Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. We dont know where theyre at. Visitation will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the James O'Donnell Funeral Home. Where do you think they are?, Henderson, now 56, said. There are a few contradictory accounts of exactly what happened between now and the time anyone realized Billy, Joey and Craig were missing. Advertisement. All three suggested they had similar visions that Gacy was to blame for the disappearance and deaths of the Hannibal boys. According to another version, the boys may have accidentally entered a completely new tunneling system that other researchers have not noticed. This was the latest reported sighting of the boys; after 5:15, all traces of them were lost. Billy Hoag (10), Joey Hoag (13) and Craig Dowell (14). For more information, please see our Podcasters Franki Cambeletta and Chris Koetters have done a pretty deep dive into the case and even said they want to solve it. I dont know if it was the first day or the second day, but I was having dreams and everything; about Billy and Joey. All suspicious passageways, narrow cracks and still unexplored tunnels were carefully checked. by Jack Pluta. Last updated June 3, 2012; picture and clothing/jewelry description added, details of disappearance updated. "For 52 years, the consensus has been that the three Hannibal boys were lost in a calamitous collapse inside the cave," Wingate said. Billy and Joey were making plans to go caving and they were recruiting some of their friends at A.D. Stowell Elementary School the next day. I never could understand that. Anyones guess is as good as the next as to why Dowell tagged along, but no one really knows why. DeDe Hoag believes her brothers and Craig Dowell may have gotten trapped in one of these holes and accidentally buried after they were sealed. The aforementioned book Souls Speak also explores the possibility that they were early victims of John Wayne Gacy. It would be quite interesting if you could go down and dig in that hole. When that time hit the first night is when she really started to come unglued. According to one of the first versions, the children were buried alive when one of the cave tunnels collapsed, but as mentioned above, all possible tunnels of the nearest caves were checked by search crew and they did not find any traces of fresh collapses there. Searching As it turned out another neighborhood boy was missing too. Copyright 2010 - 2023 Soul:Ask | Unlock your Mind and Soul. Our house was so full of cave men coming in from out of town. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. They were so adventurous, remembers DeDe Hoag, the boys older sister. Threats of harming another Years later, a Hoag brother that was in law enforcement researched the whereabouts of a prolific serial killer of young boys and discovered that he had been less than 40 miles away from Hannibal, on business, at the time the boys disappeared. Dont leave the yard, she told him. He and William were not supposed to leave their yard, but they left anyway while their parents were out. HANNIBAL, Mo. They finally moved from Murphys Cave down where Billy and I had been in. Joey was a little more serious. They owned Hoags Tavern, a popular restaurant along Hannibals Historic Main Street. There's no evidence to support any other theories, however. There's no evidence to support any other theories, however. The boys parents, who owned a popular tavern in town, left for a meat market around 4 pm, giving their older children orders to make sure Billy and Joey didnt leave the house. Sunshine and clouds mixed. Over at the church the Royal Ambassadors were meeting. BOONE COUNTY - The story of the three lost boys of Hannibal remains a mystery after a cave search ended empty-handed five decades ago. Don't Threaten. The world isn't flat, cats didn't knock them off the edges. But who could stop the curious children? Altogether, over 200 cave explorers, both professional experts and amateur enthusiasts, searched through Murphys Cave, mapping it as they went. But, Within a few days, the boys still hadnt been found and people started to wonder if they really were in the cave. That day, the construction work resulted in a cave-in at Murphys Cave. However, on May 10, the three went to the same cave again, using the moment Hougs parents were in the store to shop. A memorial service will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, at the James O'Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal. The Charley Project is NOT a registered non-profit organization and any donations will NOT be tax-deductible. Don't Threaten. Unexplored caves or not she didnt want her children being somewhere they shouldnt. I dont know if Ill be alive, but Im sure somebodys going to find them sometime, she said. He informs Will of Freddie Lounds posting a pic of one of the girls online, which Will calls tasteless. Brother Bill Dexheimer will officiate. 41 dogs, puppies rescued from hoarder in rural Mo. Henderson was 11 at the time and was even questioned by authorities in a room of lawyers. "This is a story that found me.". "The psychics maintain that the three boys were tortured, sodomized, suffocated, strangled and buried in one grave," Wingate said. Everyone knew everyone on the south side of Hannibal and when the Hoag brothers decided go caving Dowell probably just happened to be near by and joined them. They were carrying shovels and a flashlight, and said they were going to explore Murphy's Cave, near the Highway 79 construction project. Craig disappeared with two other boys, the Hoag brothers Joel and William. Choose wisely! Wingate expounds on the Gacy theory in his new book, "Souls Speak: Missing children reveal their serial killer from beyond," which became available Wednesday on Amazon.com. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. HANNIBAL, Mo. Because of the circumstances, authorities theorized the three boys were trapped inside the cave when it collapsed and weren't able to get out. The Lost Boys of Hannibal*** was released in 2017 and Souls Speak*** in 2019. But a quick search of the cave by Tim turned up nothing. Motorists are always making their way along Route 79 at its origin, along the calm banks of Hannibal, and for many its just a daily routine. Where are you going, DeDe asked Billy. The three boys routinely explored caves in Hannibal's Southside neighborhood. Donations are accepted but not expected; the site remains free-access to all. Did they separate and go missing in multiple different ways, in two or even three tragic coincidences? But at some point, 15-year-old Tim Hoag and 16-year-old DeDe lost track of their younger brothers, who slipped out of the yard and headed for another adventure. