The Strange Disappearance of Mary Little

Mary Little was a newlywed who vanished from a shopping center parking lot in Atlanta, Georgia on October 14, 1965. Her husband of six weeks had been out of town and was expected back home the next day. Mary had went to the grocery store to purchase items for a ‘welcome back’ dinner she was planning for him.

The next day, her car was found abandoned in the same grocery store parking lot. The groceries were still in the car, but the only sign of Mary were smears of her blood and underwear that had been folded neatly and left between the front seats.

The investigation into her case led to many bizarre clues, both leading up to and following her disappearance. There were unwanted calls and gifts that she received in the weeks before she went missing. In the weeks after, there were two credible sightings of her in North Carolina. Witnesses reported that she was bloodied and accompanied by men.

This may at first seem like a clear case of abduction, but there are some investigators who have reason to believe it may have been a staged disappearance. So, which was it?

Well, the case remains an unsolved mystery. As you read about the circumstances surrounding Mary’s disappearance, you can draw your own conclusions as to what you believe may have happened to her.

Lillian Richey Mysteriously Disappeared. What Happened To Her?

Lillian Richey seemingly vanished into thin air in the early morning hours of February 9, 1964. There were very few clues left behind and the man who she was last known to be with was cleared as a suspect by police after extensive questioning. Though the case has been cold for many of the years that have since passed, there have been searches for Lillian as recently as 2018.

Lillian Richey

Lillian Richey was a 51-year-old widow who had been living alone since the death of her husband, James Lavelle Richey. Mr. Richey died two years before on April 26, 1962 while traveling to California. The couple had two grown sons, William Eugene (Gene) Richey and Dr. James Richey.

The mystery begins on the night of February 8, 1964 when Lillian went out for dinner and drinks at the Ranch Club in Garden City, Idaho with an old friend who was in town from California. This man has never been publicly identified, but it seems that he was visiting for a cattle convention that was taking place in Boise.

The pair agreed that the man would use Lillian’s car to drive her to her home on the 300 block of Sherman Avenue in Nampa, Idaho. The man would then drive her car back to his hotel in Boise with the expectation that he would return the car the next morning with a friend who would drive him back. Lillian offered to take the two men out to breakfast the next morning when they came to drop off the car.

The Strange disappearance of Joan Risch Remains a Mystery

“Mommy is gone and the kitchen is covered in red paint,” four-year-old Lillian Risch tells her neighbor. This starts the search for 31 year old, Joan Risch of Lincoln, Massachusetts on October 14,1961. Despite many bizarre sightings around the time she went missing, we’re none the wiser to what happened to Mrs. Risch 57 years ago.

Joan Risch

Who was Joan Risch?

Life started out tragically for Joan Risch, born Joan Carolyn Bard, in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of nine, her family moved to New Jersey, and shortly after tragedy struck. One day while Joan was in school, her family’s home caught on fire and sadly her parents didn’t survive. She was sent to live with an aunt and uncle whom she barely knew. She found it difficult to adjust, but still managed to do well in school and go on to get an English literature degree from Wilson College in Pennsylvania. After graduating, Joan worked in publishing, first as a secretary, then worked her way up to editorial assistant. In 1956 Joan married Martin Risch and eventually left her job to stay home with their two children, David and Lillian. In April 1961, the Risch family moved to Lincoln, Massachusetts. Later that same year Joan would disappear.

Missing Boy Found…Or Was He?

The boy who grew up as Bobby Dunbar.

Bobby Dunbar was a four year old boy from Louisiana who disappeared on a fishing trip while with his family in 1912.  After months of searching, detectives believed they had found the boy and returned him to his parents.  Years later with the development of DNA technology, the descendants of Bobby Dunbar were in for quite the shock.

The Disappearance of Jean Elizabeth Spangler

Jean Elizabeth Spangler was born in Seattle, Washington on September 2, 1923 and was an American dancer, model, and bit-part actress in Hollywood films and early television.  She mysteriously disappeared on October 7, 1949 at the age of 26.

Spangler was a divorcee and had a daughter, Christine Louise Benner, with her ex-husband Dexter Benner.  Christine was born April 22, 1944 and was five years old at the time of her mother’s disappearance.  When the divorce was finalized, Dexter was given custody of Christine partly because of Jean’s infidelity during the marriage and also because he claimed she put her partying lifestyle ahead of the needs of her daughter.  Dexter denied Jean the right to see her daughter many times.  It’s also been said that Dexter threatened Jean, saying he could make it to where she would never see her daughter again.  Jean took him to court and  after a long custody battle, Jean won custody of Christine in 1948.  The judge had ruled that Jean’s questionable behavior was in the past and that the little girl’s place was with her mother.

On October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles where she lived with her mother and daughter at about 5 pm.  Spangler’s mother was out of town at the time visiting family.  Spangler left her daughter in the care of her sister-in-law, Sophie, and told her that she was going to meet with Dexter to talk about a late child support payment and then she was going to do work on a movie set.

A clerk at a store near Jean’s home is the last person believed to have seen her.  The clerk said that it appeared Jean was waiting for someone.  There has been no confirmed sightings of her since.