aug 1, 1960 - Henrietta Geck Cruz Avila DISAPPEARANCE

Description:

17yo; Hispanic and/or white; last seen in Santa Ana, California sometime in the summer of 1960. She had dropped out of Santa Ana High School prior to her disappearance and taken a job at a store. In the spring of 1960, she met 24-year-old Merle Avila at that store. They married a month later on April 23, 1960 and lived in Santa Ana (and/or Garden Grove), where her family also lived.

After her family hadn't heard from Henrietta for some time, they contacted Merle to ask them where Henrietta was.
According to Merle, three months into the marriage, Henrietta packed her belongings and left him. She didn't get in touch with her family, and her father reported her missing on August 1 (according to NamUs, Charley Project, and Missing Persons Wiki). However, some sources state that she went missing on August 3 (NCMEC, Missing Persons Wiki), and others (CA DOJ, 11/16/62 Newspaper) state August 10.

One newspaper clipping from Nov. 1961 even states that Henrietta was last seen by her mother on July 29, 1960, when the mother came to her daughter's Garden Grove home on a visit. The mother reportedly found the girl "very upset," but the girl would not say what was wrong.

No matter the date of her disappearance, it's agreed upon that she disappeared from her home, which was either in Santa Ana or at 10673 Stanford, Garden Grove, CA.

Merle told police that on Aug. 20 (or Aug. 10, according to two newspaper clippings from 1961 and 1962), he saw his estranged wife in a park in Long Beach, California; this is the last time anyone claims to have seen her.

On August 27, Henrietta's parents got a collect call from San Francisco, California, from someone who gave their name as Henrietta Cruz. Henrietta's mother said she would accept the charges, but the caller hung up without speaking to her.

That same day, Henrietta's parents got a telegram from San Francisco, signed "Henrietta." It said she was okay, had gotten a job and would not be returning to her husband. Police determined the telegram had been phoned in from a payphone by a woman who gave a false address.

The week before Christmas in 1961, Henrietta's father went outside to his driveway and found, sitting on the trunk of his car, a belt and some underclothing belonging to Henrietta. There was no other sign of her and she never contacted her parents again. Her parents lived at 710 Townsend St, Santa Ana in Nov. 1962, and at 512 N. Townsend, Santa Ana in Nov. 1961

Foul play is possible in her disappearance. She has 6 UID rule-outs

AUGUST 1
LUNAR PHASE: first quarter
ZODIAC SIGN: leo
DAY OF WEEK: Monday
Venus 11.1*E; Mars-M455 23:44

AUGUST 20
LUNAR PHASE: waning crescent
ZODIAC SIGN: leo
DAY OF WEEK: Saturday

AUGUST 27
LUNAR PHASE: waxing crescent
ZODIAC SIGN: virgo
DAY OF WEEK: Saturday

DECEMBER 17
LUNAR PHASE: waning crescent
ZODIAC SIGN: sagittarius
DAY OF WEEK: Saturday
EVENTS: Winter Solstice Dec. 21 (4 days later); Christmas (8 days later)

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