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6 — May 14, 2020 design@newslj. com
For the
CS
News Letterjournal
Smith’s brother adds more to the story
Moses “Moe” Annenberg, pearance were a succession lation by Tuohy and
others “Little Miss X.” Ward, Connie’s dentist. Of the
immensely wealthy of minor calamities; after notwithstanding. Based on the
description in five points of identification,
Philadelphia publisher, who returning from a movie The late retired
Connecticut the report, there was a strong four were fillings. Dr. Ward
owned the Philadelphia at the camp Connie State Trooper . resemblanceto
Comic. Mother identified three of the four
Inquirer, which he purchased
while at Ranch A, as well as
a number of other publica-
tions. Moe died July 20, 1942,
and Governor Smith purchased
Ranch A from Annenberg’s
estate shortly thereafter.
tripped over a foot-
locker during horse-
play and fell down_
the steps at the front
of the tent, bruising
her hip (the tent
platforms were set
was still alive at the time and
when I called it to
f 3a?
as being of his material and
technique. He pointed out that
the fourth filling could have
been done later.
arr
‘—
Nels and Marie moved to against ahillside at h 1:" ‘ ~ g . a
Ranch A in 1943 at the end of the back with steps ' ' a
me {he iflcnard Cash Nels’s term as governor. to ground level at g,
Cofiemiog He sold his interest in the front). She
Submitted by Nels Smith
Leonard Cash’s columns are
{always interesting, including
the latest two, which
were painfully close to
home. Like any histo-
rian, he drew on available
sources, not all of them
accurate. Through no fault
of Leonard’s, the columns .
contain a number of errors. I
appreciate the opportunity to
make corrections and provide
some updates on my sister’s
disappearance.
First some corrections and
amplifications.
Comic disappeared on July
16th, not 15th. I remember it
vividly.
Our family had no rela-
tives in Chicago. If Connie
was attempting to contact
family it would have been in
Wyoming or Connecticut. Our
belief was, and is, that she was
suffering amnesia or confusion
as the result of a fall down the
steps at the front of the tent
platform the day before.
As to birthplaces of family
members, Peter Smith was
born near Sundance in Crook
County in 1914. The family
moved to Weston County in
1916 where Petertis brother
Christy was born. Nels named
that ranch “The Pride of the
Prairie “ and always referred
to it as, “my old home place.”
Peter’s father, future
Wyoming Governor Nels H.
Smith, was born near Gayville
in Clay County, Dakota
Territory.
Peter’s mother, Marie
Christensen Smith was born
in the CB&Q section house in
Newcastle, where her father
was section boss. I believe the
house was on Main Street just
west of the railroad tracks.
Marie became Wyoming’s
first native-born First Lady.
Her father, Peter G.
Christensen, is reputed to have
said at Nels’s inauguration,
“Now that’s proof of democ-
racyv— when a woman born in
a section house moves into the
governor’s house.”
The other property men-
tioned is Ranch A. Ranch A
was built on Sand Creek, five
miles south of Beulah, Wyo.,
between 1,932 and 1936 by
Ranch A late in 1951.
The subsequent owners
clashed so bitterly that their
partnership was dissolved
by a sheriff’s
auction in October 1952, when
Peter bought the ranch. Ranch
A is now owned by the State of
Wyoming and operated under a
special use lease by the Ranch
A Restoration Foundation.
A more complete history of
Ranch A could be covered in
another column. -
The facts on names, living
arrangements and locations
are: Helen and Peter’s chil-
dren were Nels J ., not Nelson,
(“and Constance Christine, not
Christina.
After the divorce, Helen
did not move to Greenwich.
She stayed in Crook County
with both Nels and Comic.
Connie’s childhood was
spent on that ranch, not
Ranch A.
Peter lived in Newcastle
and spent most of his time on
the Weston County operations.
THE DISAPPEARANCE
In early summer, 1952,
Mother, Connie, and I drove to
Connecticut to Visit her parents.
I stayed a short time, then
returned to Wyoming after
my mother, her mother and
I dropped Comic at Camp
Sloane.
I will never forget Grandma
and Grandpa Smith coming
to the hay field where I was
mowing to tell me that Comic
had disappeared.
