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Quimby, Deborah A. May 3,1977; Massachusetts 13 YO
Topic Started: Aug 5 2006, 01:31 PM (2,545 Views)
oldies4mari2004
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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/q/quimby_deborah.html

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Deborah Ann Quimby


Left: Quimby, circa 1977;
Right: Age-progression at age 40 (circa 2003)


Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: May 3, 1977 from Townsend, Massachusetts
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: October 9, 1963
Age: 13 years old
Height and Weight: 5'1, 120 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, brown eyes. Quimby had a freckled complexion at the time of her 1977 disappearance. Her nickname is Debbie.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: Blue jeans, a multicolored shirt, and a royal blue Pop Warner cheerleader's jacket with "Debbie" written on one of the sleeves.


Details of Disappearance

Quimby was last seen in Townsend, Massachusetts on May 3, 1977. Quimby left a note for her parents, saying she was going to ride her bicycle from their home in the 10 block of Smith Street to her grandparents' campsite in on Vinton Pond Road in West Townsend, near Pearl Hill State Park, about four miles from her own home. She said she would return later that day. After her disappearance, police found an undelivered letter in Quimby's locker. It was written to a friend and stated that Quimby was upset and wanted to talk to her, and gave directions to her grandparents' home.
A friend accompanied Quimby as far as Turnpike Road in the woods near her grandmother's residence, then turned back while Quimby continued onward. She was last seen cresting a hill on Turnpike Road, westbound. She has never been heard from again. Quimby's bicycle, a boy's brown Takara or Schwinn 10-speed model, has never been recovered.

In May 2003 investigators searched Walker Pond for evidence relating to Quimby case but found nothing. The pond is about half a mile from where Quimby was last seen. Police searched again in June and July 2004 and found a piece of clothing, two buttons, and the remnants of two bicycles, all of which they sent for testing in a forensics laboratory. The bicycles were later both determined to be unrelated to Quimby's case, and the fabric produced no leads either. An anonymous writer sent two letters which told police to look in the pond. After a month, authorities stopped looking in the pond, but stated that they plan to search in the area around it for clues in Quimby's case.

Police also consulted a psychic from New Hampshire who claims to be able to "speak" to deceased people. The woman says Quimby has spoken to her and told her the identity of her murderer. The consultation did not lead to an arrest, however.

There is speculation that Quimby was pregnant at the time of her disappearance, but no evidence to support this theory. Quimby's parents believe she was going to a specific destination to meet someone, not her grandparents, and possibly ran into foul play afterwards. Her family still lives in the area and hopes she may yet be found.

Quimby was a student at Spaulding Memorial School at the time of her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved. Some agencies classify it as a non-family abduction.



Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Townsend Police Department
508-597-2176



Source Information
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Doe Network
The Boston Globe
The Child Seek Network
The Boston Herald
ABC 7 News



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Age-progression at age 40 (circa 2003)
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Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti.../705030669/1116

No giving up on missing girl

Deborah Quimby disappeared 30 years ago

By Matthew Bruun TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Picture


Enlarge photo
It’s highs and lows. You get kind of hopeful and you’re on the edge of your seat, and you get the results and it’s kind of a letdown.

Chief Erving M. Marshall Jr.,
TOWNSEND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Picture

Deborah Quimby
Enlarge photo



TOWNSEND— Police Chief Erving M. Marshall Jr. said he thinks about the disappearance of 13-year-old Deborah A. Quimby every single day.

Reports about the girl’s disappearance are in a conference room next to the chief’s office at the police station, put there to get organized in case another investigator wants to take a look at them.

For years the records had been inside the chief’s office, alongside those generated for the unsolved killing of Judith Vieweg, a 31-year-old teacher and artist found stabbed to death in September 1973.


Chief Marshall said he keeps the cases close because they are the only unsolved major crimes in this community.

Deborah’s parents arrived at their Smith Street home 30 years ago today to find a note from the girl saying she had some issues and was going to go think things out. She told a friend she was going to go to her grandfather’s camp on Vinton Pond Road on her brown Takara 10-speed bicycle.

“She was going to be in touch with her mother and she never called,” the chief said.

Her parents looked for her at the camp but found no trace. They called police, and a search that has spanned three decades began.

No trace of Deborah or her bicycle has ever been found.

“It was like Debbie vanished from the face of the Earth,” Chief Marshall said.

The disappearance has echoed for decades in this town of about 9,000 people, a peaceful community that was shaken by the disappearance.

Deborah’s father, Richard “Jake” Quimby, died last fall. Her mother, Ann Quimby, declined to be interviewed for this article.

There have been some tantalizing leads in the investigation.

In 1987, Townsend police authorities traveled to Virginia to interview Townsend native Geoffrey Alan Ward, who had admitted raping and murdering a 38-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl in that state. Mr. Ward denied any involvement in Deborah’s disappearance, and no evidence could be found linking him to the crime.

Mr. Ward escaped from a Virginia prison in February 1996 and was recaptured a day later.

An anonymous handwritten letter sent to police almost five years ago sparked a major effort in the ongoing search for Deborah.

The letter was sent to the “chief of police” in Townsend in November 2002. It was about three-quarters of a page in length. It said police should search for her body in Walker Pond off Turnpike Road. The letter writer did not claim responsibility for the girl’s disappearance.

Chief Marshall called the state police and Environmental Police, and they did a sonar search of the pond but did not reach any conclusions.

Another letter came in the winter of 2003 — in what the chief described as similar handwriting — urging police to take a closer look at a specific section of the pond.

The letters had come out of the blue, he said, noting the case had not been in public discussion for years, although pondering the case had been part of his own daily routine for a quarter-century.

“The decision was made to drain the pond,” the chief said.

What followed was an arduous 38 days of intensive searching through the murky bottom of Walker Pond, as volunteers toiled with hands and heavy equipment for any trace of Deborah. They found none.

“The conditions over there were horrendous,” the chief said, recalling the sight of cranes being lowered more than a dozen feet into the muck, material he described as “muddy quicksand.”

“Out of all the stuff we’ve done on this,” Chief Marshall said, “that was the biggest letdown.”

Searchers were heartbroken when the effort was suspended, but the chief said it was clear there would be no resolution.

He waited for more correspondence from the anonymous tipster, but none has come.

“I’d go back (to the pond) tomorrow if I had anything specific,” Chief Marshall said.

