Showing posts with label Contra Costa Cold Cases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Contra Costa Cold Cases. Show all posts
A Trauma Collage
Hello, Daniel Horowitz!
There is sealed court order in a court case between Joseph Lynch and Contra Costa County payoff fund where they spend your money to jail your students and kidnapped my sons. But wait there is more - they killed my relatives in Utah.
Thumbnail label
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The Suicide of Concord City Attorney Mark Coon - The Bennett / Coon Meeting in April 2012
I really liked Mark when we met, as they've said "One of the good guys", he was and his death was tragic, his kids will suffer, his widow will move forward. The rest of us might survie the Battle of Giant REIT's who crave the barren lands of the Concord Naval Weapons Station. Sale approved by Donald Rumsfeld who was in San Franciso a month or more after San Bruno Explosion on Sept 6th, 2010.Hello, Contra Costa County!
This is a template for a simple marketing or informational website. It includes a large callout called the hero unit and three supporting pieces of content. Use it as a starting point to create something more unique.
Sadest Tragic Self Destructing Career Moves ever
My personal connection to Wielsch wasn't obvious until someone in Concord reminded me about his fathers Nazi Prison Gaurd past. Then I remembered how I knew Wielsch's - his father rented shop space a few doors down from shop on Cloverdale Ave Concord CA in 1981.Butler emerged in the late 80s in the east county when he was an Antioch cop with Wielsch and Tanabe. I met Officer Loius Lombardi with his gun drawn pointed at my head staying I was dealing drugs. WTF
Action Action
Vultures via Culture
One day in 2010 or earlier friends revealed losses in real estate were sealed via a Bankruptcy. Later I learned it was Benny Chetcuti Jr. whose sister was married to Chirs Butler arrested in 2011 for stealing drugs siezed in drug raids via his pal Commander Normon Wielsch. WAction Action
Lisa Dickinson was last seen on September 5, 1976
Sister of employee of MainFrame Designs cabinets and fixtures
Lisa Dickinson
Missing since September 5, 1976 from Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: April 25, 1967
Age at Time of Disappearance: 9 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'10"; 80 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a yellow crew-neck T-shirt with Snoopy and the word "happiness" on the front, blue ton cut-off shorts and white leather three-strapped sandals
Dentals: Available
Circumstances of Disappearance
Dickinson was last seen on September 5, 1976 in Walnut Creek, California. Lisa was last seen shortly after 7 p.m. while riding her bicycle near the Pleasant Hill station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit. BART
She left the home of her parents on to find a shortcut through nearby Heather Farm Park to the Pleasant Hill BART station. The family had planned to take an excursion on BART the following day. When she failed to return home police were notified. An intensive search was mounted.
The only physical evidence turned up was the girl's abandoned bicycle, leaning against a tree at the north end of the park near the Contra Costa Canal.
Foul play is suspected.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Walnut Creek Police Department
925-935-6400
Agency Case Number: 769880
NCIC Number: M-409952268
Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
California Department of Justice
Daily Review 9/21/76
The Doe Network: Case File 802DFCA
LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/802dfca.html
Missing since September 5, 1976 from Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: April 25, 1967
Age at Time of Disappearance: 9 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'10"; 80 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a yellow crew-neck T-shirt with Snoopy and the word "happiness" on the front, blue ton cut-off shorts and white leather three-strapped sandals
Dentals: Available
Circumstances of Disappearance
Dickinson was last seen on September 5, 1976 in Walnut Creek, California. Lisa was last seen shortly after 7 p.m. while riding her bicycle near the Pleasant Hill station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit. BART
She left the home of her parents on to find a shortcut through nearby Heather Farm Park to the Pleasant Hill BART station. The family had planned to take an excursion on BART the following day. When she failed to return home police were notified. An intensive search was mounted.
The only physical evidence turned up was the girl's abandoned bicycle, leaning against a tree at the north end of the park near the Contra Costa Canal.
Foul play is suspected.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Walnut Creek Police Department
925-935-6400
Agency Case Number: 769880
NCIC Number: M-409952268
Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
California Department of Justice
Daily Review 9/21/76
The Doe Network: Case File 802DFCA
LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/802dfca.html
Richard
07-17-2010, 01:24 AM
bumping
Kat
07-17-2010, 03:43 AM
Richard I did a archive search for any news on her case.
I used the parameters of her first and last name. Nothing.
I used the same as above in quotation marks then I added missing.
There is one archived pay per view that popped up with her name under the link but I didn't pay to see the article. Although she isn't listed in the synopsis the article popped up so I think she might be named in the text of the article we can't see.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&s_site=contracostatimes&p_multi=CC&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10C9C99516879BD0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
I found several articles on this website that name the man above as a POI in the disappearance of Lisa. (It looks like the archived article above is located on that website in full text).
http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkiller_news/H/HUGHES_phillip_joseph_jr.php
I used the parameters of her first and last name. Nothing.
I used the same as above in quotation marks then I added missing.
