00:00:00
it was a night like any other that case File team member Jess she ate dinner with her family talked to the kids about
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watch them transform as they get stronger after hearing how much fun Jess was having with the game case File team
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member Bridget thought she'd better give it a try in one week she's already up to
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without the r best fiends foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing
00:01:37
incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center
00:01:43
for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on
00:01:48
our website [Music] it was around 6 30 pm on Saturday October 24 1953 when 15 year old Evelyn
00:02:02
Hartley left her home in the city of La Crosse Wisconsin mature and trustworthy Evelyn had been
00:02:10
tasked with babysitting the 20-month-old daughter of one of her father's colleagues
00:02:16
Evelyn had only been gone for half an hour when her mother Ethel was overcome by an urge to call Evelyn right away
00:02:24
she didn't know why but she felt a need to check in with her daughter Ethel expressed her concerns to her
00:02:32
husband Richard he didn't share her worry prior to leaving Evelyn said she would call her
00:02:39
parents to touch base at 8 30. Richard had no doubt that their daughter whom they called Evie would ring in just
00:02:48
over an hour's time as planned but 8 30 came and went without the promised phone call
00:02:57
Richard Hartley dialed the number for the Rasmussen family whom Evelyn was babysitting for
00:03:03
there was no answer he tried again and again but the phone continued to ring out
00:03:12
wondering whether revlan might have gone to one of the rasmussen's neighbors homes for some reason Richard started
00:03:18
calling some of them no one had seen his daughter by 9 15 Ethel Hartley was convinced
00:03:28
something was terribly wrong Richard drove straight to the rasmussen's home which was less than two
00:03:35
miles away on heshler Drive from their driveway Richard could see lights on inside the residence
00:03:43
he could also hear music playing faintly on a radio feeling slightly reassured Richard
00:03:50
knocked on the front door Evelyn didn't appear he banged louder and rang the doorbell
00:04:00
still nobody came grabbing the door handle to let himself in Richard found it was locked
00:04:08
he then peered through the front windows into the home's main living area it looked as though no one was home
00:04:16
[Music] Richard hurried around to the back of the house where there was a rear door
00:04:23
it too was locked he shouted while pounding on the door but his efforts were in vain
00:04:32
as Richard paced the perimeter of the house he suddenly tripped on something a mesh screen had been removed from the
00:04:40
basement window and was leaning against an exterior wall the window was open and Richard was able
00:04:47
to maneuver his body inside as he lowered himself into the dark basement his feet found a small
00:04:55
stepladder below [Music] he straightened up and turned on a light lying at the bottom of the stairs that
00:05:04
led into the house above was a small black shoe with tassels it belonged to Evelyn
00:05:12
[Music] [Music] The Straits of La Crosse were quiet that evening as the annual homecoming
00:05:42
football game was underway the town's team of La Crosse State Teachers College was taking on their
00:05:49
Arch Rivals River Falls La Crosse State hadn't lost a game all season into their beloved Captain was
00:05:57
being recognized in a special ceremony everyone who had been able to get a ticket was there
00:06:06
lacrosse State teachers college now known as the University of wisconsin-la Crosse was a big part of the small
00:06:13
Riverside City's identity although it only had 945 students the college played a significant role in the
00:06:22
community it employed a number of its residents including physics Professor Vigo
00:06:28
Rasmussen Vigo was looking forward to the homecoming game which he planned to attend with his wife and seven-year-old
00:06:36
daughter but his other daughter 20-month-old Janice was too young to join them about a week before the game Vigo
00:06:46
reached out to the family's regular babysitter to see if she could watch Janice on the night of Saturday October
00:06:52
24. she couldn't help her she was going to the game also vigo's regular babysitter was the
00:07:01
daughter of a colleague so Vigo again asked around at work to find a replacement
00:07:08
biology Professor Richard Hartley had a studious and kind fifteen-year-old daughter named Evelyn who came highly
00:07:15
recommended when Vigo asked if she would be able to watch Janice in a week's time Evelyn
00:07:22
agreed [Music] Evelyn soon began to have second thoughts she had a bad feeling about the
00:07:31
job plus she wasn't keen on staying in while everyone else was having fun at the homecoming game
00:07:38
Evelyn wondered aloud if she could back out of the agreement her mother Ethel reminded her that she'd
00:07:45
made a commitment to the rasmussens and should do the right thing by sticking to
00:07:50
it [Music] when Saturday night arrived Evelyn packed several textbooks so she could
00:07:57
study while Janice slept and waited for Vigo Rasmussen to collect her as planned
00:08:03
before leaving she promised to call her parents at 8 30 to check in as she always did when she babysat
