On June 1, 1948, 21-year-old Virginia Carpenter arrived in Denton, Texas from Texarkana with the intention of taking a summer class at the Texas State College for Women (now TWU). However, before she could fulfill her aspirations of becoming a nurse or lab technician, she disappeared.

At approximately 3:00 pm on June 1, Virginia left Texarkana by the Texas Special #31, bound for Denton. On the train, Virginia met Marjorie Webster, a school teacher who, like Virginia, was heading to TSCW from Texarkana in order to enroll in a course. When they arrived about 6 hours later, they shared a cab to the dorms driven by Edgar Ray “Jack” Zachary.

When they arrived at the dorm, Brackenridge Hall, Virginia realized that she forgot to check whether her trunk had arrived safely at the train station. Virginia asked Zachary if he would take her back to the station. Marjorie offered to accompany her but Virginia refused, saying “No. I’ll go alone. I’ll be alright.” Virginia drove back to the station and was told that her luggage would arrive later. Zachary offered to bring her luggage to her the next morning and Virginia agreed. Zachary drove Virginia back to her dorm and dropped her off at about 9:30 pm. Zachary claimed that when they arrived, there were two men waiting for them with a cream-colored car. Virginia asked: “What are you doing here?” Virginia told Zachary that she knew the men and said they would assist her with the luggage she had in the taxi.

Zachary reportedly left her with the young men and returned the following morning with the suitcase from the train station. Virginia’s suitcase would sit on the lawn of the dorm for two days, unclaimed. Virginia would never retrieve her suitcase, check into her dorm, or enroll in the course.

A few days later, worried that he hadn’t heard from her, Virginia’s boyfriend called her mother. Her mother called first the school and then friends and family to see if any of them had seen or heard from Virginia in the last few days. No one had. Her mother called the police to report her daughter missing and the Texarkana police reportedly told her to “just go to bed and we’ll get on the case in the morning.”

The search for Virginia Carpenter encompassed the entire state. Airplanes, boats, search dogs, and rescue parties scoured the landscape, looking for any sign of the missing girl. Photos of Virginia were sent out across the country in the hope that someone may have seen or heard something about her disappearance.

Zachary fully cooperated with the investigation and passed multiple polygraph tests. His wife told the police that he was home by 10:00 pm, substantiating his alibi. However, almost 10 years later Zachary was arrested for attempted rape but was released because the woman chose not to press charges. Not long after, his now ex-wife says that he convinced her to lie for him about the night of Virginia’s disappearance, saying he got home at 10 when he really got home around 2:00 or 3:00 am. However, without any hard evidence, Zachary was never prosecuted. He died in 1984.

There were many reported sightings of Virginia in the year following her disappearance. On June 11, 10 days after her disappearance, a ticket agent claimed to see Virginia at a train station in DeQueen, Arkansas. The ticket agent was able to pick out a photo of Virginia in a lineup but later doubted her identification. On June 12, a woman was seen riding with two men in Mena, Arkansas. A girl matching Virginia’s description was seen in Tuscon, Arizona on July 8. In January of the following year, a woman named Gladys Bass claimed to have met a woman who was hitchhiking who said that her name was Virginia. Gladys said the woman seemed well-educated and she said her name was Virginia. Virginia told Gladys that she had run away. None of the supposed sightings were ever substantiated, however.

There were a few human remains examined but none ever matched. In 1998, a man even reported that she was buried on the TWU campus but excavations only found a glove, a boot, and animal bone fragments. Theories surrounding her disappearance range from murder, to running away, to amnesia. While the case remains open, it has officially been declared cold and without any new evidence, it will most likely remain that way.

Sources

Wikipedia page on the Disappearance of Virginia Carpenter

The Charley Project page on Mary Virginia Carpenter

What Happened to Virginia Carpenter: Oldest Cold Case in Texas Turns 70

The photo of Brackenridge Hall