Missing persons, signs of extra terrestrial life and thousands of anonymous, vindictive letters are just a few of the uncanny happenings in Ohio that have yet to be solved over the years in spite of ongoing investigations. The following are what we consider to be some of the creepiest, strangest and most unsettling unsolved mysteries that have taken place in the state.
1) The Circleville Letter Writer
The small town of Circleville and the people of Pickaway County began to encounter what some might call a real-life-A -from-Pretty-Little-Liars-experience in the late 70s when thousands of individuals started receiving personal, mysterious letters about their lives. The letters were written in block style and contained vindictive, violent and vulgar material. One of the letter recipient's husband was murdered, which was believed to be connected to the letters, and the letters continued even after a suspect was placed in prison. The letters continued to arrive in residents' mailboxes—both city officials and average citizens alike— until the late 90s. The writer was never revealed.
2) The Wow! Signal
The Wow! signal was a strong narrowband radio signal detected by Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977, at the Big Ear radio telescope of Ohio State University, (then located at Ohio Wesleyan University's Perkins Observatory in Delaware.) The signal lasted for a full 72 seconds and indicted a non-terrestrial and non-Solar System origin. Ehman circled the signal on the computer printout and wrote the comment "Wow!" beside of it, which became the unofficial name of the signal. The signal has never been detected again.
3) The disappearance of Cindy Anderson
After being plagued by several bizarre and frightening dreams in which she was abducted and murdered by a stranger, Cindy Anderson mysteriously went missing on August 4, 1981. She was presumed to be abducted from the legal office where she worked, despite the fact that all of the doors to the office were locked and there was an alarm to alert the store next door. One of her coworkers was surprised to find that Cindy's book that she was reading was opened to the only violent part of the book. There was also other evidence that suggested Cindy met with foul play, in spite of no sign of forced entry. The police investigated several leads, including one that involved an unidentified man spray painting "I Love You Cindy" on a wall near her office, but she was never found.
4) The Ohio Prostitute Killer
Police are still searching for a serial killer who is suspected of murdering at least eight prostitutes throughout the state. Eight women were found murdered in the late 80s and 90s along major interstates in Ohio. Each of the identified victims were suspected to be prostitutes, and each of those women were believed to work at truck stops. Extensive investigations throughout the years have linked the murders together, though the killer has never been identified and the murders remain unsolved.
5) The Butcher of Kingsbury Run
Also known as the Cleveland Torso Murderer, this unidentified serial killer murdered and dismembered at least twelve victims from among the homeless in Cleveland—many of whom remain unidentified to this day. Recent speculation suggests the Butcher may have traveled west and was also the murderer of Elizabeth Short, of the "Black Dahlia Murder Case."
6) The harassment of Bill and Dorothy Wacker
Bill and Dorothy Wacker lived in a small town in Stark County and despite being quiet, unassuming people, they were subject to a harsh series of harassment which began in 1984. The elderly couple suffered from physical attacks, strange phone calls that were sometimes threatening and other times only heavy breathing and robbery. Their possessions were quietly and mysteriously returned overtime with strange messages in jagged handwriting that police suspected was written with the non dominant hand in order to conceal his/her handwriting. The harasser has never been seen and the police have no leads on who he or she may be, though it's possible a neighbor, "friend," or family member is the cause, given the degree of knowledge of the Wacker's that he or she had. The Wackers both passed away in recent years, and the case was never solved.
7) The reincarnation of Sandra J. Jenkins
Georgia Rudolph of Macon, Georgia claims she is the reincarnated spirit of a Marietta woman named Sandra J. Jenkins, who commited suicide in 1911. Georgia claimed that she had strange visions since she was a child about a woman and the 1900s. She even went as far as to travel to Marietta where she was able to find the house where she believed she lived during the past life as well as the gravesite of Sandra's grandmother. Additionally, a man later came forward claiming that he was the reincarnation of Sandra's boyfriend and that he had several of the same memories that Georgia had. Whether this is a true example of reincarnation or not is unknown.
What other infamous Ohio cold cases or unsolved mysteries do you know of that have yet to be explained?
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