Tx: Suspects and leads in 1974 case
Peter Dostal
NBC 5/Scott Gordon
FORT WORTH, Mar. 28 - 26-years ago, three girls disappeared from a Fort
Worth shopping mall. Now, police say they have developed suspects and
leads in the case.
Two days before Christmas 1974, 9-year old Julie, 14-year old Rene and
17-year old Rachel went shopping at what was then called Seminary South
Shopping Center.
Police found their car but no sign of the girls.
Police say they are optimistic they will soon crack the case, in part
with new DNA evidence not available in the 1970s.
The girls’ family is also hopeful.
The victims’ brother Rusty Arnold said, “It’s time we all pay the piper.
Everyone must come clean and let’s get this thing over with.”
Police also want to know who wrote a letter designed to make the public
believe the girls ran away.
Peter Dostal
Julie Ann Moseley, dob 4/5/1965
Lisa Renee Wilson, dob 8/29/1960
Mary Rachel Trlica, dob 11/15/1957
All three were last seen at the Seminary South Shopping Center, Fort Worth,
Texas, on December 23, 1974.
Original and age progressed photos can be seen at missingkids.org webpage.
Peter
Peter Dostal
On the morning of Dec. 23, 1974, the three girls from three different families
set out on a shopping trip to the then-rather glitzySeminary South Shopping
Center, now known as Fort Worth Town Center, in south Fort Worth. They were
supposed to be home by 4 p.m. - but they never returned.
Rachel Arnold Trlica, 17, picked up her friend Renee Wilson, 14, and little
Julie Ann Moseley, who lived across the street from Renee's grandmother,
begged to go along.....
From the Fort Worth DPS
Circumstances of Disappearance
Mary Rachel Trlica was last seen at the Seminary South Shopping Center on
December 23, 1974. She was accompanied by Lisa Renee Wilson and Julie Ann
Moseley. The three girls were Christmas shopping. Rachel’s car was found in
the parking lot that evening with wrapped presents on the back-seat
floorboard. The parents of all three girls staked out the lot with a shotgun
that night, but no one ever came back to the car. A few days later, a letter
from Rachel arrived at the home of her husband, Thomas, who was 22 years old
at the time. “I know I’m going to catch it, but we just had to get away,” the
letter read. “We’re going to Houston. See you in about a week.” The letter was
written by a right-handed person when Rachel was left-handed. There has been
no sign of the three girls since. One woman told a store clerk that she saw
some men hustle the girls into a pickup truck. Police never located that
witness. Another said the girls had been spotted in a security patrol car. In
1981, years after the disappearance, a man said he'd been in the parking lot
that day and he'd seen a man forcing a girl into a van. The man in the van
told him it was a family dispute and to stay out of it.
Trlica may using her maiden name "Mary Rachel Arnold." There are few clues as
to what happened to the girls. Trlica's brother announced a reward in late
1999 for information leading to the closure of this case. Her brother stated
that he believed two of the three girls were alive. He also said he believed
that Moseley, the youngest of the trio at 9 years old in 1974, was "the true
victim" of this incident. Trlica's brother alleged that his sister and Wilson
may have decided to disappear due to family problems and taken the younger
Moseley with them. And that Julie Ann more than likely met with foul play. Her
brother stated he was working with several private investigators on the case.
All three girls' cases are still listed as "non-family abductions," however.
*****
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1999
Reward offered in '74 disappearance
By The Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH -- A local private investigator is offering a $25,000 reward for
information leading to an arrest and conviction in a 25-year-old case of three
missing girls.
Mary Rachel Trlica, then 17, Lisa Renee Wilson, then 14, and Julie Ann
Moseley, then 9, were last seen at what is now the Fort Worth Town Center Mall
in south Fort Worth on Dec. 23, 1974. Their car was later found in the parking
lot.
Dan James, a local private investigator, has been working on the case from the
beginning and is offering the reward using his own money.
"There are some people here in Fort Worth and Houston who know what happened,"
James said yesterday in a phone interview. "I have the wherewithal to write a
check today."
"There are some new things that we're working on, and we believe that this
$25,000 reward will rattle some cages," said Rusty Arnold, Rachel Trlica's
brother. "This is the most hopeful we've been in 25 years."
Anyone with information may contact James at (817) 338-1613.
Patty
"Peter Dostal" <peter....@chello.at> wrote in message
news:3AC35BC5...@chello.at...
: Police say they have developed suspects and leads in 1974 case
:
Peter, keep us up to date on this one. This seems like a very interesting
case. I know Linda isn't from the Dallas/Fort Worth area but I wonder if
she had heard anything about this case back then. I assume they had
checked out the husband of the 17-year old back in 1974.
Patty
Cliff or Linda Griffith
> Peter, keep us up to date on this one. This seems like a very interesting
> case. I know Linda isn't from the Dallas/Fort Worth area but I wonder if
> she had heard anything about this case back then. I assume they had
> checked out the husband of the 17-year old back in 1974.
