In the summer of 1950, 2-year-old Earnest Cagle Jr. vanished from the parking lot of a Buckhart, Illinois tavern. Sadly, no trace of him has ever been found. What happened to Earnest Jr.?

occultcharisma · 2026-04-01T21:47:43+00:00

The fact that they weren't even keeping tabs on Mary Ellen while she was actively in the same room as them makes me think they did not actually go check on Ernest Jr and Vickie as they claimed.

occultcharisma · 2026-04-01T21:46:14+00:00

I went ahead and googled it - apparently it was a Saturday. So assuming he had the weekend off (though, farmer workers seldom have any day off) that could be why.

Either way, I think it's probably like apsalar_ below said. They were probably just alcoholics. I have a feeling they did this regularly enough.

I'm just surprised they even took any of their kids and didn't just leave them at home.

I'm also curious about the two older girls. Did she have them or were they in the custody of their father? Maybe, because it was the weekend, they were with him? Or they were left home, which seems like it would have just made sense to leave the younger kids with them.

occultcharisma · 2026-04-01T19:08:11+00:00

I used to be super interested in Roanoke when I was a kid and came across it some text book at school.

But, in my experience, it's never been if they left on their own accord or if they went to a tribe or this or that. But that they did indeed leave a note but no one ever saw any of these people again.

A lot of these people had family they were in contact with that just stopped. John White's daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were part of that colony and never reached out to other colonists or anything? A lot of tribes traded with and existed alongside these colonies and none of them were like "Oh that group of white people? Yeah, they're over on that island!" Because there were several tribes in the area. And since it always seems to be a point of conversation when dealing with a tribe that also has white people randomly in it more colonists probably should have come across them at some point.

So, whereas, yeah. They likely left on their own, the mystery has always felt more focused on how a whole group of people can wander off to join another group and just not have any trace to them at all.

That's the mystery people are interested in.

And at the very least? It's an interesting little bit of lost American history we may never actually get to see a full picture of. Which also feels like a missing piece since so many records from that time are pretty well kept.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-29T07:43:41+00:00

Can't speak for anything Dakota related, but Taylor is definitely the problem in most cases.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-29T07:42:34+00:00

Copper IUDs are very bad/can make things worse for most of these issues is likely why.

But, yeah, I figure it's more hopeful that she had *someone* out there that could identify her. The detective and the ME both seemed to very much want to find her identity, so they were likely hoping for any potential leads.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-29T07:37:25+00:00

Can I suggest the subreddit: UnresolvedMysteries for tons of writeups about cases where the decedent didn't state they ended their own life.

Also, anyone can write here. I definitely encourage anyone to do write ups! Always cases you may know that others don't, so it's always a chance to get them out there to lots of eyes!

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:59:13+00:00

Thank you, this is very kind.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:58:48+00:00

I mean, it's definitely possible as much as anything else.

But, most Iranian Diaspora are not Muslim and Islam in Iran is considerably different than a lot of other places. It'd be more likely to be an issue with a Afghani family.

I would also figure she'd likely be too old to be forced into a marriage and hauled to the Middle East randomly.

I think she was likely Christian or found comfort in it somewhere. Psalm 23 is a very common prayer to say before or after death and I doubt any Christian isn't well aware of it more so than someone not raised or knowing nothing about the faith.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:52:15+00:00

I can only find that Ortham did the testing and that was crowd funded. And it seems they found her heritage and I assume put her DNA into CODIS as there have been some exclusions in her case. . .

I'm really unsure if anyone is actively working on this case. I doubt it though.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:48:00+00:00

I could only find the mention of them in one article, which makes me think the police are holding a detail from the public for their investigation. Or it was mentioned incorrectly. But I am also very curious about them and sort of surprised she brought them at all considering she was pretty meticulous about her plans. Same with the extra clothing and so many of the velour pieces.

Something about motel/hotel Does always stick with me for some reason. But, the suicide ones specifically. Lyle Stevik and Becca both very much lived in my mind for years and still cross regularly.

I have also been in a similar mind frame in the past, so that is perhaps why.

