Crime Junkie Case Files: Missing Persons Cold Cases Vol. 2, True Crime Investigations of People Who Mysteriously Disappeared

By Dexter Gable

Embark on a riveting journey into the heart of mystery, a tapestry of the most baffling and haunting unsolved missing persons cases. Each chapter is a gateway into a different, intricately woven story, alive with meticulously researched details that transport you into the very midst of these unresolved enigmas.

Imagine delving

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crime Junkie Case Files
• Release date: Feb 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869197290

Book preview

Dexter Gable

Crime Junkie Case Files Missing Persons Cold Cases Vol 2

Copyright © 2024 by Dexter Gable

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

First edition

Contents

Patricia Otto

The Fort Myers Eight

Lisa Marie Young

John Spira

Terrence Woods

Brianna Maitland

Gwen Brunelle

Florence Okpealuk

The Springfield Three

The Jamison Family

Desirea Ferris

Bryan Vladek Hasel

Peggy Reaves Mock

Creg Lyles

Daniel Robinson

Amy Lynn Bradley

Sandra Prince

LaQuanta Riley

Jennifer Fergate

About the Author

Patricia Otto

Patricia Lee’s story begins in the quaint town of Leon, Idaho, where she was born on August 4th, 1952. In NES Pierce County, she became a well-loved figure, often seen as a personification of Lewiston’s community spirit. Her life, like many before her, both started and concluded in her beloved hometown. At the tender age of 16, Patricia’s life took a dramatic turn when she met a man 18 years her senior. This man, who would shape the course of her future, led her down the aisle on October 16th, 1970, marking the beginning of her new life as Patricia Lee Otto.

The union between Patricia and Ralph, her husband, raised many eyebrows due to the significant age difference. Ralph, who was 36 at the time of their marriage, had a history of marriage, previously wed to Joy for 13 years. Their relationship was far from peaceful; Ralph’s violent tendencies often led to intense arguments. Despite the instability, the couple welcomed two daughters, Natalie and Dallas, into their tumultuous world. Patricia, embodying the essence of a loving mother, devoted herself to her girls amidst the chaos.

However, the strain of their rocky marriage became unbearable, prompting Patricia to file for divorce in the spring of 1976. During their separation, she briefly found solace in a relationship with Randy Benton, but this was short-lived. Eventually, she returned to Ralph, hoping against hope to salvage her family. Tragically, this reunion did not quell the violence.

The night of August 31st of the same year marked a pivotal moment in Patricia’s life. After attending an evening class at Valley Business College, she collected her daughters from her mother’s house, where they had been staying. Dressed in red pants and a white shirt, a detail later remembered by her mother, she returned home around 11:00 p.m., only to be engulfed in a fierce argument with Ralph.

The details of that fateful night are chilling. Suzanne, the youngest daughter, vividly recalls creeping upstairs, drawn by the sounds of crashing and yelling. She witnessed a violent exchange between her parents, culminating in her father’s hands around her mother’s neck. This haunting image of Patricia being dragged away would be the last memory Suzanne had of her mother.

Ralph left with Patricia that night, and when he returned, she was not with him. From that point on, Patricia Otto vanished without a trace. Ralph insisted to his daughters that their mother’s disappearance was merely a bad dream, a fabrication of their young minds. However, a police report noted that Patricia’s sister had shared Suzanne’s account with the authorities, though Ralph barred the police from questioning his daughters directly.

In the days following, Ralph’s behavior became increasingly erratic. He took his daughters to a friend’s house in Asotin, Washington, where he emotionally confessed that Patricia had left him. His dependence on alcohol intensified, and he was seen frantically searching for his gun, a detail observed by Patricia’s sister, Alice.

In the wake of Patricia’s mysterious disappearance, her sister Alice and their father Tom immediately sprung into action. Understanding the gravity of the situation, they reached out to the Leon Police Department to file a missing person report for Patty. But their efforts didn’t stop there. Alice extended her plea for help to the Idaho State Police, ensuring that the search for her sister was as extensive as possible.

The authorities were quick to respond, issuing a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) alert. This instruction was not only for law enforcement agents but also for the general public, urging them to keep an eye out for any signs of Patty or suspicious activities related to her disappearance.

A particularly intriguing twist came when Alice, in one of her interactions with the police, inquired about what to do with the weapon she had confiscated from Ralph. The police advised her to keep it hidden, speculating that Ralph’s intoxicated state would likely mean he wouldn’t notice its absence.

