Crimes and Catastrophe

She stepped into the woods like she had a date with the unknown and never came back. Paula Jean Welden, 18, red coat, strawberry blonde hair. Sharp as a tack. A college girl with books in her bag and the kind of restlessness that gets you looking towards the horizon a little too long. It was Sunday December 1, 1946. She told her roommate she was going for a walk-just a walk. But walks don’t usually end in vanishing acts.

She headed for the Long Trail, a stretch of wilderness that cuts through the Vermont mountains like a quiet threat. The trees out there don’t whisper they watch. And somewhere along that cold winding path, Paula disappeared without a trace.

She wasn’t the only one, Paula was the second and most famous of the Bennington Five, a string of disappearances in and around the area known as the Bennington Triangle. Some say the forest took her, others think a stranger did. But all these years later one thing’s still true, no one ever found Paula Jean Welden.

Background:

Born on October 19,1928, in the well-heeled suburb of Stamford Connecticut, Paula Jean Welden was the kind of girl headlines don’t expect to haunt. She was the eldest of four daughters raised by William Archibald Welden, an industrial engineer and an architect with a precision mind, and Jean Douglas, a woman of quiet strength.

Paula had a sharp mind and an artist soul. She graduated from Stamford High School in 1945, and in the fall of that year packed her bags for Bennington College in North Bennington , Vermont. A freshman with a future. She moved into Dewey House one of the older dorms nestled in the green Vermont quiet.

Officially she was majoring in art. Unofficially, her heart leaned towards botany and music. She played the guitar, painted with watercolors and oils, and had a soft spot for charcoal sketches. She didn’t date, didn’t drink, and didn’t stir the pot. Friends say she was bright, friendly and dependable. A girl who showed up, worked hard, and kept her secrets to herself.

But then one Sunday in December, during her sophomore year, she vanished like smoke in a stiff wind, no note, no trace, no second act.

The Shadow Of The Green Mountains: Bennington’s Uneasy Legacy.

Bennington, Vermont postcard pretty by day, but after dark? It’s the kind of place that makes shadows seem just a little too long. Tucked into the folds of the Green Mountains, this small town plays innocent: all white steeples, rustling leaves, and the sleepy sigh of old train tracks. But look a little closer, and you’ll find something colder beneath the surface.

There’s a name locals whisper: The Bennington Triangle. Not official, of course that’s just a nickname a writer gave it years later but it fits. Between 1945 and 1950 five people vanished without a trace in the same general region, and no one not the cops, not the bloodhounds, not even time has managed to dig up where they went.

The woods around Glastonbury Mountain have a reputation older than the town itself. The Abenaki tribes considered the area cursed, a place where the land refused to grow things and spirits moved sideways through the trees. Later came loggers and railroad men, who left behind half-finished tracks and stories of strange lights and eerie silences. There is also an abandoned town in Green Mountain that townspeople say is haunted.

By the time Paula Jean decided to go for a Sunday walk in those woods, she wasn’t the first to disappear and she wouldn’t be the last. She became one of the Bennington Five, part of a ghost story still unfolding in missing posters, open case files, myths and legends.

The first to vanish was Middie Rivers, a seasoned river and outdoor guide, who knew those woods like the back of his hand, he went missing while deer hunting in 1945. And after Paula more would follow, all gone without a trace.

Bennington wears autumn well, but under the fall leaves and cozy charm, there’s something else, a history that doesn’t sleep. And Paula’s name is carved deep into it.

Timeline:

SUNDAY DECEMBER 1, 1946:

Started like any other sleepy Sunday in North Bennington. Paula, just 18, but already walking the wire between girl and ghost, clocked two shifts at the college dining hall. Then she made her way back to Dewey House, her dorm, and told her roommate, Elizabeth Johnson, that she was stepping out for a walk, destination the Long Trail.

She asked a few classmates to join her, no dice. Too much homework, too little interest. Around 2:30 pm, Paula zipped up her red parka with a fur trimmed hood, laced up her white sneakers and left out the front door of Dewey House. A girl in a red coat chasing silence.

At 2:45 pm a man named Louis Knapp spotted her thumbing for a ride along Route 67A. He pulled over, she slid in. They talked, she said she was headed to the Long Trail. He took her as far as Woodford, where he lived which was three miles from the Long Trail. He dropped her off along Route 9 and watched her walk away. He arrived home at 3:15 pm. That was the last confirmed sighting. After that? Just whispers and theories.

MONDAY DECEMBER 2, 1946:

When Paula didn’t return to her room that evening, her roommate sounded the alarm. Mary Garrett, the director of admissions was notified, she checked the logs, no signature from Paula checking back in and she also learned that Paula hadn’t attended any of her classes that day.

The phone lines buzzed. Paula’s father William Welden arrived in town, with the worry of a man who’s already got one foot in the morgue. A search began. Friends, students, and hikers all combing the woods, calling her name. Nothing but the cold wind answered.

