http://www.harlandai...ws/news8372.txt
Searching for an answer - What ever happened to Georgia Darlene Nolan?
February 23, 2008
Members of a Harlan County family have lived 31 years not knowing what happened to a loved one after she vanished like a ghost in the night and was never heard from again.
The family of Georgia Darlene Nolan is split on what happened to her. Some believe she was murdered and buried somewhere in Harlan County, while others believe a woman's remains found in 1980 in Rockingham County, Va., could be her.
Kentucky State Police Post 10 has assigned the case to Det. Tim Hensley after receiving new information and leads, along with statements from relatives over the past couple of weeks.
A woman in her prime
Georgia Darlene Mitchell was born in Harlan on June 5, 1943. She was raised in the Tway community by her parents, Walter and Cassie Mitchell. She married Lincoln Pruitt at the age of 18. Georgia and Lincoln took residence at Stanfill, where their first child, Teresa Pruitt, was born. Georgia gave birth to two more children - Henry and Sheila - while married to Lincoln.
Georgia and Lincoln were married for six years before divorcing. A few years went by before Georgia married Pat Nolan, of Baxter. According to Teresa, Georgia gave two of her children, Teresa and Henry, to their father to keep, and she and Pat kept Sheila. Georgia and Pat had a daughter, Nancy, in October 1976.
At the age of 33, just a few weeks after Nancy was born, Georgia vanished in November 1976 without a trace. According to Teresa, the last words her family heard her say were that she and Pat were going to Jack's Drive-In to get a Coke after Georgia dropped Sheila off at her brother Sonny Mitchell's house.
Vanished in the night
According to information placed on the Doe Network, a national database for missing persons, "Georgia Nolan was last seen in late November 1976 with her estranged husband. It was later said that Georgia had exited their vehicle on the interstate near the Illinois/Kentucky border after an argument. Shortly thereafter, her brother reported her missing. She has never been seen again and foul play is suspected."
One of Georgia Nolan's daughter's, Teresa Pruitt, has agreed to share a portion of her recollection of her mother's disappearance. Lengthier comments from family members are separated by asterisks in this report. Some of the comments could not be printed due to the ongoing investigation.
Although everyone else says that they cannot remember the exact date of the month, I do remember that it was the evening of Thanksgiving 1976 when Georgia called our house (Pruitt home) and asked my uncle Charles Pruitt Jr. if she could speak to me - I was 14 years old.
I was very upset at the time because my father had been hospitalized just a few days before. As a young girl, I was afraid of losing my father. Naturally, I was mad at everyone and especially my mother because I felt that she should have been there to help me through this.
When I picked up the phone I remember saying to her that I did not want to talk with her right now and that she really should not be calling now. I remember vividly the last words that she ever said to me that night on that phone and they are as follow: 'Teresa, I am so sorry about your Daddy. Do you all know what is wrong with him?"
Then after my response that we did not know what was wrong with him, she said to me the words that have echoed through my heart all these years. "I know you are mad, but Teresa I want you to know that I still love your Daddy and I am right now trying to get away from Pat for good."
That made me even madder at her and I just hung up the phone - that was the last time I ever heard from her.
The next day Pat Nolan came to our home and spoke with my grandfather, Charles Pruitt Sr., about my mother.
My grandfather came in the house and said that Pat had said that his family had picked Shelia up from Sonny and Betty Mitchell's home earlier that day and that Georgia had gotten out of the car on him the night before on the interstate and probably would not be coming back.
His purpose for coming to our house was to say that he would like to keep Shelia until they knew for sure if Georgia was coming back or not and also because of the fact that she was attached to the new baby (Nancy).
Georgia did not return.
Within a few days of Pat coming to our house to tell us about Georgia getting out of the car on the interstate, my dad was released from the hospital, and after that I can remember Pat visiting him at our home several times in an attempt to get him to sign Shelia over to him.
I don't know if my father actually signed her over to him, but I do know that he agreed to let her remain at the Nolan home because Pat convinced him that she was so attached to Nancy that it would be difficult on her emotionally to have to leave her.
I was only 14 years old, but I knew that something was not right.
When I was 18, I received a phone call telling me to "stop asking questions about Georgia if I did not want to end up just like her" or something to that effect.
I was a new mother and became very frightened about that call, however, I never told anyone about it because I was afraid that everyone would make a big deal out of it and maybe cause me problems.
I just dropped it and there after would occasionally write letters to Congress members and anyone else that I could think of concerning how I could get it checked into.
I never went to the police to check on the open case of my mother because I was afraid that they would attempt to find out who threatened me and perhaps cause that person to come after me and my family.
So, I spent my life not being able to get anything done. It seems that every road I have taken has been a dead end lead.
Family cries foul play
Sheila Pruitt, who was 10 years old when her mother disappeared, now lives in Illinois. She has said she remembers well the night when she last saw her mother.
We went down to the Nolans that evening so that Pat's family could see the baby (Nancy). While we were there I can remember that I was playing with my dolls and little Nancy was lying on a blanket on the floor and people were playing with her.
Pat and Mommy were in another room arguing and then I heard my mommy say "just take us home to Sonny's right now."
We got in the car - Mommy, Pat and Nancy were in the front seat and I was in the back. Pat and Mommy were still arguing, and I became afraid.
When we got to Sonny's house, Pat gave me $5 to get out of the car and go in Sonny's.
My Mommy stood up outside the car and would not move from that spot and Nancy was lying on the floor of the car on a blanket.