As the investigation deepened, all eyes inevitably turned to Ralph, Patty’s husband and the last person to see her. His account of the night Patty vanished, however, was riddled with inconsistencies. To Patty’s sister Alice and Sergeant Thomas Lean, assigned to the case, Ralph claimed that Patty left the house after hearing a horn honking outside, suggesting that someone had come to pick her up. In stark contrast, he told his brother and sister-in-law a completely different story — that Patty had left the next morning after having breakfast in their camper.

Sergeant Lean expressed his frustration to the Leon Morning Tribune, acknowledging the lack of evidence of foul play but also the fruitlessness of their attempts to locate Mrs. Otto. He appealed to the public for any information that might shed light on her whereabouts.

Alice, knowing her sister intimately, was adamant that Patty wouldn’t just disappear without her daughters and car, both of which were left behind. She informed the police of Ralph’s alcoholism and his cessation of medication meant to curb his drinking urges. Alice painted a picture of Ralph as a violent, controlling alcoholic, emphasizing the tumultuous nature of his relationship with Patty.

Determined to find answers, Patty’s family conducted their investigation, checking local hospitals and reaching out to Patty’s friends, but all leads came to a dead end.

The situation took an even darker turn when Lewiston Police Captain M. Dwayne Aor, who was overseeing Patty’s case, became a target. Ralph, while at his usual bar, was overheard expressing his desire to eliminate Captain Aor. A bartender, jokingly offering help, later informed the Leon Police Department of the conversation. Seizing this opportunity, the police introduced an undercover agent, Steve Watts from the Idaho State Police, posing as a hitman.

Ralph, unknowingly dealing with an undercover officer, paid the hitman $250 as an advance for the assassination of Captain Aor, promising an additional $750 upon completion of the job.

Steve Watts, the undercover agent masquerading as a hitman, brought forth compelling evidence to the Lewiston Police, evidence that would prove to be the undoing of Ralph Otto. On October 27th, 1976, a date that coincided with his daughter Natalie’s fifth birthday, Ralph found himself in handcuffs, arrested for the sinister plot to assassinate one of the lead investigators in his wife’s missing person case.

This development in the saga sent shockwaves through the community. The gravity of Ralph’s action — hiring a hitman to eliminate a key figure in his wife’s disappearance — further fueled public suspicion. Many began to firmly believe that Ralph was not only involved in Patricia’s vanishing but perhaps responsible for her presumed murder. The theory was that he had ended her life on that fateful night and concealed her remains in an unknown location. However, concrete evidence to substantiate these claims was lacking, a frustrating and persistent obstacle in the case.

In an intriguing twist, the narrative shifts to another mysterious and tragic case — that of Finley Creek Jane Doe. This enigmatic figure came into the limelight when, on July 28th, 1978, nearly two years after Patricia’s disappearance, hunters stumbled upon the skeletal remains of a woman in the woods of Finley Creek in Union County, Oregon. This area was approximately 350 miles west of Lewiston, where Patricia had vanished.

The Jane Doe at Finley Creek presented a baffling puzzle. Estimated to be between 17 and 25 years old, standing 5 feet 1 to 5 feet 3 inches tall, and weighing between 115 to 125 pounds, she had sandy blonde hair. Most heartbreakingly, the discovery of a tiny skeleton nearby led experts to speculate that she might have been pregnant at the time of her death. The cause of her death remained a mystery, though the presence of an antenna cable near the body suggested possible strangulation.

As the investigation into this Jane Doe progressed, Lewiston Police sent over dental X-rays of Patty to Portland for comparison, hoping to either rule her out or confirm her as the unidentified woman. Meanwhile, another Jane Doe’s remains were discovered, this time in Portland, Oregon.

On September 8th, Detective Seline received a message from Dr. C.T. Brady in Portland, stating that the dental X-rays did not match those of the body found. This seemed to rule out Patty as being the first Jane Doe, but confusion ensued when it came to the second Jane Doe, later known as Finley Creek Jane Doe. There was a growing belief that there might have been an error in the comparison of Patty’s dental records with those of the Portland Jane Doe.

Suzanne, Patty’s daughter, held onto a document that stated the medical examiner had ruled out Patty as being Finley Creek Jane Doe. However, there was no record of her X-ray being compared to the Portland Jane Doe, despite that being the original request from the Leon Police.

A crucial point of confusion in the investigation was the potential mix-up between two unidentified women, known as the Portland Jane Doe and the Finley Creek Jane Doe. Both bodies were discovered around the same time, leading to a theory that the dental records of Portland Doe, used to create a chart for Finley Creek Jane Doe, may have been mistakenly interchanged.