The letters have been analyzed for any forensic clues, but nothing ever materialized, he said.

Just weeks ago police were alerted to bones found by the side of Turnpike Road. An analysis by a forensic anthropologist determined they were animal bones, however. The experience was sadly typical of the investigation, the chief said, describing promising leads that fell apart.

“It’s highs and lows,” the chief said. “You get kind of hopeful and you’re on the edge of your seat, and you get the results and it’s kind of a letdown.”

The search is not over. The FBI’s behavioral science unit will take a look at the case, Chief Marshall said, and Mrs. Quimby has supplied a DNA sample to authorities that could help identify remains.

The chief, who was a member of the department when Deborah vanished, said he will never let the case be forgotten.

“I leave the files in my office for that reason,” he said.
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http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1...219032,00.html

Anonymous letters drove police to scour pond for girl
Draining in Townsend continues after second tip on Quimby

By Matt O'Brien, MediaNews
TOWNSEND Cadaver-sniffing dogs circled Walker Pond and barked loudly at its shore yesterday afternoon, expressing what Police Chief Erving Marshall Jr. said was "some interest" in the search for the remains of a 13-year-old girl.
Deborah Ann Quimby disappeared May 3, 1977, but Marshall revealed yesterday that a pair of anonymous and "somewhat specific" letters, sent exactly one year apart, inspired police to search the pond.

"I have no idea who it is," Marshall said of the tipster. "It's obviously somebody who's had this on his mind for 27 years."

Police received the first letter in November 2002, and prepared a search of the pond when the weather grew warm.

After a well-publicized sonar scan of the pond proved inconclusive on May 3, 2003 26 years to the day Deborah disappeared another letter arrived at the station in November 2003.

The message this time: Take a closer look.

Marshall said this second, more intensive search of the pond will be the last.
Blackbirds and butterflies fluttered over the bucolic pond yesterday as three droning industrial water pumps drained the site at 2,500 to 3,000 gallons per minute for the second day.

The Fire Department started pumping at about 8 p.m. Tuesday and is working around the clock to drain the two-acre pond into a brook that empties into the Squannacook River.

Police Sgt. Travis Rixford said officials now hope to complete the task by Friday.

"It's about 10 to 12 feet deep," he said.

The pond is fed intermittently by another pond, said Environmental Police Officer Steve McAndrew. Rixford said the pumps must outpace the in-flow of water.

Police obtained permission from the state Department of Environmental Protection to conduct the search.

Police say they will continue draining, day and night, until they reach about 10 to 20 feet beyond the present shoreline.

The pond was still mostly filled yesterday afternoon, but a marshy area on its northern end was completely dry.

Investigators will soon walk onto the dried-up edges of the pond, using hand-tools to investigate.

Chief Marshall was a 23-year-old rookie cop, just three weeks into his job, when the Quimby family called him about their concerns for their daughter in May 1977.

The girl left a handwritten letter for her parents, telling them she had "some issues" to deal with, but that she would call them that evening, Marshall said.

Deborah left another note for a school-age friend on the same day.

In that note, she said she was heading off from her Smith Street home to the campsite of her grandfather, Vernon Quimby.

The late Vernon Quimby, former principal of the Spaulding Memorial Elementary School, had a campsite in southwest Townsend near Vinton Pond, but the teenager never arrived.

"She didn't show up at camp. She didn't return home," Marshall said.

Instead, Deborah was last seen riding her three-speed bicycle up the slope where Turnpike Road forks off of Route 119, adjacent to the Spaulding school, Marshall said.

The spot is less than a half-mile from Walker Pond.

The second day of searching yesterday attracted numerous onlookers, from concerned and curious town residents who never knew the Quimbys to former Police Chief William May.

May, who ran the Police Department from 1981 to 2001, said the whole town is concerned about the outcome of the search.

"I think it's a case that the present chief and his staff have every intention of solving and I'll help them in any way I can," May said.

May took over the department from Marshall's father, Erving Marshall Sr., who was chief when Deborah Quimby disappeared, and said he continued the investigation throughout his tenure.

Some suspects turned out to be dead-ends. Other leads were hard to follow.

But May said new technology helped make this year's renewed search possible.

"Things have changed tremendously," he said. "But nothing's easy."

No one answered the door at the West Townsend home of the girl's parents yesterday.

* * *

Marshall would not comment on whether there were any abduction suspects, or whether police consider the anonymous letter-writer a concerned friend or a suspect.

He only said it was a "substantial lead" in a mystery that for 27 years had very few.

"As times go by these cases don't get any easier," Marshall said., Sun Staff
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Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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The search, the second at the pond in two years, yielded a few articles of clothing and an old bike. But authorities don't know yet if the items are major clues because the pond was used as a dump until the late 1970s and holds all manner of junk.

Deborah's parents are grateful for the renewed effort to find their daughter, who would be 40 now.

"We hope that some of that turns into finding our daughter and puts an end to this," said Richard "Jake" Quimby. "We just want an end to it."
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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Authorities were draining a local pond on Wednesday searching for a teenager who disappeared nearly three decades ago.

Police began draining Walker Pond on Tuesday in an attempt to find the remains of 13-year-old Deborah Ann Quimby, who disappeared on May 3, 1977. The two-acre pond is about 100 yards from Turnpike Road, along the route Quimby would have taken the day she disappeared.

Quimby vanished after telling her mother she planned to ride her bicycle from her home on Smith Street to her grandmother's house on Vinton Pond Road. She was accompanied by a friend as far as Turnpike Road, but she was never seen or heard from again.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll...6/APN/406160964
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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TOWNSEND -- A psychic from Pennsylvania has contacted the Townsend Police Department with claims that she can help to locate missing child, Deborah Quimby. Quimby went missing on May 3, 1977 in Townsend and was last seen riding her bicycle on Turnpike Road.



The Quimby disappearance sparked new interest in 2004 when police Chief Erving Marshall Jr. launched a dredging of Walker Pond in search of Quimby's remains. Marshall said the dredging was the result of two anonymous letters he received telling him to look in the pond. During that search, a bicycle, several buttons and two pieces of cloth were unearthed, but results from the State Police Forensics Laboratory found that those items did not belong to Quimby. The investigation halted once the pond was dredged sufficiently, said Marshall, with no evidence of the missing girl located.



