In March 1978, an elderly woman known as Mary Doefour passed away at Queenwood East Nursing Home. However, Mary Doefour wasn't her real name.
Nobody knew her true identity, birth date, or any relatives to inform of her passing.
About 50 years earlier, Doefour had been found wandering in Northern Illinois, disoriented, beaten, and pregnant after being sexually assaulted. She couldn't remember her name but recalled being a school teacher.
Despite not being mentally unstable, she was placed in a state hospital for the criminally insane, and no effort was made to uncover her identity. Her child was likely placed in an orphanage.
She repeatedly tried to argue that she didn't belong in the hospital, but each attempt led to her being medicated. She was subjected to electric shock therapy numerous times, which likely damaged her mind.
After 10 years, she was transferred to a state mental hospital in Bartonville, where her mental and physical health slowly declined.
For 30 years, Doefour stayed in the Bartonville mental hospital without visitors.
In 1972, she was moved to a nursing home in El Paso and then to one in Morton. For more than four decades, no one could determine who she was.
After hearing her story in 1978, reporter Rick Baker began investigating her identity.
Baker published a 14-page story in the Bloomington Pantagraph about Doefour, hoping someone would recognize her.
When no one did, he ran another story in the Peoria Journal Star, which also appeared in other notable papers. A woman responded, recalling a teacher who had disappeared in Iowa.
Baker followed this lead to a school in Mount Vernon, IA, and learned that about 50 years earlier, a teacher named Anna Myrle Sizer had gone missing.
He discovered that Sizer had a brother, Harold, who was still alive. Harold revealed that Sizer was last seen getting off a train in Marion, IA.
A later sighting placed her wandering, dazed, on a highway between Cedar Rapids, OH, and Chicago, IL. The more Baker learned about Anna Myrle Sizer, the more he believed she was Mary Doefour.
Baker showed a photograph of Sizer as a young woman to people who knew Doefour, and they agreed they were the same person. Baker tried to persuade Harold to pursue the case further by accessing Doefour's medical records to prove she was his sister.
However, Harold refused, as his family had made peace with Sizer's disappearance and couldn't accept that she had been trapped in a mental hospital for 50 years.
Baker had to close his investigation without ever confirming if he had found the real Mary Doefour.
Nobody knew her true identity, birth date, or any relatives to inform of her passing.
About 50 years earlier, Doefour had been found wandering in Northern Illinois, disoriented, beaten, and pregnant after being sexually assaulted. She couldn't remember her name but recalled being a school teacher.
Despite not being mentally unstable, she was placed in a state hospital for the criminally insane, and no effort was made to uncover her identity. Her child was likely placed in an orphanage.
She repeatedly tried to argue that she didn't belong in the hospital, but each attempt led to her being medicated. She was subjected to electric shock therapy numerous times, which likely damaged her mind.
After 10 years, she was transferred to a state mental hospital in Bartonville, where her mental and physical health slowly declined.
For 30 years, Doefour stayed in the Bartonville mental hospital without visitors.
In 1972, she was moved to a nursing home in El Paso and then to one in Morton. For more than four decades, no one could determine who she was.
After hearing her story in 1978, reporter Rick Baker began investigating her identity.
Baker published a 14-page story in the Bloomington Pantagraph about Doefour, hoping someone would recognize her.
When no one did, he ran another story in the Peoria Journal Star, which also appeared in other notable papers. A woman responded, recalling a teacher who had disappeared in Iowa.
Baker followed this lead to a school in Mount Vernon, IA, and learned that about 50 years earlier, a teacher named Anna Myrle Sizer had gone missing.
He discovered that Sizer had a brother, Harold, who was still alive. Harold revealed that Sizer was last seen getting off a train in Marion, IA.
A later sighting placed her wandering, dazed, on a highway between Cedar Rapids, OH, and Chicago, IL. The more Baker learned about Anna Myrle Sizer, the more he believed she was Mary Doefour.
Baker showed a photograph of Sizer as a young woman to people who knew Doefour, and they agreed they were the same person. Baker tried to persuade Harold to pursue the case further by accessing Doefour's medical records to prove she was his sister.
However, Harold refused, as his family had made peace with Sizer's disappearance and couldn't accept that she had been trapped in a mental hospital for 50 years.
Baker had to close his investigation without ever confirming if he had found the real Mary Doefour.
In March 1978, an elderly woman known as Mary Doefour passed away at Queenwood East Nursing Home. However, Mary Doefour wasn't her real name.
Nobody knew her true identity, birth date, or any relatives to inform of her passing.
About 50 years earlier, Doefour had been found wandering in Northern Illinois, disoriented, beaten, and pregnant after being sexually assaulted. She couldn't remember her name but recalled being a school teacher.
Despite not being mentally unstable, she was placed in a state hospital for the criminally insane, and no effort was made to uncover her identity. Her child was likely placed in an orphanage.
She repeatedly tried to argue that she didn't belong in the hospital, but each attempt led to her being medicated. She was subjected to electric shock therapy numerous times, which likely damaged her mind.
After 10 years, she was transferred to a state mental hospital in Bartonville, where her mental and physical health slowly declined.
For 30 years, Doefour stayed in the Bartonville mental hospital without visitors.
In 1972, she was moved to a nursing home in El Paso and then to one in Morton. For more than four decades, no one could determine who she was.
After hearing her story in 1978, reporter Rick Baker began investigating her identity.
Baker published a 14-page story in the Bloomington Pantagraph about Doefour, hoping someone would recognize her.
When no one did, he ran another story in the Peoria Journal Star, which also appeared in other notable papers. A woman responded, recalling a teacher who had disappeared in Iowa.
Baker followed this lead to a school in Mount Vernon, IA, and learned that about 50 years earlier, a teacher named Anna Myrle Sizer had gone missing.
He discovered that Sizer had a brother, Harold, who was still alive. Harold revealed that Sizer was last seen getting off a train in Marion, IA.
A later sighting placed her wandering, dazed, on a highway between Cedar Rapids, OH, and Chicago, IL. The more Baker learned about Anna Myrle Sizer, the more he believed she was Mary Doefour.
Baker showed a photograph of Sizer as a young woman to people who knew Doefour, and they agreed they were the same person. Baker tried to persuade Harold to pursue the case further by accessing Doefour's medical records to prove she was his sister.
However, Harold refused, as his family had made peace with Sizer's disappearance and couldn't accept that she had been trapped in a mental hospital for 50 years.
Baker had to close his investigation without ever confirming if he had found the real Mary Doefour.
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