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Missing Lelia Lewis Bryan 
Lelia, approximately 1941 Date reported missing : 05/10/1941 Missing location (approx) : Carolina Beach, North Carolina Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Female Ethnicity : White DOB : 08/06/1904 (117) Age at the time of disappearance: 36 years old Height / Weight : 5'7 - 5'8, 120 pounds Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A summer print housedress, brown and white shoes, a green turban, possibly a sweater, and no stockings or jewelry. Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Caucasian female. Black hair, gray eyes. Some accounts spell Lelia's name "Lela." Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Lelia and her only child, Mary Rachel, were last seen in their hometown of Carolina Beach, Carolina on May 10, 1941. Lelia took Mary Rachel and left home at 9:00 p.m. Some accounts say she was going out to buy groceries at a store two blocks away; another story says she took $2 and was going to buy a new brassiere at the dime store. She was driving her husband's black 1935 Ford Model A coupe with the 1941 North Carolina license plate number 219-056. Lelia and Mary Rachel have never been heard from again. Their vehicle was apparently never recovered. Authorities investigated the theory that Lelia murdered her daughter and took her own life, but there was no evidence to support this. Lelia and Mary Rachel were declared legally dead in 1948. Lelia's husband, Edis Clarence "E.C." Bryan, is the prime suspect in his wife and daughter's disappearances. He died in 1976 and was never charged in their cases. It was theorized that E.C. buried Lelia and Mary Rachel's bodies beneath the concrete foundation of his beach cottAge at the time of disappearance: on Raleigh Avenue. In early 2009, investigators cut away concrete from the basement floor and dug underneath in search of human remains, but nothing of interest was found and the house has been ruled out as a burial site. Mary Rachel and Lelia's disappearances remain unsolved. Other information and links : ncy North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation 910-486-1262 September 2021 updates and sources WECT TV 6 The Wilmington Star-News Bladen County NC GenWeb News 14 Carolina WRAL News Unsolved In the News A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece. October 12, 2004. December 21, 2013; DOB : added. |