Margaret Ellen Fox

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2:00have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:15Today, I'm discussing the case of Margaret Ellen Fox. In 1974, 14-year-old Margaret left her home in Burlington, New Jersey, full of hope and anticipation. She was on her way to what she believed would be a promising babysitting job, a chance to earn a little money and take one more step towards independence. But she never came home. What followed was a mystery that would haunt her family and the community for decades. A chilling phone call, a cruel hoax, and a trail that seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it began. This is the case of Margaret Ellen Fox. It's the summer of 1974 in Burlington, New Jersey, and 14-year-old Margaret Ellen Fox is determined to make this her summer.

3:07She just graduated from the 8th grade at St. Paul's and was headed to high school next year. Now, I'm assuming that everyone listening right now is over the age of 18, or at least in high school, so I think a lot of us can relate to this particular summer, and how crucial it feels at this age. That moment of graduating from middle school and going on to the big leagues, high school. That urge to transform yourself over summer into someone new, someone better, and maybe a little cooler. According to statements from Margaret's brother Joseph, this is really how she felt. Margaret was one of six kids and the only girl.

3:48They all ranged in age from 11 to 22. She hadn't started to date yet and was described as a homebody who never got in trouble. She was looking for more independence. She wanted to find herself. And like a lot of kids her age, she was trying to express herself in part by experimenting with different clothes and makeup. But those things cost money, so Margaret comes up with an idea. With permission from her parents, she decides to place an ad in her local Burlington County Times newspaper to promote her babysitting services. And she's not alone. Her cousin, 11-year-old Lynn Parks, joins her on this.

4:25On Wednesday, June 19th, they place a joint ad that says, quote, experienced teen girls love kids, work at your house, end quote. They also provided both of their phone numbers. Now, this may feel a little jarring by today's standards, but this was by no means uncommon for the 1970s. Outside of just word of mouth, the newspaper really was the best place to attract new clients for services like this. So they place the ad, cross their fingers, and hope they get some work over the summer. And that same day, Lynn gets a call. Her number was listed first. It's a man named John Marshall from Mount Holly, just a few miles from Burlington.

5:08He says he has a 5-year-old son who requires supervision 5 days a week for 4 hours each morning. Basically from 9.30am to 1.30pm, Lynn would be back home by 2.30pm at the latest. and it really sounds like an amazing gig. He says he and his wife have a swimming pool and a swing set, that their son is really good and just needs someone to basically play with for those few hours. He's also offering good money,$40 a week and bus fare. Adjusted for inflation, that's over$250 a week for 20 hours of work, so over$1 ,000 a month. That's a lot of money for a kid. So Lynn runs to her parents and begs them to let her take this job.

5:53But they say no, they think it's too far from home. Lynn is obviously very disappointed, but she tells John Marshall that she cannot take the job. So he goes to the second number on the listing, Margaret's. He offers her the same deal and wants her to start on Friday. Like Lynn, she's excited and begs her parents to take the job. And they say yes. While Margaret does have to take the bus, John Marshall says that his home in Mount Holly is only seven miles away, so it's not like she's going really far. It seems like a good opportunity for her to get the independence she's craving and make some money close to home.

6:34Margaret is stoked, but the next day, John Marshall calls back. This time, Margaret's father, David Fox, answers. Marshall explains that his mother-in-law passed away, and he and his family were going to attend the funeral, so they wouldn't need Margaret's babysitting services until Monday. This was the plan. Margaret would take the 8.40 a.m. bus to Mount Holly and meet either John Marshall or his wife at the corner of Mill and High Street. Reporting does differ as to who she was supposed to meet with, but one of them would be waiting there for her in a red Volkswagen to take her to their home.

7:13According to reporting by Ron Avery for The Courier-Post, Margaret writes down the man's name and phone number on a piece of paper, and her father gives her strict instructions to call back home when she gets to John Marshall's home. So on the morning of Monday, June 24, 1974, Margaret and her 11-year-old brother Joseph walk to the bus stop at 8.30 a.m. At 8.40, Margaret boards the bus and leaves for Mount Holly, and Joseph walks home. Again, this is only about a seven-mile trip, so Margaret's parents are expecting a call not long after she leaves. But that call never comes. So they call the number given to them by John Marshall.

