By the age of 12, child prodigy Barbara Newhall Follett,
with the assistance of her father, had penned her first novel “The house
without windows”, which was published through Knopf publishing in 1927.
A year later, her next book, “The voyage of the Norman D”
was published and received the same literary success as the previous novel.
With her quick success came a quick disenchantment, and by
the age of 14 Barbara became depressed and disillusioned following the
separation of her mother and father. Although still a teenager, she had hit the
peak of her career.
In 1933, the then 19 year old Follett married and traveled
with a man named Nickerson Rogers. Although their marriage was a happy one,
Barbara believed that her husband had been unfaithful. This depressed her
greatly, so much so that on the 7th of December 1939, she left the
house following an argument and was never seen again.
She left with only $30 on her person.
Follett’s disappearance went unreported for 2 weeks. Her
husband claimed that he was waiting for her to return, however when she didn’t,
he reported it to the police.
The missing poster, which was circulated by the media
featuring her surname as “Rogers” as opposed her famous pen name “Follett”, was
largely unnoticed.
Despite Barbara’s mother and her stern words to Rogers
regarding his lack of effort in the investigation, and her accusations against
him,
Follett was never seen again.
Even for 1939, one would think this young lady would be noticed somewhere, by someone--anyone. But no. Never seen on a bus, train, or taxi or in any establishment. Perhaps back then her disappearance wasn't widely known like one is today, so no one would even look at her twice on a sidewalk. But still; 79 years now since she vanished, and not so much as a peep from anyone who may have seen her.
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