The Unsolved Cases of Three Indigenous Women, Kiana Klomp, Amber Tuccaro, and Ella Mae Begay Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Alice Etelea on Unsplash 

Other Images:

Kiana Klomp, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (via Facebook)

Amber Tuccaro  (via Justice for Amber Tuccaro Facebook page)

Ella Mae Begay, Navajo Police Department (via KNAU)

"The case of missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito came to a tragic conclusion this week when the FBI reported her body had been found in a national park in Wyoming. And just as they had been during the frantic search for the young woman, news organizations and social media platforms across the US were buzzing with the terrible update.

The saga highlighted the incredible power of media attention to showcase a missing person’s case and help it reach some type of timely resolution, no matter how dire, though the search for Petito’s killer continues. But for many in the Indigenous community, it also further emphasized the lack of attention and resources too often given to the scores of missing and murdered Native people in Wyoming and the rest of the country.

In a report released earlier this year, researchers found that between 2011 and September 2020, 710 Indigenous people were reported missing across Wyoming, and that between 2000 and 2020, Indigenous homicide victims accounted for 21% of all homicides, though they make up only 3% of the state’s population

Despite such staggering statistics, the report, a first of its kind for Wyoming, found that white homicide victims were more likely than Native people to receive media coverage. And when Native cases did receive media attention, articles were more likely to include violent language or portray them in a negative light, compared with stories about white victims..."

— Source: The Guardian article by Hallie Golden

The Disappearance of Lawrence Joseph Bader Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash 

Other Photos:

Larry Bader with wife Mary Lou and their children (via LIFE Magazine, 5 Mar 1965)

Larry Bader, LIFE Magazine, 5 Mar 1965 (via graham64.wordpress.com)

Flagpole that Fritz Johnson sat in for 15 days for Polio charity drive (via LIFE Magazine, 5 Mar 1965)

Fritz Johnson. Original publication: KETV-7 1963 Immediate source: Ohio.com (via Wikipedia)

Hugo, Man Of A Thousand Faces, Kenner 1975, General Mills Fun Group, Inc. (via flashbak.com)

"Lawrence Joseph Bader (December 2, 1926 – September 16, 1966), also known as John "Fritz" Johnson, was an American cookware salesman from Akron, Ohio who disappeared while on a fishing trip on Lake Erie on March 15, 1957. Declared dead in 1960, Bader was found alive five years later as John "Fritz" Johnson, a local TV personality living in Omaha, Nebraska. The incident is described by author Jay Robert Nash as "one of the most baffling amnesia disappearances on record, a weird story forever unanswered."

On March 15, 1957, Larry Bader, a cookware salesman for the Reynolds Metals Corporation from Akron, Ohio, rented a 14 feet (4.3 m) boat, kissed his wife Mary Lou goodbye, and went to Lake Erie to go fishing. His boat was found the next day after a storm. The boat had minor damage and a missing oar. Bader, who was $20,000 in debt and in trouble with the IRS, was missing. The couple had three children, with another on the way.

On February 2, 1965, Johnson, who like Bader was an archery enthusiast, was demonstrating archery equipment at a sporting goods show in Chicago. An acquaintance from Akron saw Johnson and, despite the eyepatch and mustache, recognized Bader. He then brought Bader's 21-year-old niece, Suzanne Peika, to have a look. Convinced, she asked him, "Pardon me, but aren't you my uncle Larry Bader, who disappeared seven years ago?" Johnson laughed it off, but Mrs. Peika called in his two brothers from Akron, who had his fingerprints compared with Bader's military records. They matched. Johnson was now faced with the fact that all his memories were false and that he had two wives..."

— Source: Lawrence Joseph Bader Wikipedia