Eleanor Mikula, a Yardley, Pennsylvania, resident and self-proclaimed psychic said she was directed by a source she believes to be the spirit of a missing girl in New Jersey to search the Internet. She found a story published 11 months ago in the Townsend Times concerning the Quimby case. Mikula said she read the news story and immediately knew she could help.



According to Mikula, she knows Quimby is not in the pond, but sees her body buried in dirt in a building. "I see an older man with a full head of hair and a 16 or so year-old boy next to him," Mikula said. She says there are long black straps hanging in the building. "The man and the boy are not smiling."



Mikula said she sees trees, but one large tree in particular. "I know she is there somewhere," Mikula said in a telephone interview. Mikula said she is not accusing anyone, just stating what she sees. Mikula also said initials have appeared in her vision, which she has shared with Chief Marshall.



She cannot see what happened to Quimby, but senses that whatever it was did occur in the area of the building.



Walker Pond was the focus of the initial investigation in 1977, according to Chief Marshall's records. At the time of Quimby's disappearance, Marshall was a new recruit on the Townsend police force.



Mikula said she is currently working on a missing child's case in New Jersey that occurred around the same time as Quimby's disappeared. According to her statement, the missing child in New Jersey was approximately the same age as Quimby, who was 13 at the time, and it also occurred around a body of water. "I also know that girl is not in the water," she said.



New Jersey State Police Lieutenant William Sykes said he has spoken to Mikula on numerous occasions. "I can say I do know her, have listened to her and read all that she has written," Sykes said. "I have not heard anything yet that would lead me anywhere in our investigation, but that is not to say I never will," he said.



Sykes said he has an open mind where Mikula is concerned. "My goal, as everyone's is is to solve our case, whatever it takes," Sykes added. Sykes continued, "I try to maintain contact with her, and if she has anything that WOWs me, I will be a believer. Until then, I don't know what to make of what she says."



Sykes said Mikula told him about the Quimby case, and he said, "I told her to make contact with you up there, again, if she has anything to help with your case, that's the goal." He said he knew nothing about the Quimby case, so he had nothing to base any information on.



New Jersey State Police Detective Thomas DeMeo did speak on the issue of Mikula, and her making contact with him on missing child Karen Lynn Zendrosky. Information gathered states Zendrosky went missing on October 23, 1979. She was last seen in Bordentown Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. "I have been acquainted with Mrs. Mikula on this case," DeMeo said in a telephone interview. "I am weighing the information, feelings and writings that she has provided. However, I cannot say much, as the Zendrosky case is still an active ongoing investigation even though it is 25 years old," DeMeo said.



DeMeo is aware that Mikula is looking at the Quimby case also. "She told me about the Townsend case with the Quimby girl and what she has been seeing with that case as well," DeMeo said.



Marshall confirmed that Murphy went to Walker Pond last year in the search for Quimby. "It is still an ongoing investigation, so we can't release what she said," Marshall said. He said he was contacted by Murphy during the dredging, and asked if she could come down to the pond area and help.



Mikula wants to take a trip to Townsend to see for herself the area in question and see if she gets any psychic feelings from a building or large tree as the ones she envisions. Marshall said if she makes the trip to Townsend, he would take her on a tour of the area.



Mikula said she has had psychic powers all of her life.



"I remember being a young girl and not understanding what I was seeing or feeling," she said. She said that in the past week and a half since she has had Quimby on her mind, she is getting very little sleep.



"I have been writing and searching for clues in the middle of the night about this. I think it is the spirit of the missing New Jersey girl that is leading me to Debbie Quimby," Mikula said. "But I cannot understand or explain it yet," she said.



Having psychic powers is not easy, she said. "Most police departments don't put a lot of faith in psychics, and most people discount us. It makes it very tough to help out because people think we're nuts," she said.



Mikula said her goals are nothing more that finding both young girls and giving closure to both families. "My New Jersey girl has parents that are elderly now, and all they want is to put their daughter to rest. I think it would be the same with Mr. and Mrs. Quimby," she said. "The not knowing would stop if I can help locate these girls."



At the time of her disappearance, Quimby resided at 19 Smith Street in Townsend. She was born on Oct. 9, 1963. She weighed 120 pounds, had brown shoulder-length hair, was 5 foot 1 inch tall, and had brown eyes and a slender to medium build with a fair complexion at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen riding a brown boy's model Takara 10-speed bike. She was wearing a multi-colored shirt, blue jeans and a blue Pop Warner jacket with the name Debbie on the sleeve. She was 13 and a half at the time of her disappearance.



She had left a note stating that she was leaving for a few hours and that she would call her mother. Reports have stated Debbie was heading to her grandparents house in West Townsend.



Debbie's picture is on the Center for Missing and Exploited Children's web site, with a computer generated photo of what she could look like today if she is still alive.



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http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-162971859.html

An anonymous handwritten letter sent to police almost five years ago sparked a major effort in the ongoing search for Deborah.
The letter was sent to the "chief of police" in Townsend in November 2002. It was about three-quarters of a page in length. It said police should search for her body in Walker Pond off Turnpike Road. The letter writer did not claim responsibility for the girl's disappearance.
Chief Marshall called the state police and Environmental Police, and they did a sonar search of the pond but did not reach any conclusions.
Another letter came in the winter of 2003 - in what the chief described as similar handwriting - urging police to take a closer look at a specific section of the pond.
The letters had come out of the blue, he said, noting the case had not been in public discussion for years, although pondering the case had been part of his own daily routine for a quarter-century.
"The decision was made to drain the pond," the chief said.
What followed was an arduous 38 days of intensive searching through the murky bottom of Walker Pond, as volunteers toiled with hands and heavy equipment for any trace of Deborah. They found none.
"The conditions over there were horrendous," the chief said, recalling the sight of cranes being lowered more than a dozen feet into the muck, material he described as "muddy quicksand."
"Out of all the stuff we've done on this," Chief Marshall said, "that was the biggest letdown."
Searchers were heartbroken when the effort was suspended, but the chief said it was clear there would be no resolution.
He waited for more correspondence from the anonymous tipster, but none has
come.
"I'd go back (to the pond) tomorrow if I had anything specific," Chief Marshall said.
The letters have been analyzed for any forensic clues, but nothing ever materialized, he said.
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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QUIMBY SEARCHERS `OPTIMISTIC'
Article from: The Boston Globe Article date: July 9, 2004 Author: Jack Encarnacao, Globe correspondent More results for: Deborah Quimby

Authorities say they think the remains of Deborah Quimby, who was last seen riding a bicycle near Walker Pond in Townsend in 1977, could be found today in the mud at the base of the drained pond.