00:08:12
Viggo Rasmussen picked Evelyn up at 6 30 p.m and drove her back to his family's house
00:08:19
Evelyn set up her textbooks in a living room and Madeleine Rasmussen viggo's wife gave her instructions
00:08:28
it was going to be a straightforward night Janice was to go to bed at seven o'clock
00:08:33
and then all Evelyn would have to do was check in on her at 7 15 and cover her with a blanket
00:08:40
at 6 45 PM the Rasmussen said goodbye to Evelyn and headed to watch the game two and a half hours later Richard
00:08:52
Hartley stood in the basement of the Rasmussen home he'd let himself in through an open
00:08:57
window to find out why his daughter wasn't answering the Home's phone or door having come across one of Evelyn's shoes
00:09:06
at the base of the stairs Richard raced up to the main part of the house foreign school books were scattered
00:09:14
across the living room her brand new eyeglasses were lying on the floor as was her other black shoe
00:09:23
smeared across the light-colored rug was a muddy shoe print there were also several drops of blood
00:09:32
Richard checked the rest of the house Janus was unharmed and fast asleep in her crib but Evelyn was nowhere to be
00:09:40
found thank you local police were preparing to go home after a quiet night when a call came
00:09:51
through at 9 49 about a missing teenage girl they weren't overly concerned believing
00:09:58
the girl had likely gone to see a boy and would be found within 10 minutes two officers arrived at the Rasmussen
00:10:06
residence where Richard Hartley was waiting to meet them the officers soon realized how serious
00:10:13
the situation was over a dozen more officers arrived along with detectives the district attorney
00:10:20
and to the La Crosse County Sheriff the rasmussens had moved into the house just a few months earlier
00:10:29
the ordinary ranch-style Suburban home had three bedrooms it was part of a new subdivision and
00:10:37
like many other residences in the neighborhood it was so new that its Windows had no blinds or curtains
00:10:44
it sat close to other houses on the street and there were enough people around that it didn't feel isolated or
00:10:51
remote even on a quiet night like this outside investigators noticed someone had used a screwdriver to try and pry
00:11:02
open three separate windows a flower bed below one window featured an imprint of a size 11 tennis shoe
00:11:10
matching the muddy shoe print on the living room rug after failing to Jimmy the other windows
00:11:17
open the Intruder finally succeeded with the basement window several red fibers on its surface
00:11:25
matched the genes Evelyn Hartley had been wearing that evening whoever had broken into the basement had
00:11:32
forced the 15 year old out via the same route while it was initially thought the
00:11:39
Intruder had placed to the stepladder under the basement window to secure their escape the rasmussens revealed
00:11:45
that they had propped the ladder there on a previous occasion the fact it said in such an opportune
00:11:53
location for the abductor was merely a coincidence traces of blood were found inside the
00:12:01
basement with more just outside about 10 feet from the window a large pool of blood on the ground
00:12:08
nearby was consistent with a severely injured person having laid down there to recover
00:12:15
a bloody handprint was smeared across the outside wall of the erasmussen house another was found on the exterior of a
00:12:23
neighbor's garage about 100 yards away pools of blood lined an external wall of a third house just around the corner
00:12:34
the blood was type A the same as Evelyn's Bloodhounds tracked the scent for two blocks but then stopped
00:12:44
it seemed Evelyn had been forced into a vehicle there and whisked away an alert was issued and descriptions of
00:12:53
Evelyn Hartley were sent out five foot seven 126 pounds straight brown hair and blue
00:13:01
eyes last seen wearing red jeans rolled up at the cuff bobby socks and a white blouse
00:13:10
Janice Rasmussen was in her crib but was not covered in a blanket this led investigators to assume that
00:13:18
Evelyn was confronted within the 15-minute window between Janice's bedtime at 7 and 7 15 when Evelyn was
00:13:26
supposed to cover Janice with a blanket Evelyn's attacker likely gave her a bloody nose which had caused the initial
00:13:34
blood spots on the living room rug once outside the basement the attacker had hit Evelyn with the window screen
00:13:42
causing a greater injury Evelyn had lost significant amounts of blood as her abductor forced her away
00:13:49
from the Rasmussen home she stopped periodically causing her blood to pull in certain areas
00:13:57
the bloody handprints were from Evelyn dragging her hand along the buildings they passed
00:14:05
when Richard Hartley saw the blood the next morning in the harsh light of day he feared his daughter hadn't survived
00:14:12
her ordeal there was simply too much it was a particularly tragic thought as Ethel and Richard Hartley had already
00:14:21
lost their eldest son to polio seven years earlier Ethel was too distraught to leave her
00:14:29
home until Monday when she was taken to the Rasmussen house and escorted through
00:14:33
the crime scene she remained calm as she looked at the living room and the basement
00:14:40
but when Ethel saw the blood outside she broke down and to lent on her husband for support
00:14:47
oh my Evelyn she cried we know she isn't alive now case File will be back shortly thank you
