1957 Crawford, Maud March 2,1957, Camden 63 YO

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http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/746dfar.html

http://www.geocities.com/plastic_napalm.ge...issingpre79.htm

The second site includes a pic of her house

From The Doenet page...

Maud was the first female attorney in Camden, Arkansas. She was regarded as one of the top title and abstract attorneys in Ouachita County and was very skilled in estate management.
Maud was last seen at her residence on Clifton Street during the evening hours of March 2, 1957. Her husband, Clyde, went to a local movie theater and a liquor store during the night. Maud was sitting on her couch stringing beans when Clyde left their home. Clyde returned several hours later and saw that the lights were on inside the residence and on both porches. Their television set was turned on and Maud's pan of beans sat on a table. Her purse was inside the home and $142 was inside of her wallet. Several legal files were placed on a table. All of the doors were unlocked and Maud's vehicle was parked in their driveway with the keys in the ignition, the way she normally left the car for the evening. The Crawfords' dog was laying undisturbed on the floor. Nothing seemed amiss near the residence, but there was no sign of Maud at the scene. She has never been heard from again.

Maud was very active in Camden's civic efforts in 1957 and did not have a reason to leave without warning. She was highly respected in the town at the time and there initially seemed to be no evidence to suggest foul play was involved in her case.

Maud's disappearance remained shrouded in mystery until reporter Beth Brickell returned to her hometown of Camden in 1986. She wrote a series of articles for The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that exposed some of the intrigue surrounding Maud's case. Brickell found that many of the people involved were still frightened about the circumstances over 30 years after Maud vanished. Brickell apparently received threats herself while researching the story. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was threatened with lawsuits from individuals after the first segment of Brickell's story was published. The newspaper ignored the efforts to stop the story and continued to run the entire series of articles.



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[oldies4mari2004]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/crawford_maud.html

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: March 2, 1957 from Camden, Arkansas
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 63 years old
Height and Weight: 5'5, 165 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Reddish-gray hair. Maud wears eyeglasses.


Details of Disappearance

Maud was the first female attorney in Camden, Arkansas. United States Senator John McClellan was a partner in the law firm where Maud was employed. A photograph of McClellan is posted below this case summary. She was regarded as one of the top title and abstract attorneys in Ouachita County, and she was also was very skilled in estate management.
Maud was last seen at her residence on Clifton Street during the evening hours of March 2, 1957. Her husband, Clyde Crawford, went to a local movie theater and a liquor store during the night. Maud was sitting on her couch stringing beans when Clyde left their home. At 8:30 p.m., her cousin called and spoke to Maud briefly. This is the last time anyone has heard from her.

Clyde returned home several hours later, at approximately 11:30 p.m. and saw that the lights were on inside the residence and on both porches. Their television set was turned on and Maud's pan of beans sat on a table. Her purse was inside the home and $142 was inside of her wallet. None of Maud's clothing was missing. Several legal files were placed on a table. All of the doors were unlocked and Maud's vehicle was parked in their driveway with the keys in the ignition, the way she normally left the car for the evening. The Crawfords' dog was lying undisturbed on the floor. Nothing seemed amiss near the residence, but there was no sign of Maud at the scene. She has never been heard from again.

Maud was very active in Camden's civic efforts in 1957 and did not have a reason to leave without warning. She was highly respected in the town at the time and there initially seemed to be no evidence to suggest foul play was involved in her case. Maud's disappearance was highly publicized due to her association with Senator McClellan.

Maud's disappearance remained shrouded in mystery until reporter Beth Brickell returned to her hometown of Camden in 1986. She wrote a series of articles for The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that exposed some of the intrigue surrounding Maud's case. Brickell found that many of the people involved were still frightened about the circumstances over 30 years after Maud vanished. Brickell apparently received threats herself while researching the story. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was threatened with lawsuits from individuals after the first segment of Brickell's story was published. The newspaper ignored the efforts to stop the story and continued to run the entire series of articles.

Brickell learned that Maud was working on the estate of Rose Berg at the time of her disappearance. Rose's husband, Henry Berg, died in 1950 and left her three quarters of his $15 million estate and one quarter to his nephew, Henry Myar Berg, nicknamed Mike. A photo of Mike is posted below this case summary. Henry and Mike's father were partners in a venture called Berg Brothers, which was apparently quite profitable for both of them. According to Brickell's sources, Mike believed that his father was the main contributor to Berg Brothers and thought Henry should have left him the entire interest of the estate. Rose and Henry did not have children and Henry named Rose and their accountant, George Bowers, as co-executors of his estate.

Rose had reportedly shown indications of mental incompetence during the 1940s and was not able to make decisions of her own ability by 1957. Rose depended on Maud, who was her friend and neighbor, to take care of her estate issues. Maud created a will for Rose in 1957 that specified her portion of Henry's estate and her own property, which was valued at $5 million, would be divided among her three nieces. There was no mention of Mike in Rose's will. He was allegedly angered by her decision, as he did not want to lose all rights to Henry's fortune and manage his portion of his uncle's estate with her relatives.