Consulting and construction companies recently offered the free use of equipment, which will allow excavation crews to begin digging and screening mud early today, said Townsend Police Sergeant Travis Rixford. Preliminary analysis of the mud by a forensic anthropologist indicated that a full body could be preserved there, he said.

"A body could very well be intact," Rixford said. "We're feeling optimistic."

Two dogs trained to find remains have shown strong interest in a northeast section of the pond, about 30 feet from shore, where investigators think a body may lie under 5 to 10 feet of mud, according to Patrick Hannon, owner of Newton-based Massachusetts Environmental Associates, whose company is helping with the digging and has offered the use of some equipment.

Hannon said excavation at Walker Pond was set to begin yesterday until it was postponed due to concerns that the crane might tip over on the unstable mud. Extra supports were being laid down to ensure that digging can begin today, he said.

"Everyone is so convinced there's a whole body here," he said.

Hannon lent assistance after Police Chief Erving Marshall called off the investigation late last month, citing hazardous conditions encountered by rescuers.

Hannon said his interest was piqued by Marshall's appearance on television news explaining that Townsend police had run out of options in the search for Quimby, who was 13 when she disappeared.

"My father said successful people have a moral obligation to help," Hannon said, "and that's kind of stuck with me."

Representatives from another of Hannon's companies, Global Environmental Strategies of Newton, met with Marshall about two weeks ago and offered equipment such as off-road trucks to help in the search, free of charge.

"He was kind of shocked," Hannon said.

Marshall did not return calls seeking comment, but he told the Townsend Times last week that Hannon's offer was "the answer to our prayers."

Hannon then sought assistance from Stephen Barlow, chief operating officer of J.F. White Contracting of Framingham, who provided a crane.

"It's obviously a heart-wrenching thing for the family and the town doesn't have the resources, so we figured we'd lend a hand," Barlow said.

Barlow said he also sought help from trucking companies that donated vehicles and from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4 of Medway, which donated an equipment operator.

"Everybody kind of pulled together," he said.

Officials resumed draining the pond on Tuesday. Last month, investigators found remnants of a bicycle, some fabric, and two buttons in Walker Pond, which authorities began searching after receiving anonymous letters that said Quimby could be found there.

Quimby, who disappeared May 3, 1977, was last seen riding a brown boy's bicycle to her grandparents' house near the pond.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7857437.html
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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Letters to police prompt Mass. pond searches,: Girl disappeared in area in 1977
Article from: Sunday Gazette-Mail Article date: June 27, 2004 Author: Jay Lindsay More results for: Deborah Quimby

TOWNSEND, Mass. - The rural road that wanders past Walker Pond was the last place 13-year-old Deborah Ann Quimby was seen, pedaling her bicycle as she headed for a quiet place to think.

That was 27 years ago, and the decades since produced few leads. But anonymous letters sent to police in recent years have revived the long-dormant case.

This past week, police drained Walker Pond, then searched the muddy bottom for Deborah's remains, after the letters promised answers there.

The search, the second at the pond in two years, yielded a few articles of clothing and an old bike. But authorities don't know yet if the items are major clues because the pond was used as a dump until the late 1970s and holds all manner of junk.

Deborah's parents are grateful for the renewed effort to find their daughter, who would be 40 now.

"We hope that some of that turns into finding our daughter and puts an end to this," said Richard "Jake" Quimby. "We just want an end to it."

Deborah left home for her grandfather's campsite across town on May 3, 1977, riding a brown, boy's model 10-speed bike. A friend who accompanied her for a short time was the last person who saw her.

Quimby left a note for her parents, telling them she had "some issues" to deal with, but would phone later that day. The call never came.

Sheila Brown, who works at the town library, remembered people in this New Hampshire border town of about 9,200 inhabitants mobilizing to search for the teen and keeping closer watch on their own kids.

"There was a lot of frenzy going on," she said. "You've got a thousand and one different questions, and nobody has any answers."

The case grew stale over the years until November 2002, when police received an anonymous letter pointing them to Walker Pond. A search with sonar in May 2003 turned up nothing. A second letter sent exactly a year after the first urged police to look closer, prompting this year's search.

This time, police drained the pond about 20 to 30 feet from the original shoreline, focusing their attention on the pond's northwest corner.

Deborah, shown with long brown hair and a freckled nose in Internet "Missing" posters, is listed as a "non family abduction" by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Jake Quimby rejects theories that his daughter was taken by strangers and has said he thought Deborah might have been meeting someone she knew.

"When she left, it seemed like she had a destination in mind," he said. "To me, that's not being snatched."

Any number of scenarios have passed through his mind in the past 27 years.

"Your mind just naturally tries to piece things together," he said at a police news conference. He and Deborah's mother, Anne Quimby, declined to be interviewed.

Last week, the pond's newly exposed shoreline, dotted with old tires, had small orange flags sticking up from the deep brown muck where clothing and bike parts were found.

Police were initially unable to determine if the bike parts matched Deborah's, and sent the bike and clothing to a lab for analysis. The police chief said he wants to reinterview eight to 10 people who were considered "persons of interest" when Deborah disappeared.

Police won't say if the letters indicate the writer is the suspect or just someone with knowledge of the case. Sgt. Travis Rixford said the letter writer had a good grasp of Townsend's geography.

"I feel very strongly about the letters," Rixford said. "They're somewhat specific."

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-14747713.html
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7851959.html
GLIMMER OF HOPE' IN '77 MISSING GIRL CASE PIECES OF FABRIC, BUTTONS, BIKE ARE PULLED FROM POND
Article from: The Boston Globe Article date: June 23, 2004 Author: Katie Nelson, Globe Correspondent More results for: Deborah Quimby

TOWNSEND Remnants of a bicycle, some fabric, and two buttons the most promising clues yet to the 1977 disappearance of 13-year-old Deborah Ann Quimby have been raked from the bottom of Walker Pond, Police Chief Erving Marshall Jr. said yesterday.

Police found the items Saturday but are awaiting scientific tests to determine if they belonged to Deborah, Marshall said.

Deborah's parents, Ann and Richard "Jake" Quimby, attended the news conference and again asked for answers to the decades of questions.

