The mysterious disappearance of Paula Jean Welden (7 photos)

The strangest cases occur in the most ordinary situations. When there are no signs of danger, there are no maniacs roaming around, and the victim has no enemies, no ill-wishers, no reasons to disappear and start life from scratch.





The tiny town of Bennington, Vermont, is a strange place. In the sense that, completely without reason, five people disappeared here between 1945 and 1950. The victims were a variety of people - from an eight-year-old boy to a 74-year-old hunter. Perhaps one particular case that became the most famous of these disappearances led to the creation of the Vermont State Police in 1947. Paula Jean Welden disappeared into thin air on the first day of December 1946. And forever remained a mystery of an unremarkable sleepy town.



Paula Jean Welden

Paula was a sophomore at Bennington College studying art. Which the girl was not particularly attracted to, and she even planned to change her field of study to botany. There was nothing unusual about her. Nice girl, studied hard, worked in the college cafeteria and got good grades.

But on December 1, 1946, she told her roommate that she was going to take a break and go hiking on Vermont's "Long Trail" in the Glastenbury Mountains. The trail, more than 430 kilometers long, ran through forests and copses north of Bennington all the way to the Canadian border.

Disappearances in the Bennington Triangle and Glastenbury Mountains





Paula Jean Welden

Several people saw Paula on the way to the trail, including a group of fellow hikers. One of them warned Paula that the girl’s clothes - jeans and a jacket - were not warm enough for the hike. But she went anyway. She didn't have any money with her.

No one saw Paula Jean Welden again. She had not returned by the time her roommate went to bed. The neighbor decided that Paula had stayed late in the college library. But the next morning it became clear that Paula had not returned from her walk.

College officials organized a small search party to find Paula Jean somewhere on campus. The college had a system in place where students were required to leave written confirmation if they planned to go off campus late at night. But Paula's name was not on the list.

Official investigation



The girl was never found on the territory of the educational institution or behind it. Administration officials called the sheriff. Soon, gossip and rumors began to spread around campus. Possibilities for Paula's disappearance included suicide, amnesia and murder. The college was officially closed for several days so that students and faculty could help in the search for Paula Jean. But they didn't find anything significant. Eventually, firefighters and the National Guard joined the search.

They were hampered by the fact that at that time there was no police department in Vermont as such.



Dangerous path

Therefore, the operation involved independent, disparate groups, which often went through the same place several times. At the same time, they lost precious time and energy. They eventually called police in neighboring Connecticut to assist.

Investigators found a guy who said he saw Paula shortly before her disappearance. This young man came under suspicion when he told different stories about where he spent the evening of December 1st. He is also said to have told at least two friends that he knew where the girl was buried. He later stated that he was just joking.



Bennington Triangle

The search continued, but neither Paula nor her remains were ever found. There was only one positive moment in this case. Of course, if anything positive can be found in such a tragic story. The unsuccessful and uncoordinated efforts of numerous agencies led to the creation of the Vermont State Police the following year.

After the disappearance of Paula and the experienced hunter Middie Rivers, who disappeared a year before the girl, war veteran James Tedford disappeared in the Bennington Triangle. In 1949, a man was returning home with other passengers. And he disappeared straight from the bus.

In October 1950, young Paul Jepson disappeared at a bus stop when his mother was momentarily distracted. Search dogs led the team to the place where Paula allegedly disappeared earlier. Frieda Langer also disappeared in the area. The girl's body was found a long time later.



A still from the 2020 film "Shirley", based on the story

These are only the official victims of the Bennington Triangle. Locals claim that in total there were more than two dozen of them. No one else disappeared in the vicinity, but to this day, workers of the local tourist infrastructure (the nature reserve is located here) do not advise people to move along the trail alone.