The story began to break, a missing report went out on the radio, William Welden wanted to get a news story out about Paula’s disappearance, so he went to The Banner, a local newspaper.

A night watchman, who worked for the Banner News, heard the missing person’s report on the radio while sweeping the newsroom floor.

MISSING

NAME: Paula Jean Welden

LAST SEEN: December 1st

AGE: 18

HAIR: Strawberry Blonde

EYES: Blue

HEIGHT: 5’5”

WEIGHT: 122 pounds

OTHER: She has a slightly upturned nose and a cleft on her chin.

SCARS: Left knee, left eyebrow, vaccination mark on right thigh.

LAST SEEN WEARING: Red parka jacket fur trimmed with a hood, white sneakers with heavy soled Topsiders brand, size 6 1/2-7, blue jeans, small gold Elgin ladies wristwatch engraved on back of case inside “13050 HD” with a thin black band.

“Hey I saw that girl in Woodford, I was with three other people coming back from our camp, she stopped us and asked for directions , she was wanting to get to the Long Trail. Yeah, I’m sure of it. I remember that red parka with the hood. I think it was about 4pm . ” He told Pete Stevenson, a reporter for The Banner, who had been chatting with William.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 3, 1946:

Willam, along with two of his friends headed into Woodford, locals in Woodford confirmed to him that they had seen Paula that day. A few even said they saw her near a camp called Hunter’s Rest. Willam and the other two men, who were with him, decided they would search the trail and the camp for Paula. They climbed the trail, calling out Paula’s name, looking for any sign of her red coat. At Hunter’s Rest, they spoke to the owner, William Lauzon, who told them he hadn’t seen her, but the year prior to Paula’s disappearance, an outdoor wilderness guide, by the name of Middie Rivers, went missing in 1945 in that same area.

William and his party wanted to search further but three inches of snow had fallen the night before, making them turn back, it was enough to bury a girl or the truth.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4, 1946:

Word came in: Two witnesses saw Paula cross a bridge near the trail. The official search kicked into overdrive. Students, Boy Scouts, Paula’s botany professor, locals, 500 pair of boots in the dirt searched for her. Even five planes scoured the sky, looking for a flash of red on the ground below, but no sighting of the red coat ever turned up.

Later that evening the president of Bennington College made it official: Authorities believed Paula had been murdered. They suspected her body was either buried on campus or in the woods.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 5,1946:

A waitress down in Fall River, Massachusetts, Ora Telliet, reported that a man, heavy build about 5’8” appearing 28 years old, drunk and abusive came into the Modern Restaurant, with a girl matching Paula’s description. When the man went to the counter to pay the bill, the girl called Ora over and whispered ” How far is it to Bennington, Vermont. All my money’s gone, can you tell me where I am, I don’t know what to do. ” Ora said the girl looked dazed, not drunk. The man came back and they left before anyone could help.

Police scoured the town, rooming houses, hotels, bus and train stations and door to door. No sign of Paula.

Meanwhile a man reported hearing a woman screaming in the woods near the trail. Another dead end.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 6, 1946

A reward offered by Paula’s father hit the papers, 5,000 if Paula were found alive, 2,000 if Paula were found dead. He also went to the FBI in Albany New York, desperate for answers and help. Leads trickled in like smoke under a locked door.

• A college employee claimed Paula was crying in the bathroom on Thanksgiving night, clutching a letter in her hand.
• A train conductor said he punched a ticket for a girl who looked like Paula, heading to South Carolina.
• Friends said Paula seemed unusually upbeat more than ever, the night before her walk as if she knew something they didn’t.

None of the leads panned out and the trail was growing colder by the hour.

DECEMBER 7-15, 1946:

The search stretched on for two more weeks. Planes buzzed overhead. Volunteers combed the woods, but the forest gave nothing back. Paula’s personal belongings sat untouched in her dorm, clothing, books, art supplies, and a $10.00 uncashed check from her parents for her living expenses. No body, No answers. Just the sound of boots on the frozen leaves and the growing legend of the girl in the red coat. Soon the search was called off, the leads slowly dried up. Life went on as usual.

AFTERMATH:

By 1956, a decade later, Paula Jean Welden was declared legally dead by absentia. Her father’s crusade sparked something lasting: the formation of the Vermont State Police in July of 1947. A legacy carved out of grief.

THE BENNINGTON FIVE:

Middie V. Rivers born December 12, 1870 was a widower, his wife Annie passed away in 1936. They married in 1890 and had six children together. Middie was an outdoor guide, and knew the mountains well, he was the kind of man that was reliable and competent., he knew how to quarter a deer and live off the land. On November 12, 1945, Middie went out hunting with his son-in-law and a few other hunters, to Hell Hollow Brook, that ran through the Glastonbury wilderness. The men decided to split up with the agreement they would meet up at camp by mid-afternoon.

