HOME | JANE DOE/SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER | CONTACT
| JANE DOE ARTICLES |
 |
| April 11, 1954 Daily Camera, Man Held; Utah Girl Missing The disappearance of a Salt Lake City girl and the arrest in Oklahoma of a man driving a blood-stained Colorado car provided two strong new clues Saturday night for officers trying to solve the murder of a girl whose nude, battered body was found in Boulder Canyon last Thursday night. In Sallisaw, Okla., highway patrolmen arrested a man who identified himself as James W. Hutchins, 25, of Forest City, N. C. Officers said the man was driving a car with a Colorado license plate that was checked out to Bruce Weibel of Derby. BLOOD STAINS IN CAR Sheriff H. B. Shell of Sallisaw said Hutchins was carrying Weibel's identification papers and was armed with a .22-caliber pistol. He said a search of the car disclosed a blood-stained red hair ribbon and strands of blond hair. Blood stains were found on the upholstery. A check of the Derby motel where Weibel lived showed that he, his red-haired wife, Geraldine, 25, and their 20-month-old daughter left there nearly a year ago. Their whereabouts is unknown, but it appeared they had returned to Colorado recently, since their car bore 1954 Colorado tags. Oklahoma and Colorado authorities were probing the possibility of a second murder mystery. Boulder county officers asked Oklahoma police to grill Hutchins about the Boulder Canyon slaying, as well as his possession of Weibel's blood-stained car. They saw a possibility of foul play involving Weibel, his wife and their child. BLOOD TESTS ORDERED Shell said Weibel's 1950 Ford sedan had portions of the seat cushion cut out in an apparent attempt to conceal splashes of blood. He said a box of shells for the pistol was found in the car and three shells were missing from the box. Splotches of dried blood were apparent throughout the interior of the car, he said. A comparison of blood in the car with blood of the murdered victim was ordered by Oklahoma officials. In Boulder, Sheriff Art Everson was seeking a connection between the disappearance of Joeline Marquess, 17, of Salt Lake City, and the girl whose body was found eight miles west of there Thursday night. Descriptions of the two tallied at many points. A bloody white moccasin found a week before in another canyon near Boulder but now missing was seen as further link between the Marquess girl and the murder victim. When last seen March 22, Miss Marquess was wearing white moccasins. Everson said the moccasin and a pool of blood were reported found in Lefthand Canyon north of Boulder by a man who since has gone to Texas. The discovery was made a week ago Thursday in a spot about 15 miles from where the body was found. BOTH 5 FEET 3 INCHES Everson and Deputy Sheriff Wray Andrews searched the area Friday and Saturday without finding the moccasin. Everson said if further evidence shows the murder victim may be the Marquess girl, he will try to contact the man in Texas. The missing girls's father, Joe Marquess, said he last saw his daughter March 20 when she went to stay with friends and that she left the city two days later. She was wearing a blue dress and the white moccasins, and was carrying an old fiber suitcase with other clothes, including a pair of black pumps. She was described as 5 feet 3 inches, 114 pounds, light brown hair and blue eyes. The murder victim was 5 feet 3 inches, about 100 pounds, and had shoulder-length reddish-blond hair. The body found in the canyon had perfect teeth and had an appendectomy scar. Officers were trying to learn the condition of the Marquess girl's teeth and whether she had had her appendix removed. FEAR FOR MAN, WIFE, BABY Oklahoma police said the condition of Weibel's car brought up the grim theory that Weibel and perhaps his wife and child had been slain and their car... [rest of article illegible] |
|
| RETURN TO JANE DOE ARCHIVES 1 | Silvia Pettem |
