped her off at the casino and she was playing on her favorite slot machine but no one could seem to find her on tape where he said. He did also say though that he had requested a copy of the surveillance tapes so he could look but he was denied. A waitress did confirm that she saw Al and Jean together at a coffee shop in that area. Al's secretary did also confirm that she spoke with Jean on the phone when Al had phoned her during the trip. I believe his call logs verified that call. Even though I don't think Al was responsible I can't imagine what in the world happened to her. Could she have been abducted in broad daylight? Could she had suffered from a stroke and wandered off? Remember the case of Rogest Cain - fine one day and then disoriented )(possibly from a stroke) and disappeared the next.

Good question jeeps, I'm not sure if Al Henderson is still alive.

This is a strange case on many levels. Like crystaldawn my instinct is Al Henderson had nothing to do with the disappearance. But I'm puzzled why there weren't more sightings of Jean Moore. Perhaps there were, but UM didn't mention them.

Laughlin isn't like Reno, Carson City or even Las Vegas, where actual cities can get in the way of the casinos and you can get lost in so-called normal activities even if you're staying in a hotel/casino. Laughlin is nothing more than one stretch of casinos on the edge of the Colorado River, maybe a mile long. There are one or two casinos on the opposite side of the street. And that's it. When you're in Laughlin you're in a casino. There should have been repeated sightings of both of them.

I'm not sure if this happened in summer. If so, Laughlin is unbearable during that period. It's always 5-10 degrees hotter than Las Vegas. No one would get too far by walking off. There's a river on one side of the casinos and a sharp uphill desert climb on the other side. The casinos are side by side but shuttle buses take you from one to another, if a car is unavailable. I walk everywhere on the Strip in Las Vegas but I was thinking about it today and can't ever remember walking from casino to casino in Laughlin.

I wouldn't put too much stock in the videotape or lack thereof. Casino security cameras are among the most overrated items on this planet. Frankly, the casinos love movies like Oceans 11 or TV shows like Las Vegas because they exaggerate surveillance capability and sophistication to absurd degree, which in turn theoretically discourages slot cheats and scam artists I could go on for page after page regarding casino security screwups that I have witnessed or heard about. Misidentifying people. Disputes that can't be settled because the videotape is either missing or of terrible quality, or simply taped over.

Laughlin is worse than Las Vegas in that regard. The Flamingo was a new hotel when this incident occured so their security cameras and setup probably were above average by Laughlin standards, but it hardly shocks me they wouldn't allow Al Henderson access to the tapes. Look at it this way, there should be tape after tape showing the two of them together in the casino, or merely Al if indeed he was alone after playing a part in Jean's disappearance. If casino security cameras were what they are cracked up to be they would be showing us clip after clip chronicling their movements in Laughlin from the time they arrived.

Laughlin is known for creeps. Many lowlifes who get thrown out of Las Vegas casinos end up 90 miles away in Laughlin. That is true now, and then. It's much less expensive to stay and eat there, for one thing. People like that will have no trouble targeting someone for a few hundred bucks or less. I'm not saying I think that's what happened but I wouldn't completely discount it. Laughlin hotels are known for huge simple parking lots in front of the casinos. It wouldn't have required taking someone back through a fancy hotel to a parking garage. Out the front entrance to a waiting vehicle and you're gone.

Well Laughlin, the guy that founded that town Don Laughlin is originally from Owatonna which is just a few miles from where I live. I have heard that is basically all it is, is a row of casinos but I dont know much about it.

I am leaning towards the opinion that Al Henderson had nothing to do with Jean Moore's disapperance. They were not even married so I just dont understand really what his motive for killing her would be. It was really sad because Jean's kids just hated Al and I think they were just looking for someone to blame for their mother's disapperance and presumed death and Al was a very convienent person to blame for that. Although didnt they dislike him even before their mother disappeared? I mean I am not saying he for sure didnt do it, but I think the odds are he didnt.

