“You Can Decorate Absence However You Want, But You’re Still Gonna Feel What’s Missing.”―

Siobhan Vivian, Same Difference

Author Michael Dooling is a historian and someone who enjoys putting the pieces together… particularly as it relates to intriguing stories…. Those people and entities of the past that have been forgotten come alive with Mr. Dooling’s due diligence and portrayals.

His latest book, “Clueless in New England: The Unsolved Disappearances of Paula Welden. Connie Smith and Katherine Hull” is a fascinating account of three of the thousands who go missing in this country… never to be heard from again.

Consider three young women… all disappearing under mysterious circumstances in various regions of New England…all with an initial common denominator- that of hitchhiking…       These were bright young women with promise and seemingly had good futures ahead of them. What happened? Was there something to tie them together?  What theories can be drawn about why they went missing?

Listen to this Podcast and Learn about the Journey taken by

Mr. Dooling:  CLICK HERE      

The following is a summary of topics:

• How and why these three women were combined to create this book:   Connie Smith…then Paula Welden … then Katherine Hull – An accumulating file and drawing a geographic circle looking for similar characteristics;
• Who was Paula Welden? A renegade, exploring life….
• Vermont’s Bennington College – Ahead of it’s time in education…
• The circumstances on December 1,1946 – the disappearance
• Assumptions of “lost in the woods” on the Long Trail;
• Delilah- Lack of priority for missing young people –Have the assumptions changed?
• Lost, or  a run away” versus abductions?
• A history of Hitchhiking -1940’s versus currently;
• Searching in the woods and tree density- Is there a relationship?
• The bottom line- The theory about Fred Gadette…;
• In the 1940’s and 1950’s – “Amnesia theories…”
• Who was Connie Smith? A summer camp victim from Wyoming;
• Seen by as many as 8 people and picked up…
• Camp Director… a shifty character;
• A common problem- no records/reports kept on these searches;
• The largest search ever conducted in the State of Connecticut;
• The “State of the Art” Connecticut State Police- even in 1952!
• Peter Smith, Connie’s father hired a “psychic horse”
• “Lady Wonder” and her work history…
• The First Missing Person’s Use of TV- Art Linkletter’s House Party;
• Geographical- Psychological Profiling in these cases?
• Basic Theory and factors of Geographic profiling today;
• Actual witnesses in each case…
• Katherine Hull – A young woman lost in 1936… No official records;
• The circumstances of Katherine’s disappearance;
• Seven years later… a skull perched in a tree;
• The only case with forensic evidence…
• Which case would have the greatest solvability potential today?
• The possibility of serial killers from New York abducting in these cases?
• Delilah speaks on how a non-profit such as the CUE Center conducts a search;
• The importance of the CUE Center as a liaison for families with law enforcement;
• Michael on investigating the elderly who go missing – Police Biases;
• Police authorized canine searches when you don’t know what to do…  “It looks like you’re doing something”
• A hierarchy of “who gets the most attention” when searching for the missing;
• Serial killer – Edmund Kemper – An example of “Displaced Rage”  ? Similar Theory of the Paula Welden case;
• Another example – “The Hitchhiker Killer” and his technique;
• Status of the three cases now….
• Messages to take away from “Clueless in New England”
• Contact Information; www.michaelcdooling.com;
• Book available at: amazon or Barnes & Noble;