1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,440 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,120 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:22,420 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages and is intended for a mature 4 00:00:22,420 --> 00:00:23,620 audience. 5 00:00:23,620 --> 00:00:34,360 Listener discretion is advised. 6 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,720 Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing. 7 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,720 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski. 8 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:45,820 And unfortunately my co-host, my husband Eli Sulkowski is a little busy this week so he 9 00:00:45,820 --> 00:00:47,400 won't be able to join us. 10 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:52,880 But I still wanted to bring you either a cold case or an unresolved missing person case, 11 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,200 just like I do every week on Cold and Missing. 12 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,800 This week I wanted to bring you the case of Joan Gay Croft. 13 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:05,640 And this takes place in April of 1947 in Woodward, Oklahoma. 14 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:07,680 But first a little bit about Joan Gay. 15 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,220 Joan Gay in 1947 is four years old. 16 00:01:12,220 --> 00:01:15,500 She was born October 28th, 1942. 17 00:01:15,500 --> 00:01:17,700 So today she would be 80 years old. 18 00:01:17,700 --> 00:01:20,040 Her family described her as very bashful. 19 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:25,360 She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and she had some faint small pock scars on her arms 20 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:27,400 as well as a few on her forehead. 21 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:32,400 She most likely has a scar on her right calf from the injuries sustained the night she 22 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:33,400 went missing. 23 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,440 At four years old, she could talk, but according to her father, Olin Croft, quote, 24 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:43,880 She talked plainly for a child her age, but she was bashful around strangers, and I doubt 25 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,320 a stranger could understand her when she pronounced her name. 26 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,020 It sounded more like Joe Gay when she said it. 27 00:01:50,020 --> 00:01:51,020 End quote. 28 00:01:51,020 --> 00:01:53,840 So now we'll get into the timeline of events. 29 00:01:53,840 --> 00:02:00,880 On Wednesday, April 9th, 1947, that evening, Joan Gay was getting ready for bed with her 30 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:06,880 sister and mother when the deadliest tornado in Oklahoma history ripped through Woodward, 31 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:07,880 Oklahoma. 32 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:14,160 The tornado started in Texas and ripped through Oklahoma and Kansas, but it was at its strongest 33 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:15,740 in Oklahoma. 34 00:02:15,740 --> 00:02:17,980 It was rated an F5. 35 00:02:17,980 --> 00:02:23,680 In 1947, there were no tornado sirens, and to further complicate matters, the local telephone 36 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:28,520 operators were on strike, so no one could be warned that the storm was coming. 37 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:34,360 This storm is so bad that it's reported that birds do not return to the area for over 38 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,560 a month. 39 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,840 As the storm hits, chaos erupts. 40 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,380 According to Joan Gay's grandfather, quote, 41 00:02:41,380 --> 00:02:45,720 The family ran out into the yard so the house wouldn't fall on them. 42 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,600 They never thought of the flying pieces of house and such things. 43 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:50,800 End quote. 44 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,400 And that's Hutchinson Croft. 45 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:54,640 Again, Joan Gay's grandfather. 46 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:59,500 The entire Croft home is destroyed, and Joan Gay's parents are hurt. 47 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:05,600 Her mother, Cleeta, is killed in the storm, and her father, Olin, originally is listed 48 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:10,320 in the newspapers as dead, but he was found clinging to life. 49 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:15,400 He'll actually be one of the first rushed out of Woodward when ambulances begin to arrive. 50 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:21,880 Shortly after the storm, a neighbor, and I do apologize here, it was not reported her 51 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:28,640 name, she's just reported as a Mrs. Clyde Taylor, finds Joan Gay and her sister, Jerry, 52 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:29,940 in the wreckage. 53 00:03:29,940 --> 00:03:31,720 Both are in their pajamas. 54 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,920 Both girls have cuts to their head, but are conscious. 55 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:41,480 Joan Gay also has a wood splinter that had pierced her right calf. 56 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:47,120 And there is some debate, or I don't want to say debate, but later it's reported that 57 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,280 it's her left leg. 58 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:53,480 Here I'm going to go with her right leg, because that's what is originally reported 59 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,480 in the newspapers in 1947, so that's the information I'm going to go with. 60 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:03,640 The neighbor pulls the girls from the wreckage and takes them to the Woodward Memorial Hospital. 