Dorothy Forstein, 40, vanished from her home at 1835 North Franklin Street in Philadelphia on October 18, 1949. Her husband, Magistrate Jules Forstein, left for a banquet around 6:00 PM and called later to say he would be late; he returned about 11:30 PM to find the front door locked and the couple’s two youngest children, nine-year-old Marcy and five-year-old Edward, frightened and saying their mother was gone.

Marcy reported being awakened by a noise, finding a man in a brown cap carrying her unconscious mother, who wore a red nightgown and slippers, over his shoulder. The man allegedly patted Marcy’s head, told her to go back to sleep, and carried Dorothy out of the house. There were no signs of forced entry or a struggle, Dorothy’s purse and keys remained at home, and no fingerprints were recovered. A psychiatric evaluation found Marcy to be truthful.

Investigators investigated a possible link to a brutal 1945 assault on Dorothy and to retaliation against Jules Forstein’s work as a magistrate and conducted a multi-state search of hospitals, hotels, and morgues, but no trace of Dorothy was found. Does anyone have information about Dorothy’s movements or sightings after October 18, 1949?