Beverly Rose Potts--August 24, 1951--Cleveland, Ohio Beverly Rose PottsMissing Since: August 24, 1951 from Cleveland, Ohio
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: April 15, 1941
Age: 10 years old
Height and Weight: 4'11, 90 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair, blue eyes. Potts had her hair cut short, with bangs, at the time of her disappearance. She has wide-set eyes and gaps between her teeth, and her upper and lower molars have silver fillings. She has a vaccination scar on her upper left arm, a small scar over her left eyebrow, and a kidney-shaped birthmark about one inch long and three-eighths of an inch wide on her instep. Potts had a distinctive, duck-like gait in 1951, with her toes turned out. She was tall for her age at the time of her disappearance and could have easily passed for twelve. She may have grown tall in adulthood
Circumstances: Potts left her residence in the 11300 block of Linnet Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, in the evening hours on August 24, 1951. She and a friend, Patricia Ann "Patsy" Swing, rode their bicycles to attend the Showagon, an annual summer festival. The Showagon took place in Halloran Park, which stretches south for three blocks between West 117th and West 120th streets, about an eighth of a mile away from Potts's home. The area around Halloran Park in 1951 had a number of large trees which obscured the streetlights and made the street almost completely dark after sunset, and vagrants sometimes frequented the park at night. Potts had been forbidden to go to the park since coming home from there late a few days before, but her mother gave her special permission to attend the Showagon.
Potts and Swing arrived at the park shortly after 7:00 p.m., but came home again and left their bicycles, then went back to the park, arriving at the carnival the second time at 8:00 p.m. Potts had been given permission to stay until the show was over, but Swing had to be home by dark and so left at 8:40 p.m. She stated that she last saw Potts watching the show, standing in front of a small plump woman who had a hand on Potts's shoulder. The woman may have had a child who was performing in the Showagon.
The last confirmed sighting of Potts was at 9:30 p.m., when the Showagon had ended and Halloran Park was emptying. A thirteen-year-old acquaintance saw a girl he believed to be Potts walking diagonally across the park, headed in a northeast direction towards her home. He recognized her by her unusual gait. She was about 150 feet from the corner of Linnet and West 117th Streets when she was last seen. Her parents reported her missing at 10:30 p.m. when she had not come home and their search of the area failed to turn up any sign of her.
Potts is not believed to have left of her own accord. She is described as a shy, quiet, obedient girl and a good student who was due to enter the fifth grade at Louis Agassiz Elementary School in the fall of 1951. Potts had a happy, stable family life at the time of her disappearance. She was also unusually cautious, particularly around men and boys, and would flee when approached by a stranger. She had been warned against unknown men but not against women, so it is possible that she was enticed by a woman.
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Cleveland Police Department
760-839-4722
Beverly's Picture and more information can be found at http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/potts_beverly.html There is no known composite at this time.
Forumer™ is Voted #1 Free Forum Hosting provider
Build your own community today with the largest message board hosting company.