The terrain was the kind where one could easily lose the trail. It was the kind of terrain where one could find themselves on a foggy rise or in a ravine in the blink of an eye. But Middie knew the land, knew to be careful. So when he went missing it caused more myths and legends to rise, he was gone, it was as if the woods claimed him for their own. A search was conducted but the only thing found, a single spent rifle cartridge. Did he fall into a sinkhole, fall down an abandoned well? The official report states he was lost to the wilderness. But people who knew him never accepted that, he was a guide who could make his way through the wilderness in the harshest of weather and survive. For weeks his name was in the local papers Eventually the story faded, leaving behind the first rung of a mysterious ladder and an empty grave.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139111262/middie_v-rivers

Paula Jean Welden October 19,1928. Missing December 1, 1946.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130033689/paula_jean-welden

James E. Tedford May 1, 1884, missing December 1, 1949. James was married to Pearl A. Mitchell in 1928. James was a US Army Veteran of World War 1, he resided at the Bennington Soldiers Home. He was known as a quiet man who was orderly and lived by a routine. On December 1, 1949, he boarded a bus to St. Albans, a four hour bus ride to visit relatives. He took a seat near the rear of the bus, storing his suitcase in the overhead rack, he held a time table and pamphlet as well as his bus ticket in his hands. When the bus made its stop in Bennington. James was no longer on board. His suitcase was still in the overhead compartment, on his seat was his ticket, timetable and pamphlet. His seat still remained marked on the driver’s list. No one remembered him getting off the bus. It was as if he vanished while inside the bus into thin air. The police were called and an investigation was conducted, police speculated he got off at a prior stop for some reason and failed to get back on. No leads emerged. The home was notified, posters were put up, but there was nothing that could be done and the investigation grew cold. He was declared missing and became lost in the mystery that is the Bennington Triangle.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139110671/james_edward-tedford

Paul Criston “Buddy” Jepson was born March 15,1942 to Paul M. Jepson and Margaret Benton Jepson. On October 12, 1950, his mother took Paul with her to the local dump, where his father was a caretaker, who maintained the property and tended to the pigs that were kept there. Margaret needed to feed the pigs, she told Paul to stay in the truck and that she would be right back. Paul, wearing his red coat, stayed in the truck like his mother told him to. When she returned an hour later, Paul was gone. Police were immediately notified, and a search party was started. Bloodhounds were brought in and they followed his scent to the Long Trail where they lost the scent. For several days the search continued, but no trace of Paul was ever found. No remains, no clothing, no evidence. The forest claimed another one for its own. The boy in the red coat became lost to the trail.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130037589/paul_criston-jepson

Fredia Langer: The One Found.

Elfriede “Frieda” Langer was born in 1897. She married Max Langer in 1915. Frieda was an experienced outdoors woman, who, along with her husband, often camped near Glastonbury Mountain. On October 28, 1950. Frieda and her cousin Herbert were taking a walk near Glastonbury, Max had stayed behind at their camp. Fredia slipped and fell in a stream, unharmed, but wet, she told her cousin she would go back to camp and change clothing and catch up to him when she could. When she did not return after an hour, Herbert went to the camp to look for her. Frieda was no where to be found, and Max hadn’t seen her return. For two days local authorities searched for her. Over 300 people joined in the search.

No clothing, personal items or tracks were found, people said the trail claimed another one to never be seen again, or so they thought.

May 12, 1951, a hiker found the partially decomposed remains of Fridea, three miles from the campsite she had been trying to get back to, she was found in an area that had been previously searched. No cause of death could be determined, no signs of violent trauma and no evidence of foul play. Official cause of death: Undetermined.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/241855914/elfriede-langer

THEORIES:

What happened to Paula Jean Welden? People love answers. North Bennington never got them. But that’s never stopped the theories from crawling out of the woodwork.

• She was murdered-Some people believe Paula crossed paths with the wrong man, maybe along the trail, maybe in a car. A few locals even whispered about a man from Bennington with a history of violence and a weak alibi.
• She died of exposure- December in Vermont is no joke, a sudden snowstorm, a wrong turn, a fall off the trail and Paula could have been lost in the wilderness, never found under winter’s white silence.
• She ended her own life-A witness reported seeing Paula crying days before she vanished. Others say she was more cheerful than usual. Grief wears many disguises. Maybe she went into the woods knowing she wouldn’t come back.
• She ran away to start over- A girl in love? A girl under pressure? Maybe she used the Long Trail as a cover story and hitched a ride far away, changed her name and began again.
• She slipped into another dimension-This is where the Bennington Triangle really earns its stripes. Locals whisper that there’s something off about the land, something that swallows people whole without a trace.
• She was taken by aliens-Lights in the sky, no bodies, no clues. If people believed it happened in Roswell, why not Bennington?

By the time the leaves turned again, the trail was empty. The posters fading and like the others, Paula Jean Welden was one of many names stitched into the fog of Vermont legend.

They say the woods don’t give up their dead easily, nor its secrets but if you listen closely…you might hear them.