"For 27 years, my family has been in a lot of pain," Ann Quimby said.

"We're begging, if you know anything, let us know," Deborah's mother added.

The Quimbys said Saturday's findings offered a "glimmer of hope" that they would find out what happened to their daughter.

She was last seen riding a boy's 10-speed bicycle on a wooded Townsend road.

She was wearing a multicolored shirt, blue jeans, and a royal blue Pop Warner jacket.

Police also are attempting to locate and question eight to 10 "people of interest," who lived in the area when Quimby vanished, Marshall said.

The pieces of a bike frame, denim cloth, and two white buttons were in the murky Walker Pond, which authorities have been draining and combing for clues since June 15.

Two anonymous letters sent to police in north Middlesex County near Groton renewed the search.

Both typed letters, one sent in May 2003 and the other in November 2003, were in handwritten envelopes and directed police to search the spring-fed, 2-acre pond.

They were postmarked from Manchester, N.H., and Worcester, but Marshall said the letters were not necessarily mailed from there.

Even if they were mailed from Townsend, they could have been routed to the larger cities' post offices, then back to the police station's address.

On Thursday, police also found an article of clothing that appeared to be from the mid-1970s in the northwest corner of the pond.

Police dogs had led investigators there during past investigation attempts.

The items found Saturday were unearthed nearby, about 10 inches underground.

They were preserved because they had been buried in silt.

Photos displayed yesterday showed that the bike's color was indistinguishable, and the denim looked like a soft, muddy mass.

The letters and the items found last week are being examined by state and FBI crime-lab analysts.

Local and state police, firefighters, and other investigators have spent several hundred hours pumping millions of gallons of water out of Walker Pond and searching it in recent days, Marshall said.

But if nothing more is found by the end of this week, he said, the search may be suspended.

"Without a specific target area [in or around the pond], the idea of continuing this operation is overwhelming," he said.

Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118411801.html

Cops hope tipster helps search for girl.(News)
Article from: The Boston Herald Article date: June 19, 2004 Author: Richardson, Franci More results for: Deborah Quimby

Byline: FRANCI RICHARDSON

TOWNSEND - As investigators used sonar technology and a pole camera to search for the remains of a 13-year-old who vanished in 1977, the police chief here pleaded with an anonymous tipster who led them to this pond to tell all.

"What I'm waiting for is for that person to get back to me," said Townsend police Chief Erving Marshall, who was a 23-year-old rookie when Deborah Ann Quimby went missing. "If that person has any more credible information, then I would urge them to reconnect with me."

Marshall received two separate notes from an anonymous writer, urging him to scour Walker Pond, which is about a half-mile from where Quimby was last seen May 3, 1977.

The latest search of the pond by 30 to 40 police, fire and environmental officials began Tuesday - after the receipt of the second letter - and should last through the weekend, Marshall said.

On Thursday, police found an item of clothing under an old tire and rim on land at a remote section of the pond, which used to be a junkyard. Marshall refused to identify the garment, which has been taken to the state crime lab for testing. He said the piece of clothing "could have been from the era when she turned missing."

Quimby was last seen wearing a multicolored shirt, blue jeans and a blue Pop Warner jacket with "Debbie" on the sleeve.

Police focused on the location where the item was discovered also because it had four times attracted the attention of cadaver-sniffing dogs this week.

"I remain cautiously optimistic at this time," Marshall said of the recovery.

Many residents throughout the town couldn't help but hope for an end to the mystery of what happened to Deborah Ann, especially for her family.

"The family and town want closure," said Nellie Minor, who is 60 and has lived four houses down from Walker Pond since she was 3. "I just think it's sad how they have to do it."

Charles Rossbach's daughter, Cindy, was 10 when Deborah Ann disappeared.

"I was thinking (then) that it could have been my daughter," the 64-year-old dairy farmer said. "There was no reason why it wasn't my daughter. I was just lucky."

Caption: ONGOING SEARCH: Crews continue to scour Walker Pond in Townsend, near where 13-year-old Deborah Ann Quimby was last seen in 1977. The search should continue through the weekend. HERALD PHOTO BY DOUGLAS McFADD

Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7862033.html
HOPE FADES AS SEARCH FOR MISSING GIRL ENDS
Article from: The Boston Globe Article date: July 23, 2004 More results for: Deborah Quimby

After 38 days of digging and combing the muddy bottom of a local pond, Townsend police ended the search yesterday for the remains of a 13-year-old girl who disappeared 27 years ago. However, officials said the investigation of Deborah Ann Quimby's disappearance is far from over. Police Chief Erving Marshall Jr. said the investigation will continue around the area, "in hopes of someday finding the answers that we are looking for in Walker Pond." Quimby was last seen riding a bicycle in a wooded area near Walker Pond in 1977. Two anonymous letters sent to Middlesex County authorities sparked the search, which started June 15. Marshall said a State Police laboratory analysis of the remnants of a bicycle and fabric raked from the pond produced no leads.
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118419792.html
Cops send out dogs for '77 missing case.(News)
Article from: The Boston Herald Article date: June 21, 2004 More results for: Deborah Quimby

Townsend police plan to resume searching a pond today in hopes of resolving a missing-person case dating to 1977. That's when 13-year-old Deborah Ann Quimby was last seen alive.

Authorities stood guard at Walker Pond yesterday but did not search the site, where investigators have confirmed they found an item of clothing after cadaver-sniffing dogs focused on a spot in the pond area. The search was prompted by an anonymous letter.

Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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monkalup
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[ *  *  * ]
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118363487.html
Police find clothing in search for girl.(News)
Article from: The Boston Herald Article date: June 18, 2004 Author: Richardson, Franci More results for: Deborah Quimby

Byline: FRANCI RICHARDSON

As police followed an anonymous tip to find the body of a 13-year-old girl who vanished in 1977, they reportedly found a piece of clothing as cadaver-sniffing dogs focused on an area of a pond.

Police refused to elaborate on the clothing, but said they would bring in sonar equipment as they drained Walker Pond in an attempt to find the body of Deborah Ann Quimby, WBZ-TV reported.

Quimby disappeared May 3, 1977. She was last seen riding her bicycle about a half-mile from the pond.

Police said they are following a tip they received from an anonymous source that sent two specific letters urging a search of the pond.