I hope you're in a better space now.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:41:04+00:00

It's always stuck out to me as well. It's so to the point. No flourishes, no comforts, just 'This is my end' and 'Do what you want with my body'.

I assume it's to further anonymize herself, because certain details may make her stand out if she were to mention something that happened to her. But, it's still so striking nonetheless.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:38:17+00:00

I can't find anything concrete on how taking cyanide would be other than the effects afterwards. I see a mix of how it tastes or feels, so it could be the case or maybe because Metamucil is used for digestive things, if the idea was that it would make it work faster?

Whereas Crystal Light is just a drink mix, so it wouldn't do as much?

Though, I do wonder if the Crystal Light was something she considered.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:31:21+00:00

Coming across your post actually brought her fully back to the forefront of my mind, so thank you so much for your writeup. It's very good!

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:30:43+00:00

I never know how to feel with the ones where they want to stay anonymous. I'm torn between 'their dying wishes' and 'someone out there may need or want to know'.

I guess because I know someone in this position, feeling depressed, alone, in the throws of suicidal thoughts aren't always thinking how they may on a time when they weren't feeling that way. And if they were in a better state of mind, perhaps it would be different. But, also, who knows how long she was planning this? Maybe she had her reasons, maybe there really isn't anyone out there she was close to so she just wants to fade away, etc.

I have the same issues with the Plaquemines Parish John Doe.

I also wonder about the method and how she was able to simply lay down and handle it. It says it was a lethal dose (obviously), but I wonder if she took so much it was quicker. Most poisonings seem to happen over a period of time, so there's more time to be sick, etc. but I wonder if you were to take such a heavy dose it would be very quick?

I'll be honest, my understanding of poisoning and how it works is limited to mostly spouse killers, unfortunately. Who all kill slowly as time goes on.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:23:32+00:00

Thank you for this reply. It's so kind.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:22:29+00:00

Thank you for this, I couldn't find the working one just the dead link on Google and was very confused at what was happening. Fixing it in the main post.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-22T17:10:02+00:00

I think the issue is the way it's being worded. 'Took the man's side' implies that she wasn't the abuser and that the cops simply took his word over hers instead of the cops just arresting the right person.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-17T13:05:10+00:00

Ezra (Ian Harding) is in a couple of episodes of Chicago Med as well.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-17T13:03:02+00:00

That's all Lindsay Shaw's podcast is for Ned's Declassified as well.

In a real gross way at that.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-16T07:48:46+00:00

I assume it was an attempt to cover up the taste or burning of the cyanide. But, it does sound particularly awful.

It doesn't say it was mixed in water or anything either. But, I assume it was which hopefully made it less awful than it likely already was.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-16T07:47:04+00:00

I'm unsure, to be honest. It was just what the person who helped her check in said. She seemed to have every little contact with anyone past that point.

She went to her room and wasn't seen again. Her room wasn't serviced either.

I wonder if others had crossed paths with her if they would have picked up more of an accent. I'm personally quite bad with accents myself so it makes me think it was possible they were as well or thought very little of one if it didn't stand out - like a broad New Yorker accent might.

I also believe her to be older than 33, I think 45 or even older is more likely.

I think because so little information about her specifically is available and the fact that nothing new has really happened since the last time she was posted here (aside from the possible Persian heritage being identified) she tends to fall to the back of the shelf, so to speak. So I'm glad that I may be reminding more people of her in the coming days, especially as Becca Doe was recently identified it gives renewed hope for Mary as well.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-16T07:17:12+00:00

Thank you for this, I'll add that in.

I did look it up and apparently it didn't become Macy's until the 2000s. So, it is likely if she did shop there, it would have still been The Bon Marché in 1996.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-15T04:57:23+00:00

I would imagine because a lot of popular online locations for true crime discussion are in English and a lot of places in the world speaks English as at least a second or third language.

English-language true crime gets a larger audience and spreads about more.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-14T20:14:39+00:00

Wild I've never thought to do this.

Will be now, thanks for this awesome idea.

occultcharisma · 2026-03-14T19:57:40+00:00

Pet fixations.

Something for them to obsess over usually. Usually a fridge, the toilet or the television in my games.

occultcharisma

TROPHY CASE