It is unknown exactly what Colleen was wearing when she vanished, but some distinguishing characterisitcs are she had hazel eyes with black/brown hair. She has a moon shaped scar below on her elbow on her right forearm. She has a mole on the left side of her chin.
In 1975, Bedford was a small town, made up of mostly farmers where everyone knew everyone. Colleen's father was a former police cheif, and is still alive and searching for her to this day. Despite the many local rumors (such as that an estranged family member was involved, or that someone local is responsible), one main lead that was pursued involves serial killer William Bradford. William Bradford was a freelance photographer between 1966 to 1984. He would often advertise in classifields for individuals to pose in private photo sessions. He would often meet his victims at bars, taverns or race car events, and eventually would lure them to his home, where he would sexually assault and strangle his victims, disposing of them in public areas. Bradford was arrested in 1984 for the murder of two of the "models". During the search of Bradford's home, authorities recovered many photos of unknown women. As of today, Bradford died in California Department of Corrections on 2008, and 43 out of the 88 photos have yet to be identified.
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| Mysterious Bradford photo-taken 5-7 years after Colleen vanished-is this woman Colleen?-Source and credit of photo to wowt.com |
Now, although Bradford operated mostly in California, one of his pictures, known as #49, bears a striking resemblence to Colleen. On the official LACountyMurders website, #49 has been taken down, which I found odd because photos that have been identified were still left up. For awhile, Colleen's entire family believed it was her, but later on, her father insisted in was not her, so it looks like that lead was no longer pursued.
Now, I am not surprised that Colleen's case did not recieve much publicity, because it looks as if she was labeled as a runaway early on. And if we think runaways don't get much attention nowadays, back then, they were lucky to be even recorded as missing, because every teen was a "runaway back then". Her case is now labeled a "non-family abduction", which I believe fits her disappearance much better. I have read up on so many cases with victims who vanish over night, with no details after that. (Most cases that come to mind are that of young children, such as Sabrina Aisenberg, Lisa Irwin, Isabel Celis and Ayla Reynolds.)
It seems like the fact that Bradford may have taken her was one that has been looked at. I agree the pictures look identical, but would Bradford travel to Iowa? Is there anything that explains his where abouts in 1975? Coming in someone's home to kidnap them does not seem like his "style", if he was responsible at all, he would have taken Colleen by perhaps having her answer one of his modeling ads, then meeting her someplace public, with intentions to lure her to a more private place. Was their a chance that Colleen snuck out during the night to meet a "photographer?" How about a friend she met, a boy? I also wonder if there's any evidence of an intruder that night? Maybe someone had been watching for a long time and saw this as an opportunity to take her? Was any of her belongings missing? Were the doors locked that night? I believe someone abducted her during the night, in a way that would scare her enough to go willingly, or that she snuck out to meet someone. I do not believe she intended to runaway.
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| Age progression of what Colleen may look like today. Have YOU seen Colleen? DO YOU have any answers? |
Taylor County Sheriff's Office
1-712-523-2153
OR
1-800-THELOST
SOURCES:
Colleen Simpson
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/simpson_colleen.html
LA County Murders
http://lacountymurders.com/wanted/LADIES1.html
Colleen-Woman in Photo?
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/3438706.html
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