00:15:07
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00:17:00
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stay tuned until the end of today's episode to hear the trailer people in La Crosse had been so absorbed
00:17:40
by the football game the night prior that it wasn't until they gathered for Sunday church that news of Evelyn
00:17:46
Hartley's abduction spread hundreds of locals soon descended on the Rasmussen property to offer assistance
00:17:53
or Gore could investigators police had to cordon off two blocks around the house to prevent the scene
00:18:01
from becoming contaminated although Knight had already fallen by the time Evelyn was taken the moon was
00:18:09
bright and Street lamps were lit like the rasmussens many residents along heshler Drive had yet to install
00:18:17
curtains or blinds in their newly built homes thus they could see directly outside
00:18:24
[Music] across the strait a couple had sat listening to music in a room with a clear view of the erasmussen's house
00:18:33
another man had been painting his basement interior his was one of the homes that was
00:18:39
smeared with Evelyn's blood many other neighbors were home as well one had even been doing some late night
00:18:46
gardening despite this no one had seen Evelyn or her assailant coming or going [Music]
00:18:56
however Elven soderbach had been sitting on his front porch at around seven that
00:19:01
night when two or three sharp screams suddenly rang out Elven couldn't tell where the screams
00:19:08
had originated but they sounded to him like children playing the final cry cut off abruptly as though
00:19:16
interrupted by something or someone Elven thought a parent had intervened to discipline the unruly children
00:19:26
elvin's wife who was in the kitchen also heard the screams she thought they sounded less playful
00:19:33
than her husband did to her it sounded like whoever was screaming was sending a message of stop
00:19:41
get away from me that night Ed Hoffa had been driving through the area to pick up his
00:19:50
brother-in-law on route to the homecoming game at 7 15 PM Ed pulled into Sunrise Drive
00:19:57
which ran parallel to heshler drive his car's headlights illuminated several people walking along the footpath
00:20:07
it was two young men with the young woman sandwiched between them the girl was staggering as though she'd
00:20:15
had a few drinks Ed paid them little attention as he pulled over and headed inside his
00:20:22
brother-in-law's house five minutes later Ed was driving again with his brother-in-law riding his
00:20:29
passenger he headed north on Sunrise a dark green two-toned 1942 Buick suddenly careened past in the opposite
00:20:40
direction its driver was speeding but Ed still managed to catch a glimpse inside as the
00:20:47
car whizzed by he was certain the car's occupants were the three young people he'd passed on
00:20:54
the street minutes earlier one of the men was driving the other sat in the back seat next to the woman
00:21:02
she was slumped forward her head pressed against the back of the driver's seat it looked as though she might have been
00:21:10
unwell Ed had written off the incident at the time as young people having fun on Monday he was at work when he heard
00:21:21
that a 15 year old girl had been abducted from a house just around the corner Ed then reported his Recollections to
00:21:29
the police he hadn't been able to get a good look at the car's driver he thought the man behind the wheel
00:21:38
might have been a local college student but when police followed up with the student they found he had an airtight
00:21:45
alibi [Music] pictures of a car matching the Buick's description were given to petrol
00:21:52
stations in the area with employees told to keep an eye out for similar vehicles
00:21:58
police also set up an incentive for people to volunteer their vehicles for searching
00:22:04
members of the public were encouraged to drive to local petrol stations and allow
00:22:09
the station's employees to check the back seat and trunk of their cars once they had been given the all clear
00:22:17
they would be given a sticker that read my car is okay the sticker would be displayed in the
00:22:24
car's window along with the date of the search any drivers who refuse to comply with
00:22:31
the search had their details noted by the petrol station employees who passed them on to police
00:22:37
40 000 stickers were printed and the aim was to search every car in the county Ed Hoffer's sighting indicated that
00:22:49
Evelyn was taken by two men working together the questions still remained was it an
00:22:56
opportunistic or planned abduction nothing had been stolen from the Rasmussen house but maybe the man had
00:23:05
broken in only to be surprised by Evelyn as she had been covering for the family's regular babysitter some
00:23:13
speculated that perhaps the other girl was the original Target the media wondered whether Evelyn
00:23:20
Hartley was a squeaky clean as everyone believed what if she had a secret life and ran
00:23:26
away with a boy this notion was entirely dismissed by investigators and everyone who knew her
00:23:35
it was far more probable that a pair of Prowlers had taken advantage of The Quiet streets that night to look for
00:23:42
potential victims one woman reported that recently she had been ironing clothes in her basement
00:23:50
only to look up to see an unknown man staring through a window at her he laughed and said I'm going to get you
