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Description

Just over eighty years ago, in November 1934, the bodies of three young girls were found on the slopes of South Mountain in Penn Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, near the border with Cook Township. The bodies ere located just a short distance off of the state road which leads from Pine Grove Furnace north to Newville (today known as Rt. 233, Centerville Road). The girls’ bodies were carefully arranged next to each other on a blanket with another blanket covering them. The finding of these bodies and the investigation that followed almost immediately came to be known as the “Babes in the Woods” case and continues to be referred to in this way today. Attempts to identify the bodies led to a nationwide search for clues. Newspapers across the country reported on the incident.

One hundred twenty-five miles west near Duncansville, Blair County, Pennsylvania, the bodies of a man and a young woman were found at a railway flag stop in a rural area, the apparent victims of a suicide pact. Attempts to identify them eventually led to a connection with the events in Cumberland County. Although the basic facts about these deaths became known by the beginning of December of 1934, fully understanding how and why these events occurred has continued to attract attention over the ensuing years. This book will examine at least some of the questions regarding these incidents.

A quick overview of the event is available here.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements iii

Foreword iv

Chapter One

Introduction 1

Chapter Two

The Cumberland County Mystery 3

Chapter Three

The Duncansville Mystery 19

Chapter Four

Mysteries Solved 29

Chapter Five

The Burials and Response of the Cumberland County and Blair County Communities 43

Chapter Six

The Families 71

Chapter Seven

The Trip 87

Chapter Eight

The Car 101

Chapter Nine

The Families Come East 105

Chapter Ten

Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Interest in the Story 119

134 pages