The Portland Jane Doe was later identified as Annette Willis, a woman distinguished by extensive dental work, including 11 fillings. However, Suzanne, Patty’s daughter, noted a startling coincidence: the dental records of Finley Creek Jane Doe mirrored those of Annette Willis. This improbable similarity between two bodies found within a month of each other seemed beyond mere chance. Suzanne harbored a growing suspicion that her mother might actually be the unidentified Finley Creek Jane Doe, a theory fueled by the administrative mix-up in the late ‘70s.

The case took a grim turn when it was revealed that the remains of Finley Creek Jane Doe and her potentially unborn child sat unclaimed at Coffey’s Funeral Home for 12 years before being cremated in 1990, on the orders of Union County District Attorney Russ West. Not only were the remains cremated, but all associated evidence was also destroyed. No one from the department or those who worked on the case ever collected them, adding to the mystery surrounding the remains. Suzanne, determined to find closure, had a collection of unclaimed ashes from the funeral home tested for DNA, but unfortunately, no conclusive evidence was found.

Suzanne’s interest in the Finley Creek Jane Doe case was piqued when she came across a reconstruction photo of the Jane Doe on Facebook, which bore a striking resemblance to both herself and her mother. Teaming up with Mel Jetber, a dedicated researcher on the Jane Doe case, Suzanne delved deeper into the investigation.

One notable point of comparison was the dental records. Despite experts’ claims of non-matching records, a comparison between Finley Creek Jane Doe’s and Patty Otto’s dental records revealed striking similarities. Additionally, Finley Creek Jane Doe was found wearing red pants and a white top, the same outfit Patty was last seen in. Unfortunately, these clothes were destroyed, and no photos were taken to confirm if they were indeed Patty’s.

The presence of a smaller skeleton alongside Finley Creek Jane Doe led to speculation that she was pregnant. Suzanne wondered if her mother had revealed a pregnancy to Ralph on the night of her disappearance, a revelation that might not have been well-received, considering Ralph’s abusive nature.

Ralph Otto’s story took its twists and turns as well. After serving only four years for hiring a hitman to kill a police captain, his conviction was overturned in 1981 due to a legal technicality. In 1983, he was arrested for theft but died of cardiac arrest shortly after his arrest.

Suzanne and her sister, Natalie, were later adopted by Ralph’s sister. Suzanne, choosing to distance herself from the Otto family, changed her legal name. As adults, the sisters embarked on a quest to uncover the truth about their mother’s fate. Suzanne recalled growing up believing her mother had abandoned them, a narrative she questioned after seeing the unidentified person poster from Oregon.

The years brought more tragedies to Suzanne’s life, including the untimely deaths of her sister Natalie and her son. Despite these hardships, she remained steadfast in her pursuit of truth. If her mother was indeed Finley Creek Jane Doe, she was determined to find out.

Patricia Lee Otto, if alive today, would be 71 years old. At the time of her disappearance, she was a 24-year-old woman last seen wearing a white top and red slacks, standing 5’3" tall, and weighing approximately 140 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes, and a scar on her back. The mystery of what happened on the night of August 31st, 1976, into the early hours of September 1st, 1976, in Lewiston, Idaho, continues to haunt those seeking answers.

The Fort Myers Eight

Fort Myers, a gem in Southwest Florida, stands as a beacon for tourists worldwide, luring them into its embrace with its irresistible charm. This city, often hailed as the gateway to the region, buzzes with life and activity, drawing in a multitude of visitors each year. Imagine a place where the sun kisses the horizon, casting a golden glow over seven miles of pristine white sands. These beaches are not just stretches of sand; they are dotted with inviting resorts, bustling restaurants with stunning views of the Gulf, and a myriad of shops and stores. These establishments become treasure troves for vacationers, eager to find the perfect memento to encapsulate their unforgettable journey.

From the iconic fishing pier to the scenic boardwalks winding over serene lagoons, Fort Myers is a hive of activity, with tourists flocking in droves throughout the year. The city’s allure peaks in the summer months, transforming it into a vibrant hub where resorts overflow with guests. Visitors are encouraged to plan their trips well in advance during this peak season. However, the city’s charm isn’t seasonal; it also becomes a haven for those seeking to escape the biting cold of their hometowns in the winter, swapping snow for sun-drenched adventures.

Yet, beyond the bustling streets, vibrant beaches, and lively boardwalks, Fort Myers holds hidden enclaves, quiet and secluded, often unnoticed even by locals. These lesser-known areas hold their own stories, some shrouded in mystery and darkness. In early 2007, one such obscure location would become the center of a chilling revelation, one that still sends shivers down the spines of local investigators and residents.

Fort Myers is constantly evolving, with new developments sprouting up to cater to the ever-growing tourist industry. Entrepreneurs and visionaries are always on the lookout for opportunities