There is one archived pay per view that popped up with her name under the link but I didn't pay to see the article. Although she isn't listed in the synopsis the article popped up so I think she might be named in the text of the article we can't see.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&s_site=contracostatimes&p_multi=CC&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10C9C99516879BD0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
I found several articles on this website that name the man above as a POI in the disappearance of Lisa. (It looks like the archived article above is located on that website in full text).
http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkiller_news/H/HUGHES_phillip_joseph_jr.php
Richard
07-20-2010, 11:18 AM
Here is a link to a Blog about Lisa Dickinson, disappearance. It contains a newspaper article and a long discussion/comment section about the case.
-------------------------------------------------
Here's a local kidnapping case you NEVER hear about. This happened 33-years ago, on September 5, 1976. 9-year-old Lisa Dickinson was taken from Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek.
Her bike was found in some bushes near the canal trail, but she hasn't been seen since.
The articles above are from the Oakland Tribune in 1976 (top), and one year after the kidnapping, in 1977 (bottom).
Here are some details about her disappearance....
Dickinson was last seen riding her bicycle in Walnut Creek, California at 7:00 p.m. on September 5, 1976.
She was en route from her home in the 100 block of Los Cerros to a nearby BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station at the time.She was supposed to return home by 8:00 p.m., but did not and has never been heard from again. Her parents reported her missing at 9:00 p.m.
Dickinson's bicycle was found in a grove of walnut trees at Heather Farms Park, near the Contra Costa Canal, three hours after she was last seen.A search of the canal turned up no clues as to her whereabouts, but witnesses said they had seen her at the park's entrance.
Dickinson is missing under suspicious circumstances and her case remains unsolved.One man was considered a suspect. He's been in prison for the past 30+ years for multiple rapes, but he has never been charged or even arrested for kidnapping Lisa.
At the time of her abduction, she was 4'10", 80-pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt with an image of the cartoon character Snoopy printed on the front, she also had on blue shorts and white sandals.
Today, Lisa Dickinson would be 42-years-old.
Anybody who might know something about her disappearance is asked to call the Walnut Creek Police Department @ 925-935-6400.
Source:
CLAYCORD.com: LISA DICKINSON, THE LITTLE GIRL ABDUCTED FROM WALNUT CREEK 33-YEARS AGO, IN THE YEAR 1976
LINK:
http://claycord.blogspot.com/2009/09/lisa-dickinson-little-girl-abducted.html
-------------------------------------------------
Here's a local kidnapping case you NEVER hear about. This happened 33-years ago, on September 5, 1976. 9-year-old Lisa Dickinson was taken from Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek.
Her bike was found in some bushes near the canal trail, but she hasn't been seen since.
The articles above are from the Oakland Tribune in 1976 (top), and one year after the kidnapping, in 1977 (bottom).
Here are some details about her disappearance....
Dickinson was last seen riding her bicycle in Walnut Creek, California at 7:00 p.m. on September 5, 1976.
She was en route from her home in the 100 block of Los Cerros to a nearby BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station at the time.She was supposed to return home by 8:00 p.m., but did not and has never been heard from again. Her parents reported her missing at 9:00 p.m.
Dickinson's bicycle was found in a grove of walnut trees at Heather Farms Park, near the Contra Costa Canal, three hours after she was last seen.A search of the canal turned up no clues as to her whereabouts, but witnesses said they had seen her at the park's entrance.
Dickinson is missing under suspicious circumstances and her case remains unsolved.One man was considered a suspect. He's been in prison for the past 30+ years for multiple rapes, but he has never been charged or even arrested for kidnapping Lisa.
At the time of her abduction, she was 4'10", 80-pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt with an image of the cartoon character Snoopy printed on the front, she also had on blue shorts and white sandals.
Today, Lisa Dickinson would be 42-years-old.
Anybody who might know something about her disappearance is asked to call the Walnut Creek Police Department @ 925-935-6400.
Source:
CLAYCORD.com: LISA DICKINSON, THE LITTLE GIRL ABDUCTED FROM WALNUT CREEK 33-YEARS AGO, IN THE YEAR 1976
LINK:
http://claycord.blogspot.com/2009/09/lisa-dickinson-little-girl-abducted.html
Richard
07-20-2010, 11:26 AM
The Charley Project website also has a case file on Lisa. Not much more information than here on Websleuths, but there are some news links and also a link to the California Attorney General website.
LINK:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dickinson_lisa.html
LINK:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dickinson_lisa.html
Marilynilpa
07-20-2010, 12:24 PM
Lisa took a shortcut through a park - I believe it's referred to as the canal trail, and her bike was found among some walnut trees. Do you know (1) was this a very heavily used trail and (2) is/was it heavily wooded?
Did LE suspect that Lisa had fallen into the canal?
It's surprising there wasn't more coverage of this.
Phillip Joseph Hughes, Jr. sounds like a really bad guy. I noticed that some of the women he possibly killed were in their teens, while there were a couple of 9 year olds. Although it's very possible he could have killed them all, a 9 year old usually tends to attract a different type of killer than teenaged women. It's possible we have more than one perp here.
