Unsolved Mystery: Beverly Potts’ Mysterious Disappearance

When last seen, Beverly was wearing the following items of clothing:

• size 14 or 16 girls’ blue denim jeans with a side zipper and no label
• bright red cotton panties with no tag. (There was elastic at the waistline, but not at the legs.)
• green socks
• a white cotton Honeylane undershirt with a tag
• a reddish-pink turtleneck jersey without a label
• a navy blue poplin jacket with torn pockets and no label
• size 5 or 5.5 brown Karrybrooke Sportshoes loafers
• two metal hair clasps with brown plastic covers
• a yellow gold ring with spaces for 7-8 stones, but all of the stones are missing.

Photo Courtesy of The Doe Network. Information Courtesy of The Charley Project.

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Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and it is not meant to cause harm to anyone connected with the case. Please do not contact, threaten, harm, malign, or otherwise intimidate those mentioned in the post. Please do not release any personal information of the people mentioned in this post, and do not join in attacks conducted by others. Per U.S. law, every person directly or indirectly connected with this case is innocent until proven guilty.

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About Beverly

Beverly Rose Potts was born on April 15, 1941, to her parents, Robert and Elizabeth Potts. She had an older sister named Anita, and her family resided in a middle-class neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. At the time of Beverly’s disappearance, her father worked as a stagehand at a local theater, her mother was a homemaker, and her sister (then 22 years old) was a clerk at the National Cash Register company.

Throughout her life, Beverly was described as a quiet, responsible, and obedient child, and her favorite hobbies were music and dancing. Although she was generally shy, her best friend, 11-year-old Patricia “Patsy” Swing, stated later on that Beverly hated to be on the receiving end of prolonged or cruel jokes, to the point that she lost her temper from time to time. However, she was generally a quiet, sweet child, especially when she was around strangers. She was known to be particularly timid around unknown older boys and men, including her best friend’s father.

As Beverly grew up, her parents enforced a strict curfew any time she went out, and she would be grounded if she returned late. Approximately two weeks before she went missing, Beverly and her cousin returned later than the agreed-upon time. As a result, her mother grounded her and forbade her from attending Showagon, an annual performing arts festival at nearby Halloran Park on August 24. However, her mother had a change of heart and allowed her to attend on the condition that she would immediately return home after the performances.

Disappearance

On August 24, Beverly and Patsy rode their bikes to Halloran Park to attend Showagon. Sources vary on when exactly the girls arrived, but most agree that the two were seen at the park around 7 PM. Reportedly, they tried to navigate the area on their bicycles, but they decided it would be easier to navigate on foot. Because of this, they rode back home, dropped off their bikes, and returned on foot between 8:00 and 8:30 PM, depending on the source.

At approximately 8:45 PM, Patsy suggested that the two return home since it was getting dark and she needed to go home. Beverly reportedly refused, as she was enjoying the performances, and her mother had agreed to let her stay until the end of the show. As a result, Patsy left, leaving Beverly on her own. Some sources report that Patsy saw an unknown woman placing a hand on Beverly’s shoulder. However, I was unable to independently verify this information, and her identity remains unknown.

Between Patsy leaving and Beverly being reported missing, there were a few unconfirmed sightings:

• A 13-year-old boy saw a girl who matched Beverly’s description walking diagonally across the park in the direction of the Potts’ residence. The area reportedly had poor visibility, but he was convinced that the girl was Beverly, as she had the same duck-like gait.
• Unknown witnesses claimed to see a girl matching Beverly’s description walk next to a parked 1937 or 1938 Dodge Coupé on West 117th Street. Reportedly, the girl spoke with two men who were in the vehicle, although no one saw her get in the vehicle.
• At approximately 9:45 PM, a woman saw a dark-colored 1948 Coupé driving past 110th Street and Baltic Avenue. The driver looked like he was in his 40s, and there was a distressed child in the backseat with her hands tied together behind her back. She reportedly thrashed and shouted, “I want to get out!”

Meanwhile, Beverly’s parents grew increasingly concerned as the minutes ticked by and she failed to return home. At 10 PM, her parents contacted Patsy’s parents to see if she was at their house. When they were told that Beverly was not there, the family searched the park and the surrounding areas. When they still couldn’t find her, her parents contacted the police and reported her missing.

The authorities immediately began to search for Beverly and questioned family, friends, and individuals who were at Halloran Park that night. By the next morning, there was a statewide search, and over 45 full-time investigators were assigned to search full-time, in addition to over 1,000 volunteers and auxiliary police. The authorities also ruled out Beverly’s family, as well as the theory that she ran away. By all accounts, she had a happy, stable home life, and she was looking forward to a family trip.

Despite a thorough investigation, no trace of Beverly was ever found, and she remains missing as of this writing.

Suspects and (False) Leads

Since Beverly’s disappearance, there have been several suspects and leads. In October 1951, an unknown man reportedly called the family and demanded $25,000 for her return. The call turned out to be a hoax, and the man had nothing to do with the girl’s disappearance. In the years following her disappearance, leads would be called in claiming to know the location of her body, but all of them resulted in dead ends.

According to unofficial sources, a retired detective claimed to have solved the case in 1974. According to his account, he received a letter from the brother of a man who was known to have abducted and molested young girls from Halloran Park around the time Beverly disappeared. However, once detectives found this man and questioned him, he couldn’t remember if he had abducted the young girl. Due to a lack of evidence, the county prosecutor refused to file charges. The validity of this account remains unknown.

In 1994, a couple renovating a house in Cleveland discovered handwritten notes underneath old carpeting. The notes were written by Anna Haynik, and she recorded what she considered to be the facts of what happened to Beverly. In her account, she insisted that her husband Steve had been responsible for her disappearance, and she had caught him while he disposed of her body in the furnace.

