In 1974, This 14-Year-Old Girl’s Parents Received An Eery Ransom Call After She Traveled To Her First Babysitting Gig And Was Never Seen Again
In 1974, Margaret Ellen Fox of Burlington, New Jersey, had just graduated eighth grade and was eager to begin high school in the fall.
The fourteen-year-old was one of six children and led a very joyous life. Margaret was regarded by her family as humble, loving, and intelligent.
She also loved horseback riding, taking piano lessons, and watching television classics such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Maude.”
But, come June of that year, Margaret and her eleven-year-old cousin, Lynne, decided they wanted to try something new– babysitting. During the 1970s, babysitting was the most common way for young women to dip their toes into the workforce and begin earning their own money.
So, on June 18, Margaret and Lynn decided to place an advertisement in the classifieds section of their local paper.
“BABYSITTERS— Experienced. Teen girls. Love kids. Work at your house. Call…” the ad read, followed by the two girls’ phone numbers.
And, to their surprise, Margaret and Lynn both received calls the very next day. Lynn received the first call from a man who wanted a babysitter for his five-year-old son.
But, Lynn’s parents ultimately declined the offer since they were uncomfortable with the job’s distance from their home.
FBI; pictured above is Margaret
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Later that day, Margaret then received a phone call from the same man, who revealed his name was John Marshall.
John wanted Margaret to babysit his son four hours a day for five days a week. He was offering forty dollars a week and asked for Margaret to begin working the following Monday.
The fourteen-year-old was ecstatic about this opportunity to finally begin making some money for herself. And, come the following Monday, she followed John’s instructions to a tee.
John had told Margaret to take a bus from Burlington to Mount Holly and get off at the stop nearest to the intersection of High and Mill streets. Then, John said his wife would pick Margaret up in a red Volkswagen.
So, on June 24, Margaret headed to the Burlington bus stop– which was just one block away from her home– with her younger brother, Joseph.
The bus arrived at about 8:45 a.m., and as Margaret boarded the bus, Joseph waved goodbye. He had no idea that would be the last time he ever saw his sister.
Some passengers who rode the same bus that morning remembered Margaret smiling from ear to ear. Unfortunately, though, no one remembered what stop the young girl got off at.
And later that afternoon, Margaret never returned home. Her parents began to worry and phoned the number that John Marshall had left with the family.
But, to their horror, the number actually belonged to a payphone located outside of a supermarket in Lumberton, New Jersey.
So, after conducting their own unsuccessful search, the Foxs reported Margaret missing at 12:30 a.m. Then, four days later, Mrs. Fox received a short but freaky ransom call.
“Ten thousand dollars might be a lot of bread, but your daughter’s life is the buttered topping,” the caller said.
Mrs. Fox responded, “Who is this?” but the call was dropped immediately afterward.
Thankfully, though, investigators from the FBI were able to record the call– which has since been made public.
But, the very next day, the Fox family received a ransom letter with the same statement from the phone call written inside.
And two days later, they received another letter with a similar phrase. This time, though, investigators noticed a slight difference.
“Ten thousand dollars was a lot of bread, and your daughter’s life was the buttered topping,” the second letter read. The change from “is” to “was” led investigators to believe that the ransom deal was no longer on the table.
Sadly, though, not many gains were made in Margaret’s case over the following months. By August of 1974, authorities finally released a police sketch of a man they wanted to question.
The sketch depicted a male between thirty-five and forty years old. Police also added that he had very blue eyes, graying light blonde or reddish hair, a crew cut, and very straight white teeth.
The man was also believed to have driven a red-orange Volkswagen and reportedly had a history of trying to pick up young girls in the Mount Holly area before Margaret’s disappearance.
Nonetheless, this lead never led to an arrest or conviction. Instead, on November 23, 1975, a fifty-three-year-old Philadelphia prison inmate made a confession.
The man admitted to the kidnapping and murder of Margaret. Then, he also confessed to throwing her body over a cliff in the Catskill Mountains.
This unexpected confession launched a newfound investigation. But, within a couple of months, the man recanted and claimed his confession was just a “giant hoax.” Authorities were also eventually able to clear him as a suspect in Margaret’s disappearance.
In turn, Margaret’s case has tragically remained cold for forty-eight years now. On June 24, 2019– the forty-fifth anniversary of Margaret’s disappearance– authorities did release more information to the public.
First was an enhanced recording of the ransom phone call, followed by a second age-progression image that showed what Margaret might look like at fifty-six years old.
FBI; pictured above is an age-progressed photo of Margaret
Authorities also revealed that a twenty-five thousand dollar reward is available for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Margaret’s perpetrator. When Margaret disappeared in 1974, she was five foot two and weighed about one hundred and five pounds. She had freckles, was missing two of her top teeth, and wore eyeglasses with hexagonal frames.
If you have any information regarding Margaret’s disappearance, you are urged to contact the Burlington City Police Department at (609) 386-0262 or the FBI Newark Field Office at (973) 792-3000.
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