My recollection of events
is that the evening before and
morning of Comie’s disap-
was given an ice
bag at the infir-
mary to ease the pain and
swelling. The next morning
her bunk mate was swinging
out of the top bunk and acci-
dentally kicked Comie in the
face. In the course of these
“wrecks” her glasses were
broken and her nose bloodied,
perhaps twice. Most of these
events are roughly accurate as
quoted from the John Tuohy
article except that Comic had
not “developed early.” She was
a typical slim preteen other
than being taller than average.
Comic was very happy at
the camp and wanted to stay
longer. There was no reason
to suspect clashes with other
campers or molestation by
camp staff, gratuitous specu-
From the staff of the News Letter Journal
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~ first;
'ieri 1’" .su‘va
Photos courtesy of Nels Smith News Letter Journal
The top photo is a sign that hung over the main gate to the corrals at
“Pride of the
Prairie" now owned by by Nels H. Smith’s granddaughters, Kristy Kay
Benson and
Michele Smith. The design of Connie’s stone at the family plot in Green
Mountain
Cemetery showed her love of animals, especially kittens. News Letter
Journal clippings
through the years depicting the life of Connie Smith and her disappearance.
Dick Chapman deserves
special mention. He worked
with my father during the
search immediately after
Connie’s disappearance and
solving the case became his
post retirement near—obsession
to the extent that he came to
Wyoming to meet with us in
addition to all his other efforts.
What a decent man. I believe
he felt nearly as deeply about
Comic as we.
RESOLUTION—
I THOUGHT
In 1958 road maintainers
discovered the remains of a
young female in Coconino
County, Arizona.
She became known as
her attention with the sugges-
tion that we contact Coconino
County, she rejected the idea
on the basis that the report
stated that the girl was pos-
sibly American Indian. Comic
had high che'ekbones and I felt
that we should call. Because of
Mother’s reluctance, I did not.
Some years later an investi-
gator in the Comecticut State
Police Department compared
the dental chart of Little Miss
X with Comie’s.
Four of five points of iden-
tification matched!
Little Miss X body was
exhumed and a Coconino
County Sheriff’s officer
brought the skull and jaw. for
examination by Dr.
Floyd
.e No’
an] ed aw?”
in - sardpszwy 18¢}?
. p' earance, o Was '
591“ ‘31:. . ,vge ‘ffiageen false Her her ham: The
arts... ammo “is a 052% fi ft h
. . 311‘?
gm; may it?!“ “fishndance, but .1's. Smlggl‘ pomt was
tb - ‘ an Inden-
algngttle tation in
1191,0113: the. palate
she If; and behind and
q are}; no between the
intensive over the area [ficially . .
personally h. rid meisors.
f rid m trace of his dang ‘5 on 11 .
and 0“ ~ , ’ Ire ’31). This could
tef. ' ' 0 119 a
~ 7716:: have occurred
211;”? pits. naturally or
has 1:011- been the result of
ng surgical removal
0111116 of a supernu-
afd merary or extra
ago? tooth, which was the
Ice case with Connie.
00v.
Examination by a
specialist was neces-
5' lit‘ary to make the deter—
mination as to whether
or not the indentation was
natural. The examination was
done by specialists in Denver
and my father reported that
they had determined the inden-
tation to be natural, therefore
it could not be ComicaI have
learned since that their opinion
was ~“inconclusive,” since
the surgery, if any, was com-
pletely healed. Surgery could
be detected only if it was not
completely healed.
The remains were taken
back to Arizona.
In hindsight, I believe
Dad’s denial was driven by
his intense hope that Comic
was alive. His mind would not
allow her to be dead.
With increased emphasis
on cold cases and DNA
analysis providing techniques
for identification unheard of
until recently, it was decided
to exhume Little Miss X again
and use DNA techniques for
identification.
C©VlD-19 and Um (imminin
Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center
area.
746-3700.
com/nwymhc.
is here for you
COVID—19 has-altered our way of life while we’re practicing social
distancing, working
remotely, and self-isolating. At times like this it Is not uncommon to
experience feelings of
anxiety, depression, or other challenges that interfere with your daily
life.
In this difficult time, we’re providing easily accessible telehealth
services. These services
are available to everyone. In order to receive these services, pleaSe call
our office in your
In Weston County call (30?) 746-4456 during business hours, and after hours
dial (307)
In case of an emergency, call 911.
For more information about NWMHC go to www.wy0menta|health.org or
www.facebook.
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