When they first received the letter in November 2002, officials dredged the pond, but found nothing. The message in the second letter was "take a closer look," according to the Lowell Sun.

Police were still draining the pond last night, and expected to be done today.

Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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Ell
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Heart of Gold
[ *  *  * ]
New investigators take on Quimby case
Nashoba Publishing
Posted: 12/18/2009 07:34:40 AM EST


On December 15, 2009, I was made aware of a letter circulating throughout the community from a company called "The Missing Persons Special Investigations Unit" out of Washington, DC referencing the Deborah Quimby missing person case and soliciting monetary donations to defray the cost of this company's investigation into Debbie's disappearance.

Without having been first notified of this company's involvement in any investigation, I was put in a situation of researching this company and speaking to its representatives so I could respond to the numerous calls that we were getting as to the legitimacy of this company.

I have since spoken in person to Mr. Robert Reinhart, an investigator and principal of "The Missing Persons Special Investigations Unit," who has provided me with information concerning their ongoing investigation into this case that not only legitimizes their company, but has given me reason to believe that they have been vigorously pursuing this case, have been conducting a multitude of interviews which have developed leads, and have the resources as well as the ability in solving this case.

Although I am not at liberty to discuss the details on this investigation and my conversation with Mr. Reinhart, I will say that I was very impressed with the information that was provided to me and impressed with Mr. Reinhart's commitment and enthusiasm in assisting us and bringing closure to this case.

-- Police Chief Erving Marshall Jr.
http://www.nashobapublishing.com/ci_140250...rce=most_viewed
Ell

Only after the last tree has been
cut down;
Only after the last fish has been
caught;
Only after the last river has been
poisoned;
Only then will you realize
that money cannot be eaten.
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Ell
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Heart of Gold
[ *  *  * ]
Cold case is getting fresh look
By Jack Minch, jminch@sentinelandenterprise.com
Posted: 12/19/2009 12:16:09 PM EST

TOWNSEND -- Robert Reinhart said he and his colleagues have no more than four months left to solve the case of 13-year-old Deborah Ann Quimby, who disappeared May 3, 1977.

After the self-imposed deadline, they will announce their theories regarding her disappearance, said Reinhart, a special investigator with the Missing Persons Special Investigations Unit.

The Washington, D.C.-based company, formed earlier this year, takes on unsolved, "cold" cases for a $10,000 fee. It has yet to solve a case.

Reinhart said his company took on the Quimby case on its own in mid-October. It has not been hired.

Police Chief Erving M. Marshall Jr. said he learned about Missing Persons after residents called the Police Department reporting letters soliciting donations to help pay for the private investigation.

After doing some of his own research on the company and talking with Reinhart about his probe, Marshall has embraced the company's help.

"A lot of the things he was telling me come in line with our past investigation and people we had spoken to," Marshall said Friday. "He seems very sincere, and certainly from what he told me, they have been working on this investigation the last couple of months extensively."

Families typically pay for the investigative work, Reinhart said, but there are ancillary costs, so the company reaches out to the community for contributions.

Anne Quimby, Deborah's mother, declined comment when reached at her
Townsend home Friday night.
On May 3, 1977, Deborah Quimby left a note for her parents saying she was bicycling to her grandparents' home on Vinton Pond, but never arrived.

Two boys were the last to see her.

"She said to them she was running away, but she wrote a note to her mom (that) she would be back," Reinhart said. "Being 13 years old, we think she was meeting up with someone. It sounds like she met up with the wrong person."

Police have chased leads over the years and, most recently, partially drained and dredged Walker Pond over 38 days in the summer of 2004 after getting two letters urging the water be searched.

Police did not find any new evidence from that search.

Reinhart, who worked as a business development consultant before joining the firm, said his specialty is determining human behavior.

He said he is encouraged by the investigation, but does not have enough information to publicly name a suspect.

Missing Persons investigators are more open with their work than police usually can be because they try to generate new leads through public interest, Reinhart said.

They have access to manpower and technological resources -- such as forensics equipment and ground-penetrating radar -- that police may not have easy access to, he said.

The company is also working on the case of Maura Murray, a UMass Amherst student who disappeared after a single-car accident in Haverhill, N.H., on Feb. 9, 2004.

Investigations normally include two field operatives and about 18 administrative support and research personnel, Reinhart said.

Missing Persons sets three- to six-month time limits on its investigations.

"Right now this Quimby case is in its initial stages," Reinhart said. "All the interviews are done and we're working on physical evidence."

Reinhart has not ruled out a connection between Quimby's disappearance and the death of another Townsend resident, Judith Vieweg, a 31-year-old teacher found stabbed behind her Main Street home in September 1973.

He believes the Quimby case was an impulsive crime and that Vieweg's attack was planned, though the fact that her body was dragged and hastily covered shows the killing "was an impulsive move as well."

During searches that require specialized equipment, Missing Persons hires contractors such as scuba divers, forensic analysts and air rescue, he said.

Investigators cross-referenced resident listings from 1977 and the current list to learn who is still in town from the time of Quimby's disappearance, and asked them for financial support, he said.

"If they want to contribute, it would be appreciated to defray the cost of research and investigation," Reinhart said.

The company's Web site is www.mpsiu.com.

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_14032241
Ell

Only after the last tree has been
cut down;
Only after the last fish has been
caught;
Only after the last river has been
poisoned;
Only then will you realize
that money cannot be eaten.
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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
New investigators take on Quimby case
Nashoba Publishing
Posted: 12/18/2009 07:34:40 AM EST


On December 15, 2009, I was made aware of a letter circulating throughout the community from a company called "The Missing Persons Special Investigations Unit" out of Washington, DC referencing the Deborah Quimby missing person case and soliciting monetary donations to defray the cost of this company's investigation into Debbie's disappearance.

Without having been first notified of this company's involvement in any investigation, I was put in a situation of researching this company and speaking to its representatives so I could respond to the numerous calls that we were getting as to the legitimacy of this company.

I have since spoken in person to Mr. Robert Reinhart, an investigator and principal of "The Missing Persons Special Investigations Unit," who has provided me with information concerning their ongoing investigation into this case that not only legitimizes their company, but has given me reason to believe that they have been vigorously pursuing this case, have been conducting a multitude of interviews which have developed leads, and have the resources as well as the ability in solving this case.

