| Margaret Ellen Fox | |
| Birth Name: | Margaret Ellen Fox |
| Birth Date: | February 4, 1960 |
| Disappeared Date: | June 24, 1974 (aged 14) |
| Disappeared Place: | Burlington, New Jersey, U.S. |
Margaret Ellen (Maggie) Fox (born February 4, 1960) was a 14-year-old American girl who vanished under suspicious circumstances in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1974.[1]
On June 24, 1974, Margaret Ellen Fox had plans to meet with a man who called himself "John Marshall" in regards to a babysitting job. Marshall had responded to an advertisement she had placed for her services and stated he needed a babysitter the following weekend, but postponed the first several meetings with her. He finally said that he would meet her in a red Volkswagen. Fox took a bus to get to Mount Holly. Her younger brother accompanied her to the bus stop and saw her board the bus. Witnesses reported seeing Fox near Mill and High streets after she reached Mount Holly. She has not been seen since.[2]
In the hours after Fox was reported missing, authorities started to record all phone calls that went to and from the Fox residence. One of these phone calls was from a man who demanded a $10,000 ransom for her safe return. The man stated to Margaret's mother, who took the telephone call, "10,000 might be a lot of bread, but your daughter's life is the buttered topping."[3] The caller has never been identified. Efforts have been made in recent years to identify this man whom police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believe to be Fox's abductor.
After Fox failed to return home, her family notified authorities of her disappearance. Upon investigation, authorities discovered that "John Marshall" gave Fox a phone number prior to her disappearance. The number was later traced to a phone booth at a supermarket in Lumberton. Authorities immediately knew that the circumstances surrounding Fox's disappearance were suspicious in nature, believing that the girl became the victim of an abduction. Several other parents complained of men trying to lure their daughters with fake job offers. In 1976, a suspect in her case confessed to involvement in her disappearance but it turned out to be false. Marshall has never been identified.[4]
The Burlington City Police Department and the FBI have reevaluated their efforts to find Fox and her abductor. The audio recording of the ransom call has been uploaded to the FBI website in an effort to see if someone might recognize the voice of the man who claimed he had Fox and wanted $10,000 for her safe return. In 2017, a retired police officer entered into a partnership with the Burlington PD to review and hopefully solve the case.[5] A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrests of Fox's abductor(s). There have been no arrests made since.[6]
According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the following decedents were ruled out as being the remains of Fox.
| Name | Location | Date | Age | Cause of death | Circumstances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louise Fleischer | Chesapeake, Ohio | April 22, 1981 | 64–66 | Strangulation | A woman whose body was discovered in a well, having been killed between 1979 and 1981. Before her identification in 2019, she was thought to be as young as 30 years old when she died.[7] | |
| Cynthia Gastelle | Haymarket, Virginia | February 11, 1982 | 18 | Stabbing | A young woman discovered two years after her disappearance in 1980. Her remains were identified in 2012.[8] [9] | |
| Brenda Black | New Lenox, Illinois | April 19, 1981 | 26 | Undetermined | An Ohio native whose body was found along Interstate 80, and is thought to have been thrown from a moving vehicle about a year before her discovery in 1981. Black remained unidentified until 2022[10] [11] | |
| Mary Silvani | Washoe County, Nevada | July 17, 1982 | 33 | Gunshot | A Michigan native, estranged from family members, killed by a now-deceased serial offender. Silvani remained unidentified until 2019.[12] | |
| Alleghany County Jane Doe | Alleghany County, Virginia | November 18, 1985 | 35–75 | Undetermined | A currently unidentified female whose partial remains were located by hunters.[13] | |
| Tena Marie Gattrell | Knoxville, Tennessee | June 1, 1987 | 27 | Gunshot (self-defense) | A California native who was killed in an attempted robbery.[14] Gattrell remained unidentified until 2021.[15] | |
| Patrice Corely | Hebron, Ohio | April 19, 1990 | 29 | Beating | A Kentucky native who remained unidentified until 2017.[16] | |
| Marta Haydee Rodriguez | Stafford, Virginia | February 3, 1991 | 28 | Murder | A woman who initially disappeared in 1989. After her 2018 identification, her ex-boyfriend was charged with her murder.[17] | |
| Sharon Kay Abbott Lane | Centreville, Virginia | December 6, 1993 | 28 | Stabbing | Lane, Who initially disappeared in 1987, was discovered in a shallow grave in 1993. Lane was named “Fairfax County Jane doe” until her Identification in December 2022.[18] [19] | |
| Newport News Jane Doe | Newport News, Virginia | June 6, 2014 | 25–45 | Undetermined | A currently unidentified female whose mummified body was discovered underneath a sheet.[20] |