The divers who had been combing the calm waters of Lake Crescent in Washington State were confident their search would soon be over. After diving for almost five months, they had followed a steady trail of debris to an area barely 60 feet from the shore, not far from a local spot known as Ambulance Point, where an ambulance had slid off the icy road and slammed into the lake in the 1960s, killing the patient inside.
When the divers reached a steep slope some 160 feet down, they found what they had been looking for. It was the unmistakable shape of a rusty old car wreck, resting on its left side at a perilous angle and with its windows smashed. It was a classic Chevrolet; and thanks to two eager divers, a century-long case was finally given closure and the Warren family embraced the sad reality of what really happened to Russell and Blanch Warren.
Updated August 2022: We give you an updated insight into an intriguing missing case of the 1900s; and how the wreak of a 1927 Chevy helped give answers to this almost century-long mystery.
Let's take a closer look at this mystery and how it was solved.
A Lake Gives Up Its Secret
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of cars could tell from the upright square shape and the skinny tires that the vehicle was from a bygone era. Soon afterward, the investigator leading the team, District Ranger Dan Pontbriand, was able to verify that it was the wreck of a 1927 Chevrolet.
They were sure they had finally solved the 72-year-old mystery surrounding the disappearance of Russell and Blanch Warren in July 1929. It was a pivotal moment in Pontbriand’s career. An affable 46-year-old man, he had become enthralled by the story after meeting with 77-year-old local historian Bob Caso.
Caso came to him with a file tucked under his arm, filled with old newspaper clippings about the Warrens’ disappearance. He became obsessed with the case in the mid-1950s, convinced that if he could solve the mystery, he would bring closure to the couple’s two children.
The two had carried the trauma of their parent’s disappearance their entire lives, teased by their peers and unable to dispel the rumor that they had been abandoned by irresponsible parents.
Four Happy Lives Curtailed By Tragedy
Russell and Blanch Warren lived with their sons, 11-year-old Charles and Frank, 13, in a log home on the Bogachiel River, west of Forks. At the time of their disappearance, the roaring twenties were still in full swing and had yet to experience the turmoil of the Wall Street Crash. By all accounts, the family appeared to be happy.
The only fly in the ointment was Blanch’s health, as the 33-year-old had been admitted to a Port Angeles hospital for an undisclosed reason. Russell had cause to celebrate, however, because, on July 3, she was discharged. He told Frank and Charles he’d be back the next day, but the boys never heard from their parents ever again.
A local newspaper, the Port Angeles News, reported the couple missing almost two weeks later, on July 16, sparking a two-month police investigation. The local sheriff headed a team of divers to scour the lake in a vain attempt to find the couple’s car, which had last been seen heading west towards Lake Crescent.
Shortly before, on their way back from the hospital, the couple purchased a washing machine - ostensibly to help Blanch with the chores. Despite the offer of a $250 reward, investigators drew a blank, and the children were eventually sent to live with a relative in Montana.
Two Men Resolve The 72-year-old Mystery
More than 70 years after the tragedy, Caso showed up, having spent years researching the story, to hook up with Pontbriand. Their encounter prompted an 11-month-long investigation, a renewed search of the lake, and the recovery of key items that reputedly belonged to the Warrens.
These included a black vase of the type that Chevrolet attached to the interior of their cars in the 1920s, as well as a rusty car step and a circular metal lid that Pontbriand believed, came from an old washing machine. Hopes were raised when divers thought they had found the car, but it turned out to be a Ford Model A, a car from the same 20s period and similar to the couple’s Chevrolet.
Pontbriand narrowed the search down to an area close to the shore, and in April 2002 the National Park Service finally confirmed they had found the Warrens' vehicle. The news brought relief to relatives of the Warrens, including the couple’s great-granddaughter, Kristine Coachman, who thanked the search team profusely.
Investigators believe the Warrens’ car most likely went off the road and struck a cedar log before careening into the lake and that they either drowned or died before hitting the water.
A Grim Discovery
There were later searches, first with a remotely operated camera in November 2002, which reportedly discovered Blanch’s calcified bones. A second one by a diver in May 2004 found Russell’s skull and both femurs.
Sadly, the lives of Frank and Charles also ended in tragic circumstances – Charles drowned in a fishing accident in 1964, while his elder brother succumbed to acute alcoholism in 1972. Their living grandchildren were, however, able to do what they couldn’t, and that was to close a disturbing chapter in their lives.
Sources: Aaronatevergreen Via YouTube, Simplysatsop.weebly, Boydski, Pacificnorthwestdiving, Cbsnews