Most of us grew up seeing the faces of missing children peering at us from milk cartons. We saw many of those same children on Unsolved Mysteries, and eventually, the stories of the missing would play a prominent role on television networks like Investigation Discovery. But, years before milk cartons and TV shows, one little girl disappeared, and hers is one of the oldest missing children cases in the United States.
Sundays in Pennsylvania in the 1930s often meant going to church with the family followed by a family meal or spending time together. It was a day of relaxation. On May 8, 1938, it was also Mother’s Day.
Wikimedia Commons/Narratively
At just four years old, Marjorie West joined her family at a church in Bradford. Then, the whole family drove the 40 minutes to a picturesque park at White Gravel in McKean County.
Flickr/Michael
There, the family would celebrate Mother’s Day with a picnic. Marjorie’s dad decided to do a little fishing while Marjorie and her older sister, Dorothea, picked wildflowers near a boulder.
Flickr/bd168
Both had been warned not to go on the other side of the boulder just in case a rattlesnake slithered into the area. While Marjorie continued picking flowers, her 11-year-old sister went to talk to their mom, just feet away.
Flickr/Paulo Valdivieso
Dorothea returned to the boulder to find Marjorie gone, sparking off what would become one of the earliest missing children cases in the United States. Although two cars had driven by when the Wests were in the park, both drivers were found and cleared of any wrongdoing.
Flickr/Ann Worner
Searchers descended upon the area, searching for any sign of Marjorie – a piece of clothing, a lock of hair, anything. They came up empty-handed.
Flickr/Valdivieso
Rumors flew of a stranger checking into a hotel in Thomas, West Virginia, with a crying little girl, who a cab driver identified as Marjorie.
Flickr/Gerry Lauzon Later, that rumor was debunked when a law enforcement officer in West Virginia announced that the man was simply traveling with his adopted daughter, a six-year-old named Lois.
To this day, no one knows what happened to the red-headed girl who went missing on Mother’s Day. Still, theories abound. Some think she may have fallen into an oil well that had been abandoned.
Facebook/McKean County PA Cold Cases
Others pointed the finger at family members, claiming they had taken her to Canada. Still others think she may have been kidnapped and illegally placed for adoption.
Facebook/McKean County PA Cold Cases
Have you heard of the disappearance of Marjorie West, one of the oldest missing children cases in the United States? What do you think happened to her? Join the conversation in the comments! Have you heard about the Boy in the Box, one of the most perplexing cases in Pennsylvania’s history?
Wikimedia Commons/Narratively
Flickr/Michael
Flickr/bd168
Flickr/Paulo Valdivieso
Flickr/Ann Worner
Flickr/Valdivieso
Flickr/Gerry Lauzon
Later, that rumor was debunked when a law enforcement officer in West Virginia announced that the man was simply traveling with his adopted daughter, a six-year-old named Lois.
Facebook/McKean County PA Cold Cases
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