I think that it was rather innocent that she went off to play slots and disappeared. The casinos wouldnt let him see the tapes which is fishy. The casinos could have been desperate to not give away the fact their survilleance systems are as Awsi said not what they are cracked up to be. As a result they only showed the parts of the survilleance that would not back up Al's story. Honestly, I dont know what happened to Jean, as Awsi said, Laughlin has a lot of sleaze's around so she could have been robbed for a few hundred dollars and then murdered to cover it up.

I do think she made it to Laughlin with Al Henderson but what happened after they got there is not entirely clear. Al Henderson seemed like he must have been in his early 70's at the time he was on UM so he would be in his early to mid 80's now probably if he was still alive. He seemed that he was older than Jean. But I understand Jean's kids anger and frustration about what happened to their mother and not knowing really what happened. But I think they are blaming the wrong guy. Awsi, the LVMP keep a pretty guy on Laughlin dont they? I believe Laughlin contracts with them for police services and do not have their own police department. I think that the LVMP even has their own jail in Laughlin. I sent you a PM also by the way, hope I didnt sound obnoxious about it, just wasnt sure if you saw it or if you have been busy.

I believe Laughlin contracts with them for police services and do not have their own police department. I think that the LVMP even has their own jail in Laughlin. I sent you a PM also by the way, hope I didnt sound obnoxious about it, just wasnt sure if you saw it or if you have been busy.

Laughlin is known for being primitive in terms of police and security. I believe Las Vegas is still in charge of their entire police presence.

It can really be laughable sometimes in Laughlin. When the bonus machines first came out there weren't people priotizing them in Laughlin, no Chinese hanging on the machines waiting for the tousist to leave. I would drive down to Laughlin late at night to avoid the heat, and come back at maybe 6 AM. I was winning quite a bit simply via going from casino to casino and playing the bonus machines that had been abandoned by tourists in advantage position. A cashier at Edgewater was annoyed and apparently suspicious. I would ask for a roll or quarters then come back and cash out a nice profit at her booth. She kept saying, and not with a friendly voice or facial expression, "oh, so you won big again, huh?" Finally she had a slot mechanic follow me around. He was literally sitting behind me while I played the bonus machines, watching every move. I was chuckling to myself. Finally after maybe a half hour he gave up and realized I wasn't doing anything other than selective play. But that can give you an idea of the lack of sophistication in Laughlin.

BTW, my cousin worked in surveillance at Foxwoods in Connecticut, and I know many undercover security here in Las Vegas. So when I say the cameras are overrated it's not merely my opinion. People who work in the casinos will admit it to you. They wouldn't have so many undercover security if the cameras did the job.

I guess it's possible that Jean Moore and Al Henderson spent some time in Bullhead City. Or went on trips from Laughlin, like to the Grand Canyon. In that case maybe they weren't in the casinos as much as typical. But I don't believe the UM segment mentioned that, and it probably would have.

kadrmas, I will get to your latest PM soon. I fall behind on them and yours are long so they require time to respond. This time of year I'm swamped with college basketball heading toward the postseason, and I start betting golf matchups heavily once March begins so I'm doing all the touch ups on that.

At this point, I am leaning towards Al being involved with Jean's disappearance, but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on it. I would say I'm about 60-40 on this case.

There are some things that make me believe Al might be innocent. His net worth at the time was about 2.5 million, so I would highly doubt he would need any insurance money, plus they hadn't married yet. Also, given Al's advanced age, it is questionable that he would have been able to win a struggle with Jean if one did take place. I am curious as to why Jean's kids didn't really elaborate more on why they didn't like Al, they just said they didn't like him. Given Al's wealth and Jean being a successful businesswoman herself, it was perhaps obvious that she was wealthy and that could have made her a target in the casino.