61 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:08,280 Joan Gay and Jerry are both admitted, but were quickly tagged to go to another hospital 62 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,400 in Oklahoma City. 63 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:14,760 Joan Gay and Jerry are placed on the same cot and put in the basement with other people 64 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:16,800 waiting to be transported. 65 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:21,880 There are some conflicting reports if family were able to find Jerry and Joan Gay that 66 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:22,880 evening. 67 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:27,720 An aunt in interviews years later will say that she did see the girls in the basement 68 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:33,760 before leaving that evening to continue volunteering in search and rescue efforts. 69 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,920 But their father will say family missed them because they didn't know people had been 70 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:39,920 taken to the basement. 71 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:45,460 That evening at the hospital, two white men dressed in khakis entered Woodward Memorial 72 00:04:45,460 --> 00:04:46,640 Hospital. 73 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:51,040 It's reported that the men specifically asked where the Croft children were. 74 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:56,600 Jerry said, quote, two men came into the basement and got Joan Gay. 75 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:57,880 It was still dark. 76 00:04:57,880 --> 00:04:59,200 Joan Gay cried. 77 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,320 She said she wanted to stay with her sister, end quote. 78 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,320 The men put Joan Gay on a stretcher. 79 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:11,280 It's likely her leg was still injured as no hospital staff remember treating it or taking 80 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:12,480 care of it. 81 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,400 The men then carried her out to a waiting car. 82 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:21,520 According to her grandfather, Roy Gable, quote, a nurse on duty at the hospital said two men 83 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,880 came in and carried Joan Gay out. 84 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:28,080 They told the nurse they were taking her out of this mess and going to care for her in 85 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:29,200 Washington. 86 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,780 That was about two hours after the storm, end quote. 87 00:05:32,780 --> 00:05:38,200 This will also be repeated that these men told staff at the hospital that they were 88 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,840 taking her to a hospital in Oklahoma City where her family was. 89 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:49,160 So those are two stories, but this quote is pulled from newspapers at the time. 90 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:54,560 The next day, Thursday, April 10th, Olin, Joan Gay's father, is still in the hospital 91 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:56,080 in Oklahoma City. 92 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:01,600 And Joan Gay's uncle goes to the hospital to wash the girls and only finds that Jerry 93 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:03,240 is there. 94 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:09,080 Jerry will ultimately be transferred to another hospital at around 11 a.m. that morning. 95 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:14,800 So I think that does support that maybe the aunt did make contact with the girls the night 96 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,480 before because an uncle was able to come the next day. 97 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:24,200 So I think there is some support that it was confirmed that family saw Joan Gay in the 98 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,640 hospital besides Jerry, her sister. 99 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:31,500 On Friday, April 11th, Olin is released from the hospital and immediately begins to look 100 00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:33,320 for his family. 101 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:38,660 In the following days after the storm, lots of funerals are held around town, including 102 00:06:38,660 --> 00:06:42,120 Joan Gay's mother, Cleta. 103 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,760 Newspapers will continue to report Joan Gay as missing, but most will fail to mention 104 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,400 she went missing after the storm. 105 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,580 Lots of people were still missing at this time from the storm itself. 106 00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:59,840 On Sunday, April 20th, so this is a few weeks after the storm, the State Safety Department 107 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:03,800 began to worry that Joan Gay was buried under the wrong identity. 108 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:10,560 The acting Highway Patrol chief H.B. Lowry said, quote, The last we knew of Joan Gay, 109 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,160 she was lying among the injured on the floor of the hospital. 110 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,040 Of course, it was dark in there and the confusion was terrible. 111 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:22,080 She may have died and being carried to the morgue along with dozens of other bodies, 112 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:23,080 end quote. 113 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:28,760 The family and State Safety Department had checked all hospitals in Oklahoma and neighboring 114 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,240 states as well, and there was no trace of Joan Gay. 115 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,200 The family believe that Joan Gay's platinum blonde hair could have been darkened from 116 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,200 the storm since the same thing happened to her mother. 