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Joey Hoag, Billy Hoag, and Craig Dowell had simply vanished without a trace. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Two years ago, Hannibal native John Wingate released his first book about the disappearance of three Hannibal boys who were last seen on May 10, 1967, near some cave openings on Hannibal's south side. A flashlight and shovel, One source said the last known sighting of the boys, It was also around that time that another friend of the Hoag brothers stopped by their house to see if they were home. The memory of this strange disappearance of these three boys is still commented on in Hannibal. Greg Henderson was one of the neighborhood boys invited to come along. The boys made plans to go back to the cave after school the following day. Two of the psychics told Wingate that "John Wayne Gacy was that mystery man," he said. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The brothers asked another friend of theirs, 11-year-old Greg Henderson, to go with them to the cave, but he got called in for dinner so he couldnt. As part of his research, Wingate said he drove the psychics separately though parts of the Hannibal area on different dates in August and September of 2018. In the US state of Missouri, one of the local attractions is a vast network of caves that have thousands of passages, both above and below ground. Tim went in there to a certain degree, and once he got in there, there were so many mazes, DeDe said. Im doing that and I get ready to go and I dont even get 50 feet from the house. Don't knowingly lie about anyone Wingate is scheduled to sign copies of his new book from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 2, at Quincy Books and Toys, 3800 Broadway, and will sign books and give a presentation from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 3, at the Mark Twain Museum in Hannibal. A new Route 79 was being constructed (thats the route everyone knows today) and the deep holes dug into the hillside along the roads that lead into Lovers Leap and Riverside Cemetery had revealed a maze of passage ways which led into the caves. "They had been seen darting down into those caves on May 8 and May 9," Wingate said. DeDe was born January 15, 1951, in Hannibal, Missouri to Michael T. and Helen V. McCullough Hoag. On Wednesday, May 10, the boys left school, changed clothes, and went walking in the direction of Murphys Cave yet again. Or had something else happened to them? Create a password that only you will remember. Went to school, seen Billy, and he said, Were going caving tonight, Henderson said. The Hoag brothers were missing. Just before 6:30 pm, Helen Hoag called the police. Nearly 55 years ago, two young brothers and their friend gathered shovels and flashlights on a spring afternoon to explore a cave in their hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. ". The boys were last seen on the south side of Hannibal, Missouri between 4:20 and 5:00 p.m. He and Joel were both eighth-graders at Hannibal Junior High at the time of their disappearances. The preliminary search was called off 10 days later, though another source said, The case of the Lost Boys of Hannibal has been the subject of at least three books. The next theory is that the boys were kidnapped and possibly killed. But, again without result. The case has also been a subject of a podcast, also called The Lost Boys of Hannibal, which aired its first episode in July of 2019 and appears to still be going. Henderson added there more than likely would have been lawsuits against the construction company building the roadway, the City of Hannibal and the State of Missouri. The families of Joey and Billy Hoag, 13 and 11 years of age, and 14-year Craig Dowell became worried when the boys failed to come home for dinner that evening. DeDe was born Jan. 15, 1951, in Hannibal to Michael T. and Helen V. McCullough Hoag. Low 31F. Billy and Joey were nowhere to be found. Wingate said he realizes the psychic-driven theories about Gacy's involvement will sound far-fetched to many people. accounts, the history behind an article. But a parental edict to stay in the yard the afternoon they disappeared wasnt enough to deter the young adventurers. The perfect weather for being outside. The three Hannibal boys were particularly curious about the caves. A Memorial Service will be held at 7:30 PM Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at the James O'Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal. Again. A memorial service will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, at the James O'Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal. Where youre going to find Craig, I dont know. Don't knowingly lie about anyone When she found out she was going to pass it was just a matter of time she said I sure wish I would find out something before I died. I really have a hard time dealing with it. The tunnels of Murphys Cave are very complex and winding. To request a transcript for St. Louis on the Air, Youre going to have to have proof, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Henderson said. Some of the drivers may not know it, but a portion of Route 79 in Hannibal could be the final resting place of three missing boys. Be Truthful. Its entirely possible that even the most meticulous of searches could fail to turn up human remains. He said the mayor at the time was aware the machines used in the search for the three boys could go as deep as 39 feet, but instead the mayor told searchers to not go more than 37 feet. The hometown of one of Americas most enduring and beloved authors is also the site of a decades-old mystery. The boys' disappearance triggered a massive search. Then in July of last year, a third woman -- an "evidential clairvoyant" in Wyoming who helps police solve crimes -- was looking at photographs of the three Hannibal boys when "all of a sudden she was overwhelmed with these images" of John Wayne Gacy brutalizing and burying the boys, Wingate said. They just kept asking, Where do you think they are? The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill and Lara Hamdan. The Hannibal mayor even requested the help of the Missouri National Guard. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism Im having a big time still struggling with it. But what quickly began as a neighborhood search expanded to a nation-wide effort. Her brothers and Craig Dowell ( 14 ) Ask | Unlock your Mind Soul! 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