Great Disappearances

[Harry D]

Has anyone heard about the 'Fort Worth Three?'

On December 23, 1974 three girls went to a Fort Worth, Texas mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Rachel Arnold Trlica, 17 and her friend Renee Wilson, 14 let their 9 year-old neighbor Julie Ann Moseley tag along as they ran holiday errands. The girls stopped at a local Army Navy store to retrieve some layaway items and then headed to a Sears store in the nearby Seminary South Shopping Center. 39 years later, they still have not returned and no trace of them has ever been found.

Witnesses saw the girls at the mall that day, and at 6 PM Rachel’s Oldsmobile was found in the mall parking lot. The gifts were inside the car, but the girls had disappeared. There were witness reports of the girls being hustled into a truck, but those reports have never been confirmed.

The morning after the disappearance Rachel’s husband received a mysterious letter with no return address and a blurred postmark. The letter writer claimed to be Rachel and stated that the trio had left town for Houston. Rachel’s family do not believe she wrote the letter and the letter writer has not been identified.

[GUT]

Has anyone heard about the 'Fort Worth Three?'

On December 23, 1974 three girls went to a Fort Worth, Texas mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Rachel Arnold Trlica, 17 and her friend Renee Wilson, 14 let their 9 year-old neighbor Julie Ann Moseley tag along as they ran holiday errands. The girls stopped at a local Army Navy store to retrieve some layaway items and then headed to a Sears store in the nearby Seminary South Shopping Center. 39 years later, they still have not returned and no trace of them has ever been found.

Witnesses saw the girls at the mall that day, and at 6 PM Rachel’s Oldsmobile was found in the mall parking lot. The gifts were inside the car, but the girls had disappeared. There were witness reports of the girls being hustled into a truck, but those reports have never been confirmed.

The morning after the disappearance Rachel’s husband received a mysterious letter with no return address and a blurred postmark. The letter writer claimed to be Rachel and stated that the trio had left town for Houston. Rachel’s family do not believe she wrote the letter and the letter writer has not been identified.

Yes read about it at the time, though I suspect the answer is obvious.

[Harry D]

Yes read about it at the time, though I suspect the answer is obvious.

Pray tell?

[GUT]

Pray tell?

I think they were simply snatched and the letter was a sick prank.

[Harry D]

I think they were simply snatched and the letter was a sick prank.

Do you think they were snatched by one individual? It's hard to believe that one person could kidnap three young girls (two of whom were teenagers) in a busy mall. Some theories posit that the abductor might've been posing as, or was indeed, a security guard/law enforcement, someone who could abuse his position and use it to get the girls alone.

As for the letter being a prank, I doubt that. It was sent the day after they disappeared. I think it was written by whoever abducted the girls in order to throw the police off the scent. It certainly wasn't written by Rachel, that's for sure. The letter is too matter-of-fact, formally addressed to her husband by his full-name Thomas instead of 'Tommy' as she called him, and the story defies sense. If the girls had decided to go out-of-town for awhile, why would they ditch the car with presents still inside, and take the nine year-old tagalong, Julie, with them?

[GUT]

Do you think they were snatched by one individual? It's hard to believe that one person could kidnap three young girls (two of whom were teenagers) in a busy mall. Some theories posit that the abductor might've been posing as, or was indeed, a security guard/law enforcement, someone who could abuse his position and use it to get the girls alone.

I think that posing as some form of authority is highly possible. I do not think that however t was done that one person acted alone, I also suspect [but again only suspect] that a woman may have been involved.

As for the letter being a prank, I doubt that. It was sent the day after they disappeared. I think it was written by whoever abducted the girls in order to throw the police off the scent. It certainly wasn't written by Rachel, that's for sure. The letter is too matter-of-fact, formally addressed to her husband by his full-name Thomas instead of 'Tommy' as she called him, and the story defies sense. If the girls had decided to go out-of-town for awhile, why would they ditch the car with presents still inside, and take the nine year-old tagalong, Julie, with them?

I have also considered that the letter was written by Rachel at the direction of the abductor, and she used Thomas to indicate that she wasn't writing it under her own free will. But I seem to recall that at the time t was suggested that it was a prank [ may be recalling the wrong case though].

[Ginger]

Has anyone heard about the 'Fort Worth Three?'

That's completely new to me! I shall try to read up on it.

[sdreid]

I think there's a big thread on the Fort Worth Three over on Websleuths.

[Rosella]

Yes, an interesting disappearance. Inevitably murder always bobs its head up with such things. If you're travelling in rugged country though, several things could have happened, and obviously one did.

[Harry D]

That's completely new to me! I shall try to read up on it.

Another one that might interest you is the missing Sodder kids:

On Christmas Eve, 1945, the Sodder family home burned down. The cause was traced to defective wiring despite the fact that Christmas tree lights were still on after the fire started. The oldest two sons and daughter and the youngest daughter survived, but the five middle children were missing and no trace of their remains were found. Believing that the fire was a cover for the abduction of their children, George and Jennie Sodder spent a fortune on detectives to investigate.

Several pieces of evidence and eyewitnesses backed up George's kidnapping belief. In 1968, a photo was mailed to the surviving family; on the back was the message: “Louis Sodder, I love brother, Frankie. Ilil boys A90132 (or 90135)” Detective C.C. Tinsley was hired to investigate the photo and where it came from, but he vanished and was never seen again.

[GUT]

G'day Harry

On Christmas Eve, 1945, the Sodder family home burned down. The cause was traced to defective wiring despite the fact that Christmas tree lights were still on after the fire started. The oldest two sons and daughter and the youngest daughter survived, but the five middle children were missing and no trace of their remains were found. Believing that the fire was a cover for the abduction of their children, George and Jennie Sodder spent a fortune on detectives to investigate.

Several pieces of evidence and eyewitnesses backed up George's kidnapping belief. In 1968, a photo was mailed to the surviving family; on the back was the message: “Louis Sodder, I love brother, Frankie. Ilil boys A90132 (or 90135)” Detective C.C. Tinsley was hired to investigate the photo and where it came from, but he vanished and was never seen again.

Now Sodder has intrigued me for a LONG LONG time, I just cannot see any reasonable explanation.

[sdreid]

A lot of people believe that all the kids were consumed in the fire to a point that all traces of them were obliterated. That seems preposterous to me. Even bones in a crematorium have to be manually pulverized.

[GUT]

A lot of people believe that all the kids were consumed in the fire to a point that all traces of them were obliterated. That seems preposterous to me. Even bones in a crematorium have to be manually pulverized.

Spot on Stan, I've done a few Coronial inquests following house fires and there is actually a lot left.

[Mayerling]

Another one that might interest you is the missing Sodder kids:

Did the police find out at what point the missing private detective was still traceable, and when he vanished from contact - it might suggest where his pursuit of the clues was leading.

[Ginger]

Another one that might interest you is the missing Sodder kids:

Oh, yes! I've long been intrigued by that one. Lots of truly weird circumstances surrounding that case. I have little doubt but that there was a conspiracy of some sort against the Sodders.