00:24:02
investigators tracked down a man who was known to spy through people's windows they also interviewed a man who had been
00:24:10
convicted of sexually abusing his 12 year old daughter six years earlier neither of these lines of inquiry LED
00:24:18
anywhere nor did interviews with 48 other men who were wanted for or associated with the
00:24:25
various sex crimes Richard Hartley and a Vigo Rasmussen were also looked into but more so out of
00:24:33
procedure than anything else both men cooperated with authorities and were ruled out of the investigation
00:24:43
the cross residents businesses and organizations pulled together a reward for information that was the equivalent
00:24:50
of almost 71 and a half thousand dollars today upwards of 2 000 people joined the
00:24:58
search for Avalon bodies of water were dragged Farmers scoured their fields and Hunters were on
00:25:05
the lookout while in the woods recently Doug Graves at cemeteries were checked in case Evelyn's attacker had
00:25:13
thought to use one as an easy way to dispose of her many of those searching for Evelyn were
00:25:20
her peers from her school they were joined by the local Boy Scouts and other community groups
00:25:28
amongst the crowd was Evelyn's 22 year old brother Thomas he had rushed home from college upon
00:25:36
learning of Evelyn's disappearance Thomas and a friend covered three miles of Lacrosse removing manholes and then
00:25:44
jumping down into the storm sewers to check for Evelyn when it grew dark Thomas became upset
00:25:53
he didn't want to stop looking for his little sister Wednesday October 28 marked four days
00:26:04
since Evelyn Hartley went missing Highway 14 two miles south of LA crosse's City Limits had been searched
00:26:12
the previous day to no result yet on Wednesday a bra and a pair of women's underwear were recovered from
00:26:21
the area the garments were a popular brand and appeared to be Evelyn's size given they hadn't been spotted
00:26:30
previously it was believed that they'd been dumped within the past 24 hours they appeared to have been thrown from a
00:26:38
moving vehicle that was fleeing South both garments were stained with type A blood
00:26:47
as roughly 40 percent of the population had this blood type police couldn't be certain it was Evelyn's
00:26:57
days later on Friday October 31 a third search of Highway 14 was undertaken close to where the bra and underwear had
00:27:07
been found a search party came across two size 11 Goodrich brand sneakers day two had seemingly been tossed one at
00:27:16
a time from a vehicle traveling south the pattern on the soles of the sneakers matched the muddy Prince found in the
00:27:24
Rasmussen home they had a distinctive circular wear pattern as well which suggested whoever
00:27:32
owned them worked with some kind of machinery the shoes also had type A blood on them
00:27:40
it was determined that they had been worn by two different people one whose fate was a size larger than the sneakers
00:27:51
this particular model of sneaker was called the hood mogul they'd been available throughout
00:27:57
Wisconsin Iowa Michigan Minnesota and Illinois but hadn't been sold in Wisconsin for about three years
00:28:07
an unusual marking on the back of the shoes was traced back to a wizard motorbike meaning whoever owned the
00:28:14
shoes also rode this make of motorcycle registration and sales records for Wizard motorbikes were checked but the
00:28:23
line of inquiry went nowhere two and a half weeks later rumors had reached detectives pertaining to a
00:28:34
blood-stained jacket it had been found about 300 feet from where the sneakers were discovered
00:28:41
Farmers had noticed the jacket lying on the Highway's shoulder as they drove past each day
00:28:47
one had picked it up and thrown it in the back of his truck then promptly forgot about it
00:28:53
the police identified the farmer and took possession of the jacket it was Denim and looked like the kind of
00:29:02
jacket worn by people who worked Outdoors it had been cut along the bottom then re-hemmed with a sewing machine using
00:29:10
white thread this had resulted in strange shallow pockets and like the shoes it had spots
00:29:18
of type A blood on it on the front back and the sleeves smears of blood in the Rasmussen home
00:29:26
looked to be the result of a denim type fabric being rubbed against surfaces it seemed unlikely that the person who
00:29:35
owned the shoes had also owned the jacket the size 11 shoes indicated a tallerona
00:29:42
whereas a size 36 jacket would belong to a smaller man once again clues in the case seemed to
00:29:51
point to two perpetrators the jacket had faded spots under the armpits possibly caused by a safety
00:30:01
harness commonly worn by people who worked as steeple jacks they climbed tall structures like
00:30:08
chimneys and Steeples to carry out repairs detectives learned that a local man had
00:30:16
manufactured safety harnesses for two steeple Jacks the previous year but all he remembered about them was that they
00:30:24
were young and possibly from the area police had the bloodied jacket and shoes toured through 31 different towns within
00:30:33
a 40-mile radius of La Crosse they were displayed at local Affairs and in public places in hopes someone would
00:30:42
recognize them as all their leads dried up investigators sought to polygraph test
00:30:50
every male student and School faculty member within the area this would amount to a total of around
00:30:58
