Katharina Buczek
In turn, John moved on to searching morgues, hospitals, and jails in the New York, Philadelphia, and Boston areas for six weeks. The Arnold family spent thousands of dollars on John’s efforts, as well as the Pinkerton Detective Agency’s assistance.
Despite that, their searches came up dry. And after six weeks of secret investigations, the Arnold family finally decided to involve the police and the press.
At the time of Dorothy’s disappearance, she did have a boyfriend named George Griscom Jr., whom her parents strongly disapproved of.
The couple had met while Dorothy attended Bryn Mawr, but George was 42 years old. So, in spite of George’s affluent family roots and established career as an engineer, Dorothy’s parents did not want her to date a man nearly 20 years older than her.
This led the Arnold family to suspect that George had been involved in Dorothy’s disappearance. But, at the time she went missing, he was in Italy. Moreover, George claimed to have no clue about what had happened to her.
What George did suspect, though, was that Dorothy had been depressed. He reportedly had a letter penned by the young woman detailing her sadness regarding a recent magazine rejection.
“All that I can see ahead is a long road with no turning,” the letter read.
This caused some people to speculate that perhaps Dorothy had taken her own life. By late January 1911, though, the speculation no longer mattered.
On January 25, a host of reporters showed up at Francis Arnold’s office to hear a press conference. That day, the Arnold family also offered a $1,000 reward for the safe return of their daughter.
Then, as if in the blink of an eye, Dorothy’s case was featured in virtually every newspaper throughout the country.
Police began fielding thousands of tips and reported sightings– most of which were eventually proven false.