Just a thought.
Did LE suspect that Lisa had fallen into the canal?
It's surprising there wasn't more coverage of this.
Phillip Joseph Hughes, Jr. sounds like a really bad guy. I noticed that some of the women he possibly killed were in their teens, while there were a couple of 9 year olds. Although it's very possible he could have killed them all, a 9 year old usually tends to attract a different type of killer than teenaged women. It's possible we have more than one perp here.
Just a thought.
Marilynilpa
07-20-2010, 01:26 PM
A quick check of newspaperarchive.com turned up 29 articles about Lisa from 9/7/76 to 9/2/77. This is a brief synopsis of what I could gather from these articles.
We know that Lisa was taken from the Heather Farm Park. Apparently the canal was in the process of being fenced and locked, but you could still gain access over a small bridge and through a fenced-off new subdivision to the north of the park.
There is a discrepancy about her bicycle. One article says it was found tossed in a walnut grove, another says it was leaning up against a tree. [To me that is an important distinction - if it was propped up, Lisa might have done that herself when she stopped to talk to someone. If it was tossed into a grove of trees, the perp might have done that to keep it from being found right away.]
Lisa was an only child.
Her parents (through her uncle) appealed to the public for any information about Lisa, offering a reward of $20,000 for her safe return or $3,000 for information as to where her body could be found. They asked the kidnapper to draw them a map and mail it to them. Obviously nothing came of this appeal.
In an article dated 9/2/77, Louis R. Fesquez is mentioned as being the prime suspect. At that time he was in prison sentenced to 27 years to life for crimes involving four young women in Contra Costa County. He was found guilty on 9 of 20 charges against him.
12/1/76 article - Fesquez was caught after a police chase. He had a 12 year old girl with him at the time - he'd kidnapped her a day earlier and raped her 5-6 times. At the time he abducted her, she was walking from her home to the county fairgrounds to feed her quarter horse that was stabled there.
Fesquez also alleged tried to entice two other girls into his car in to separate incidents.
Fesquez had an extensive record regarding sex crimes.
Now here is an interesting follow-up - a 12/10/76 article claims Lisa was possibly taken by someone on a motorcycle, and asked for any information from women/girls regarding a man identifying himself as a policeman, possibly a narcotics officer, showing a badge and/or handcuffs.
With that article coming on the heels of the arrest of Fesquez, I can't help but wonder if his M.O. was to approach young girls/women claiming to be an officer and asking them for help. Perhaps his victims even agreed to get on his motorcycle ostensibly to go to the police station for some purpose. (I am thinking of Ted Bundy - he used that ploy to get a woman into his car, claiming he was an officer and needed her to accompany him to the police station. She was the only known Bundy victim to escape alive). Three witnesses claim they saw a young girl matching Lisa's description ride off with a man on a motorcycle. She was wearing a helmet.
After this article, I can find nothing else about Fesquez in the archives. I'll do an internet search for him.
A quick check of Phillip Joseph Hughes, Jr. turned up nothing - I'll do an internet search on him too.
We know that Lisa was taken from the Heather Farm Park. Apparently the canal was in the process of being fenced and locked, but you could still gain access over a small bridge and through a fenced-off new subdivision to the north of the park.
There is a discrepancy about her bicycle. One article says it was found tossed in a walnut grove, another says it was leaning up against a tree. [To me that is an important distinction - if it was propped up, Lisa might have done that herself when she stopped to talk to someone. If it was tossed into a grove of trees, the perp might have done that to keep it from being found right away.]
Lisa was an only child.
Her parents (through her uncle) appealed to the public for any information about Lisa, offering a reward of $20,000 for her safe return or $3,000 for information as to where her body could be found. They asked the kidnapper to draw them a map and mail it to them. Obviously nothing came of this appeal.
In an article dated 9/2/77, Louis R. Fesquez is mentioned as being the prime suspect. At that time he was in prison sentenced to 27 years to life for crimes involving four young women in Contra Costa County. He was found guilty on 9 of 20 charges against him.
12/1/76 article - Fesquez was caught after a police chase. He had a 12 year old girl with him at the time - he'd kidnapped her a day earlier and raped her 5-6 times. At the time he abducted her, she was walking from her home to the county fairgrounds to feed her quarter horse that was stabled there.
Fesquez also alleged tried to entice two other girls into his car in to separate incidents.
Fesquez had an extensive record regarding sex crimes.
Now here is an interesting follow-up - a 12/10/76 article claims Lisa was possibly taken by someone on a motorcycle, and asked for any information from women/girls regarding a man identifying himself as a policeman, possibly a narcotics officer, showing a badge and/or handcuffs.
With that article coming on the heels of the arrest of Fesquez, I can't help but wonder if his M.O. was to approach young girls/women claiming to be an officer and asking them for help. Perhaps his victims even agreed to get on his motorcycle ostensibly to go to the police station for some purpose. (I am thinking of Ted Bundy - he used that ploy to get a woman into his car, claiming he was an officer and needed her to accompany him to the police station. She was the only known Bundy victim to escape alive). Three witnesses claim they saw a young girl matching Lisa's description ride off with a man on a motorcycle. She was wearing a helmet.