With this information in hand, the authorities tracked down the writer using real estate records. Upon questioning the writer, they learned that her husband was dead, and she admitted that the story was false. She reportedly wrote it as a form of revenge against her abusive husband.

The last lead came in 2000 when two handwritten letters were sent to a reporter at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In these letters, an unknown man confessed that he molested and murdered Beverly on the night she disappeared. He further promised to turn himself in to the authorities on August 24, 2001, 50 years after Beverly disappeared. However, before this took place, he sent a third letter stating that he had to go to a nursing home and couldn’t follow through on his promise.

The authorities attempted to locate the author, but they were never able to find him. However, they determined that all of the letters were written by the same person, and they determined that he was most likely an elderly man.

There have not been any further developments as of this writing, and Beverly’s case remains unsolved.

My Thoughts

The Disappearance of Beverly Potts is equal parts tragic and frustrating. She was an innocent ten-year-old girl who wanted to enjoy an evening out with her friend. To many of us today, it sounds incredibly unwise and foolish to let a ten-year-old go off without adult supervision at a crowded event after dark. However, we have to remember that the 1950s were a very different time. Kids regularly spent time without adult supervision, especially in the summer. From what I’ve seen, kids were given the freedom to go wherever they wanted, provided they were on time for supper.

And for a while, this system worked. Night after night, children came home, eager to tell their parents about their day. Beverly didn’t get that chance, though. Instead, something happened to her, and to this day, no one knows where she is.

With the lack of information in her case, it’s difficult to figure out what exactly happened. Over the last 70 years or so, many theories have surfaced to explain what happened. These include:

• Beverly was kidnapped, either for ransom or for a sexually related motive
• Beverly was hit by a driver (drunk or otherwise), who then concealed her body
• Beverly ran away

Let’s start with the theory that Beverly ran away. For many people, including investigators, this is the least likely scenario. From all accounts, she had no reason to run away. Her home life was stable, she had a family who adored her, she was popular among her peers, and she was looking forward to a family vacation. Not only that, but she left with the clothes on her back and nothing more. She didn’t even have her bicycle, since she left it at her house. Running away can be a theory that people default to (especially in cases like Asha Degree‘s), but considering how little she had on her, I doubt she would’ve left abruptly.

The next theory is that Beverly was abducted, either for ransom or a sexually related motive. For me, this seems more plausible than the running away theory. That being said, there are still some problems. For one, the only ransom call that ever came in turned out to be a hoax. From what I’ve seen, kidnappers often make ransom demands soon after they abduct their victims. The longer they hold their victims, the longer they have to wait for the money, and they’re more likely to get caught.

It’s also possible that Beverly was abducted for a sexually motivated reason, but the only problem was that she was incredibly shy and fearful of strangers, especially older boys and men. It’s hard for me to imagine that she would be willing to go off with an unknown man. The only way I could see this working is if he told her something like, “your parents sent me to come bring you home” or “something happened to your mom/dad/sister, and you need to come with me right now.” It’s also possible that a woman lured her away, as she was more likely to be comfortable around women.

The letters from 2000 are particularly interesting. Within them is the only confession we’ve had since she disappeared, and the authorities seem to believe it’s legit. If it is, then this theory would become more credible. The only problem is that we have no idea who wrote these letters, and the authorities haven’t revealed much since then. Unless they reveal more or we figure out the writer’s identity, we can’t know the significance of these letters.

Lastly, we have the theory that Beverly was hit by a car and killed on her way home. For me, this is the theory that makes the most sense. Multiple witnesses saw a girl matching Beverly’s description walking away from the park. Normally, I would take witness statements with a grain of salt, but all of the witnesses said that this girl matched Beverly’s distinctive gait. To me, this gives these sightings more credibility.

I’m curious to know how well-lit the area was after dark, as well as if there was alcohol served at the festival. If it was poorly-lit and alcohol was served, it increases the likelihood of a hit-and-run situation.

The only problem is that we have no idea what route she took to get home or what time she started walking home. If she left when everyone else did, it’s hard to believe that no one witnessed anything. No crash, no tires squealing, no screams or shouts, nothing. No one witnessed anything unusual, so I have to believe that she either took a less crowded path home, or she started home after most of the crowds left. She had gotten in trouble for staying out past curfew before, so it’s possible the same thing happened that night.

If she was hit and killed and no one saw, it’s possible that the perpetrator opted to dispose of her body, whether due to panic or massive character flaws, instead of calling the authorities. If they were looking for a place to dispose of her, Lake Erie wasn’t that far. According to Google, Halloran Park is located less than 50 miles (76.77 kilometers) south of Lake Erie. Depending on the speed limit, the perpetrator could’ve arrived within an hour to an hour and a half. If he dumped her body there, it would be unlikely she would ever be recovered.

Regardless of what happened, we have a ten-year-old girl who’s been missing for over 70 years. In that time, her mom, dad, and sister passed away, never knowing what happened. Beverly had so many opportunities taken away from her. She never got a chance to graduate high school, go to college, experience her first love, get married, have kids, or even finish elementary school. In all likelihood, someone stole all of that from her while they got to live a normal life.

Unless new evidence is found, Beverly’s remains are found, or someone comes forward with the right information, her case will remain cold.

***

If you’re looking for more information about the disappearance of Beverly Potts, there are articles, podcasts, and books discussing her disappearance. However, given that this case occurred in 1951, a lot of the original case files and information have been lost. The following sources helped me as I wrote this post:

• The Charley Project
• The Doe Network
• The Ohio Attorney General
• Wikipedia
• Twilight of Innocence: The Disappearance of Beverly Potts
• True Crime Garage

If you have any information about the disappearance of Beverly Potts, please contact the Cleveland Police Department at 216-623-5100.

What do you think happened? Let me know in the comments.