Although I am not at liberty to discuss the details on this investigation and my conversation with Mr. Reinhart, I will say that I was very impressed with the information that was provided to me and impressed with Mr. Reinhart's commitment and enthusiasm in assisting us and bringing closure to this case.

-- Police Chief Erving Marshall Jr.


http://www.nashobapublishing.com/ci_140250...rce=most_viewed
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
http://www.nashobapublishing.com/townsend_news/ci_14069502


TOWNSEND -- The man who sought donations to pay for the investigation of a 32-year-old missing-persons case says he has bowed out because his background stirred a cloud of suspicion.
Robert R. Reinhart of the Missing Persons Special Investigation Unit, a private, for-profit business, reported on Tuesday that Missing Persons has stopped soliciting, after putting in 482 man-hours searching for Deborah Ann Quimby.
On May 3, 1977, Quimby left a note for her parents saying she was bicycling to her grandparents' home on Vinton Pond, but never arrived. Police have chased leads on Quimby's disappearance over the years. In the summer of 2004, they partially drained and dredged Walker Pond over 38 days after getting two letters urging the water be searched. Police did not find any new evidence,
Recently, Reinhart approached Anne Quimby, Deborah's mother, about investigating the case, but she was unable to pay the $5,000 fee, Reinhart said. Instead, he tried to solicit donations, but the company never received a penny, Reinhart said.
Anne Quimby could not be reached for comment.
Police Chief Erving M. Marshall Jr. said he learned about Missing Persons after residents called the Police Department reporting solicitation letters.
Marshall issued a press release last week in which he states he spoke to Reinhart, who provided information that legitimized the company. Marshall wrote that he was impressed with the information Reinhart provided and with Reinhart's enthusiasm in closing the case.
But Reinhart said he is distancing himself because he doesn't want his background to taint the investigation.
Specifically, Reinhart's background includes three federal bankruptcy cases -- 1989, 1999 and 2006 -- all of which are closed. He also is involved in two active civil cases, in Lowell Superior Court and Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge.
Reinhart is named as a part of a 2009 lawsuit brought by Steven A. Belmonte regarding a Web-based agency -- GetScouted.com -- that connects people with talent scouts.
In the 2008 case, Susan Warford, of Dracut, told The Sun that Reinhart allegedly reneged on a contract worth tens of thousands of dollars by purporting to sell her stock in his daughter's company.
Reinhart's daughter invented a "thigh pack," similar to a gun holster, that can be used for carrying video games and other valuables, according to a 2002 CBS News story.
Reinhart said his legal troubles are the result of retaliation by a former wife, an angry ex-girlfriend and a disgruntled former employee -- his son.
"I didn't do anything to con or scam them," Reinhart said. "My past is not great, but it is like a lot of people."
"We are trying to do some good," Reinhart said. "But I don't want Missing Persons to get a bad name because of me."
Missing Persons' Web site, www.mpsiu.com, boasts that it has "cold case specialists" -- essentially subcontractors -- but Reinhart admits his background is in "sales and business development." He is not a licensed private investigator. His specialty is determining human behavior.
Reinhart, who lives in Newton, said Missing Persons is run from a "virtual office" in Washington, D.C.
Reinhart said Missing Persons was formed three months ago, and after preliminary investigations chose to focus on Quimby and missing University of Massachusetts Amherst student Maura Murray. The company Web site now lists seven "investigations," including the 1982 missing-person case of 17-year-old Judith Ann Chartier, of Chelmsford.
Marshall said that if anyone donated to Missing Persons or has any information about the case, they should contact him at 978-597-2313.
Marshall stressed that Townsend Police are not working with Reinhart or Missing Persons.
However, Marshall sent a Dec. 18 e-mail to Reinhart suggesting they meet with the state police to ensure that "everyone was on the same page" and that Townsend Police investigations into the Quimby disappearance and the 1973 Judith Vieweg (a Townsend teacher) murder are not compromised.
Marshall said the exchange of information was a one-way street. He listened to the information Reinhart provided, like he would any tipster.
Jessica Venezia, spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney's office, "Mr. Reinhart has no association with this office. However, we welcome any and all information that might be helpful to solve a crime."
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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tatertot
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http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/1...send-cold-case/

Anonymous letter may solve Townsend cold case
Posted: Today at 6:25 pm EST Last Updated: Today at 6:47 pm EST

TOWNSEND, Mass. -- There may be a possible break in the case involving a teenage girl who disappeared more than 30 years ago.

Deborah Quimby vanished in Townsend in 1977. It was a cold case, but detectives hope an anonymous letter will help solve the mystery.

“We’ve just basically started rolling on this and doing the interviews and all of a sudden this letter comes out of the clear blue sky,” said Chief Erving Marshall from the Townsend Police Department.

The anonymous letter is prompting investigators to do a ground search in the area where Quimby was supposed to be at when she disappeared back 33 years ago. But nothing turned up.

She disappeared in 1977 when she was 13-years-old.

“We saw each other pretty much every day at school, we went to school together. Sleepovers, everything. My birthday parties – I have pictures of us. Then she just disappeared,” said Quimby’s childhood friend.

Quimby’s best friend, who does not want to be identified, is shocked by this latest development, and prays that it’s not just another false hope.

“I really thought when they drained the pond that maybe there’d be a glimmer of hope at the end of it, and there wasn’t,” said Quimby’s childhood friend.

Investigators say Quimby vanished while supposedly on her way to her grandparent’s camp in town.

In 2004 an anonymous letter was sent to police telling them to look at Walker Pond. They did, and they found nothing.

“I’m hoping that the person who wrote the letter is sincere. I hope they find her. I hope it puts closure to the whole story,” said Quimby’s childhood friend.

Police have not released specifics about the letter. They will continue to interview people, and there may be more searches.

The police chief in Townsend has been working the case since 1977. He said the case has been open and active for 33 years.
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monkalup
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[ *  *  * ]
Missing: Deborah Quimby from Townsend, MA, May, 1977
On May 3, 1977, thirteen-year-old Deborah Quimby left a note for her parents stating she was going to ride her bike to her grandparents house in West Townsend, 4 miles from her home, and that she would return home later that day. A friend accompanied Quimby for a portion of the trip but turned around on Turnpike Road while Quimby continued on to her grandparents house. She never made it to her grandparents camp site and neither her nor the bike she was riding have been recovered.

