Your Personal Unsolved Mystery

[RooneyEatsIt]

What is your own mystery? Have you ever been on the receiving end of a crime? If so, what? Did you ever find the perp?

[badcompany]

I've posted this twice already I believe, but I'll post again because I'll take all the exposure I can for it (even on an online discussion board haha).

My great great grandfather John Hohman(n), owned and operated mines in the early 1900s stretching from Idaho to Mexico. He also made several trips back east and at one point he and his wife lived in Baltimore, Maryland. My great grandmother was born in 1908 in Baltimore and, because her mother and sister had moved to Pittsburgh to work and her father was out west she was placed in the care of a neighbor and family friend, and eventually she was placed in an orphanage.

After being placed in the care of the neighbor, my great grandmother never saw her father, mother, or sister ever again. After she got married and left the orphanage she hired a private detective who was unable to find them, but was able to verify that my great grandfather was indeed alive as late as the 1930s.

The upshot of all of this is that we have no idea what happened to my great great grandfather, my great great grandmother (Rebecca) and their other daughter (Gladys). Obviously they are all passed away by now, but we have no idea when or where they died or even their family history. Because of the timing and location of the footlocker case I have toyed with the idea that maybe my great great grandfather was the skeleton that was found in the footlocker. Also, in light of the lady that was found in South America dead in her house decades after she died I though maybe something similar happened to him.

What disturbs us greatly is that the family seems to have left my great grandmother to languish in an orphanage (and in those days orphanages were really bad) and we have no idea why. At one point my great grandmother literally begged my mother to find her sister and the fact that we haven't is very disappointing to us.

[Soonergirl80]

This might seem like an absolutely insane question, but have you ever tried the Mormon church? I used to work with a lady that had done extensive research on her family. At that time, she was collecting Italian records on their movements around Italy prior to them coming to America.

Anyway, I guess it's a requirement in the Mormon church to know your family history and several of their churches have genealogical libraries. The staff there are extremely helpful and knowledgeable on how to research your family, at least in my case. It was free and the only fee they had were for copies. They can show you how to get records about your family or tell you places to look for more info.

Also, my main fear about going to their library was if they would try to convert me or not. I enjoy my own faith and respect theirs, but I'm happy where I am. They were really great and only helped me with tracing my family.

Hope this helps!

[TheCars1986]

I had a great uncle (brother to my grandmother) who was an amateur boxer back in the day, and he moved away to Florida with a woman sometime in the 80's. The woman called one of my grandmother's siblings (she had eight) to let them know that he had died, and his body was cremated. That was really the only "proof" that he was actually dead, was this phone call. He never was known to be sick at all, and his ashes were allegedly dumped in the Chesapeake Bay. But no one related to him ever witnessed his cremation, or his ashes being spread in the Bay, and other than the one phone call, there was never any other indication that he was dead. It was always speculated through our family that he never really died, and just wanted to start a new life with this woman in Florida. He's probably dead by now, but it's always been a kind of "mystery" in our family.

[badcompany]

Originally Posted by Soonergirl80

This might seem like an absolutely insane question, but have you ever tried the Mormon church? I used to work with a lady that had done extensive research on her family. At that time, she was collecting Italian records on their movements around Italy prior to them coming to America.

Anyway, I guess it's a requirement in the Mormon church to know your family history and several of their churches have genealogical libraries. The staff there are extremely helpful and knowledgeable on how to research your family, at least in my case. It was free and the only fee they had were for copies. They can show you how to get records about your family or tell you places to look for more info.

Also, my main fear about going to their library was if they would try to convert me or not. I enjoy my own faith and respect theirs, but I'm happy where I am. They were really great and only helped me with tracing my family.

Hope this helps!

Yup. My mom tried this in the 1980s and again in the early 2000s. They were and still are very nice people and very helpful. Unfortunately nothing turned up.

Back in the early 1980s my mom got the only lead she was ever able to get. An elderly lady (then in her late 80s) had been married to a man who was on the board of the mining company my great great grandfather had owned. She told my mother that she had photos, and papers of all sorts pertaining to the company and that my mother could have them. Unfortunately, the lady lived in Pittsburgh and my mom, who didn't drive, lived in Baltimore. Not a single one of my mother's relatives would drive her, and my mom soon lost contact with the lady because her (the elderly lady) phone got disconnected because she had money problems, and now obviously she has passed away.

