Sheila Wiseley:1974, Toledo, Ohio

   


  Sheila Wisely was born in Detroit. She grew up there and in the neighboring city across the Michigan/Ohio border, Toledo. She had a sister named Stephanie. 


  Her parents lost nine infant boys to Leukemia but Stephanie and Sheila survived. This was before the pill came along. There was no such thing as birth control pills. A couple could buy condoms but most married couples did not. Most married couples after WW2 were all about having children. So, they just kept trying. How does a family endure losing nine baby boys? They probably focused on caring for their surviving children as much as they could. They probably tried not to dwell on the losses. 


  Sheila’s mother passed away in 1967 after a tough battle with cancer. Her father, Paul, worked in the auto industry as an executive at General Motors.  His job moved the family to Toledo where Sheila went to Start High School. 


  She wanted to study acting in college. 


  Sheila was a quiet student who wrote poetry. The losses that the family had endured had taken a toll on Sheila.  She thought often of death and dying. She visited her mother’s grave often. She was a good student though and planned to go to college in Michigan later but took time to work and care for her Grandmother, Mrs. Laura Caldwell, in Toledo. She and her Grandmother lived at 2629 Whiteway. Her Grandmother had undergone surgery so Sheila had come that summer to help her. 


 Her sister Stephanie was married and lived at 5600 Alexis Road in Toledo in 1974. 


  In 1974 Sheila was employed at Sears Department Store. She had a small orange car that her Dad had gotten her for her graduation. She liked taking care of it herself. She really enjoyed doing all the usual repairs and maintenance herself. 


  On July 29th, 1974 Sheila went missing after an argument with her boyfriend. He said he let her out of his car around 11:30 p.m. near Eleanor and Lewis Avenues. That would be a pretty long walk back to her Grandmother’s house. 


  Her father had been working in Michigan and drove to Toledo to look for Sheila the next evening at the cemetery. He thought she’d gone to visit her Mom’s grave again. He got there after 9 p.m. and climbed the cemetery fence. He said that he looked all over the cemetery but didn’t find a trace of Sheila.


  She wasn’t anywhere that he thought she might have gone. She hadn’t gone to her sister’s home. She didn’t call. There was no sign of her. 




  Sheila was found on October 7th, 1974 in Ottawa Park near Merrimac and Kenwood Boulevards. Someone had killed Sheila. She was in nearly skeletal condition. The coroner determined that she had been shot at least twice. Her body had been concealed under branches and debris in a wooded area. 


  She was so close to her Grandmother’s house all that time. It’s only a short walk. Her handbag was found nearby as was a notebook of hers. She had had a habit of writing in her journal everyday. Her diamond ring was still on her finger. She was identified by her dental records and the ring. 


  Police questioned her boyfriend “extensively” and said that he passed a lie detector test.  Did they ask him if he owned a gun? What was his behavior like all the time that Sheila had been missing? What’s his name? 


   Obviously, robbery was not the motive. Her purse was found right there and a diamond ring was still on her finger. Her body was concealed. 


   Sheila’s case went cold. It is still cold. I wonder if the boyfriend’s name is still in the police files. I think they should maybe have a chat with him again. 


  Someone knows what happened to Sheila that night. If you have a tip about Sheila Wisely’s murder; please submit a tip to the Toledo Police Department at (419)255-8443 or email Police.Toledo@toledo.oh.gov





Shareable video here: https://youtu.be/Hpf-4FUkdo4?si=OhdFeXgbJHJ8e1jV

  


  


  


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