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by Charles River (Author)
*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts from family members, authorities, and newspapers *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "It would be bad enough if the daughter I loved so well were] lying beside her grandmother in Greenwood Cemetery, but this suspense and uncertainty are a thousand times worse." - Francis Arnold, Dorothy's father It was the great mystery of its time and still reads like an episode of "Law and Order" today. In December 1910, a wealthy young woman, thought to be sheltered and above reproach, goes missing shortly after being seen in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The police are called in and begin to question those closest to her, only to have her father, a wealthy manufacturer, insist it must be foul play and that his daughter was on good terms with her entire family. Likewise, he claims that though she was in her mid-20s and in the prime of life, she had no serious romantic attachments. The mother tearfully backs these claims up. Eventually, far different information leaks out, like the fact that the victim was an aspiring writer who kept much about her work a secret, that she had been trying to cut ties with her family for some time, and, most interesting of all, that there certainly was a boyfriend, and that her family had tried to hide their relationship. For a time, all eyes are on the romantic interest, who is significantly older but a longtime friend of the family. In fact, the victim's brother is seen in beautiful Florence, Italy, beating the boyfriend up in a failed attempt to get more information about his sister's disappearance. Letters surface, as do photographs, but ultimately nothing to indicate the he had anything at all to do with her disappearance. Finally, everyone gives up and turns their attentions elsewhere. Meanwhile, there are rumored sightings, as she is "seen" in various large cities across the United States and Europe. Mentally ill women claim to be her, but again and again, no lead checks out. Eventually, the story grows cold and people lose interest, but then, more than three years after she disappeared, a new lead turns up. A back room abortionist claims that she came to him for an "illegal" operation and died, and as he did with all his other victims, he cremated her body and tossed out the ashes. The story makes the front pages for days, even as the family denies it is possible, but by now, it's April 1914 and the newspapers have more pressing matters to report, so the story quickly falls off their radar again. While the story was certainly fit for a gripping thriller, it was all too true for Dorothy Arnold and her family. Arnold was a young, well-known socialite whose disappearance was front page news on the East Coast in the early 20th century, and over 100 years later, armchair gumshoes continue trying to piece together the puzzle over her fate. In an era before other famous disappearances like that of the Lindbergh baby and Jimmy Hoffa became grist for writers, it was Dorothy Arnold who left people wondering and speculating. To this day, the mystery remains unsolved and, except for periodic stories and lists about enduring mysteries, largely forgotten. The Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold: The Unsolved Mystery of the American Socialite Who Vanished in 1910 looks at one of the early 20th century's most enduring mysteries. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the disappearance of Dorothy Arnold like never before.