After this article, I can find nothing else about Fesquez in the archives. I'll do an internet search for him.
A quick check of Phillip Joseph Hughes, Jr. turned up nothing - I'll do an internet search on him too.
Marilynilpa
07-20-2010, 03:27 PM
This is about a man who committed at least one crime LE had attributed to Phillip Joseph Hughes, Jr.:
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY / DNA links girl's 1978 slaying to convict who died in 2002 / Authorities have now tied 8 killings to ex-handyman
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-09-30/bay-area/17391914_1_stray-kitten-sheriff-s-office-dna (http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-09-30/bay-area/17391914_1_stray-kitten-sheriff-s-office-dna)
You might have to cut and paste this into your browser, because when I click on the link it doesn't seem to work.:waitasec:
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY / DNA links girl's 1978 slaying to convict who died in 2002 / Authorities have now tied 8 killings to ex-handyman
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-09-30/bay-area/17391914_1_stray-kitten-sheriff-s-office-dna (http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-09-30/bay-area/17391914_1_stray-kitten-sheriff-s-office-dna)
You might have to cut and paste this into your browser, because when I click on the link it doesn't seem to work.:waitasec:
Marilynilpa
07-22-2010, 04:46 PM
I couldn't find anything on Phillip Joseph Hughes, Jr. in connection with this missing child.
amber1
07-22-2010, 04:55 PM
I wrote a blog on Lisa:
http://deaniepeters-missingangels.blogspot.com/2009/11/lisa-dickinson-9-year-old-missing-33.html
You might need to copy and paste it in your browser.
So disappointed at the lack of info on this case though, poor girl.
http://deaniepeters-missingangels.blogspot.com/2009/11/lisa-dickinson-9-year-old-missing-33.html
You might need to copy and paste it in your browser.
So disappointed at the lack of info on this case though, poor girl.
forthelost
07-25-2010, 03:14 PM
http://www.forthelost.org/calikids/LDickinson.doc
buffetoflies
07-31-2010, 04:09 PM
Richard I did a archive search for any news on her case.
I used the parameters of her first and last name. Nothing.
I used the same as above in quotation marks then I added missing.
There is one archived pay per view that popped up with her name under the link but I didn't pay to see the article. Although she isn't listed in the synopsis the article popped up so I think she might be named in the text of the article we can't see.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&s_site=contracostatimes&p_multi=CC&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10C9C99516879BD0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
I found several articles on this website that name the man above as a POI in the disappearance of Lisa. (It looks like the archived article above is located on that website in full text).
http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkiller_news/H/HUGHES_phillip_joseph_jr.php
All that pay per view article said is:
"But, while Hughes has been cleared in some cases, he remains a person of interest in seven others : (one of which is Lisa Dickinson): Lisa Dickinson, 9, disappeared Sept. 5, 1976 while riding her bike from her home on Los Cerros Avenue in Walnut Creek toward Heather Farms Park. Her bike was found leaning against a tree inside the park, but the girl has never been found."
I used the parameters of her first and last name. Nothing.
I used the same as above in quotation marks then I added missing.
There is one archived pay per view that popped up with her name under the link but I didn't pay to see the article. Although she isn't listed in the synopsis the article popped up so I think she might be named in the text of the article we can't see.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&s_site=contracostatimes&p_multi=CC&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10C9C99516879BD0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
I found several articles on this website that name the man above as a POI in the disappearance of Lisa. (It looks like the archived article above is located on that website in full text).
http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkiller_news/H/HUGHES_phillip_joseph_jr.php
All that pay per view article said is:
"But, while Hughes has been cleared in some cases, he remains a person of interest in seven others : (one of which is Lisa Dickinson): Lisa Dickinson, 9, disappeared Sept. 5, 1976 while riding her bike from her home on Los Cerros Avenue in Walnut Creek toward Heather Farms Park. Her bike was found leaning against a tree inside the park, but the girl has never been found."
amber1
08-03-2010, 10:46 AM
I am glaf they at least have a suspect in such an old case. I'd love to see this little girl brought home, as I know she still has family searching after all these years.
kellay
01-30-2011, 05:49 PM
My mother says Lisa was her best friend when she was in elementary school. They went home from school together, played together, and my mother even had a bear she named Lisa right before she went missing. She was very sad to learn that they still have not found Lisa. They were both only children and their birthdays are only days apart. Walnut Creek is not an unsafe neighborhood. In fact its one of the safer towns of Contra Costa. My mother does say she remembers my grandmother telling her not to play by the canal. And after Lisa's disappearance my mother says her and her friends were not allowed to go out by themselves. I've seen someone note that it seems unusual that she was out on her bike that late in the evening. Its actually not that peculiar in the 1970s, especially since it would still be light out in September and the heat would have died down by 7pm. It typically stays warm here through October. It does seem odd that her mother would have let her go to the BART station on her own. The BART stations have never been quite safe. I've heard of young women often last being seen at local BART stations. Even I have been offered a ride by a stranger at one. Another thing, if I remember correctly, is that Heather Farm Park is quite far from the BART station.