1750 tests making it the largest mass polygraph examination in United States history
00:31:06
students cooperated without complaint they were asked questions such as are you withholding any information
00:31:14
regarding the Evelyn Hartley disappearance case psychologist Dr Carl Smith was critical
00:31:23
of the strategy he told the Associated Press this is a dangerous use of a device that
00:31:31
is not even recognized in the courts the tests even though allegedly on a voluntary basis are equivalent to a
00:31:39
beating there actually is nothing voluntary about submitting to the tests however
00:31:45
because if a pupil fails to submit he will be suspected by members of his Society
00:31:54
no one in the lacrosse Community voiced any concerns about the process but the school board ultimately put a stop to it
00:32:02
around 300 boys had already been questioned none of the information gathered proved fruitful
00:32:12
[Music] every night since Evelyn disappeared her family left all of the lights on in
00:32:20
their house believing it would help her find her way back to them they also fronted the media begging for
00:32:27
those who knew anything about Evelyn's whereabouts to come forward they soon received two phone calls from
00:32:35
a man who said he had information about Evelyn he would give it to them in exchange for
00:32:41
500 cash it was to be placed inside a paper bag then left in the bathroom of a lacrosse
00:32:49
drugstore the man said he would leave a letter in the bathroom that revealed Evelyn's
00:32:55
whereabouts the family was warned not to go to the police with the money in her possession Ethel
00:33:06
Hartley headed into the store [Music] she went up a flight of stairs to the balcony where the bathrooms were located
00:33:15
Ethel looked for the letter the man said would be there but there was nothing she then left
00:33:24
the entire time a 13 year old boy was following Ethel when she walked out of the drugstore the
00:33:31
boy returned to the Shop's main floor there he met up with the 20 year old man named Jack duffrin
00:33:41
unbeknownst to Dufferin and the boy plain clothes police officers were stationed throughout the store despite
00:33:48
being warned not to the hartleys had told investigators about the phone call from the start
00:33:55
both duffrin and the boy were arrested with duffering insisting he had nothing to do with it
00:34:02
there was nothing to tie him to Evelyn's abduction but he was convicted of extortion and sentenced to one to three
00:34:10
years after this the hartleys avoided publicity they decided to leave the case to the
00:34:18
police and deal with their grief and anguish in private but they were never left alone
00:34:27
in November 1953 Richard Hartley received a letter postmarks revealed it had been sent from
00:34:35
North Dakota specifically the Devil's Lake area it read just a note to let you know that Miss
00:34:44
Hartley is in my power don't try to trace this letter because I didn't leave any evidence
00:34:50
I'll let you know the ransom later you stupid people almost had me but I managed to escape
00:34:58
scribbled on the ladder was a drawing of a skull and crossbones then in 1958 Evelyn's mother received a
00:35:09
parcel that contained a girl's gym shirt there was no explanation and apparently
00:35:15
no link to Evelyn though a note from the sender stated that the shirt would be of
00:35:20
some interest to Ethel that same year a man with a wild stair showed up at the Hartley's home and
00:35:28
ranted about knowing where Evelyn was police handled the matter but the man returned four days later
00:35:37
after visiting the hartleys he headed to the home of the rasmussens they had since moved to a new house
00:35:45
unable to Bear living in the place where Evelyn was taken both families were terrified of the man
00:35:53
who appeared to be a religious fanatic prone to nonsensical rants he continued to be fixated by the case
00:36:01
sending long confusing letters to investigators and making anonymous calls asking for leads
00:36:08
as far as detectives could tell his only connection to Evelyn Hartley was an unhealthy obsession with her
00:36:15
disappearance he wasn't the only one the police received countless letters phone calls and tip-offs from people
00:36:28
certain they knew where Evelyn was or who had taken her some were clairvoyants others spoke of
00:36:36
having prophetic dreams that solved the case multiple individuals falsely confessed
00:36:43
to the crime including at least two men in mental health facilities on several occasions teenage girls and
00:36:51
young women claimed to be Evelyn Hartley although the hartleys insisted they were
00:36:58
happy with the police's work and believed they would solve the case other locals were disgruntled
00:37:05
some remarked if you want to get away with murder move to Lacrosse they were also angry that the FBI hadn't
00:37:15
become involved in the investigation as they typically did with kidnappings the lacrosse law enforcement had
00:37:22
apparently asked for the FBI's assistance from the outset but described the case as a sex crime not an abduction
00:37:30
consequently the FBI refused to get involved 84 year old Howard George knew he didn't
00:37:42
have much time left and wanted to spend his money in a meaningful way before he passed
00:37:48
solving La crosse's most enduring and painful mystery seemed like the obvious answer
00:37:55
so in 1958 Howard hired some private detectives to look into Evelyn Hartley's disappearance
