The Colleen Wood case - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

BlueMoon91 · 06-01-2012, 06:41 PM

I first saw this segment several years ago and the case has always stayed with me. As I recall, Ms. Wood met a man by the name of John Paul through a personals ad and had somewhat of a whirlwind romance. Wood apparently told family and friends that she and John Paul were planning to sail "around the world" on his boat named The Island Girl.

She was last heard from in early December of 2000, at which time she placed a call to her son advising him that the Island Girl was setting sail in "a few weeks" and that she would be in touch again soon. Several days later she spoke to a friend by phone and accepted an invitation to an upcoming Christmas party. Sadly, Ms. Wood has not been seen or heard from since.

Wood's son did some research on John Paul when he was unable to locate his mother and discovered that Paul had an alarming criminal record. He immediately reported his mother missing. LE began an investigation and discovered some suspicious activity with regards to Wood's credit cards. LE was also able to locate and interview John Paul but did not obtain any useful information.

I've thought of this case often over the years but have been unable to find much in the way of information. I'm curious to know if anyone has heard any updates with regards to this mysterious disappearance. Thank you in advance!

1990 UM fan · 06-02-2012, 12:06 AM

As far as I know, there hasn't been any updates. She has not been found and Paul has not been charged in anything involving her disappearance. I wonder if she was killed because she knew too much about his criminal past or witnessed something she shouldn't have. I also believe the personal ad was a set-up to kill her at random.

here_thar_be_yetis · 04-21-2014, 02:42 PM

I wish I could find more about this case online.

I'm a big auto racing buff, so I'm quite well acquainted with the criminal drug-smuggling activities of John Paul Sr., John Paul Jr, Randy Lanier, and the Whittington brothers in the 1980s.

But obviously John Paul Sr's post auto-racing career activities are a lot less well-publicized.

In the IMSA pits in the 1970s and 1980s, John Paul Sr. was universally disliked as an abusive, manipulative, hot-tempered, arrogant jackass. But, he and his (far nicer and very well-liked) son were JLP Racing, which was successful and had lots of money, so everyone else just had to deal with his presence. I don't think pre-meditated murder would have been his thing, but I can easily see him murdering a woman who either stumbled onto information about him that she shouldn't, or otherwise made him mad in some way. That said, his first wife did disappear never to be seen again in 1981...

Clockwork · 01-20-2024, 01:38 PM

I am surprised this case has never been solved. I am also surprised they couldn't find the goods on John Paul. I know there is no evidence that even a crime was committed or that Colleen is dead but this case had circumstantial evidence written all over it. I just wonder why more wasn't done on it. John Paul claimed they got into a fight and then she disappeared. That is very unlikely, especially considering the guy had the criminal past that he had, but how was more not done to solve this? She goes missing, $40,000 or so is withdrawn from her bank account through ATMs. Come on, there is no way she is alive right now, she had children, she'd have contacted them and not just up and disappeared. Who was the person who took the money out?

06-01-2012, 06:41 PM	#1
BlueMoon91 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 22, 2012 Posts: 18	The Colleen Wood case I first saw this segment several years ago and the case has always stayed with me. As I recall, Ms. Wood met a man by the name of John Paul through a personals ad and had somewhat of a whirlwind romance. Wood apparently told family and friends that she and John Paul were planning to sail "around the world" on his boat named The Island Girl. She was last heard from in early December of 2000, at which time she placed a call to her son advising him that the Island Girl was setting sail in "a few weeks" and that she would be in touch again soon. Several days later she spoke to a friend by phone and accepted an invitation to an upcoming Christmas party. Sadly, Ms. Wood has not been seen or heard from since. Wood's son did some research on John Paul when he was unable to locate his mother and discovered that Paul had an alarming criminal record. He immediately reported his mother missing. LE began an investigation and discovered some suspicious activity with regards to Wood's credit cards. LE was also able to locate and interview John Paul but did not obtain any useful information. I've thought of this case often over the years but have been unable to find much in the way of information. I'm curious to know if anyone has heard any updates with regards to this mysterious disappearance. Thank you in advance!

06-02-2012, 12:06 AM	#2
1990 UM fan Unsolved Mysteries fanatic Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2011 Location: United States Posts: 2,510	As far as I know, there hasn't been any updates. She has not been found and Paul has not been charged in anything involving her disappearance. I wonder if she was killed because she knew too much about his criminal past or witnessed something she shouldn't have. I also believe the personal ad was a set-up to kill her at random.
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04-21-2014, 02:42 PM	#3
here_thar_be_yetis Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 31, 2014 Posts: 42	I wish I could find more about this case online. I'm a big auto racing buff, so I'm quite well acquainted with the criminal drug-smuggling activities of John Paul Sr., John Paul Jr, Randy Lanier, and the Whittington brothers in the 1980s. But obviously John Paul Sr's post auto-racing career activities are a lot less well-publicized. In the IMSA pits in the 1970s and 1980s, John Paul Sr. was universally disliked as an abusive, manipulative, hot-tempered, arrogant jackass. But, he and his (far nicer and very well-liked) son were JLP Racing, which was successful and had lots of money, so everyone else just had to deal with his presence. I don't think pre-meditated murder would have been his thing, but I can easily see him murdering a woman who either stumbled onto information about him that she shouldn't, or otherwise made him mad in some way. That said, his first wife did disappear never to be seen again in 1981...
	Last edited by here_thar_be_yetis; 04-21-2014 at 03:16 PM.

01-20-2024, 01:38 PM	#4
Clockwork Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 30, 2022 Location: Canada Posts: 461	I am surprised this case has never been solved. I am also surprised they couldn't find the goods on John Paul. I know there is no evidence that even a crime was committed or that Colleen is dead but this case had circumstantial evidence written all over it. I just wonder why more wasn't done on it. John Paul claimed they got into a fight and then she disappeared. That is very unlikely, especially considering the guy had the criminal past that he had, but how was more not done to solve this? She goes missing, $40,000 or so is withdrawn from her bank account through ATMs. Come on, there is no way she is alive right now, she had children, she'd have contacted them and not just up and disappeared. Who was the person who took the money out?