Frances St. John Smith (1909/1910 – disappeared January 13, 1928) was an American college student who disappeared from Smith College in Massachusetts in January 1928.[1] A body recovered from the Connecticut River in March 1929 was identified as being Smith.
Frances Smith | |
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| Born | Frances St. John Smith 1909/1910 New York City, U.S. |
| Disappeared | January 13, 1928 (age 18) Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Status | Body recovered March 29, 1929 |
| Resting place | Wildwood Cemetery, Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Parents |
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Disappearance
editSmith was first educated in New York City, then attended Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, from 1924 through 1927.[2] She then enrolled at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.[2] One of her classmates and friends there was Anne Morrow,[3] who later married Charles Lindbergh.
Smith was an 18-year-old freshman when she disappeared from Smith College on January 13, 1928, a Friday.[4] Another friend, who had visited with Smith on Thursday evening, visited Smith's room on both Friday and Saturday, leaving notes each time, which were left undisturbed.[2] The local Massachusetts State Police were then contacted.[2]
Search
editInitial searches were conducted in the area around the college by the state police and Boy Scouts.[2] On Sunday afternoon, a local attorney and his wife, driving near Deerfield, Massachusetts, briefly spoke with a young woman walking toward Greenfield.[2] While it was suspected this may have been Smith, the young woman could not be found by police.[2]
A garbled telegraph message received from an Annie Smith who had arrived in Paris led to a false report that Frances Smith was at a hotel there, but this was soon discredited.[5] Further searching extended to a convent near Quebec City in Canada, based on a report from a railroad conductor who thought a passenger on his train might have been Smith.[6] Paradise Pond, adjacent to the Smith College campus in Northampton, was drained in late March 1928, but nothing of significance was found.[7]
Smith's parents initially offered a reward of $1,000 (equivalent to $17,744 in 2023) for their daughter's return, and later increased it to $10,000 (equivalent to $177,442 in 2023).[2]
Discovery
editOn March 29, 1929, two workmen searching the Connecticut River near Longmeadow, Massachusetts, for a drowned colleague recovered a woman's body.[8] Based on the estimated height and weight and condition of the body, police tentatively identified it as Smith's.[8] Although the discovery was discredited by Smith's parents, a positive identification was made by Smith's dentist, noting a retaining wire between eye teeth of the lower jaw, consistent with Smith's dental work and confirmed by a friend.[9] Smith's dentist also provided some of her dental fittings, which matched the body.[2] The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be drowning by undetermined circumstances.[10]
A funeral for Smith was held on April 1 in South Amherst, Massachusetts, at the Smith family's summer home.[10] Smith was buried in Wildwood Cemetery in Amherst, Massachusetts.[11]
See also
edit- Disappearance of Alice Corbett, another student who vanished from Smith College, in 1925
- List of solved missing person cases
- List of unsolved deaths
References
edit- ^ Lindbergh, Anne Morrow (1973). Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-15-142176-3 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Foote, Alfred F. (November 1929). "The Strange Case of Frances St. John Smith". True Detective. pp. 18–24, 114–117. Retrieved December 24, 2013 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Missing College Girl's Companion Shows Her Grief". The Meriden Daily Journal. Meriden, Connecticut. January 18, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Justice Story". Daily News. New York City. May 21, 2023. p. 23. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Smith Girl In Paris Not Frances". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 23, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Frances Smith Search Leads to Convent". Olean Times Herald. Olean, New York. INS. March 16, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Smith Girl Seekers Drain Paradise Pond". The Meriden Daily Journal. Meriden, Connecticut. March 29, 1928. p. 19. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Dentist to Decide if Body is that of Missing Frances Smith". The Boston Globe. March 30, 1929. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Find Body of Girl Like Frances Smith". The New York Times. March 30, 1929. p. 11. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via timesmachine.nytimes.com.
- ^ a b "Funeral of Frances Smith Is Held at Amherst Today". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. AP. April 1, 1929. p. 1. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Frances Smith Buried". The New York Times. April 2, 1929. p. 25. Retrieved November 19, 2023 – via timesmachine.nytimes.com.