flightlevel
08-15-2011, 11:59 PM
Walnut Creek only 25 mins from Antioch CA home of Phillip Garrido. This disappearance occured just a couple months before he kidnapped Kathrine Calloway in 1976. Just can't help but think that he is connected to at least some of the many missing girls in the general San Francisco area. Many, many young girls and teens over the years have just vanished from this area. Someone in that area has to at least be responsible for some of the missing girls. What are the odds that these abductions could all just be random? Wish I had the link but somewhere on one of these boards a list was compiled of all the girls missing from the SF area. I am amazed at the number and close locations of many of the young girls. Lisa Dickinson and Gayle Marks are two strange cases.:banghead:
Richard
09-18-2011, 11:06 PM
September 5th marked the 35th anniversary of the disappearance of Lisa Dickinson.
Has anyone seen any recent news articles or feature stories on her case?
Has anyone seen any recent news articles or feature stories on her case?
cornfed
10-18-2011, 03:39 AM
Richard-
Nothing recent on Lisa. I will say that I believe that Hughes is responsible. I'm not ruling out anything, but Hughes is in CDC for three murders. One of those was of Leticia Fagot, three houses down from Lisa's home, just a year prior. Although he went to the Fagot's house because his wife had suggested Leticia as a victim (they worked at the same bank), I believe that he was very familiar with the neighborhood from younger days.
There are circumstances which lead me to believe that Hughes is responsible for at least four other unsolved murders in the central CoCo County, probably more. Four I am certain of. Three based on publicized information, and one that I have not seen anything written on.
Kellay-
What motivated me to write on this thread is that it may happen in the not-too-distant future that I am able to devote a considerable amount of time to the research and investigation of this case. Should that come to pass, I would very much like to speak with you mother. I hope you continue to follow this thread in the coming months.
Nothing recent on Lisa. I will say that I believe that Hughes is responsible. I'm not ruling out anything, but Hughes is in CDC for three murders. One of those was of Leticia Fagot, three houses down from Lisa's home, just a year prior. Although he went to the Fagot's house because his wife had suggested Leticia as a victim (they worked at the same bank), I believe that he was very familiar with the neighborhood from younger days.
There are circumstances which lead me to believe that Hughes is responsible for at least four other unsolved murders in the central CoCo County, probably more. Four I am certain of. Three based on publicized information, and one that I have not seen anything written on.
Kellay-
What motivated me to write on this thread is that it may happen in the not-too-distant future that I am able to devote a considerable amount of time to the research and investigation of this case. Should that come to pass, I would very much like to speak with you mother. I hope you continue to follow this thread in the coming months.
amber1
03-12-2012, 02:23 PM
Thank you for that post Cornfed!
scriptgirl
09-02-2012, 06:53 AM
Are her folks still alive?
amber1
09-03-2012, 11:56 AM
I still can't believe her case didn't receive more attention. Usually any case involving a child who was obviously abducted by a stranger receives national attention, hers seemed to have not, and there isn't much information out there on her case either.
Richard
09-06-2012, 12:12 AM
Today marks the 36th anniversary of Lisa's disappearance.
scriptgirl
09-06-2012, 11:17 AM
Back then, it seems if the cops couldn't deem you a runaway, they weren't interested.
amber1
09-13-2012, 01:19 PM
Thinking of Lisa. I am still wondering how a young girl who was obviously abducted off her bike did not get more media attention, seems like her case was shoved to the side.
scriptgirl
09-19-2012, 08:49 PM
That seems to have been the norm for a lot of cases involving missing women, teens and kids in the 70s until the mid 80s. There wasn't a huge outcry and a lot of **** was swept under the rug.
carbuff
09-19-2012, 09:10 PM
That seems to have been the norm for a lot of cases involving missing women, teens and kids in the 70s until the mid 80s. There wasn't a huge outcry and a lot of **** was swept under the rug.
Maybe there's some of that, but there's also a big element of...I don't want to say helplessness, but of resignation. The internet didn't exist, cell phones didn't exist, even the big national television networks were mostly local. You didn't have any way to send out an Amber Alert. Teletype notices or phone calls to other police departments was about it, one at a time. You couldn't sit at a keyboard calling up articles from an archive; you had to sit in a library going through one newspaper at a time looking at physical clippings and hoping you'd stumble across something.
One thing that meant is that once you'd searched the canals and ponds and walnut grove, and checked out everybody you could think of who might have been involved, and followed up leads that didn't pan out -- you didn't really have anything left to do except wait to see if something turned up. You could try to disseminate the information, but it would take weeks, most likely. Occasionally something would go national, but not nearly the way it does today.
This case seems to have had quite a lot of attention, really.
