Ep. 149 Crossed Paths

In 1978 Oregon saw an uptick of crimes against children and panic swelled to an all-time high when two girls went missing within weeks of each other. Our first case today revolves around the disappearance of 12-year-old Ann Marie Ellinwood who went missing during a March of Dimes Walk-a-thon in Corvallis. The second involves 11-year-old Stephanie Ann Newsom, who vanished while delivering newspaper advertisements near her home in Salem. Both girls were last seen walking on local paths and, in both cases, witnesses claimed to have seen them with a similar man.

Episode Host: Emily Rowney

A portion of the March of Dimes Walk-a-thon route from Corvallis, OR 1978

Ann's friends left her on the portion of the path where the Willamette River (north to south) meets the Mary's river (east to west).

Photos: 1. Ann Elllinwood 2. The confluence where her friends last saw her 3. The last sighting of Ann was on the path where it went through Pioneer Park 4. The white trailer witnesses saw next to Ann and the male suspect she was speaking to

Stephanie disappeared along a path she walked on between her home and Walker Junior High School.

Photos: 1. Stephanie Ann Newsom 2. The wooded area near her home she disappeared from 3. Chevrolet Bel Air witnesses spotted her in

Stephanies body was discovered in the Ankeny National Wildlife Preserve, roughly 10 miles south of Salem, OR.

Witness testimony and tattling friends (our favorite kind) lead police to consider Earl Frederick "Woody" Chambers as their prime suspect.

In images 1-3, you can see him with his signature sandy blond hair and mustache. Unfortunately, witnesses were shown the image on the right, where he had died his hair and shaved after the abduction, leading one witness to believe it was not the same person who tried to abduct her.