However, there just seems to be too much from Al's version of events that just doesn't add up. Other posters had some very good points about the security camera system. Perhaps Al was mistaken about the timeframe or location of the machine. However, it does seem a bit odd to me that no camera shows Jean turning up at any point in any tape. I would figure there would be something. Plus, Al's version of events changed several times, as he initially reported dropping her off in the front entrance and giving her the valet ticket inside, then reporting he dropped her off in a side entrance and giving her the ticket oustide. Also, Jean's leaving behind her engagement ring is a bit suspect.

An intersting case indeed.

Here is a possibility: Awhile back, I speculated that Jules Caylor and Jim Harrison (who I believe are responsible for the murders of Dottie Caylor and Susan Harrison repsectively) drove their wives' cars to the airport in an attempt to make it seem like they both left them.

I think something similar could have happened here. Al could have figured that somebody getting kidnapped from a casino isn't the most far fetched thing in the world, particularly if they hit a jackpot (not trying to scare you Awsi), so he takes Jean and makes the trek to Laughlin. Interesting to note that there is only one confirmed sighting of Jean during entire trip and it's not in the casino, and you've got to figure that place was packed. The one sighting was in a restaurant. That could have been a clever ruse by Al, as he might have made a couple of odd requests or otherwise drawn attention to himself to make sure that someone would recognize them so he could at least confirm they were in Laughlin.

Here's my thought. I don't think he killed her or directly had anything to do with her disappearance, emphasis on "directly". My thought is, maybe before going to the casino, they had an argument and maybe in that argument, Jean got so mad at Al that she took off her ring and walked out. Maybe she left the hotel to clear her head and cool off and something happened to her at that point, either kidnapping, stroke whatever the scenario. I think that maybe Al went to find Jean and panicked when he realized she was missing and concocted the whole casino thing to mask the real scenario.

Pluto, that is actually a possiblity. Interesting analysis if I may say so myself. That wouldnt be out of the question that Al and Jean had an argument and she walked off and then she went missing and Al panicked and feared no one would believe she just disappeared so he made up the whole casino story. It kind of sounds like Rob Page who out of the men whose wives disappeared has the most likely chance of being innocent. Page panicked and feared no one would believe his wife disappeared so he made up a story to make it seem like she did when he really didnt know what happened to her.

If Al Henderson hadn't appeared on the segment I might have reached some of the same conclusions, and that he was probably guilty. As is, I think he was more a baffled older man than anyone who concocted or pulled off a clever ruse.

First of all, the one sighting is hardly ideal. You would think if he had it planned ahead of time he wouldn't rely on a single sighting by a waitress in a coffee shop. That's flimsy as heck. He could have planted himself at a blackjack table or craps table or sportsbook, etc. alongside Jean and made sure they were spotted. Take a riverboat ride. Go bowling. Anything normal but designed to draw attention. Apply for slot cards together. Have your pictures taken by the casino photographer.

There's apparently nothing like that. Again, similar to what I mentioned in the Angela Hammond thread a little while ago, this seems real world, day to day normalcy then gone.

I haven't watched this segment in a long time but one strange aspect I remember is Al said it was Jean's favorite slot machine. That implies she played it often. There should be many tapes of her playing that machine.

This incident came at a period when Nevada casinos were particularly security conscious, especially the smaller gambling towns. In the late '80s there was a high profile murder of a young boy in Stateline, Nevada (later renamed Primm), about 40 miles from Las Vegas on the California/Nevada border. The body was found under a trailer in the area about a month later. The authorities eventually zeroed in on a somewhat eccentric tourist from the San Diego area, Howard Haupt, who had stayed at the hotel during the murder. There were many indications of police leading witnesses to identify Haupt. He was eventually charged with the crime. The trial was held in Las Vegas and he was acquitted. That was in '89. Haupt filed suit and won a huge civil judgment against Las Vegas police but in a controversial move a judge later threw out the award, deeming it excessive.

After losing such a high profile case just a couple of years earlier and being counter sued, authorities may have been very hesitant to charge Al Henderson, or anyone else, especially without a body or any hard evidence.