Retired cop, amateur sleuths investigate 1956 Grimes sisters murder case
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Patricia Grimes
Patricia Grimes, who was missing along with her sister, Barbara, until their bodies were found in January 1957. (Chicago Tribune archive photo)
Patricia Grimes, who was missing along with her sister, Barbara, until their bodies were found in January 1957. (Chicago Tribune archive photo)
In December 1956, teenage sisters Patricia and Barbara Grimes slipped away from their home in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood to see an Elvis Presley movie at a nearby theater, but they never came back.
Their naked bodies were found about a month later along a rural road near Burr Ridge, but investigators never found enough evidence to explain their deaths. The official cause of death was exposure to winter cold, and despite an exhaustive investigation and widespread media attention, the case remains one of the Chicago area's most notorious unsolved mysteries.
Now, a retired police officer and a group of amateur sleuths are hoping to piece together clues to solve the case.
The group plans to meet Saturday at the McKinley Park library to review the facts and offer potential theories.
"I thought nobody should give up on this case," said Ray Johnson, a retired West Chicago police officer who is coordinating the effort.
Johnson became interested in the Grimes sisters' case in 2010, when he was researching a book he was writing about Chicago history. He began scouring old newspaper articles and talking with people who lived in the area at the time.
One of those people was the Grimes sisters' brother, James Grimes, now 68. He was 11 when Patricia, 13, and Barbara, 15, disappeared.
"It bothers me, especially around Christmastime and the holidays," he said. "I always wonder if they were alive today how many nieces and nephews would I have?"
There were several unconfirmed sightings of the girls in the month between their disappearance and the discovery of their bodies.
Johnson said that as recently as last year a woman contacted him, claiming she was with the girls the night they disappeared. She said after the movie, a driver offered them a ride. The woman claims she jumped out of the car, leaving the Grimes sisters behind, but she was afraid to tell her parents or police about the incident at the time.
For James Grimes, the renewed focus on his sisters' case is a welcome development.
"I just assumed it was never going to be solved," he said. "(But) maybe there's hope."
nnix@tribune.com
Twitter @nsnix87
Their naked bodies were found about a month later along a rural road near Burr Ridge, but investigators never found enough evidence to explain their deaths. The official cause of death was exposure to winter cold, and despite an exhaustive investigation and widespread media attention, the case remains one of the Chicago area's most notorious unsolved mysteries.
Now, a retired police officer and a group of amateur sleuths are hoping to piece together clues to solve the case.
The group plans to meet Saturday at the McKinley Park library to review the facts and offer potential theories.
"I thought nobody should give up on this case," said Ray Johnson, a retired West Chicago police officer who is coordinating the effort.
Johnson became interested in the Grimes sisters' case in 2010, when he was researching a book he was writing about Chicago history. He began scouring old newspaper articles and talking with people who lived in the area at the time.
One of those people was the Grimes sisters' brother, James Grimes, now 68. He was 11 when Patricia, 13, and Barbara, 15, disappeared.
"It bothers me, especially around Christmastime and the holidays," he said. "I always wonder if they were alive today how many nieces and nephews would I have?"
There were several unconfirmed sightings of the girls in the month between their disappearance and the discovery of their bodies.
Johnson said that as recently as last year a woman contacted him, claiming she was with the girls the night they disappeared. She said after the movie, a driver offered them a ride. The woman claims she jumped out of the car, leaving the Grimes sisters behind, but she was afraid to tell her parents or police about the incident at the time.
For James Grimes, the renewed focus on his sisters' case is a welcome development.
"I just assumed it was never going to be solved," he said. "(But) maybe there's hope."
nnix@tribune.com
Twitter @nsnix87
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