Nestled in East Central Indiana is a small town in Henry County called New Castle. On March 20th, 1913 the daughter of a prominent New Castle dentist vanished without a trace. Due to a measles outbreak, Catherine Winters and her little brother Frankie, had the day off from school. Catherine set off to sell sewing needles door-to-door to raise money for a fundraiser, with strict instruction to return home at 11 A.M for lunch. Many people claimed to have seen Catherine that day, past her curfew given to her by her parents, but she never returned home. As a matter of fact– she was never seen again.
So what exactly happened to Catherine? Well, there are many theories to this. Two of the most popular theories are kidnapping and murder. A private detective hired to find the missing child was quoted saying, “as if the earth had opened and swallowed her up…” because there was no trace of her to be found.
The first theory is from Catherine’s father. He believed that a band of Gypsies had kidnapped Catherine. This theory lived with Dr. Winters until the day he died. This was a popular theory for many, since a band of Gypsies had moved through the area at the time of Catherine’s disappearance. Dr. Winters and local police tracked down this group not far from New Castle, only to find no trace of Catherine. A private detective by the name of A. G. Lunt (W.J Burns Agency) even tracked Gypsies all the way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and did not find her there. He was convinced Gypsies were not involved with Catherine’s disappearance.
There was also a rumor that relatives of the girl had kidnapped her in a scheme to collect inheritance money from Catherine’s late mother. Catherine’s mother had passed away in a sanitarium Catherine was only five years old. At the time of her disappearance, Catherine was seven years old. This rumor quickly faded away when relatives of the missing girl denied knowing her whereabouts.
The murder theories…
Multiple murder theories were prominent when Catherine disappeared, and still remain today with online sleuths. The most popular murder theory is of an evil stepmother, who wanted to eliminate a potential family scandal by making Catherine disappear.
A new prosecutor introduced to the case in May of 1914, Walter R. Myers, filed an affidavit against Byrd Winters, Winters’ mother, and a one armed telegraph operator named William Ross Cooper.
Cooper rented a room in the Winters’ home when Catherine disappeared. He was there for a month before being arrested as a suspect. Cooper stated that Winters kicked him out for getting heavily drunk. According to investigators, the three were conspiring to commit a felony based on the evidence found during a search of the Winters’ home.
The evidence found at the time of arrest is as follows:
- A red sweater – with the collar missing and a large burn hole in the back
- A red hair ribbon
- A man’s bloodstained undershirt stuffed in a concrete block behind a basement wall in the home
Authorities also found that dirt and cement had been piled several inches deep on the items. Interviews of the witnesses could not confirm if the sweater found was the one Catherine was wearing when she was last seen. Both Catherine’s father and stepmother gave authorities conflicting information as to why items were found in that state. No one could explain the burn hole in the sweater.
The burn hole in the sweater prompted a new theory in the disappearance, suggesting that Catherine was murdered and burned to try to dispose of the body. Robert H. Abel, main investigator on the case, theorized that Catherine had discovered her stepmother Byrd and Cooper in a affair. Due to the affair being brought to light, the duo conspired to eliminate any chance of the affair being announced by Catherine. An unsigned letter from a lover found during Cooper’s interrogation, on his person, lead investigators to suspect Byrd to be the unnamed lover. Due to the burn marks on the sweater investigators checked the furnace at the Winters’ home, but did not find any remains.
Murder charges were not brought against Byrd and Cooper. Prosecutor Walter R. Myers dropped charges on the day of the trial. The reason- insufficient evidence for conviction.
Dr. Winters believed a total of $50,000 had been spent in efforts to find his missing daughter. A span of 22,000 miles had been trekked by detectives investigating over 2,000 false leads in the case. Dr. Winters passed away never finding his daughter.
Still today, her disappearance remains unsolved. The disappearance of Catherine Winters is one of many, Hoosier Horrors.
This story hits close to home for me. I am from a small town in Henry County, and New Castle was a frequent city for school events and other related activities in my high school days. New Castle was also a rival school to mine, causing for entertaining sporting events. Before being introduced to this case by my dad, I was unaware of it. Researching it sparked my inner investigator and prompted me to dedicate a spot on Hoosier Horrors.
Sources: Youtube | Henry County Genealogical Services | Colleen Steffen
Written and Edited By: Sarah Smith
Hoosier Horrors 