7:55They call and they call until finally someone answers, but they tell them that Margaret's not there. They've called a payphone outside of a grocery store in Lumberton, New Jersey.

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9:48At first, Margaret's parents assumed that there must have been some mistake. Maybe Margaret had written down the wrong phone number. So they go to the phone book and start calling people with the last name Marshall. They also drive to Mount Holly to look for Margaret. But once they realize that something is obviously very wrong, they report her missing to the Burlington police. The first detective to work Margaret's case was Leonard Burr. He says that they were able to confirm with the bus driver and a passenger on the bus that Margaret did board the bus and get off at her intended stop. So it didn't seem that Margaret had any other intentions beyond completing this job, and she didn't somehow miss her stop.

10:30Detective Burr immediately suspects foul play of some kind, and luckily it's an all-hands-on-deck situation. They don't think that she's a runaway, and they get right to work, as does Margaret's family. Her father and brother specifically look all around the county for Margaret or a red Volkswagen, which was unfortunately extremely popular in the 1970s. Try as they might, they don't find anything related to Margaret or her disappearance. But when Mount Holly Police Lieutenant Benjamin English hears about Margaret's case, and specifically hears the name John Marshall, his ears perk up. He tells his supervisor that he has an old friend named Jack Marshall, and he just so happened to be the assistant manager of the A &P grocery store in Lumberton where that payphone was located.

11:21Jack Marshall was promptly questioned by the FBI. He provided an alibi and passed a polygraph test. He later told the Courier Post, quote, I have no idea what is happening. I didn't even know the phone number outside had been used until this morning. I have no ideas, no theories. It's just causing me a lot of trouble, end quote. In that same article, Detective English added, quote, I've known him for 25 years. He's the father of five grown children. I'm sure he's not involved. End quote. Margaret's sister-in-law Ramona Fox also knew Jack Marshall and expressed a similar sentiment. She didn't believe that he was involved either.

12:05Jack Marshall was officially cleared, though his involvement is still debated to this day. Some people say it seems clear that he was the person who lured Margaret away, while others say that it would be pretty unwise for him to use such a similar name and give a phone number that directly led authorities to him and his place of employment. Then, just four days after Margaret went missing, her parents get a call that has left investigators baffled to this day. By June 28th, the FBI had already become involved in the investigation. They were, quote, probing to see if this was an appropriate case for them to take, so they get her files, as much information as they can, and help set up a recording system connected to Margaret's home phone.

12:49And these efforts pay off big time because a man calls demanding a$10 ,000 ransom for Margaret. This call has never been released in full, but authorities release a small portion of what the man said, quote, $10 ,000 might be a lot of bread, but your daughter's life is the buttered topping, end quote. The next day, a note arrives at Margaret's home with further instructions for dropping off the money. The note explains that the money should be put into a box with blue wrapping, same as Margaret's blouse. They added, quote, Margaret is all right. We only tore her blouse and broke her glasses. Follow the instructions.

13:30End quote. It's terrifying, but Margaret's parents are ready to pay the ransom. Adjusted for inflation, it would be just over$65 ,000 today. But something goes wrong. They get another note saying that they, quote, goofed the arrangements for getting her back and that the deal was off. Now, as far as we know, this person was using publicly available information about Margaret. The color of her blouse, blue, wearing glasses, that was all known to the public at this time. So to this day, authorities aren't sure if this was real or just a cruel hoax. But it's not long before investigators make another move in her case.

14:14During their investigation, they questioned employees at shops in the area where the bus dropped off Margaret. And they find a witness who says they saw her speaking to a man in a red sports car on the day she went missing. In August, the FBI released a sketch of the man, saying he was wanted for questioning. He's described as a white male about 35 to 40 years old, 5 foot 10, and about 200 to 230 pounds. They believe he had, quote, very blue eyes, end quote, light blonde or reddish hair that was graying and styled into a crew cut, as well as very noticeable white and even teeth. They also say they believe he was driving a red-orange Volkswagen.