117 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:44,760 It'll take weeks for police to fully focus all their efforts on Joan Gay because of the 118 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:45,760 storm. 119 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,920 In June, this is about two months since Joan Gay has been missing. 120 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,320 Olin Croft says, quote, I don't know what to do now. 121 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,560 The Red Cross and Highway Patrol are still working on it. 122 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:01,240 I asked the FBI for help, but they said they would not have jurisdiction unless there was 123 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:06,720 positive proof of a kidnapping, end quote, which there does seem like there's proof 124 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:12,680 of it if two men came and the sisters testifying to this and hospital staff are. 125 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,440 I'm not sure why the FBI didn't get involved right away. 126 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:23,240 In July, so around three months, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol asked for help from Kansas, 127 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:27,680 Colorado, Texas and New Mexico to join in the search for Joan Gay. 128 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:35,240 I noticed here that in these states that Oklahoma requested looking for Joan Gay, Washington's 129 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,800 state is missing. 130 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:41,400 And there is that quote from the grandfather that these men possibly took her to Washington. 131 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:47,520 So I thought that was pretty notable that Washington was left out of the state search. 132 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:53,480 August of 1947, so four months now, police reveal that they have tracked down several 133 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:55,640 leads, but they have all fizzled out. 134 00:08:55,640 --> 00:09:00,200 Olin will also take Jerry around this time and move out of Oklahoma, but he'll never 135 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,880 stop searching for Joan Gay. 136 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:11,240 On the one year anniversary of the tornado and Joan Gay going missing, April 9th, 1948, 137 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:16,680 Major Lowry of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol says that there has been no trace of the girl, 138 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:21,040 but is encouraging his staff to work the case until she's home. 139 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:26,560 Police are also ruling out that she was buried under the wrong identity, and all of the unidentified 140 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:31,640 children had been loosely ID'd except for a 12 year old girl. 141 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:36,720 Joan Gay's family continued to search for her at playgrounds, summer resorts, everywhere, 142 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:37,960 the family said. 143 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:42,280 Bess Irwin was a nurse on duty the night that the storm hit. 144 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:47,480 And she says, quote, You will of course realize the terrible confusion we were in. 145 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,920 The electricity was off and we worked by candlelight most of the night. 146 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,020 The hospital was completely filled within the hour and emergency units had been set 147 00:09:56,020 --> 00:09:58,720 up in various buildings in the city. 148 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,400 The incident is vague to me now. 149 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:05,560 It is true that two men stopped me in the hall and remarked they were taking a small 150 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:06,980 child with them. 151 00:10:06,980 --> 00:10:11,440 I cannot state what they said, but I do recall I wondered why they should even bother at 152 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,600 the time, end quote. 153 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,000 And then that's truly it for a while. 154 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:23,160 The newspapers every year on the anniversary of the tornado hit will usually run Joan Gay's 155 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:24,280 story. 156 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,700 And it truly is the same story year over year. 157 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:31,120 They just kind of update the age that Joan Gay would be that year. 158 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:38,320 In April of 1979, so this is 30 years that Joan Gay has been missing. 159 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:43,160 Joan Gay's sister, Jerry says, quote, Granted, it would be more than a joy if Joan Gay was 160 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,840 found through one of these stories. 161 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,520 But chance is less than one in a million, end quote. 162 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:56,240 And then in the 90s, the story enters the media again. 163 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:03,200 On September 22, 1993, the season six premiere of Unsolved Mysteries, the original Unsolved 164 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,400 Mysteries features Joan Gay's story. 165 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:12,400 A woman from Phoenix, Arizona believes she's Joan Gay and not without good reason. 166 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:17,800 She says her earliest memory is of chaos and a lot of bloody people. 167 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,440 And she was also able to prove that her birth certificate is fake and that her parents were 168 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,200 not her biological parents. 