It was speculated that Quimby was going through some type of problem when she disappeared. Some have suggested that the thirteen-year-old was pregnant but no evidence supporting that has been found. Investigators, however, did find an unsent note in Quimby's locker stating that she was upset and wanted to speak to the friend who the note was addressed to at her grandparents house. It is possible that Quimby was on her way to speak to the friend when she vanished. In the note to her parents, Quimby also noted that she had a lot on her mind.

For twenty five years relatively few clues were found in the case. A 1993 questioning of a suspect in Virginia did not produce any viable leads. Then in November 2002, a letter was sent to police indicating Quimby's remains may be found in Walker Pond, a half mile from where she was last seen. On May 3, 2003 the pond was searched with sonar to no avail. In November 2003 another letter was sent, this one telling law enforcement to take a closer look at the pond. Authorities drained the pond and found two bicycles unrelated to Quimby's disappearance along with some clothes. The clothes are potentially from the time period Quimby disappeared, but have not yielded any publicly released clues in the case. A number of psychics have also claimed to have information about Quimby's disappearance but none of their visions have resulted in new evidence for the case.

When she disappeared Quimby had a freckled complexion, brown hair and brown eyes. She was 5'1" and 120 pounds. No identifying marks have been reported, but when she disappeared she was wearing a Pop Warner football cheerleaders jacket with her name, "Debbie" stiched on it, blue jeans, and a multicolor shirt. A picture of Quimby in 1977 and an aged progressed photo can be found below. If you have any information about the disappearance of Deborah Quimby you are urged to call the Townsend Police Department at 978-597-2242.
http://newenglandunsolved.blogspot.com/200...ownsend-ma.html
Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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monkalup
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The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.
[ *  *  * ]
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2010/12/21/town...girl-cold-case/
Townsend Police Get New Lead In Missing Girl’s Cold Case
By Ron Sanders, WBZ-TV
December 21, 2010 6:08 PM

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Deborah Anne Quimby (CBS)

Reporting Ron Sanders

TOWNSEND (CBS) — Townsend Police say they are actively investigating the disappearance, 33 years ago, of a 13-year-old local girl after receiving possible new clues on where to look.

Chief Erving Marshall has been involved in the investigation since Deborah Anne Quimby was reported missing May 3, 1977, a couple of weeks after he joined the Townsend Police.

WBZ-TV’s Ron Sanders reports.



The department received two anonymous letters, in 2003 and 2004, prompting them to search Walker’s Pond with side-scanning sonar and then drain it in 2004. Her parents spoke then of their hope to learn more. “Debbie is thought of by both of us every single day of our life, every single day,” said Anne Quimby, her mother.

Several weeks ago, with help from the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, police interviewed and re-interviewed a number of people in the investigation. Then, without prompting from any recent media attention, another letter came in early December. “I received an anonymous letter in the mail, addressed to the Townsend Police Department which prompted us to do some preliminary searching,” said Chief Marshall.

It was a small foot search in a wooded area along Turnpike Road where Debbie Quimby is believed to have been riding her bike to her grandfather’s camp on Vinton Pond when she vanished. Chief Marshall said the search did not turn up any evidence and there are no viable suspects. He is not discussing the contents of the anonymous letter. “Any information anyone can provide, including the author of that anonymous letter, is certainly welcome,” said Marshall.

Anyone who might have information can contact the Townsend Police by phone or through the chief’s e-mail which can be found on his department’s website.

Lauran

"If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." The late, great Roberto Clemente.


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Pilgrim
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Humbug!! It's All A Humbug!
[ *  *  * ]
Case Type: Endangered Missing
DOB: Oct 9, 1963 Sex: Female
Missing Date: May 3, 1977 Race: White
Age Now: 47 Height: 5'1" (155 cm)
Missing City: TOWNSEND Weight: 120 lbs (54 kg)
Missing State : MA Hair Color: Brown
Missing Country: United States Eye Color: Brown
Case Number: NCMC727916
Circumstances: Deborah's photo is shown age-progressed to 47 years. She was last seen riding her bicycle to her grandmother's home near Townsend, Massachusetts, on May 3, 1977.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/ser...earchLang=en_US
www.missing-and-unidentified.org
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tatertot
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[ *  *  * ]
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/01/27/cold...rd-in-townsend/

Cold Case Investigation Pushes Forward In Townsend
By Bobby Sisk, WBZ-TV January 27, 2014 11:25 PM

TOWNSEND (CBS) – The investigation in a baffling missing persons case is pushing forward in Townsend. This year will mark 37 years since 13-year-old Deborah Anne Quimby was last seen riding her bike along Route 119. “It was May 3rd, 1977 and I got a call to go to her house,” said Police Chief Erving Marshall. At the time, Marshall was a new officer, on the force only two weeks. “It’s a very personal case for me,” he said.

Quimby had left two notes that day. One was to her parents, saying she was going to her Grandfather’s camp on Vinton Pond and that she’d call. The Chief says she never did. Another note to a friend had a map of how to get to the camp. Those notes are just part of the evidence now in a shelf full of binders. Marshall thinks about their contents daily. “Every day. Every day, yep,” he said as he began to choke up.

Through the years, he’s received three anonymous letters. One in 2004 led to an extensive search of Walker Pond along Turnpike Road. “We got a couple of remnants up there. An old bicycle frame and some remnants of clothing,” he explained. But tests revealed they did not belong to Quimby.

Another letter in 2010 led to a foot search, but still no clues. “I just remember a warm fun-loving little girl who has missed out on so much,” Deborah’s mother Anne Quimby told WBZ in June of 2004. Her father Richard “Jake” Quimby, has since passed away. “Before he passed away, I wrote him a letter,” Chief Marshall said. He wanted him to know he’d keep trying to find answers for the family.

At least once a month, Marshall meets with two volunteer investigators with The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “We’ve been doing some re-interviewing and doing some polygraphs and I traveled to Oregon and I traveled to New York last year,” he said.

The Chief will not say who’s been interviewed so far, but he did say, there have been recent inconsistencies in stories. So, possibly as soon as next month, even more interviews will be done. “Continuing our interviews and we know who we are going to interview,” he said. Marshall is hopeful this will be the year. “It’s been a long time. It’s been 37 years. That’s a long time,” he said. “Obviously I’d like to see the case resolved before I leave my post here,” he said.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Deborah Anne Quimby, call Townsend Police at 978-597-6214.
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