The Skeleton Crew by Deborah Halber Page B
Authors: Deborah Halber
that seemed to ring with authority. âWe never found her body or any evidence of her running away,â wrote someone who signed himself Jeff E. âWeâ? The writer identified himself as Elizabeth Ernsteinâs younger brother, Jeff Ernstein. He recalled that, in 1968, California was the pinnacle of the hippie movement, when some teenagers ran away for a weekendâor forever. Abductions, rapes, murders, he wrote, âjust hardly ever happened back then.â
He related how his parents had paid a private detective to work for the family full-time. Norman and Ruth Ernstein, despite their science-based careers, were so desperate, they contacted psychics and even checked in with NASA and the U.S. Air Force in case there had been any reports in the area of UFO alien abductions. The Ernsteins ran out of funds. Volunteers helped raise money for ads, for the detective, and for a reward that eventually totaled twenty thousand dollarsâthe equivalent of more than a hundred grand today.
Search-and-rescue teams and hundreds of volunteers combed the orange groves and surrounding countryside, to find no trace of Liz except a bra in her size, washed in the same detergent the household used. The family held a memorial for Liz in the early 1990s.
The next few posts by Websleuths members thanked Jeff for his post and encouraged him to send details about Elizabeth to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Jeff E. did not respond.
Scanning later posts in the thread, I saw one from another Websleuths user named James G. It was dated December 2009, a full two years after Gina M. and Jeff E.âs exchange. James G. gave his location as Southern California.
âI just stumbled by accident on this site after Googling your sister Elizabethâs name,â James G. wrote to Jeff E. What came next sent a chill down my spine.
âI was her boy friend at the time of her disappearance. You may remember me. I went with her and your mother and a friend of your momâs up to the mountains not very long before Elizabeth disappeared. One of her brothers went along but I am not sure of his name. It seems to me I remember the name of the boy being Jeff but Iâm not positive of that. I know that he was about 10 or so. We had a picnic and a good visit. I remember what she said to me as we walked around. I even remember the conversation in the car going up and coming back. Do you have any memory of this?
âAlso, only a short time (maybe a week) before she disappeared, Elizabeth called my family and told them that she needed to meet me and tell me something very important. She wanted to meet me in front of Redlands Community Hospital, but I went there and waited for Elizabeth for over an hour, and she never showed up.â
Was it possible that new information about the days before Lizâs disappearance would surface this way, on an obscure page of public web posts? It would be like a document concerning a crime in New Mexico turning up stapled to a supermarket bulletin board in Hoboken, New Jersey. It might be significant, but the chances of someone with any connection to the original investigation seeing it were practically nil.
James G. went on to request specific details about the family, the circumstances of Elizabethâs disappearance, and the investigation.
âIâd especially like to know if Elizabethâs older sister is still alive. Also is your mother still alive? Iâd like to know where the orange groves were located where she was last seen. Are there still orange groves there or have they been replaced by houses and streets? Where was the bra found?
âIt would be great to be able to talk with you. I live not very far from Redlands. I always think of her when I drive on the freeway near where she and your family lived at that time. I hope to hear from you soon. James G.â The post included links to Facebook and to a Myspace page. To my disappointment, they were
He related how his parents had paid a private detective to work for the family full-time. Norman and Ruth Ernstein, despite their science-based careers, were so desperate, they contacted psychics and even checked in with NASA and the U.S. Air Force in case there had been any reports in the area of UFO alien abductions. The Ernsteins ran out of funds. Volunteers helped raise money for ads, for the detective, and for a reward that eventually totaled twenty thousand dollarsâthe equivalent of more than a hundred grand today.
Search-and-rescue teams and hundreds of volunteers combed the orange groves and surrounding countryside, to find no trace of Liz except a bra in her size, washed in the same detergent the household used. The family held a memorial for Liz in the early 1990s.
The next few posts by Websleuths members thanked Jeff for his post and encouraged him to send details about Elizabeth to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Jeff E. did not respond.
Scanning later posts in the thread, I saw one from another Websleuths user named James G. It was dated December 2009, a full two years after Gina M. and Jeff E.âs exchange. James G. gave his location as Southern California.
âI just stumbled by accident on this site after Googling your sister Elizabethâs name,â James G. wrote to Jeff E. What came next sent a chill down my spine.
âI was her boy friend at the time of her disappearance. You may remember me. I went with her and your mother and a friend of your momâs up to the mountains not very long before Elizabeth disappeared. One of her brothers went along but I am not sure of his name. It seems to me I remember the name of the boy being Jeff but Iâm not positive of that. I know that he was about 10 or so. We had a picnic and a good visit. I remember what she said to me as we walked around. I even remember the conversation in the car going up and coming back. Do you have any memory of this?
âAlso, only a short time (maybe a week) before she disappeared, Elizabeth called my family and told them that she needed to meet me and tell me something very important. She wanted to meet me in front of Redlands Community Hospital, but I went there and waited for Elizabeth for over an hour, and she never showed up.â
Was it possible that new information about the days before Lizâs disappearance would surface this way, on an obscure page of public web posts? It would be like a document concerning a crime in New Mexico turning up stapled to a supermarket bulletin board in Hoboken, New Jersey. It might be significant, but the chances of someone with any connection to the original investigation seeing it were practically nil.
James G. went on to request specific details about the family, the circumstances of Elizabethâs disappearance, and the investigation.
âIâd especially like to know if Elizabethâs older sister is still alive. Also is your mother still alive? Iâd like to know where the orange groves were located where she was last seen. Are there still orange groves there or have they been replaced by houses and streets? Where was the bra found?
âIt would be great to be able to talk with you. I live not very far from Redlands. I always think of her when I drive on the freeway near where she and your family lived at that time. I hope to hear from you soon. James G.â The post included links to Facebook and to a Myspace page. To my disappointment, they were