Mary Shotwell Little: The name still rings a bell for most Georgia residents. Her disappearance more than half a century ago is still one of the most alarming unsolved mysteries in the history of the state. This case has baffled and bewildered professional and amateur investigators alike. Hundreds of conspiracy theories and ideas have been discussed, leads have gone in circles and many articles have been written—but it all comes down to the fact that Mary Shotwell Little has still been missing since vanishing from the Lenox Square parking lot on Oct. 14, 1965
Maybe you aren’t too familiar with the case, and maybe you know it all too well. Regardless, here are the facts surrounding the Mary Shotwell Little disappearance of 1965—the case of the missing bride.
- Little’s car was found in the Lenox Square parking lot the day after her disappearance.
Flickr. Bradley Huchteman Lenox Square is a posh shopping mall in the upscale Buckhead district. People went there to shop in exclusive stores and eat in established restaurants. It was very well-lit, and even at night, there were plenty of people around.
- There were a variety of items found in Mary’s car, a 1965 Comet.
Flickr. Jerry Edmundson Bags of undisturbed groceries, bloodstains, and a full set of women’s underwear, neatly folded on the console between the front bucket seats.
- Investigators later discovered the Comet might have been driven 41 miles after the abduction and then brought back to Lenox Square.
Flickr. Marc Cooper
- Mary Shotwell Little and her husband Roy were only married six weeks prior to her disappearance.
Flickr. Sam Fam
- Husband Roy was away on bank business when she disappeared.
Flickr. epSos .de Mary’s friends didn’t like Roy, and investigators had their suspicions about him. But the police couldn’t implicate Roy based on gut-feeling alone.
- Little’s signature was found on two credit card gas receipts in North Carolina the day after she disappeared.
Flickr. Joe Loong
- Investigators eventually learned that Little had received roses from a secret admirer not long before she vanished.
Flickr. Bernhard Friess Police traced the flowers to a florist near Little’s home, but were never able to find out any details about who sent the flowers.
- There were the phone calls at the office.
Flickr. John Richardson Co-workers remembered that Little had seemed disturbed by phone calls she received at work. She never mentioned the conversations in detail with anyone, but some women in the office had heard enough to raise suspicions.
- They never really had any legitimate suspects.
Flickr. Boston Public Library Despite the amount of investigators and detectives on the case, there were never any tangible persons of interest, or even any arrests made.
- They never found a body.
Flickr. gfpeck And then there was the most confusing bit of evidence, or lack thereof; the fact that they never found a body. Perhaps it’s the missing piece that would pull everything together.
To this day, the disappearance of Mary Shotwell Little still rocks the state of Georgia. The facts and evidence, although in abundance, still couldn’t lead to any arrests or significant suspects in the case. Did she fake a kidnapping and flee her loveless marriage? Was she being stalked and didn’t tell a soul? Or did she know something at the bank where she worked, something that needed to be kept a secret? We may never know.
Flickr. Bradley Huchteman
Lenox Square is a posh shopping mall in the upscale Buckhead district. People went there to shop in exclusive stores and eat in established restaurants. It was very well-lit, and even at night, there were plenty of people around.
Flickr. Jerry Edmundson
Bags of undisturbed groceries, bloodstains, and a full set of women’s underwear, neatly folded on the console between the front bucket seats.
Flickr. Marc Cooper
Flickr. Sam Fam
Flickr. epSos .de
Mary’s friends didn’t like Roy, and investigators had their suspicions about him. But the police couldn’t implicate Roy based on gut-feeling alone.
Flickr. Joe Loong
Flickr. Bernhard Friess
Police traced the flowers to a florist near Little’s home, but were never able to find out any details about who sent the flowers.
Flickr. John Richardson
Co-workers remembered that Little had seemed disturbed by phone calls she received at work. She never mentioned the conversations in detail with anyone, but some women in the office had heard enough to raise suspicions.
Flickr. Boston Public Library
Despite the amount of investigators and detectives on the case, there were never any tangible persons of interest, or even any arrests made.
Flickr. gfpeck
And then there was the most confusing bit of evidence, or lack thereof; the fact that they never found a body. Perhaps it’s the missing piece that would pull everything together.
Share your own thoughts and comments about the Mary Shotwell Little story below! Do you remember the case?
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