Dorothy Jane Scott
The Strange Disappearance of Dorothy Jane Scott
Cold Case File
Disappearance: May 28, 1980
Dorothy Jane Scott disappeared on May 28, 1980, in Anaheim, California. Her remains were found four years later. No arrests have ever been made in her case and has been called one of the strangest disappearances on the books.
Dorothy Jane Scott
Dorothy Jane Scott was a 32-year-old single mother, living in Stanton, California, with her aunt and 4-year-old son. She was a secretary for an Anaheim, California store that sold psychedelic items (i.e. love beads, lava lamps, etc). Co-workers and friends said she preferred staying at home with her child, was a devout Christian and did not drink or do drugs. Her parents, who lived in Anaheim, babysat their grandson while Dorothy Jane worked.
The Anonymous Calls
Months before her abduction, Dorothy Jane Scott had been receiving anonymous phone calls at work from an unidentified male. She told her mother she recognized the voice but couldn’t remember the man’s name. The caller alternated between proclaiming his undying love and devotion for her to threatening to kill her and chop her body into pieces so small no one would ever find her. The man also said he’d been stalking her and provided accurate details of her day-to-day life to prove it.
Scott’s mother said one call especially horrified her daughter. The man reportedly told Scott he would get her alone – and when he did, he would dismember her. Because of the calls, Dorothy considered buying a handgun and about a week before her disappearance, she began taking karate lessons.
The Disappearance of Dorothy Jane Scott
On May 28, 1980, Dorothy Jane Scott was at an employee meeting at work. She noted co-worker Conrad Bostron didn’t look well and had a red mark on his arm. She, and another co-worker, Pam Head, took Bostron to the emergency room at UC Irvine Medical Center. Medical personnel determined he had suffered a black widow spider bite and treated him. Pam Head said she and Scott remained in the E.R. waiting room. At no time, Head said, did Dorothy Jane Scott leave her side.
Bostron was discharged around 11 p.m. and given a prescription. Dorothy Jane offered to bring her car to the exit, stating that she didn’t want Bostron to walk too far in his condition, as he was still not feeling well. Pam said Dorothy Jane used the restroom briefly before heading out to the parking lot.
Head and Bostron filled his prescription and waited at the exit for Dorothy Jane. When they didn’t see her after a few minutes they went out to the E.R.’s parking lot. Suddenly, they saw Scott’s car speeding toward them, its headlight beems on high, blinding them from seeing who was behind the wheel. They waved their arms to try to get Scott’s attention, but the car sped past them and took a sharp right turn out of the parking lot.
Initially, both thought Dorothy Jane had an emergency come up with her son. A few hours later, after not hearing from her, Head and Bostron reported Dorothy Jane Scott missing.
Given that Dorothy was an adult, the authorities took note but did not seem overly concerned.
At 4:30 am, in the wee hours of May 29th, about 5 hours after Dorothy was last seen, her car, a white 1973 Toyota station wagon, was found burning in an alley about 10 miles from the hospital. It would appear as though Scott’s abductor had stopped the car, set it on fire and fled with his hostage.
Suddenly the authorities found cause for alarm.
The Mysterious Phone Calls Continue
Even after the disappearance of Dorothy Jane Scott, the strange calls continued to come. But this time they were directed at Dorothy’s mother. Every Wednesday until the spring or summer of 1984, an unidentified man would now call Vera. He would claim that he either had Dorothy or had killed her. The calls were usually brief and usually occurred when Vera was home alone. But, in April of 1984, the man called during the evening. This time Jacob Scott answered the phone.
Police installed a voice recorder at the Scott residence. They weren’t able to trace the calls, however, because the man never stayed on the line long enough.
The case went cold.
A possible motivation in Scott’s murder finally surfaced on June 12, 1980. An unidentified man called the front desk at the Orange County Register (the news paper had run a story that day about the case). A managing editor told police the man said, “I killed her. I killed Dorothy Jane Scott. She was my love. I caught her cheating with another man. She denied having someone else. I killed her.”
The editor also said the caller knew Conrad Bostron had suffered from a spider bite the night of May 28. He also knew that Dorothy had been wearing a red scarf. Neither of these details had been published in the June 12 article. The caller also claimed Scott phoned him from the hospital that night. Investigators believe that anonymous caller was responsible for the abduction and murder of Dorothy Jane Scott.
But who was the man on the other end of that line?
In August of 1984, a construction worker discovered human bones on Santa Ana Canyon Road. A turquoise ring and watch were also found. The bones were identified as Dorothy Jane Scott’s. Dorthy‘s mother said the watch had stopped at 12:30 a.m. on May 29 – about an hour, she said, after Pam Head and Conrad Bostron last saw Scott’s vehicle. An autopsy could not determine the cause of death.
After the news of the grim discovery of Dorothy’s remains hit the air waves, Jacob and Vera Scott received one final phone call:
“Is Dorothy home?”
The motivation for Dorothy Jane Scott’s abduction and murder is, to this day, unknown.
The case remains open and the question remains relevant: Who was the caller and what really happened to Dorothy Jane Scott?
Source: wikipedia | talkmurderwithme | findagrave.com | medium.com | morbidology.com
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