Middlebury College Freshman Still Missing

For some older residents of Middlebury, Vermont and college professors at Middlebury College, the recent disappearance of a college freshman is reminiscent of the earlier disappearance of a college student who was originally from Simsbury. According to the Middlebury Police Department, his winter coats, I-Pod and laptop computer were all left in his dorm room. To date, neither his cell phone or his credit cards have been used nor have any withdrawals been made from his bank account.

Police and volunteers have tried to find Garza for over a month. Unfortunately, since his disappearance, several feet of snow have fallen in Vermont making the search more difficult. The Garza family is offering a twenty thousand dollar reward for their son's safe return or for information that could lead to the conviction of anyone responsible for his disappearance and possible homicide.

Lynne Katherine Schulze was just about to complete her first semester at Middlebury College in 1971. Her first time away from home was not an easy one Schulze. The brown haired, blued eyed coed had stated to family and friends that she was homesick and thought about withdrawing from college.

On the afternoon of December 11^th, she went to take a final exam with some of her friends. She told them she had to go back and retrieve her favorite pen. She never made it back to take the exam and that was the last anyone had seen or heard from her. Middlebury Police found her personal belongings, including her checkbook and ID in her dormitory room. They also found evidence that she had cashed thirty dollars from her checking account on the day of her disappearance.

What happened to Schulze since that day has plagued her family for nearly forty years. At the time of her disappearance, Law Enforcement and College Officials speculated that Schulze ran way and would eventually reconnect with her family in Simsbury. The Schulze family, desperate for answers on their daughter's whereabouts, even contacted then Connecticut's United States Senator, Abraham Ribicoff for help. As a result, the FBI became involved in this case for an albeit brief period of time.

According to Lynne's sister, Anne Schulze, the theory of her running away doomed the investigation from the start. Anne was a year younger than Lynne. She was in her senior year at Simsbury High School when her older sister vanished. Anne and her father spent many weekends in Vermont that year looking for answers.

"When my sister was first reported missing, my mother immediately thought foul play," said Anne. "Many of us [Lynne's siblings] tried to sway that thinking. However, when the first Christmas came by and Lynne wasn't there, the rest of the family started to fear the worst."

It's been thirty six Christmas holidays that Anne has not seen her sister. Since that time, she and the rest of her siblings have moved out of state. Her parents passed away and never had closure as to what happened to their eldest daughter. The family did leave DNA samples and Lynne's dental records with Law Enforcement in case humans remains are found and need to be compared with Lynne.

The National Crime Information Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation states that there are 50,930active missing adult cases in the United States as of January 31, 2007. It also lists that there are 5,218 cases of deceased unidentified persons. Lynne is one of eighteen missing persons listed on the Vermont State Police website. The State of Connecticut has no official published number of missing persons. However, the non-profit missing person website, the Charley Project, lists for adults and children. Among them are the 1952 vanishing of young Connie Smith from a Salisbury sleepover camp, the 1973 abduction of seven year old Janice Pockett just a few hundred feet from her Tolland home, and the suspicious disappearance of thirty one year old Billy Smolinski in 2004 from his Waterbury home.

According to missing persons activist and Doe Network Media Director Todd Matthews, the number of missing persons nationally may be twice as many as reported. He states that many families do not report loved ones missing - sometimes out of fear of the truth or out of false hope that their loved ones will return.

Decades later, foul play has been strongly considered in Schulze's disappearance. According to Middlebury Police, some people have confessed to murdering Schulze but all of these were proven to be false.

Anne and several of Lynne's childhood friends got together in Middlebury back in 2006 to be interviewed for an article about Lynne for the Addison Independent Newspaper in Vermont. They continue to press police for answers and have managed to get her case profiled on several different crime websites such as the DoeNetwork, the Charley Project and Connecticut's Cold Cases. Lynne's case has even been discussed by individuals on various Internet forums who offer their own theories as to what happened.

Anne appreciates the attention that her sister's case receives but does not believe her sister started a new life.

"My sister was a happy person, who loved her family and friends." She said. "When she was at college, she would always write to friends and family members. There was no indication that she was depressed of homesick. Just three days before she disappeared, she registered for second semester classes. I strongly believe that there may be one of more persons that know what happened to my sister."

The possibility of foul play is one that the detective in her case, Officer Vegar Boe has looked at carefully. Vegar is also the detective handling the Nicholas Garza case.

"When Lynne went missing, the police back then were too quick to assume she ran away," he explained. "Even though there was no evidence that supported, we are looking at this case through all possible angles."

One problem with Lynne's case was that her parents were notified five days after she was last seen. It took five days before an investigation was even started. In most missing person cases, the first 48 hours are the most crucial in trying to recover the person alive. There were some alleged sightings of Lynne weeks after she disappeared but they were never verified to be true.

Detective Vegar Boe has put much time Lynne's case. He has tracked a lead all the way to Florida to see if an individual had a connection to Lynne's disappearance. He also stated the Middlebury Police looked at Robert Garrow as a person of interest but eventually ruled out the now deceased Upstate New York serial killer. Vegar considers it highly unusual that if Lynne Schulze did start a new life, that she never made a contact with any friends or family members.

"She was very close to her family. Her parents gave her a way out of Middlebury College. She could have transferred after the semester. In the end, she never showed up for that final exam." Vegar explained.

While the national media has focused some attention on Nicholas Garza, Anne made it a point to speak to his mother, Natalie Garza. Natalie Garza has a nine year old son who has had a difficult time dealing with the absence of his older brother.

"I know what they're going through." Anne said. "Sadly my family has been living it for almost forty years. I hope she gets her son back safe. My family wanted the same with Lynne."

On May 27, 2008, the body of Nicholas Garza was recovered in Otter Creek near campus. Nearly a year later, Foul Play was ruled out and his death was ruled accidental. An autopsy revealed no physical injuries on the college freshman but toxicology reports claimed he had been heavily intoxicated. Police stated that Garza had fallen into the water and that consumption of alcohol was a factor in his death. Still there are some that believe that Garza may have been a victim of the Smiley Face Killer(s). The Smiley Faced Killer(s) is an alleged serial killer or cult believed to be responsible for the drowning deaths of mostly white male college students across the country. Painted smiley faces have been seen where many of the alleged victims were last seen. One smiley face was seen near the area where Garza had disappeared. The Middlebury Police stated that the graffiti had been there for years and they strongly discount the theory of murder. Most of the deceased linked to the Smiley Face Killer(s) theory had consumed large amounts of alcohol prior to their deaths. The Garza family suffered a terrible loss. For the Schulze family they still wait for answers.