00:38:03
they hit a roadblock when La Crosse Police wouldn't share their files with them as a result they wasted time resources
00:38:12
and money looking into suspects who had already been cleared when Howard George's actions became
00:38:19
publicly known his small and modest home was ransacked though nothing was stolen
00:38:27
after he passed away and their funds dried up the private investigators had to reluctantly cease their involvement
00:38:35
in a final report they noted the innumerable unanswered questions that remained and concluded
00:38:43
the Evelyn Hartley disappearance will always be a thorn in the city of La crosse's side until solved
00:39:02
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thank you for listening to this episode's ads by supporting our sponsors you support casefile to continue to
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deliver quality content thank you it was around 5pm on Saturday November 16 1957 when deputy sheriff Frank Warden
00:41:49
approached the entrance of a hardware store in the Wisconsin Town of Plainfield he tried the door only to discover it
00:41:57
was locked Frank was puzzled the hardware store was owned by his mother 58 year old Bernice and Frank had
00:42:06
arrived to help her out before closing time in one hour as it turned out no one had been inside
00:42:14
the hardware store since earlier that morning customers had approached but finding the
00:42:20
shop locked up they'd assumed it was closed at 9 30 am the store's truck was witnessed pulling out of the garage at
00:42:29
the rear of the property and driving away Frank broke into the store he didn't find his mother but the cash
00:42:39
register was open and there was a small pool of blood behind the counter there was also a receipt written in his
00:42:47
mother's handwriting for a gallon of antifreeze Frank recalled that the previous evening
00:42:53
a local handyman had been asking about anti-freeze and had promised to return to pick up a gallon the next day
00:43:01
a few hours later police found the man at a nearby grocery store and placed him under arrest
00:43:10
meanwhile other officers drove out to the man's property he lived alone in a large weatherboard
00:43:17
Farmhouse that had belonged to his parents the residents sat within a 155-acre farm much of which was cloaked
00:43:26
in snow and dotted with bare trees overall it had a grim and a gloomy atmosphere
00:43:35
a sheriff's deputy made his way towards a shed he walked inside and was immediately
00:43:42
confronted by the naked body of Bernice Warden hanging upside down from a crossbar
00:43:48
her wrists were bound with rope and she had been beheaded she had also been gutted like a deer with her internal
00:43:56
organs removed inside the nearby Farmhouse police found Bernice's organs wrapped inside a dress
00:44:06
her head was also there handyman would confess to entering the hardware store and marching straight to
00:44:15
the back where guns were displayed for sale he taken down a 22 caliber rifle which
00:44:21
Bernice Warden assumed he wanted to purchase as she stood waiting to ring it up for
00:44:27
him the handyman loaded it with one bullet he'd brought from home then fired a single shot into Bernice's head
00:44:35
then taken her body to his house where he mutilated it he had been busy a search of the man's Farmhouse
00:44:45
uncovered another 10 female skulls some of which had been put on top of bedposts
00:44:51
he'd upholstered chairs with human skin made masks from women's faces and a belt
00:44:57
out of nipples female genitals that had been removed were found stashed in a shoebox
00:45:06
the handyman was 51 year old Edward Gaine better known as Ed he would come to be known as one of the
00:45:14
most notorious killers in American history with his crimes providing the inspiration for novels and films such as
00:45:22
psycho and Silence of the Lambs Gene had a fixation with his mother who had been a devout Christian
00:45:31
she'd preached to her sons about the immorality of the world women were especially evil she said with the
00:45:38
exception of herself they were promiscuous and used to do the devil's bidding gaine's father died and then his brother
00:45:50
leaving just again and his mother after she suffered a debilitating stroke Gene devoted himself to her recovery
00:46:01
she died in 1945 at the age of 67 when gain was 39. devastated and all alone gain remained
00:46:11
living in the family home but boarded up the portions of the house his mother had
00:46:16
used his living quarters were reduced to the kitchen and a small room next door between 1947 and 1952 again visited
00:46:29
three nearby cemeteries at night to dig up the graves of recently buried women sometimes he took the bodies home with
00:46:37
him and mutilated them he particularly focused on the corpses of middle-aged women who resembled his
00:46:44
mother though body parts belonging to adolescent girls were also found in his house
00:46:51
his dream was to create a suit of human skin that looked like his mother so he could wear it and become her
00:47:00
as well as admitting to killing Bernice Warden Gaine said he'd murdered a Tavern
00:47:05
owner named Mary Hogan she had been missing since 1954 and her head was recovered from his house
00:47:17
the gruesome crimes of aired again led to him being dubbed at the butcher of Plainfield
00:47:23
he was ultimately diagnosed with schizophrenia and deemed Not Guilty by reason of insanity
