Shelby police detective continues dogged search for woman missing since 1945
SHELBY — Adam Turner has not solved — yet — the mystery of a Shelby woman who went missing in 1945, but he helped provide closure to another family.
In a twist to the story, the Jane Doe turned out to be a John Doe. Turner attended a press conference Friday in Preble County to announce the identity of a body found there.
For the last five years, Turner, a Shelby police detective, has been trying to find answers for the family of Mary Jane Croft Vangilder. She was last seen in 1945.
Originally from West Virginia, Vangilder moved to Ohio in 1944 to work at the Wilkins Army Air Force Depot in Shelby.
On March 8, 1945, she resigned her employment, citing "added household duties," according to Turner's research.
"No trace of her has been located since," Turner said, adding she might have left the area after quitting her job.
Early in his investigation, Turner searched the database of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Shelby police detective learns of Jane Doe in Preble County
He then searched the website "FindaGrave.com" and found a 1968 newspaper clipping indicating that a Jane Doe had been found in Eaton, Ohio, in Preble County. Two children had found the remains in a drainage ditch after a heavy rain.
The Jane Doe was not listed in the NaMUs system. According to the news story, the Jane Doe was around 5 feet, 3 inches tall and estimated to be 30 to 35 years old. A dental plate found near the body was estimated to be 10-15 years old.
Turner found a key ally in his quest in Dave Lindloff, an investigator with the Preble County Coroner's Office.
Lindloff located an old case file titled "Miss Ditch 1968." Unfortunately, the dental plate, photographs and tissue samples had been lost to time.
The remains included an intact left arm, but the right arm was missing, along with the right leg and the left foot. The skull was separated from the body and located about 75 feet downstream from the other remains.
Most of the skin and muscle on the back of the upper legs, buttocks and thoracic area were still there.
The next step was an exhumation, which Turner noted can be expensive. He also attended exhumations in Indiana and Wisconsin in 2019 that are still pending.
In this case, however, the city of Eaton and cemetery officials exhumed Jane Doe at no cost to the city of Shelby.
In addition, grave opening and closing costs were waived.
Lindloff told Turner "it was the right thing to do."
"The Shelby Police Department's only expense was for a new casket for the unidentified remains, which we gladly paid," Turner said.
Shelby detective, chief attend exhumation
On Aug. 28, 2019, Turner, accompanied by Shelby police Chief Lance Combs, went to Mount Hill Cemetery in Eaton for the exhumation of Jane Doe. Eaton is in the Dayton area, some 167 miles from Shelby.
Turner said the vault appeared to be completely intact. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation took multiple bones for processing.
Curiously, there was no skull inside the vault. According to records, the coroner at the time kept the skull in his "private collection," which could not be found.
In July 2020, BCI officials notified Turner that they could not get a DNA profile because of the age of the remains and that mitochondrial DNA testing, the most sensitive technique available, would be needed.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing issues, the case was put on hold.
In January 2021, BCI gave Turner the surprising results.
Investigation hits dead end
"The DNA profile, at least some portion of which is from a male, is not of sufficient quality for comparison due to insufficient data," BCI wrote.
Turner wasn't sure what to do next.
"Essentially, the report stated that the male DNA that was present in the bones could be from a male contributor or due to contamination, not necessarily that the bones were from a male decedent, although that remained a possibility," he said. "I was also told that due to the poor condition of the remains, that identification would be extremely difficult."
Turner talked with his chief and his colleague in Preble County and decided to press on.
"We all agreed that whoever was found off Frederick Drive in 1968 needed identified and their name restored," Turner said. "We remained undeterred by the daunting task of identification and continued forward."
The detective received disappointing news from BCI shortly thereafter.
"For the rest of 2021 and the beginning months of 2022, the remains were sent to several laboratories for DNA extraction and sequencing; however, because of degradation, no useable DNA profile was able to be obtained," Turner said.
In June 2022, Shelby police partnered with Moxxy Forensic Investigations for investigative genetic genealogy. The remains were sent to Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City, Utah, for additional extraction and sequencing.
The cost was going to be $5,000.
For the second time, Shelby police received help. Derrick Levasseur and Stephanie Harlowe, who co-own the business "Criminal Coffee," fully funded the DNA testing.