>
> Patty
This Linda? Yes, I'm from the D-FW area, and I did hear of the case at
the time. I've wondered about it from time to time, but it seemed to
have disappeared from the news COMPLETELY until this week. I even
considered asking about it on a.t-c once, but couldn't remember the name
of the Mall, the year, etc. (And I figured if I, living in the area,
hadn't heard anything about it lately, people in other areas surely
hadn't.) I'm kinda wondering why they're all-of-a-sudden making a push
for information; why did they let it lapse? I think one of the mothers
has requested that the case be reopened, but I wonder why so late? The
"letter" from the girl to her husband was strange, even at the time. I
don't think the investigators ever thought she wrote it, or that she
wrote it of her own volition.
Linda
Peter Dostal
Cliff or Linda Griffith wrote:
> Patty wrote:
> > Peter, keep us up to date on this one. This seems like a very interesting
> > case. I know Linda isn't from the Dallas/Fort Worth area but I wonder if
> > she had heard anything about this case back then. I assume they had
> > checked out the husband of the 17-year old back in 1974.
> >
> > Patty
>
> I'm kinda wondering why they're all-of-a-sudden making a push
> for information; why did they let it lapse? I think one of the mothers
> has requested that the case be reopened, but I wonder why so late?
>
> Linda
First I wanna say it is strange that I never got Pattys post on my Viennese
screen. Very, very strange, because I don奏 think that Patty had included any
reason for censorship.....
Anyway, here are the latest news from Fort Worth.
Peter
*****
Thursday, Mar. 29, 2001 at 22:46 CST
New details renew search in 1974 case; more witnesses, technology revive quest
to find 3 girls last seen at mall
By Deanna Boyd Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH -- For 26 years, Rayanne Moseley watched investigators come and go
as they looked into the 1974 disappearance of her daughter and two friends from
a Fort Worth shopping mall.
By the time one would become familiar with the case, that officer would be
promoted, moved or swamped with other work, and a new investigator would be
assigned.
"It's kind of like the football you reach down to pick up and then kick it just
before you pick it up," Moseley said. "I think it's been kicked around enough
already."
Responding to those complaints, Police Chief Ralph Mendoza assigned homicide
Detective Tom Boetcher and major case Detective Ronald Prioleau to that case
exclusively in January.
At a news conference Thursday, the detectives detailed new developments in the
case, including 20 new witnesses, some of whom saw 9-year-old Julie Ann
Moseley, 14-year-old Renee Wilson and 17-year-old Rachel Trlica at the Seminary
South mall Dec. 23, 1974, the day they disappeared.
"That, combined with DNA evidence and the way DNA is collected and processed
since this case was originally investigated, makes for a better outcome,"
Boetcher told reporters, declining to elaborate on the DNA evidence.
Two days before Christmas 1974, Julie Ann Moseley called her mother at work and
begged to go shopping with Wilson and Trlica.
Moseley gave in, a decision she said will haunt her the rest of her life. She
never saw her daughter again.
When the girls didn't return home by 4 p.m., family members went searching for
them. They found only Trlica's locked car, containing packages but still parked
at the mall, now called Town Center Mall.
Police believed that the girls had run away. A handwritten note, addressed to
Trlica's husband, that arrived in the mail a day later initially seemed to
confirm that.
"I know I'm going to catch it, but we just had to get away," it read. "We're
going to Houston. See you in about a week."
But the handwriting raised questions about whether it was written by Trlica.
Her family members are convinced that it was not. Detectives said Thursday that
an analysis of the letter could not determine who wrote it.
While initially the letter was thought to have been mailed from Eliasville in
Young County, the U.S. Postal Service has determined that it was mailed in Fort
Worth, Boetcher said.
Boetcher said detectives believe that the girls left the mall with someone they
trusted.
"We can say that they were at one point seen with one individual, but we
believe there was more than one involved," Boetcher said.
Detectives have narrowed the number of suspects to "under five," he said.
Detectives believe that after leaving the mall, the girls encountered "foul
play and met up with some unfortunate circumstances," Boetcher said.
The detective would not speculate whether he believes that the girls are dead,
but said police had sent about 150 letters to coroner offices in a five- state
area, inquiring about any unidentified female remains discovered since 1974.
Of 40 responses received, Boetcher said, the department has learned about 10 or
11 unidentified females, including seven bodies uncovered years ago in New
Mexico.
Prioleau said officers are taking DNA samples from members of the girls'
families to determine whether the remains might be those of the girls.
It's a frustrating case, Boetcher and Prioleau acknowledge. In the 26-year
span, some witnesses have died, moved or married and changed their names. Some
of those who have been located and have been reinterviewed have clouded
memories of that day.
But the detectives remain confident they are on the correct path, a sentiment
echoed by some members of the girls' families who attended the news conference.
Rusty Arnold, Trlica's brother, listened intently to the detectives while
sitting next to Rayanne Moseley. Arnold, who was 11 when his sister
disappeared, said he is encouraged by the detectives' efforts and hopes an
arrest will be made.