Maybe there's some of that, but there's also a big element of...I don't want to say helplessness, but of resignation. The internet didn't exist, cell phones didn't exist, even the big national television networks were mostly local. You didn't have any way to send out an Amber Alert. Teletype notices or phone calls to other police departments was about it, one at a time. You couldn't sit at a keyboard calling up articles from an archive; you had to sit in a library going through one newspaper at a time looking at physical clippings and hoping you'd stumble across something.
One thing that meant is that once you'd searched the canals and ponds and walnut grove, and checked out everybody you could think of who might have been involved, and followed up leads that didn't pan out -- you didn't really have anything left to do except wait to see if something turned up. You could try to disseminate the information, but it would take weeks, most likely. Occasionally something would go national, but not nearly the way it does today.
This case seems to have had quite a lot of attention, really.
scriptgirl
09-20-2012, 11:52 AM
It still needs more attention. Has anyone contacted local LE about this case? Where is that bike?
amber1
09-20-2012, 03:51 PM
bump! Is this case still active?
JillyNJ
04-14-2013, 12:37 AM
I know its a shot in the dark, but I cant help but to see the resemblance to Blairstown Princess Doe. This poor baby must have been terrified in her last hours alive OR last hours as a free, innocent little girl.
scriptgirl
04-14-2013, 12:07 PM
I'm not sure I see the connection. Where is Blairstown?
JillyNJ
04-15-2013, 12:32 AM
I'm not sure I see the connection. Where is Blairstown?
Its in NJ. Here is a link to a website dedicated to her with lots of info.
http://www.princessdoe.org/
Its in NJ. Here is a link to a website dedicated to her with lots of info.
http://www.princessdoe.org/
Richard
10-02-2013, 11:39 AM
Bumping this case up. It has been 37 years since Lisa went missing.
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Lisa Dickinson, age 9, Missing since September 5, 1976 from Walnut Creek, CA
Lisa Dickinson
Missing since September 5, 1976
from Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: April 25, 1967
Age at Time of Disappearance: 9 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'10"; 80 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a yellow crew-neck T-shirt with Snoopy and the word "Happiness" on the front, blue cutoff shorts and white leather, three-strapped sandals
Dentals: Available
Circumstances of Disappearance
Dickinson was last seen on September 5, 1976 in Walnut Creek, California. Lisa was last seen shortly after 19.00, while riding her bicycle near the Pleasant Hill station of the Bay- Area Rapid Transit.
She left the home of her parents to find a shortcut through nearby Heather Farm Park to the Pleasant Hill BART station. The family had planned to take an excursion on BART the following day. When she failed to return home police were notified. An intensive search was mounted.
The only physical evidence turned up was the girl's abandoned bicycle, leaning against a tree at the north end of the park near the Contra Costa Canal.
Foul play is suspected.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Walnut Creek Police Department
925-935-6400
Agency Case Number: 769880
NCIC Number: M-409952268
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
California Department of Justice
Daily Review 9/21/76
The Doe Network: Case File 802DFCA
LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/802dfca.html
----------------------------------------------
Lisa Dickinson, age 9, Missing since September 5, 1976 from Walnut Creek, CA
Lisa Dickinson
Missing since September 5, 1976
from Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: April 25, 1967
Age at Time of Disappearance: 9 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'10"; 80 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a yellow crew-neck T-shirt with Snoopy and the word "Happiness" on the front, blue cutoff shorts and white leather, three-strapped sandals
Dentals: Available
Circumstances of Disappearance
Dickinson was last seen on September 5, 1976 in Walnut Creek, California. Lisa was last seen shortly after 19.00, while riding her bicycle near the Pleasant Hill station of the Bay- Area Rapid Transit.
She left the home of her parents to find a shortcut through nearby Heather Farm Park to the Pleasant Hill BART station. The family had planned to take an excursion on BART the following day. When she failed to return home police were notified. An intensive search was mounted.
The only physical evidence turned up was the girl's abandoned bicycle, leaning against a tree at the north end of the park near the Contra Costa Canal.
Foul play is suspected.
Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Walnut Creek Police Department
925-935-6400
Agency Case Number: 769880
NCIC Number: M-409952268
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
California Department of Justice
Daily Review 9/21/76
The Doe Network: Case File 802DFCA
LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/802dfca.html
amber1
Mainframe Designs - Commercial Cabinet and Millwork Shop
Business: Mainframe Designs
Address: 545 Bliss Ave Pittsburg CA
From Oct 1983 to July 1987
Business: Mainframe Designs
Address: 546 Bliss Ave Pittsburg CA
From July 1987 to August 1989
More details will be posted.
The
Address: 545 Bliss Ave Pittsburg CA
From Oct 1983 to July 1987
Business: Mainframe Designs
Address: 546 Bliss Ave Pittsburg CA
From July 1987 to August 1989
More details will be posted.
The
Murder►Cynthia Kempf - Pittsburg CA
Norrell Tragedy Unites Pittsburg Community
Within hours of Lisa's disappearance, community members came together to support each other.
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By Beverly Oden and Tina Barni
Late on a November night last year, several days after she first reported to police that her 15-year-old daughter was missing, Minnie Norrell awoke from a fitful sleep and went to look outside her bedroom window.
