The scene showed signs of a struggle: broken eyeglasses, scattered books, furniture moved, and a significant amount of Evelyn’s blood inside and outside the house. A basement window was open, its screen removed, and a ladder was nearby. Footprints and a bloody handprint were found. Blood trails led away from the house, suggesting Evelyn was carried or dragged. Police dogs followed her scent for a short distance before losing it.

A witness reported seeing a light-colored car circling the neighborhood around the time of the disappearance. Another heard screams earlier that evening. Two days later, a man recalled seeing a speeding green car with two men and a girl slumped over in the backseat shortly after the time of the abduction. This car was near where the blood was found.

Several pieces of potentially crucial evidence were later discovered: bloodstained clothing (underwear, a bra, and men’s pants) near a highway, and size 11 bloodstained sneakers with a suction-cup pattern matching footprints at the scene. Inside a sneaker was a hair possibly from an African-American person. The wear on the shoes suggested the wearer worked with machinery and rode a Whizzer motorbike. A size 36 denim jacket, also bloodstained and showing signs of wear consistent with a steeplejack’s job, was found nearby. This jacket was too small for someone who wore a size 11 shoe, suggesting multiple people were involved.

Despite a massive search, including lie detector tests and widespread displays of the shoes and jacket, Evelyn was never found. The case remains unsolved, although Edward Gein, a notorious serial killer who lived nearby and was known for his gruesome crimes, was considered as a suspect, though ultimately cleared. To this day, nobody knows what happened to Evelyn.