NOTABLE ARKANSANS

Abowl of half-shelled peas, a TV left on and an undisturbed dog were among the only physical evidence of her last known hours. The living room lights were on, her purse was on a chair, and her car was in the driveway. She had simply disappeared.

She was born in Greenville, Texas, in 1891. When she was 9 her mother died, so she went to live with her grandmother in Warren. She was valedictorian of her high school class and attended the University of Arkansas for one year. She began working as a legal stenographer in Camden and studied law with local attorneys. In 1927, although never having attended law school, she passed the bar with the highest score of all the candidates in a room filled with University of Arkansas School of Law graduates. She was active in civic affairs and was the first woman elected to the Camden City Council. She was one of the founders of Arkansas Girls State.

Her mysterious disappearance on March 2, 1957, was an event that remains, to this day, one of the state’s greatest unsolved cases. Speculation ranges from a mob connection to foul play by a local multi-millionaire. No charges have ever been made. In 1969 the Probate Court of Ouachita County officially pronounced that she was dead.

In 1986 a series of articles about the case, written by actor, producer and writer Beth Brickell, was published by the Arkansas Gazette, which led to the investigation being reopened. Although a great deal of evidence points to the involvement of a Camden businessman, there are still no official answers to her disappearance.