The Elling Woman

  

In 1938 a bog body of a woman was found in Silkeborg, Denmark. The bog helped somewhat preserve the body and some clothing by the bog. The woman would be termed the Elling Woman. She was around 25-years-old and her sex was hard to identify at first because the front of the body didn't mummify as well as the back. She had died around 350–150 BCE.

Her death was believed to have been unnatural. She was either, executed, sacrificed, or murdered. She was hanged with a leather thong. The thong left a V-shaped ligature in her neck. No other injuries or such were linked to her death. After this, she was placed into the peat bog. 

The woman had an elaborate braid. A sheepskin cape was wrapped over her upper legs, and her legs and feet covered by a different sheepskin cape. She was also wearing a woven belt around her waist that had a sliding knot. 

Her identity and the reason for her death are now lost to history.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Mummipedia

Archeology Magazine

MISSING: Cecilia and Leo Payash

 

On July 1, 1957, 47-year-old Cecilia Payash and her son 8-year-old Leo were walking down Red Lake Rd in Red Lake, Ontario along the railway line. The two were never seen again. 

Cecilia is First Nations and was 47-years old at the time. She was 4'11 and described as having a thin build. She had black hair and brown eyes. She has a hooked nose. At the time Cecilia was carrying $30. 

Leo is First Nations and was 8-years-old at the time. He was 4' and was described as having a thin build. He has black hair and brown eyes. At the time he had a bad eye infection in his left eye and it was nearly swollen shut from it. 

It's not stated whether or not foul play is suspected in this case. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki (Cecilia)

CBC (Cecilia)

CBC (Leo)

Unidentified Wiki (Leo)

Canadas Missing

Ontario's Missing Adults

INFANTICIDE: June 30, London, England Baby Doe

On June 30, 1904, the body of a newborn baby boy was found in London, England. He had died due to suffocation caused by duct tape being wrapped around his neck. There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES:

London Metropolitan Archives City of London Coroners Court Page 110

Unsolved Murders

STRANGE HISTORY: Sylvester the Mummy

 

Sylvester the Mummy is a nickname of a mummy displayed in the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle Washington. He was purchased in 1955 and showed off at the Seattle World Fair in 1962. Before that, though he was used as a traveling sideshow attraction.

Legend has it that two cowboys stumbled across the half-buried mummified body of a man in the Gila Bend Desert in Arizona in 1895. That he had died of a gunshot wound to the chest. That the body belonged to some unknown gunslinger. This, of course, is just a legend.

It was found that the act of Sylvester preservations wasn't done naturally. He was injected with arsenic-based embalming fluid right after death. This allowed the body to dry out and mummify. It's possible it was done so his body would be used as a sideshow attraction.

The gunshot wound that supposedly killed him was at some time actually drilled into him and paint was used as blood. At the same time, the one thing that was kind of true was that he was shot at one point. It wasn't his cause of death and he had been shot way before he had died, but his right cheek, body, lungs, and neck had shotgun pellets. It was indicated his cause of death was tuberculosis.

It's still unknown who Sylvester was and why he was chosen to be part of a traveling attraction.


SOURCES:
Seattle Times
Mummipedia 
Smithsonian Channel
Strange Remains

Murder of Thecla M. Gerken

 

In 1919 23-year-old Thecla Gerken who was a school teacher from Woonsocket, South Dakota, and was staying at the home of Dr. H.H. Hagedorn at 1017 Jones St. She was friends with H.H Hagedorn's wife and was taking her vacation here. On the night of June 27, 1919, Thecla and another girl, Mable Houlihan, who she also knew went on a walk.

The girls would say their goodbyes as they neared 8th st. Mable would walk towards her home on 9th st. and Thecla would cross the intersection of 9th and Jones st. diagonally. Mable was almost to the alley when she heard Thelca scream "Mabel, come back!" which was followed by a gunshot. 

Mable would rush to her friend. She said there were people on the street who pointed towards her friend who was now laying on the ground. She had blood coming from her mouth and had been shot in the chest.

All that was known was that Thecla had been shot by a young man. She was seen talking to the young man and the witness claimed they heard her say "George, why did you do that?" They were too far away to hear anything else of the conversation. He had shot her with a .38 caliber gun and fled down an alleyway. One article stated that someone chased after him, but could not catch up to him and lost him. 

Thecla was new to town and only knew very few people let alone have enemies. The two girls did meet a couple of young men the day before and set a date for that day but did not show up to it. It's unknown if her killer was one of these men. 

It's suspected that the man who Thecla was talking to for a brief moment before her death was a poorly dressed man that she and Mable had passed by earlier. Police believe it could have been possible that it was a woman disguised as a man. The man or woman was never found and Mabel's case will remain unsolved. 

SOURCES:

Iowa Cold Cases

MISSING: Opal Beatrice Fulks

In 1931/1932 22-year-old Opal Fulks was last seen in Monticello, Indiana. She was last documented at her daughter's birth on March 4, 1931. In 1939 according to newspapers, Opal's husband was divorcing her because they separated in 1932 and she abandoned her children. 

Opal is a white female and was 22-years-old at the time. She 5'0" to 5'10" and 100 to 180 lbs. 

SOURCES:

NamUs

Missing Person Commentary 

UNIDENTIFIED: 1933, Cheyenne County, Colorado John Doe

 In 1933 an unidentified man was found in Cheyenne County, Colorado. He was buried at the Fairview Cemetary in Cheyenne Wells. There is little information on this case. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Unidentified Wiki