In a final cryptic note, my great great grandmother and great great grandfather both corresponded with the neighbor who took care of my great grandmother until she placed in the orphanage. My great grandmother was given these letters when she became an adult. However the first page of one of the letters as well as a pamphlet that was enclosed with the letter were missing, the neighbor told my great grandmother that she had burned them long ago. And even on her deathbed the neighbor would not reveal to my great grandmother what was on that page and in that pamphlet.

[mdl1981]

10 years ago, my friend's older brother went missing and has never been seen since. No trace of him has ever been found, and the cops never even had a good lead in any direction. One of those "dissapeared out of thin air" types things. I know where his car was left wasnt the nicest area to be walking around in at night, although I have a feeling the car was left there by someone else...again no evidence of this though. My best guess is that he owed someone money, was killed for it and the body was dumped somewhere.

Here's more info

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...i_anthony.html

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by mdl1981

10 years ago, my friend's older brother went missing and has never been seen since. No trace of him has ever been found, and the cops never even had a good lead in any direction. One of those "dissapeared out of thin air" types things. I know where his car was left wasnt the nicest area to be walking around in at night, although I have a feeling the car was left there by someone else...again no evidence of this though. My best guess is that he owed someone money, was killed for it and the body was dumped somewhere.

Here's more info

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...i_anthony.html

Not to put this in a disparaging manner, but isn't it more likely that if this was an actual crime and not someone looking to start a new life, that the reasons be more related to a drug deal gone wrong or a sexual encounter that went bad? I say this because the charley project site says that he was a server.

Now obviously being a server doesn't mean that he was either a drug user or gay. But there are significant number of gay male servers and it's an open secret that the fact that most restaurants and bars don't screen for drugs is why a number of people seek employment in that career field.

Those two scenarios seem more probable than him being done in by somebody that he possibly owed money. Why do I say that? Because people are far more likely to assault you for owed money than kill you. You can't pay if you are dead.

[mdl1981]

I dont wanna get into details about his personal life (at least the things that I know, which I'm sure is only a small percentage) but my theory of him maybe owing money to someone can be tied into drugs or a specific drug deal "gone wrong" type thing.

I can say based on the knowledge I have about him, the sexual encounter theory is highly unlikely....but the drug deal theory is very likely especially when you take into consideration the area of town his car was left is quite shady and is a known area of crime and drugs. Its def not an area I'd be parking my car at night and wandering around. Heck, if I had to drive down that street at night I'd make sure my doors were locked.

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by mdl1981

I dont wanna get into details about his personal life (at least the things that I know, which I'm sure is only a small percentage) but my theory of him maybe owing money to someone can be tied into drugs or a specific drug deal "gone wrong" type thing.

I can say based on the knowledge I have about him, the sexual encounter theory is highly unlikely....but the drug deal theory is very likely especially when you take into consideration the area of town his car was left is quite shady and is a known area of crime and drugs. Its def not an area I'd be parking my car at night and wandering around. Heck, if I had to drive down that street at night I'd make sure my doors were locked.

Ok. While it's certainly possible that this could have been a deal gone "wrong" or money that was owed, why wasn't a body found? Or why wasn't his body found in the car? Or why was any evidence (e.g. the car) found?

There aren't many reasons for drug dealers to kill someone and then not leave the body where they committed that act or simply hide both body and any evidence (in this case a vehicle) where it neither would be easily found.
Finding a car, w/o a body or evidence of violence, is usually a sign of personal abandonment or the vehicle's owner being lured or forced away from their vehicle. That's usually not the MO for drug crimes.

Unfortunately, short of a confession or a body being located w/ ample amounts of evidence or in a place it shouldn't be, this case will probably remain unsolved.

[mdl1981]

Originally Posted by cocytus

Ok. While it's certainly possible that this could have been a deal gone "wrong" or money that was owed, why wasn't a body found? Or why wasn't his body found in the car? Or why was any evidence (e.g. the car) found?

