Case Details
- Photo URLs:
-
- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 07/02/1994
- Missing From:
- Missing From Purcellville, Virginia
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 07/11/1915 (109)
- Age:
- Age 80 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 5’2, 80 – 95 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark blue housedress with a white floral print, a pink sweater with scalloped edges and brown shoes. Carrying a brown purse.
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Gray hair, blue eyes. Banwell wears eyeglasses. She has a dime-sized growth above her left eye.
- Details of Disappearance:
- On July 2, 1994, a woman named Banwell disappeared from Purcellville, Virginia. She was last seen around 8:00 p.m. walking near the high school after buying a newspaper and snack. She’d only been in Purcellville for five days, having moved there from Queens, New York with her son.
Banwell was a healthy, independent woman who didn’t want to leave New York. She only moved because her family said she’d have to go to a nursing home if she stayed. In those first five days, she got lost three times. Her son found her once, and a police officer helped her another time. The third time she wandered off, she vanished completely.
A big search didn’t find her. Police dogs followed her scent for a while, but lost it in a rural farming area. Because she was unhappy about moving and the dogs’ tracks led away from town, police think she might have been trying to go back to New York.
- Agency:
- Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office 703-777-0475
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 07/02/1994