00:47:30
Gaines spent the remainder of his life in a hospital for the criminally insane it was said that on the night Evelyn
00:47:39
Hartley disappeared in 1953 Ed Gein had been visiting relatives who lived in or near La Crosse
00:47:47
lacrosse was where gain was born before his family relocated more than 100 miles
00:47:52
east to Plainfield Hartley case investigators interviewed geen for more than an hour in relation
00:48:00
to the crime he told them that he hadn't been to Lacrosse since his family left when he
00:48:06
was eight Evelyn Hartley's dental records were compared to the remains found in Gaines
00:48:13
home none were a match the manner in which Evelyn was attacked was inconsistent with Ed Gaines modus
00:48:22
operandi he was only confirmed to have killed two middle-aged women whom he knew and who
00:48:29
reminded him of his mother in both instances he murdered them with a firearm the rest of the female body parts found
00:48:38
in his Farmhouse were the result of his grave rubbing in contrast Evelyn was unknown to gain
00:48:46
was in the wrong age group and the evidence from the crime scene was nothing like gains confirmed murders
00:48:54
investigators ruled had to gain out as a possible perpetrator in the Hartley case
00:48:59
[Music] as the 50th anniversary of Evelyn Hartley's disappearance approached in 2003 local newspaper the La Crosse
00:49:10
Tribune published a number of Articles reflecting on the case one focused on the efforts of a local
00:49:17
history buff who was determined to solve it a realtor in La Crosse by day Andrew
00:49:24
Thompson had a fascination with Unsolved Mysteries that occupied his spare time when his business partner Peggy Lovejoy
00:49:33
told him about their Town's very own ongoing mystery Andrew was intrigued hay and Peggy began looking into the
00:49:41
Hartley case with some help from local police they also hired a former lacrosse Tribune journalist named Susan Hassell
00:49:50
as they wished to publish a book about Avalon and needed a writer soon an article detailing their efforts
00:49:58
ran in the paper when a local man named Mel Williams read the article his mind began to tick
00:50:07
[Music] One Night in 1969 Mel visited a bar owned by his brother in the Wisconsin
00:50:15
town of LaFarge about 40 miles Southeast of La Crosse a group of patrons including Mel stayed
00:50:24
until after closing talking into drinking into the early hours one of them was Clyde tywee Peterson a
00:50:33
small man with a drinking problem and a reputation for stealing despite this Mel found Peterson likable
00:50:40
and amusing as the drinks flowed Peterson began telling a story about how he used to
00:50:48
smuggle whiskey into a ward that housed the alcoholics at a local psychiatric hospital
00:50:54
another man who was present named to whitey Barkley asked that's about the time you hauled that
00:51:02
Hartley girl down there that right Peterson avoided the question but Whitey persisted
00:51:10
you hold her from the cross down to another address and back to Lacrosse huh Peterson initially said no
00:51:20
Whitey was insistent you did haul her up there though he repeated Peterson finally replied
00:51:31
no witness no proof they haven't found her have they others listening in on the conversation
00:51:40
asked who the heartly girl was Whitey explained Evelyn Hartley's abduction and implicated two other men
00:51:47
in the crime as well one was named to jack a Gulf Air allegedly Jack had met Evelyn when they
00:51:57
attended the same parties he had known she was babysitting at the rasmussens that night
00:52:04
he Clyde Peterson and the other unnamed man abducted Evelyn then later killed her at a house elsewhere
00:52:12
[Music] Whitey claimed he had been the one to dig Evelyn's grave in a supposed location in LaFarge
00:52:21
the conversation lasted about seven minutes then Whitey noticed a device Mel Williams had brought with him to the bar
00:52:30
that night Mel was visiting from Nashville Tennessee where he'd relocated to in an
00:52:37
attempt to become a country music star bands were performing at the bar earlier that evening so Mel had set up a
00:52:46
reel-to-reel recorder to tape their sets he had left it on long after the music stopped capturing the conversation
00:52:54
between Clyde tyway Peterson and Whitey Barkley about Evelyn Hartley's murder upon noticing the recording device
00:53:03
Whitey told Mel to turn it off and the conversation was dropped Mel knew Jack of golf air and believed
00:53:13
he was capable of killing someone he would later describe him to author's Susan Hassell as violent and vicious but
00:53:21
thought little of the conversation at the time due to how drunk the men were maybe they were just trying to Big note
00:53:29
themselves he would later toss the tape recorded at the bar that night into a box along with
00:53:36
dozens of others he'd made over the years when the 50th anniversary of Evelyn Hartley's disappearance was making
00:53:47
headlines Mel retrieved to the tape he'd made at the bar 34 years prior which had
00:53:52
captured the confession now 76 years old Mel passed the recording to those collaborating on the
00:54:00
book about Evelyn's case they in turn handed it to the authorities investigators described the tape as
00:54:10
the best delayed we've ever had however Clyde tywee Peterson Jack of Gulf Air and the third man implicated in
00:54:19
the crime were all deceased [Music] golf air had taken his own life on Christmas Day 1967.