Maud apparently supported Rose's decision and fought Mike's attempts to subvert Rose's wishes. A signed copy of Rose's will was reportedly placed inside of her bank safety deposit box. Other signed copies were allegedly handed to Maud and to Bowers. Bowers told Brickell that he did have one of the signed documents in 1957. Rose's nieces apparently held unsigned documents in their possessions.

Rose required full-time nursing care by 1957 and showed symptoms of what is now regarded as Alzheimer's Disease. Maud was taking Rose's wishes very seriously and was fighting to keep her nieces listed as her beneficiaries. This placed Maud in disagreement with Mike and his attorney, Thomas Gaughan, who was a partner in Maud's firm at the time. A photo of Gaughan is posted below this case summary. Ethics prohibited Maud from taking any action against clients of her firm, which meant that she was forced to tread lightly around Mike. Their disagreement was never made public until the publication of Brickell's articles in 1986.

Brickell's sources told her that Mike moved bonds from Rose's safety deposit box prior to Maud's disappearance. According to the source, Gaughan had to convince Mike to return the items before anyone noticed they were missing and contacted authorities. There were many accusations flying back and forth between Rose's family and Mike's associates.

Three deeds were created for Rose's estate in 1950 but not recorded until 1954. Many people do not believe that Rose could comprehend what she was signing and that the deeds were inaccurate. Rose handed over 21,000 acres of valuable land to Mike in the documents. Maud apparently believed Mike took advantage of Rose and was attempting to make the deeds null and void at the time of her disappearance by allowing Rose's will to stand on its own.

It is theorized that Maud's case is connected to the Berg estate matter. All of the suspected participants and witnesses are deceased and no charges have been filed against anyone. Mike, who was a member of the Arkansas State Police Commission, died in 1975. Maud's remains have never been located and her case remains unsolved.




Upper Left: The Crawfords' residence; Upper Right: Senator McClellan;
Lower Left: Mike Berg; Lower Right: Gaughan


Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Camden Police Department
870-836-5755
OR
870-836-5551



Source Information
Luminous Films Inc.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
NewspaperArchive



Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004.

Last updated April 4, 2005.

Charley Project Home

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circa 1957

Attached Image

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http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/in...opic=7242&st=0&

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Maud Crawford
Missing since March 2, 1957 from Camden, Ouachita County, Arkansas.
Classification: Endangered Missing



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Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: 1894
Age at Time of Disappearance: 63 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Reddish-grey hair. Crawford wears eyeglasses.
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'5"; 165 lbs.


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Maud was the first female attorney in Camden, Arkansas. She was regarded as one of the top title and abstract attorneys in Ouachita County and was very skilled in estate management.
Maud was last seen at her residence on Clifton Street during the evening hours of March 2, 1957. Her husband, Clyde, went to a local movie theater and a liquor store during the night. Maud was sitting on her couch stringing beans when Clyde left their home. Clyde returned several hours later and saw that the lights were on inside the residence and on both porches. Their television set was turned on and Maud's pan of beans sat on a table. Her purse was inside the home and $142 was inside of her wallet. Several legal files were placed on a table. All of the doors were unlocked and Maud's vehicle was parked in their driveway with the keys in the ignition, the way she normally left the car for the evening. The Crawfords' dog was laying undisturbed on the floor. Nothing seemed amiss near the residence, but there was no sign of Maud at the scene. She has never been heard from again.

Maud was very active in Camden's civic efforts in 1957 and did not have a reason to leave without warning. She was highly respected in the town at the time and there initially seemed to be no evidence to suggest foul play was involved in her case.

Maud's disappearance remained shrouded in mystery until reporter Beth Brickell returned to her hometown of Camden in 1986. She wrote a series of articles for The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that exposed some of the intrigue surrounding Maud's case. Brickell found that many of the people involved were still frightened about the circumstances over 30 years after Maud vanished. Brickell apparently received threats herself while researching the story. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was threatened with lawsuits from individuals after the first segment of Brickell's story was published. The newspaper ignored the efforts to stop the story and continued to run the entire series of articles.



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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Camden Police Department
501-836-5755

Source Information:
Luminous Films, Inc.
Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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CRIME HISTORY - Senator's law partnervanishes in Arkansas
TAGS: washington examiner
Comments (0) Share Print By: Scott McCabe 03/02/10 4:00 AM
Crime Reporter
.On this day, March 2, in 1957, Maud Crawford, the first female council member of Camden, Ark., disappeared from her home without a trace.

Because Crawford was a former law partner of U.S. Sen. John McClellan, who was conducting an investigation into Mafia activity, her disappearance attracted national attention.

The police probe reached a stalemate, and in 1969 Crawford was declared dead by "foul play."
In 1986, the Arkansas Gazette wrote an investigative series implicating a deceased state police commissioner. The story quoted the original investigator who said he told his boss that the evidence pointed to the commissioner. The detective was taken off the case.

Prosecutors reopened the investigation and went to interview the commissioner's bodyguard who they believed was involved in the disappearance. The bodyguard was dying of cancer and too groggy to talk. He died seven hours later.

The disappearance remains unsolved.

-- Scott McCabe



Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime-...s#ixzz18lC7A4Mf