42°27′17″N 71°17′56″W / 42.45475°N 71.29897°W
Joan Carolyn Risch | |
|---|---|
 Risch in 1960 | |
| Born | Joan Carolyn Bard May 12, 1930 |
| Disappeared | October 24, 1961 (aged 31) Lincoln, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Status | Missing for 63 years and 23 days |
| Other names | Joan Carolyn Nattrass |
| Alma mater | Wilson College (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Editor Homemaker |
| Employer(s) | Harcourt Brace World, Thomas Y. Crowell Co. |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Spouse |
Martin Risch (m. 1956) |
| Children | 2 |
Late on the afternoon of October 24, 1961, police visited an address in Lincoln, Massachusetts, United States, outside Boston, after a neighbor reported seeing a trail of blood leading from the house to the driveway. She had made the discovery after a young girl living in the house had returned from a playdate to find her mother, Joan Carolyn Risch (née Bard; May 12, 1930),[1] absent. Several unconfirmed sightings of a disoriented Risch walking on nearby roads later that day were reported.[2]
Blood matching Risch's type was found smeared in the kitchen, and other evidence initially suggested to police that she had been abducted, although her two-year-old son was found safe asleep in his room. Later, however, it was discovered that Risch had borrowed several library books about unsolved murders and disappearances, including one with similarities to her case. This led to speculation that she had staged her disappearance, perhaps to escape an uncomfortable domestic life; evidence was later discovered of a troubled past which may have motivated such a scheme. Other theories suggest that Risch suffered an accident on the nearby construction site for the Massachusetts Route 128 freeway. She has not been seen since.
- ^ "The Search for Joan Risch" (PDF). truth-link.org. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2014 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Bai, Matt (August 28, 1996). "Spattered blood and speculation". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 17, 2016.