14:57And they add something really chilling. They say that this man had tried to pick a girl up in Mount Holly about a month before Margaret went missing. It seems like a very promising lead with a lot of information, but like everything else in the case thus far, it doesn't go anywhere. By November, Margaret's father David told the Philadelphia Inquirer, quote, I haven't found out a thing. Not one thing whatsoever. Some people feel it's hopeless. Sometimes I just accept that. I think that it's over and done. But then sometimes I get this feeling that she's alive, that she's out there, end quote. He adds that the hardest times of day for him are early in the morning after waking up and right before bed.

15:45He says that's when it's quiet, and there's nothing to occupy his mind other than Margaret. Every morning before going to work as a plumber, he attended mass, and each night before coming home, he stopped at the church again to say a rosary. It's honestly heartbreaking. In the same article, he says a friend of his had a dream about Margaret, that he saw her standing near a riverbank, holding a dove and surrounded by dead lambs. David thought that maybe God was trying to talk to him and tell him where Margaret could be. But Detective Burr adds to the harsh reality of how little progress the case has seen, adding, quote, It's one of the most frustrating cases I've ever been involved in.

16:27The case is still open. We check everything out, but we just don't have anything. End quote. And there's really not much movement in Margaret's case until the following November. On November 23rd, 1975, a man in his 50s named Charles M. Clowbridge is sitting in the Montgomery County Jail in Norristown, Pennsylvania, when he tells the officers he has a confession to make. He says he killed Margaret Ellen Fox. He explains that he kidnapped her off Penn Street on June 24, 1974 Then he murdered her and dumped her body off a cliff in the Catskill Mountains in New York Authorities jump on this They launch a massive search of the area spanning three months The New York State Police, FBI, and authorities from the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office All join in the search and the investigation But they don't find anything There's no sign of Margaret or really any crime they can tie back to Charles M.

17:31Clowbridge. In April 1976, he admits that his confession was a giant hoax, and he is promptly charged for misleading authorities. At his sentencing, the judge asked him why he'd do something like this, and he said, quote, Honestly, judge, I can't answer that, end quote. The judge reiterated how cruel his actions were. especially for Margaret's family. His public defender argued that he was a lost soul and asked for him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. But the judge refused, and he was sentenced to two to three years in state prison. It was another huge letdown in Margaret's case.

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18:58Good help. Get out! Is hard to find. No! You need me do this. A Hulu original. The hand that rocks the cradle. Rated R. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. For bundled subscribers, terms apply. Again, Margaret's case just sits. But in 1977, there was another case bearing a stunning resemblance to Margaret's. 15-year-old Patricia Coltau from Milltown, New Jersey, placed an ad in her local paper advertising her babysitting services, and quickly got a response. Before leaving the house, she told her grandmother she was going to meet with a Mr. Anderson to discuss babysitting for him. But Patricia, like Margaret, never returned home.

19:46Her body was quickly found, though, and 20 hours later, 31-year-old John Owen Houseman was arrested for her murder. He had two prior convictions of sexual assault and lived about 10 minutes from Patricia's home. It looks like they tracked him down due to numerous obscene phone calls he'd made, including one to Patricia's home after speaking with her about the fake job. He was eventually sentenced to life in prison plus 11 to 13 years for the murder of Patricia Koltow. However, no connection to Margaret's case has ever been made. The following year, in 1978, authorities chase another lead. They discover a sex offender in Mount Holly who didn't live far from the bus stop Margaret was last seen at.