There in her front yard, amid the many candles that well wishers carefully had placed and lit in her front walk, she saw a stranger.
She watched quietly as the man moved some of the shining candles aside to make room on the brick walls that line her front path for the one he had brought. He then lit the candle on the walk, which had become a symbol of hope for Norrell and her community, and disappeared into the darkness as silently as he had arrived.
“Pittsburg people are special,” said Norrell, nearly a year later, recalling those agonizing nights and the outpouring of public sympathy and support she felt. “I can’t tell you how many thousands of people were in this house. And I’m talking thousands.”
The tragedy of Lisa Diane Norrell’s disappearance and the news of her murder eight days later brought the community of Pittsburg together in fear and mourning like few other events in recent times, and has helped spark an effort by city officials and religious leaders to address problems of violence and youth alienation.
Lisa’s murder “heightened awareness of people and their surroundings,” said Mayor Federal Glover, 43, a lifetime resident of Pittsburg. “Emotionally it draws the community together. We all learned from the tragedy."
“She was a good person, who happened to find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Glover went on. “Emotionally it makes you want to do more outreach.”
To that end, the city has held conferences on youth issues and set aside funding for a new teen center and skating park over the past year since Lisa’s killing, which remains unsolved. The city also holds open forums during city council meetings to promote dialogue between the teenagers and adults.
But one of the biggest changes since Lisa’s murder has been in the way Pittsburg officials discuss the problems of the city. According to Pittsburg’s Assistant City Manager, Glenn J. Valenzuela, 50, the city’s leaders were never so involved with young people as they are now.
“Involvement with the youth before Lisa’s death was a priority, but it was not at the front burner,” said Valenzuela. “Now, wherever you go in this city and hear elected officials speak, one of the first words that come out of their mouths is in support of young people. That is real rare in any city.”
Taking Comfort in Family
Pittsburg, a close-knit industrial town of 54,117, is located 40 miles east of San Francisco across the San Francisco Bay. Its hard-working residents are a diverse mix -- 47.2 percent Caucasian, 23.7 percent Hispanic, 17.1 percent African-American, and 11.2 percent Asian, according to the 1990 census. Many of its residents have lived all their lives in a town where Dow Chemical is one of the major employers along with a steel company called USS-POSCO.
They take comfort in their families, do the best they can to get by, and take pride in the city’s multi-ethnic character, which sharply contrasts with other, largely white, suburban towns in otherwise affluent Contra Costa County.
Indeed, at least one Pittsburg official, school board trustee Jim MacDonald, charges that local industries pollute the air and water more freely in Pittsburg than in other Bay Area communities precisely because of the city's working-class and ethnic makeup.
Earlier this month MacDonald proposed that the city demand that the Federal government declare Pittsburg "an environmental justice community." Such status, part of an environmental protection agency program begun five years ago to reduce the effects of pollution and toxic waste in poor and minority areas, would allow the government to oversee the industries and provide funding for education programs.
At first glance, Pittsburg, nestled next to the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, has a small-town feel, a safe haven from the problems of the major metropolis. But looks can be deceiving, for like many suburban towns across America Pittsburg is not immune from urban dangers: drugs, prostitution, youth gangs and violence among them. Lisa’s murder was one of at least six last year.
For some time, Pittsburg police have been at a loss about how to eliminate prostitution and the drug houses that became common sights on Ninth and Tenth streets. Gang warfare even began to claim lives.
One such death touched Father Ricardo Chavez enough to prompt him to do something about it. When a teenager named Douglas Askern was killed in a drive-by shooting only a few weeks before Lisa’s death, the town, numbed by the constant violence, did nothing.
“What got to me was that there was no reaction,” said Father Chavez, the priest at a local Catholic church who grew up in Pittsburg. “Nobody put a marker out there, nobody put up a flower or a cross. This was now the umpteenth death and I began to sense that everyone was like I was--you just expect it.”
Lisa Norrell’s murder soon followed, along with the deaths of several prostitutes from the area and brought hordes of Bay Area media attention to Pittsburg (See ETHICS). Finally, people were paying attention.
“The town just kind of adopted her, kind of like a strange phenomenon,” said Christine Rohde, one of Lisa’s teachers at Pittsburg High. “It was just this cute little girl who wouldn’t hurt a fly and all of a sudden she’s just gone. And violently and horribly.”
"A Wake-up Call to Residents"
In the aftermath of the killings, Father Chavez launched Families Against Violence, a group dedicated to teaching parents how to talk to their kids about violence. The city formed a task force in hopes of combating the problem and after school programs were instituted along with midnight basketball to help keep kids out of trouble.
Mark C. Leonard, 45, a resident of Pittsburg for six years, President of The Rotary Club and a member of the Board of Directors for the Chamber of Commerce and Boys and Girls Club, said that Pittsburg is no worse than any other city when it comes to crime. Still, he said Lisa’s killing has been a "wake-up call" for residents and police alike to do a more effective job at maintaining security.