169 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,980 And she also had a scar on her leg. 170 00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:31,960 She gets in contact with the family and the family begins to believe that this is Joan 171 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:37,640 Gay and the producers of Unsolved Mysteries will actually pay for a DNA test. 172 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:42,040 But the DNA test will prove that this woman is not Joan Gay. 173 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:47,320 Over the years, hundreds of women will actually come forward after this Unsolved Mysteries 174 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:48,980 episode airs. 175 00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:53,800 But a lot will quickly be ruled out by the family or they'll want money or they'll 176 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:55,200 just stop talking. 177 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,760 So a lot get ruled out over the years. 178 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:05,560 And in 1998, a woman from Canada emerged that did seem like she could be Joan Gay. 179 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:10,200 She says her family often told stories of a tornado wiping away their home when she 180 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,280 was a little girl. 181 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:18,280 But this woman will also have items with the Croft name on it, specifically Olin Croft's 182 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:20,840 name, which was Joan Gay's father. 183 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:26,320 Ultimately, though, through a DNA test, she will be ruled out too. 184 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:34,480 In May of 2016, police put family DNA into the NamUs database and into CODIS, hoping 185 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:36,520 to learn Joan Gay's fate. 186 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:41,200 But there has not been a hit and there hasn't really been any updates since then. 187 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:48,800 If you know anything about what happened to Joan Gay Croft in April of 1947, you are encouraged 188 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:56,200 to call the Woodward Police at 580-254-8535. 189 00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:03,240 And the sources for today's podcast come from the Woodward Daily Press, the Ind Daily Eagle, 190 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:11,040 the Blackwell Journal Tribune, Fairview Republican, the Daily Oklahoman, Tulsa World, the Alva 191 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:19,320 Review Courier, the Tulsa Tribune, the Duncan Banner, the Brandenton Herald, Weather.gov, 192 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,320 and Unsolved Mysteries. 193 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,120 But that is the story of Joan Gay Croft. 194 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:32,680 And this is one that I actually came across last week as I was researching Jeremy Toll's, 195 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:34,280 the episode that we covered last week. 196 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:40,260 And this really stuck with me, just kind of the chaos of the tornado night and this child 197 00:13:40,260 --> 00:13:41,260 going missing. 198 00:13:41,260 --> 00:13:46,100 But also, it didn't seem random. 199 00:13:46,100 --> 00:13:52,200 If what is reported is true, these men came in and specifically asked for Joan Gay, which 200 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:58,240 makes it seem like it was targeted. 201 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:00,840 And yeah, it's like, why this night? 202 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:01,840 Why this time? 203 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:03,440 How did they know? 204 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,080 There's a lot of questions. 205 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:11,400 But one thing that is persistent in all the reporting is that two men, two white men, 206 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,360 wearing khakis. 207 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,200 And that has been from the beginning until 2016. 208 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,600 Those have been elements of the story that have not changed. 209 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:31,760 But again, if you know anything, please call the Woodward Police at 580-254-8535. 210 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,660 If you are enjoying Cold and Missing and would like to keep up with us, Instagram is a great 211 00:14:36,660 --> 00:14:38,260 place to do that. 212 00:14:38,260 --> 00:14:39,260 You can follow us. 213 00:14:39,260 --> 00:14:40,800 We're just at Cold and Missing. 214 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,080 You can search it and we'll pop up. 215 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:44,680 And we post stories. 216 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:50,100 I was able to find some photos of Joan Gay, so we'll be posting those throughout the week. 217 00:14:50,100 --> 00:14:55,160 And we also, in our story, post lots of active cases and active missing person cases. 218 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,320 So always a really great resource. 219 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:03,400 While you're in your podcast app, if you could leave us a review, it would be so appreciative. 220 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,380 Or I would be so appreciative. 221 00:15:06,380 --> 00:15:11,920 It means the world and it really helps other people find our podcast and helps these stories 222 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,420 get out to more people, which is ultimately the goal. 223 00:15:15,420 --> 00:15:21,200 And if you're unable to leave a review or for whatever reason, technology is not working 224 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,140 for you, just 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