There aren't many reasons for drug dealers to kill someone and then not leave the body where they committed that act or simply hide both body and any evidence (in this case a vehicle) where it neither would be easily found.
Finding a car, w/o a body or evidence of violence, is usually a sign of personal abandonment or the vehicle's owner being lured or forced away from their vehicle. That's usually not the MO for drug crimes.

Unfortunately, short of a confession or a body being located w/ ample amounts of evidence or in a place it shouldn't be, this case will probably remain unsolved.

You bring up valid points. The whole case is weird to me since the cops literally found nothing. It was if he was there one minute, then gone the next. Knowing him and how close he was to his family, I have a hard time believing he ran off to start a new life. But I certainly have seen enough of these cases to say anything scenario is possible. I just lean more towards the drug deal gone bad theory....but your points about no body and no evidence are very good.

Totally agreed with your last statement.....this case likely remains unsolved.

[MissFit29]

My grandpa was adopted and didn't have contact with his birth family for many years. He was the baby of a family that didn't have the resources to support another child. As an adult, he was "found" by his birth family, and discovered he lived about 5 miles from one of his brothers, in a city about 10 hours away from the town they were from.

My husband's nephew was murdered in the fall of 2009. As far as I can tell, there's not been much action on the case. He had sold drugs and served time in jail, so he had been in the company of criminals before this happened. Another case where the perpetrators are probably known, but no one will speak up.

[PracTz]

Back in the 1940's, my mother shared a dorm suite with three other co-eds- two became great lifelong friends to my mother but the 3rd I'll call 'Sally' was rather aloof to the rest of them. Despite her aloofness, the others did their best to keep touch with her over the years after they graduated. 'Sally' appears to have never married or had children but appearantly was self-supporting. Anyway, about 30 years after they graduated, someone called one of the former dormies and claimed that 'Sally' had committed suicide not too long beforehand and identified herself as (I'll use a pseudonym)' W. Sanrich'- yet the dormie said that this person sounded exactly the same as 'Sally'. None of the dormies was ever able to find anything out about this 'W. Sanrich' including what 'W.' stood for as a first name nor what if any connection to 'Sally' this 'W. Sanrich ' may have had- if these two weren't one and the same - and to this day no one has ever been able to confirm 'Sally's' actual fate. It is believed by the surviving alums that 'Sally' is now dead but the actual time and circumstances of her probable demise remain a mystery.

[Cori aka ChrisSCrush]

Here is one, but since I haven't spoken to the person concerned in over 21 years nor am likely to I can't tell you if anything came of it.

I was friends with this person whose great-grandfather disappeared. He was never heard from after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and was presumed killed though his body was never recovered or identified. They always suspected he may have started another family. When the book A Day in the Life of America came out, there was a picture of a young lady either trying on her wedding dress or getting dressed for her wedding who had my friend's last name and looked EXACTLY like her. She exclaimed over the picture several times but I don't know if anyone in the family pursued it or if anything came of it if so.

[badcompany]

Originally Posted by Cori aka ChrisSCrush

Here is one, but since I haven't spoken to the person concerned in over 21 years nor am likely to I can't tell you if anything came of it.

I was friends with this person whose great-grandfather disappeared. He was never heard from after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and was presumed killed though his body was never recovered or identified. They always suspected he may have started another family. When the book A Day in the Life of America came out, there was a picture of a young lady either trying on her wedding dress or getting dressed for her wedding who had my friend's last name and looked EXACTLY like her. She exclaimed over the picture several times but I don't know if anyone in the family pursued it or if anything came of it if so.

How old was he when he was presumed to have disappeared? I know it's a long shot but maybe he's the guy my family has been looking for (see my above posts). And what was your friend's last name? We don't think my great great grandfather was ever in California but we really don't know for sure.

[Charlie99909]

After recently speaking to my grandparents, I found out that when my great grandfather died a footlocker was found. Inside it had all sorts of pictures of a woman from France he met and romanced in ww1. My great grandmother was about 13 years younger than my great grandfather. From what was in there it led my family to believe he had a child with this woman during the war.
Before any research could be done my grand uncle threw it all in a burn pile never wishing to know any of it. Bastard.

Since learning of this I am at a loss for words.