"I owe Mr. Mendoza a world of thanks," Arnold said. "I feel like they have done
in the last three months more than any other officers or detectives have done
in the whole 26-year investigation."
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the homicide unit a
(817) 877- 8225.
Peter Dostal
3 girls disappeared from shopping mall
03/30/2001 By Debra Dennis / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH ? After 26 years, police officials say they may be closer to finding
three girls who disappeared from a South Fort Worth shopping center two days
before Christmas.
Police said Thursday that they have identified several possible suspects, located
new witnesses and are examining DNA evidence that may help them solve the oldest
missing-persons case in Fort Worth.
Rachel Trlica, 17, Renee Wilson, 14, and Julie Ann Moseley, 9, all of Fort Worth,
had been shopping at Seminary South in December 1974.
When the girls failed to return home, their families found Rachel's car in the
parking lot of what is now Fort Worth Town Center mall. There was no sign of the
girls.
"We have some people that we are looking at at this time," homicide Detective T.W.
Boetcher said. "Our speculation is that they left the mall with someone and ...met
up with some unfortunate circumstance."
He said police are looking at fewer than five people, but he declined to release
further details, saying it would compromise the investigation.
"We've collected DNA evidence that is being compared at this time," Detective
Boetcher said.
He said he believes that the girls left the mall with "someone that they may have
trusted."
"They were, at one point, seen with one individual, but we believe that more than
one [person] is involved," Detective Boetcher said.
Since January, Fort Worth police have coordinated efforts with the Violent
Criminal Apprehension Program, run by the FBI, that targets violent criminals ?
specifically serial killers.
They also have contacted every medical examiner within a five-state area regarding
unidentified females killed since 1974.
That has led them to New Mexico, where they are looking at remains found in a
rural area."New Mexico has seven unidentified females that we're asking for a
comparison on based upon the physical [description], then we're going to the
dental [records] and then eventually we'll go to the DNA, but that's not to say
that these are the girls in question," said Fort Worth police Lt. Duane Paul. "We
have several other medical examiner's offices that we're waiting to contact."
Some of the girls' family members said Thursday that they are encouraged by new
developments in the case.
"I feel that she's still alive, and I will believe it until I'm proven wrong,"
said Rayanne Moseley, mother of Julie Ann. "For the first time, I feel like we may
find out where she is. I do hope this case is solved."
The case remained open but dormant for years. Detective Boetcher said the case is
complicated because some of the witnesses have died, married or moved away.
"It's a little frustrating. You have to basically relive the case, and the first
two months of our investigation was picking apart the old investigation," said
Detective Boetcher, who has been working on the case full time since January with
Detective R.J. "Doc" Prioleau.
The detectives said they have investigated more than 50 tips. They also have
spoken to more than 70 people, including some new witnesses who remember seeing
the girls the day they disappeared.
"We hope additional witnesses will come forward," Lt. Paul said. "We want to let
the public know that the case is still being investigated. We are still working on
this."
The girls first were thought to be runaways, leaving for Houston. Wrapped
Christmas presents were found in the back seat of Mrs. Trlica's car. The
17-year-old was newly married.
A few days after the girls disappeared, a letter bearing Mrs. Trlica's name
arrived addressed to her husband. Police said the letter was mailed in Fort Worth,
but they could not determine whether it was written by Mrs. Trlica.
Rusty Arnold, who was 11 when his sister Rachel disappeared, said he supports the
police investigation.
"They had to have left with someone they knew," said Mr. Arnold. "My theory is
that it wasn't a planned runaway because they picked up this 9-year-old girl."
Patty
: screen. Very, very strange, because I don't think that Patty had included any
: reason for censorship.....
: Anyway, here are the latest news from Fort Worth.
: Peter
: *****
Patty
: "That, combined with DNA evidence and the way DNA is collected and processed
: since this case was originally investigated, makes for a better outcome,"
: Boetcher told reporters, declining to elaborate on the DNA evidence.
:
snip
: Police believed that the girls had run away. A handwritten note, addressed to
: Trlica's husband, that arrived in the mail a day later initially seemed to
: confirm that.
:
: "I know I'm going to catch it, but we just had to get away," it read. "We're
: going to Houston. See you in about a week."
:
: But the handwriting raised questions about whether it was written by Trlica.
: Her family members are convinced that it was not. Detectives said Thursday that
: an analysis of the letter could not determine who wrote it.
:
: While initially the letter was thought to have been mailed from Eliasville in
: Young County, the U.S. Postal Service has determined that it was mailed in Fort
: Worth, Boetcher said.
:
I wonder if they were able to collect DNA off the stamp on the envelope.
I imagine that LE not longer has the car. And where did the 20 new witnesses
come from.
Patty
Patty
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/doe/57dftx.html
: Police say they have developed suspects and leads in 1974 case
:
:
:
jhconstru...@gmail.com
jhconstru...@gmail.com
jeff_b...@sbcglobal.net
http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.php#Analyze
blondi...@gmail.com
amylp...@gmail.com
The letter arrived at the home the following morning after the girls went missing!!