Levasseur, who is best known for winning the reality TV series "Big Brother" in 2014, is a private investigator in Providence, Rhode Island. He and Harlowe also co-host a podcast called "Crime Weekly."
In December 2022, Moxxy Forensics contacted Turner to say the remains were definitely from an unknown male.
According to Most Recent Common Ancestor, people who were related to John Doe were Eva Catherine Berryman and Martin Van Buren Frost, both of Hamilton, Ohio.
Investigators determined that Frost and Berryman had eight children. Four were male. According to public records, three of the four had confirmed dates of death.
On March 23 of this year, Moxxy Forensic Investigations contacted Turner to let him know the remains were that of Albert Allen Frost.
Who was Albert Allen Frost?
Frost was born Jan. 25, 1935, and was the youngest sibling. His father died in 1959, his mother in 1993.
Turner researched Frost's life through old newspaper stories. He also found on Ancenstry.com that Frost married Ida Frost Caudill on Jan. 9, 1959, in Tennessee. They divorced on March 22, 1960.
Turner said Frost may have a daughter. The woman was adopted in 1963 and had her name legally changed.
"I located her alive and well," Turner said of the woman, who did not say if she would get a DNA test. "The whole story was overwhelming for her."
Frost got involved in some petty crimes, according to Turner's research. In March 1959, he was arrested on a larceny charge, accused of stealing contributions from an Easter Seals container at a local tavern.
The next year, Frost received 30 days in jail for larceny for taking his sister's table model radio.
In a 1961 newspaper account, Frost admitted to looting more than 100 cars.
Turner said identifying Frost would not have been possible without Tina Barrett, the granddaughter of one of his sisters. She took a DNA test and uploaded her results to a website that allows users to compare their DNA to other people.
Barrett talked to her mother and got back to Turner.
Frost's relative recalls his troubled life
"My mom remembers seeing Albert," Barrett told Turner. "She says he was not around much and would go missing for long periods of time.
"She said he always looked poor and ragged, was very shy and not a talker. He would answer questions if asked and always seemed uncomfortable."
After awhile, Frost stopped checking in, his sister told Barrett. Family members assumed he died, but no one ever reported him missing.
In May, Turner contacted Denise Frost and Diana Frost Russell, daughters of one of Frost's brothers.
Denise Frost told him the family rumor was that Frost was murdered, rolled up in a piece of carpet and left on someone's porch.
Later that month, a nephew of Frost's told Turner that his uncle wore a dental plate and was skinny with a slight frame, which could explain why officials originally thought his remains were that of a female.
His death was never recorded. In August, one of his nieces took a DNA test to confirm Frost's identity.
Turner thanked his chief for allowing him to pursue the case, even though the remains were not that of Vangilder.
"A prominent member of the community had come into Chief Combs' office after seeing an article in the newspaper about the investigation into Mary Jane's disappearance and was complaining about me spending time on a 1945 case," Turner said. "In short, he believed it was unnecessary to be pursuing a case so old, and that I was essentially wasting time."
Detective defends looking for answers to cold case
The detective disagrees.
"If the case is unsolved, no matter the age, it should remain open," Turner said. "Am I disappointed that this turned out not to be Mary Jane Croft Vangilder? Yes.
"However, I knew from the beginning that even if this was not Mary Jane, we would identify someone and return their name, and that alone justified everything that we did here."
Mindy Wilson shares Turner's sentiments. The 52-year-old nurse who lives in South Carolina never met Vangilder, her grandmother.
"It definitely leaves a void," Wilson said. "You want to know where you came from."
She also praised Turner for his doggedness.
"He's been a blessing, I'll tell you that," Wilson said. "He hasn't given up, and I'm not sure he'll ever give up. Hopefully, one day it will be our turn."
Turner said Vangilder's case provided closure for another family. Wilson agreed.
"Everybody needs closure when somebody's missing," she said.
Turner also had a message for Albert Frost.
"I am sorry that it took so long to restore your name," he said. "It is a shame that you are now more renowned in death than in life.
"I take solace in the fact that wherever you are, outside the stars, beyond the firmament, that you are with your family."
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
X (formerly Twitter): @MarkCau32059251
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby police detective continues search for missing woman