00:54:30
amateur sleuth Andrew Thompson visited Whitey Barkley's wife she believed Evelyn Hartley had been in
00:54:37
LaFarge the night before she vanished she took Andrea to meet her husband by this time Whitey had dementia and was
00:54:47
living in a nursing home when Evelyn's name was mentioned the elderly man froze but did not speak
00:54:57
LaFarge was one of the locations where the denim jacket and shoes that were believed to belong to Evelyn's abductors
00:55:04
had been put on display rumors had spread amongst the locals that the jacket was familiar they'd seen
00:55:12
an acquaintance of Peterson and Gulf airs wearing it before some have speculated that it was
00:55:19
Peterson who wore the jacket he was a small man and it was a small size the Goodrich sneakers recovered were
00:55:28
believed to have been worn by two men at different times one who was very tall and the other shorter
00:55:35
[Music] Peterson was known to wear second-hand clothing investigators had made inquiries about
00:55:44
Clyde Peterson and Jack golf air back in 1968. it was unclear how the man came to be on
00:55:52
their radar but they later said they'd never been able to substantiate claims they had killed Evelyn
00:56:00
when investigators looked into the man again in 2004 they were unable to come up with anything concrete tying them to
00:56:07
the case in her book where's Evelyn author Susan Hassell mentions the possibility that
00:56:16
the men's bodies could one day be exhumed for DNA testing attempts to obtain DNA evidence from
00:56:23
blood found at the crime scene have so far proved unsuccessful Susan Hessel published where's Evelyn in
00:56:36
2005 after extensive research alongside Andrew Thompson and Peggy Lovejoy as well as combing through archives and
00:56:45
police files Susan interviewed residents of Lacrosse who spoke about the loss of
00:56:50
Innocence experienced by the community in the wake of Evelyn's disappearance curfews were introduced doors were kept
00:56:59
locked girls no longer walked alone and family struggled to find babysitters the Rasmussen family were haunted by the
00:57:08
tragedy that had taken place in their home with the Vigo Rasmussen telling a journalist in 1978.
00:57:16
it's a nightmare whenever we think of it I don't mean it Praise on our minds constantly but we don't forget it no
00:57:24
matter how long ago it was Evelyn's remaining family members were too heartbroken to participate in Susan
00:57:33
hassell's book but some of her friends gave interviews including her best friend a girl named Mary Seacrest War
00:57:42
Mary shared some of her favorite memories with Susan she recalled Evelyn as someone who loved
00:57:49
music and would walk down the street playing a ukulele and singing Mary joined the hartleys on their many
00:57:57
trips to The Great Outdoors and they would all go hiking through the woods together
00:58:03
the girls would have sleepovers and laugh at silly jokes while Evelyn's parents made them popcorn
00:58:10
during one slumber party Evelyn and her friends snuck out of the house at dawn still wearing their pajamas and rode
00:58:17
their bicycles over to the local swimming pool it was closed but the girls climbed to
00:58:23
the fence and it jumped into the pool on the day that Evelyn went missing Mary had passed her driving test and obtained
00:58:33
her license that evening she felt disappointed that Evelyn was babysitting because she
00:58:40
wanted to share the exciting news at around 7pm she decided to call her and went to the telephone but because
00:58:49
she didn't know how to spell the surname Rasmussen she couldn't look up the family's phone number in a phone book
00:58:57
Mary told author Susan Hessel I put the phone back I thought I'd talk with Evelyn tomorrow
00:59:05
that was about the time it happened news soon broke that Evelyn had been taken Mary explained to Susan Hassall
00:59:18
it changed how I live I just have a hard time with it I feel so awful that it had to be her
00:59:25
and she is such a wonderful person as of mid-2022 Evelyn Hartley's case remains unsolved
00:59:36
her remains have not been found Richard and Ethel Hartley passed away without learning what happened to their
00:59:45
daughter [Music] [Music] casefile presents a new Spotify exclusive podcast Maddie no one is ever
01:00:16
prepared for a loved one to suddenly disappear that's the thing about missingness when
01:00:22
someone you love vanishes into thin air every family that experiences it has to figure it out for themselves we started
01:00:30
running around match friends what the hell is not doing your work and why hasn't even called them I just sat there
01:00:35
again oh my God oh my God something wasn't right the leversons grew more worried by the minute he's walking up
01:00:42
and down like a cage line and he's sweating and he's clammy the man has no emotions at all towards the Andy
01:00:48
wouldn't let Matt out of his sight narrated by Lauren O'Keefe the founder of the missing persons advocacy Network
01:00:54
and host of case File presents podcast what's missing the police informed Mark and Faye levison that they're no longer
01:01:02
considered Matt a missing person I told I know that the case had been transferred to homicide and he said I've
01:01:09
called the police I've found a grave there's a medic in the bush the receipt showed that two items had been purchased
01:01:15
duct tape and a garden Master brand Matic I think we were in shock for ages after that the world just seemed to
01:01:21
stand still hear how a family took on the system to try and find Justice for their son for the very first time made
01:01:29
us feel like the police and us were no longer on the same side and then he sat there and said to me it was Matt's
01:01:36
lifestyle that had him murdered no I just said the [ __ ] stops now that's that's ridiculous some people in this
01:01:41
world never take no for an answer especially when they're fighting for someone they love nothing is perfect and
01:01:47
we thought you know with a chance of finding math if I wanted to move one in team million but it wasn't zero
01:01:52
so we've got to give it a go he was never going to win against us not for finding Maddie Maddie the latest podcast
01:01:59
from casefile presents available September 19th only on Spotify it's not a justice system it's just a system