20:33So they investigate, talk to him, and he provides an alibi that some have considered to be pretty weak. It seems that this guy was an avid ham radio operator and kept a detailed log of all of his conversations over the span of many years. When they ask him about Margaret and where he was at the time that she went missing, he shows them this logbook. He says it proves that he was using the radio at the time Margaret would have gotten off the bus. And law enforcement basically drops it. Or at least that's how the media reported it. Once again, Margaret's case sits. This time for 10 years. In 1988, volunteers were helping clear an area near Sandy Hook Bay in the borough of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

21:21This is about 70 miles or an hour and 15 minutes from Burlington. According to reporting by Kevin McElroy for the Courier Post, they were there to help move debris near the beach so they could build a new bike trail. And as they're removing this debris, one of the volunteers comes across what they believed could be a human skull, though they also thought it may have been a plastic ball of some kind. They call it in to police, and it is confirmed to be a human skull. So law enforcement brings in dogs, and it takes them four minutes to find more bones. These remains were covered by two tires from some type of automobile, and only buried about a foot and a half deep, so they are very close to the surface.

22:06Investigators say that they believe that it's likely that these remains, that this person, was originally buried a lot deeper, but due to erosion over the years, they were much closer to the surface now. Local police set up a 24-hour watch at this site and just keep digging. In the end, they find what they believe is about 85-90 % of this person's skeletal remains. And here is what they initially determine. They were female, 15 to 19 years old, 5 '1 to 5 '4, and they had a high forehead. They believe she likely died in the early or mid-1970s and was the victim of a homicide. They also find at least one size 6.5 platform sandal and scraps of clothing.

22:53These scraps have been described as a light-colored, long-sleeved top or top to a dress, a sock, and part of a lace bra. Though reporting on which clothing was found does differ between sources. And really, from what I found in my research, this just seems to sit for a few years until 1992. This is when the FBI's Special Projects Unit is brought in to create a clay reconstruction of the skull. When they do, investigators believe the reconstruction bears a striking resemblance to Margaret, especially given everything else that could be a match. Many investigators believe that Margaret was likely killed not long after she went missing, so the timeline would fit.

23:38She was about 14 and a half, 5 foot 2, last seen wearing sandals, and she did have a high forehead. At this point, everyone, especially Margaret's family, is excited that this could be her. But there's an issue. While they were able to recover a full set of teeth from the decedent, it seems that Margaret's dental records may have been misplaced. According to statements made by Margaret's original detective, Detective Burr, the records were given to the FBI very early on, during that probe when they were trying to determine if her case was appropriate for them to take on. He says they misplaced them.

24:18And this is a few years before things were entered into computer networks, so paper is all we have at this point. Now unfortunately, Margaret's dentist had passed away by the time this development happened but his widow says that she clearly remembers giving the records to a member of law enforcement. She just can't remember which agency but she knows they were handed over. But there's some argument over this. Tim Duncan from the Atlantic Highlands Police says that the FBI handed over all their files to him and he says that there was no indication in that file that the FBI was ever in possession of the dental records.

24:56So we have a lot of people pointing fingers at each other. I obviously don't know what the truth is, but I can tell you that Detective Burr did another interview many years later after this, in 2017. By this time, he was 80 years old. He says that Margaret's case is the only case he's never solved, and it haunted him. He added that there was a distinct lack of cooperation between the local police departments and the FBI, saying, quote, The goal now is to solve a case, not get credit, end quote. It's a short quote, but I think it's very telling. Without the dental records and with forensic testing really just coming of age around this time, this lead again just sits for over a decade until 2005.

25:45This is when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reached out to retired Burlington City Lieutenant Bob Elbertson. They basically say, hey, we still have these remains that could be a match to Margaret. So he works with the local police department to obtain a DNA sample from a hairbrush of Margaret's that her family had previously provided to authorities. And after 17 years, they're finally able to use this hair to make a good, usable DNA sample for Margaret. They take the sample and compare it to DNA from the doe, but it's not a match to Margaret. It's another huge letdown. But, as a side note, this woman was later identified in 2022 as 16-year-old Nancy Carol Fitzgerald.

26:35She was last seen having Easter dinner with her family in Bloomfield in 1972. Unfortunately, her case does remain unsolved, and authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Atlantic Highlands Police Department at 732-291-1212.

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