Charles Robert Hobbs, a twenty-three year old male who went missing on the night of November 17th, 1957, was one of only a few dozen who have ever gone missing of such strange and fantastic circumstances. I would like to give a detailed history of his life before I break down the events that took place on that night.
Charles was born to Russell and Dorothy Hobbs, a School Councilor and Substitute Teacher respectively. Although his mother went missing weeks after Charles’ birth under suspicious circumstances, that didn’t stop Charles’ from being raised in a loving home alongside his father and brother William.
For all those who knew Charles, he was a smart and loving boy, showered with affection. Classmates and family members had nothing but kind words to share about Charles. Growing up without a mother never seemed to limit or stunt Charles’ development. His first major tragedy struck him in 1941, in which the families Golden Retriever, Dexter, ran away, never to be seen again.
By 1945, three more family pets would disappear or pass away due to unfortunate circumstances. Although saddened by the loss of his beloved pets, this would not dissuade his outlook on his life or upbringing. With an IQ of 133 and a love for outdoor activities, he was popular among his peers. Considered very outgoing and a friend to all, he would often spend his time outside the classroom with groups of other children. Baseball, Bike Riding, and even Fishing were part of his many hobbies. Though Charles’ would soon find himself in tragedies path again, when his closest friend, Henry Townshend, would turn up dead sometime after one of Henry and Charles’ fishing trips.
It was during the summer of ‘45 that Henry and Charles would take a last minute finishing trip to a secluded spot they had found. Leaving around 2:07pm that afternoon they were spotted only once by a passerby noticing 2 boys matching their descriptions, heading through some bushes, into a dense forest far from any trails. After about 8pm, both the Hobbs and Townshend families got together, informing the police and starting a manhunt for the boys. It wasn’t until 11:23pm that Charles was found, exhausted, shirtless, covered in tiny scratch marks and cuts. He explained that after about an hour of fishing, Henry had given up and decided to go for a swim. He dove in and played while Charles sat and watched. After a few minutes, Henry encouraged Charles to join him, in which Charles declined.
After this is when Charles’ memory becomes foggy. He claims he saw Henry get pulled under the water. After this, Charles remembers removing his shirt and jumping in after him. Charles remembers seeing Henry crawl out of the water on the other side of the pond, from there, Charles attempted to chase after Henry and after losing sight of him, he continues his search where he is finally found by local PD. 3 days later, Henry was found decapitated with several stab wounds to his his back. It was ruled a murder and the official cause of death stated that his stab wounds were not fatal and that he most likely died part way through his beheading due to shock and blood loss. The case was never officially closed, although investigators believe it to be the work of a satanic cult in the area.
During this time, controversy surrounding the loss of a beloved member of the community and Charles close connection to him, only made Charles’ peer group more sympathetic and companionate. Charles sought comfort in another childhood friend, Mary Helen, a girl from his class. She would encourage him to talk about his feelings and open up to her. Charles never seemed to dwell on the past or let the death of his closest friend come between him and his future. Although his friends and family were concerned for his well being, things continued moving forward for Charles. In 1944 he found a passion in Baseball and tried out for his high schools junior varsity team. He landed a right field position and was considered a star hitter for the team. This culminated into many rivalries between various schools and districts.
Charles would only face more hardship after a short losing streak between a rival team turned to heartbreak. On the evening of October 2nd, 1946, the team would face another loss to end their season and leave their small town disappointed. Although disheartened by the loss, Charles found solace in his long time friend and current girlfriend, Mary Helen. Mary was considered by her peers to be a very intelligent and attractive young woman. Bubbly in nature and a staunch Christian, she believe whole heartedly in prayer, devotion and abstinence. Although most boys longed for her affection, she would have no one else but Charles whom she admired. Around 7:58pm after the team finished changing and saying their goodbyes before parting ways, Charles decided to stick around to find Mary. Witnesses recounted seeing him searching the crowds exiting the field, or asking friends if they had seen her. Before long, the crowds would disperse and only a few cars in the parking lot left. At around 9:07pm he decided to give up, heading back to his car, he would find another parked car adjacent to his, with noises coming from the back. As Charles recounts the event, he approached the vehicle, peaked inside to find Mary Helen performing fellatio on one of the rival teams players. He would go on to claim that he was in such shock, he ‘did nothing but watch’. He waited until the couple finished and he promptly left.
Although Charles never spoke up about this event until much later on, he continued to stay strong with Mary by his side. Things would only get worse from there as just 2 months later, Mary Helen’s body would be found brutalized beyond recognition.
Though the coroners official autopsy stated a ‘wild animal attack’ it is widely known in the community that Miss Helen was a victim of foul play. Parts of Mary were never recovered. The report claims that her limbs were chewed off and though this would explain the brutality and teeth marks on the face and neck, the teeth marks were difficult to identify and speculated to be human. Mary was raped several times during the course of her last moments. Semen was found inside and around various parts of the body, but it seemed that before doing this, her attacker(s) used a nearby railroad track (where the body was found) to break out her teeth and proceeded to remove her limbs before forcing themselves on her.
Charles would, for the first time, find himself struggling to cope with the loss of his girlfriend. Unfortunately this would not be the end of Charles’ plight and soon enough he would find himself in a fight for his life.