Background for those who may not be familiar with her: In 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, the Ringling Bros Circus’s main tent caught fire (I believe it was later proven to be arson), and something like one hundred plus people were burned to death/trampled in the resultant melee. One little girl, about six years old, was not identified until 1993. She was given the morgue/ID name “Little Miss 1565” (1,565th person dead in Conn. in 1944?). As for why she wasn’t identified, I have heard that there was a mix-up in showing bodies to parents. I have read that a photo (the little girl’s face was barely burned–I have seen the photo of her body) was sent to various newspapers around the country trying to identify her. The girl’s (I forget her name–? Eleanor ?) mother lived well into the 1980s. Did she not EVER see the photo sent to newspapers?! I have also heard that the authorities refused to believe the girl’s brother though he repeatedly insisted that Little Miss 1565 was his sister. Huh? How can one not be identified for 40 YEARS?!
What mundane foundations our mysteries are built on. How could this all be? Does anyone have more details of what (to me) should have been a case resolved within hours–days, at the outside.
I agree with you, but add that stupidity is no excuse. I know that just after the fire, the girl’s brother tried to convince the authorities that it was his sister, but they blew him off. In the early 80s, a fire detective (or some title like that) named Rick Davies took on the case on his own time and finally proved who she was around 93, so I should have written 50 years instead of 40. I saw a photo of the ceremony where they officially changed her tomb from Little Miss 1565 to her real name, but do not know where it is located. Davies has written a book, but it is not yet available.
I remember seeing this story on the TV a few years back. The only thing that I can dredge up from my memory is that the fire was called an accident at the time and the reason that this is disbelieved now is that the dewpoint was recorded for that day and it was too high. Apparently the grass was too wet for a casual fire to ignite or spread.