“Personally, I don’t want my kids out after dark,” said Kathy C. Meidinger, Executive Assistant at the City Manager’s office and a mother of four. “And I preach to them ‘don’t put yourself in a compromising position,’ which is really what Lisa did. Just don’t walk alone in the dark.”
Lisa disappeared on Nov. 6, 1998 after leaving a rehearsal for a quinceañera party for a Latina girlfriend in an Antioch Hall. She reportedly left in anger and decided to walk home along the largely desolate Antioch-Pittsburg Highway. She never returned home. Her asphyxiated body, her hands knotted in fists, was found face down in the yard of a landscaping firm a week later.
It was a devastating time that council member Frank R. Quesada, 65, among many others in Pittsburg, will never forget. A retired postal worker, and Pittsburg’s mayor at the time of Lisa’s disappearance and murder, Quesada was an old family friend of Lisa and her family. Lisa’s 17-year-old brother Tony Quesada is Frank’s nephew by adoption.
“It was … heartbreaking,” said Quesada. “I saw her grow up. We would go to family functions and see each other. To me it was pretty personal, I knew her since she was a kid. The whole tragedy made you want to help the community.”
Like many, Quesada can’t make sense of the tragedy. He hopes the $60,000 reward money recently offered by Governor Gray Davis for information leading to arrest and conviction in the case will produce progress in solving a case that has seen little thus far.
“The funny thing, I don’t know what got her to be walking out there,” said Quesada. “It is not a heavily used road, people only used it for east-west traffic for work. Otherwise there is no traffic and no lights, it is very dark. I wouldn’t walk there and I am 65 years old. I know better.”
A statue of a fisherman adorns the Piazza di Isola delle Femmine on the Marina, representing the Pittsburg of the past, a predominantly Italian fishing community where Sicilians had come to make a better life in the early 1900’s. Originally named New York of the Pacific, the town became Black Diamond in 1905 after the discovery of coal in the hills just south of town. In 1911, residents voted to change the name to Pittsburg, after the Pennsylvania city, to reflect its industrial development. The “h” was dropped to simplify the spelling.
When commercial fishing in the bay and rivers was banned by the state legislature in the late 1950’s, the Italian community deteriorated and people began to move out. By then, an influx of people from all over the world had begun to call Pittsburg home and the population grew significantly. The largely Italian community began to give way to a new Latino population along with African-Americans and Filipinos. The change resulted in the exodus of many whites to neighboring Antioch, which consisted mostly of whites, as it does today.
In Pittsburg, the various races learned quickly to live with each other. “As far as I can remember, we got along well,” said Father Chavez. “It was such a small community that there weren’t really a lot of opportunities for doing wrong.”
Pittsburg saved its animosity for Antioch. For as long as residents can remember, there has been a rivalry between the two small towns that culminates in a raucous annual football game between their high schools each Fall.
“Antioch was our mortal enemy,” said Minnie Norrell, a graduate of Pittsburg High. “The Pittsburg-Antioch football game was the last of the year always. They had a lot of security out there because the funnest thing to do on Saturdays was to go to Antioch and start a fight.”
Remembering Lisa
These days, Minnie Norrell continues to mourn her daughter. The mention of Lisa’s name still brings tears to her eyes. But she is also doing what she can to find ways to better Pittsburg after the tragedy. She has been a vocal leader in seeking ways to bring new legislation so that children up to 16 years old will be considered missing instead of being automatically labeled as runaways.
She is also starting a non-profit organization called Lisa’s Closet to provide new clothes to needy children in the area.
And Norrell said she still takes great comfort in the citizens who have helped her cope, all the people who made a point to come to her and tell her how her daughter had touched their lives. She remembers the memorial for Lisa at the school, which drew over 2,000 students, many of whom were looking for ways to express their fear and grief. Norrell sat in the front row as Lisa’s teacher, Christine Rohde, gave a speech.
“It was very hard to speak looking at them because nobody knows what you’re going through until you look and see the pain in their eyes,” said Rohde. “Kids who didn’t even know Lisa just wanted to go up and hug her. She sat there for like two hours and just let kids come up and hug her.”
The children also remembered Lisa by decorating her locker with posters, cards and flowers. They held a candlelight vigil, walking from the high school to Norrell’s house, all the while singing Lisa’s favorite song, “Dreaming of You” by Selena. They crafted yellow ribbons and tissue paper flowers and gathered in Rohde’s room to weep and remember her.
Adults showered Norrell with gifts, flowers, constant visits, phone calls and the rapidly increasing collection of candles on her front walk, where so many strangers took the time to pay their respects.
Today, nearly a year later, a few candles still line Norrell’s front walk and a poster bearing a picture of Lisa remains in the front yard. Students from the high school stop by every once in a while and friends and neighbors still check in on her.
But for Minnie Norrell, who now lives alone in her modest corner house, things will never be the same.
“There is never going to be any closure. When they catch this guy and they kill him, I don’t have any closure,” she said. “My daughter is gone.”
