The small town of Bennington, Vermont, is a strange place where various mystical events have repeatedly occurred.
However, the case of Paula Jean Welden disappearing without a trace in 1946 became the biggest secret, which will forever remain a mystery to the inhabitants of this sleepy town.
What happened to Paula Jean Welden?
Paula was an ordinary and unremarkable sophomore at the local college. She studied hard, worked part-time in the cafeteria, and always got good grades.
On December 1, 1946, she told her neighbor that she was going to take a break from her studies and take a walk along the Long Trail. The scenic trail ran very close to the college, so the girl's friend didn't worry. Many people saw Paulo along the way, including a group of travel friends. It was they who reported that the girl went north.
The roommate wasn't worried when Welden didn't return home. The girl admitted to the police that Paula often returned to the dorm late at night, as she usually spent long evenings in the college library. The neighbor was alarmed only the next morning, when she woke up and saw that Paula's bed was made. The girl contacted the college administration, who decided to organize a small search group to find Paula Jean on campus. The college had a system where students had to check in if they were going to leave campus late at night, but Paula's name was not on the exit list.
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Official investigation begins
After the college was unable to locate Paula on its own, the administration called the local sheriff. Gossip soon broke out throughout the campus and in the small community. Paula's disappearance theories included suicide, amnesia, and even murder. The college has officially closed for a few days so students and faculty can help find Paulo Jean. But they didn't find anything significant. Firefighters and the National Guard eventually joined the search, but that didn’t produce the expected results.
The search was hampered by the fact that there was no law enforcement agency in Vermont at the time. Thus, the search for the missing girl was carried out by teams that crossed the same area several times. In doing so, they wasted precious time and energy. In the end, they called the nearby Connecticut State Police to strengthen their search capabilities.
Investigators found a man who said he saw Paula shortly before her disappearance. This young man became the main suspect, as he constantly changed his testimony regarding the circumstances of the meeting with the girl and could not say exactly where he was on that day. The man also told his friends that he knew where the missing woman was buried. He later backtracked on his words, citing a bad joke. The search continued, but no one found Paulo or her remains.
BALAN-SENCHUK ALEXANDRA