Mommy told me to go on in to Sonny's house and that she would be back for me. She gave me $5 and said that she would take me to get me a Barbie doll in the morning.
Betty (Sonny Mitchell's wife) was standing outside her front door and yelling something to my Mommy - I can't remember what it was.
My Mommy said that she was going to get a Coke at Jack's Drive-In and would be back. I went into the house, and I remember crying all night and the next morning for my Mommy.
I remember crying for days and waiting for my Mommy to come home, but she never did.
Sonny Mitchell said some of the Nolan family came to his residence the next morning and picked up Sheila. Sonny said Georgia, Sheila and Nancy were living with him and his wife at that time.
"My wife, Betty, called down at the Nolans that next morning, and we were told that Georgia was in the bed asleep," Sonny said. "Pat's family said they were going to come and pick up Sheila and get Georgia's things because Pat, Georgia and the kids were moving to Illinois. Then, five months later, I found out that they didn't move from Harlan. A woman called and said we needed to look in on Georgia because she was missing. We thought the family had went to Illinois, we didn't know she had been missing since Thanksgiving night. I then went to Post 10 and reported her missing."
Georgia has one other living brother - Walter Mitchell Jr.
While one family member has questioned whether a cold case file in Rockingham, Va., in which the body of a woman was found in 1980, could be linked to the disappearance of Georgia, several others say it has prompted them to compare information that is now leading them to believe that Georgia never actually left town 31 years ago.
Several family members say that during the past 31 years they have never actually sat down and discussed the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, and they are now in the process of asking police to further investigate their findings during the past few days.
"We want some answers," Henry said. "My mother has been missing so many years - it's time the truth comes out about what happened to her. We've never heard from her since 1976, and she now has grandkids that she didn't get to see. It's time everything is brought out in the open - I mean, what we want answered is, where is she?"
Virginia discovery
http://www.doenetwor...es/568ufva.html


Reconstructions of Victim Unidentified White Female
Nancy Nolan-Austin and her father, Pat Nolan, moved to Texas several years ago. She has made several attempts to find her mother through the Doe Network over the years. In September, Nancy found a report of a woman's skeletal remains found in Rockingham County, Va., by hunters.
The hunters reportedly found the remains in a shallow grave in the George Washington National Forest in Rockingham County on Nov. 14, 1980. The area is west of Harrisonburg.
According to a report by the Daily-News Record, Rockingham County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Felicia Glick said there were no signs of foul play, such as broken bones, stab or gunshot wounds. Glick said there were few clues, but a few things were found at the scene. They included a dime from 1964, a heart-shaped necklace and a piece of a slip-type garment. The finding was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.
The investigation determined the bones were that of a woman in her 20s, and that she had given birth. A reconstruction of the victim's skull had been done and placed on the Doe Network, which led Nancy to believe it could be her mother. Factors included a resemblance, similarities in height, weight and age range, and the fact that she had children.
Kentucky State Police Det. Tim Hensley was contacted by Nancy and asked to look into the possibility of the remains found in Virginia being her mother. He contacted Glick and obtained information regarding their findings.
A bone fragment of the woman's leg has been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico to attempt to extract a DNA sample.
Nancy reportedly went to the police station in Keene, Texas, where she gave a DNA sample to be analyzed for a comparison with the unidentified body.
The Pruitt and Mitchell families in Harlan County say they won't be satisfied with a low percentage match with the DNA.
It was Nancy's efforts to find her mother on the Doe Network that brought the family together over the course of the past several days and has them more interested in police looking into their accounts of that night rather than having them anxiously awaiting DNA results from the Virginia cold case file.
"After getting together during the past few days, we have determined that all our accounts of that night seem to make more sense that she was perhaps killed and buried here in Harlan," said Teresa. "I suppose that is why I never felt the need to search the Doe Network or to search any cold cases, because I think I have always felt that she was right here close by and now, after speaking with other family members, I have learned they seem to have felt the same way all these years."
The family agrees that even though they would have never looked on the Doe Network for Georgia, they also agree that if it was not for Nancy beginning this search, they would have never had the opportunity to exchange accounts of that night - accounts that some family members are certain will lead to the key that will unlock this mystery and help put it to rest.
Investigation launched
Hensley says the earliest information he can find at Post 10 regarding the case is in 1984. He said that is apparently when the case was first opened, and he noted that it was investigated by Det. Denny Pace.
"It appears from reading through the case, it didn't appear that they had any leads to work with," Hensley said.
Hensley said the case has never been closed, there just hasn't been any new information coming in on it until recently, which led to him being given the assignment.
Hensley said Nancy contacted him a few months ago to check into the Virginia case of the Jane Doe that was found in the woods.
"Me and Nancy would work together. She would notify me if she had any new developments on Jane Does from different states," Hensley said. "We've done some DNA swabs from some of the family members so we could compare those to the Jane Does found in other states. We're still waiting on the results from the case in Virginia.
"Just about two weeks ago, I started getting new information. A lot of family members here started getting together talking about it and decided, from the way I understand it, started opening up just to see what everybody knew, and that's when everything kind of got started rolling again. We've got a lot of new developments going on with it now, and we're hoping something will pan out."
Hensley said family members are cooperating. He said a lot of factors through his investigation suggest that Georgia is dead. Her Social Security number has not been used since 1976. He said he checked through KSP intelligence and there was no record of her filing an income tax return or using a credit card in 31 years.
"From what I've read and the circumstances, and from what I've gathered here especially in the past two weeks, I'm looking more at this as foul play," Hensley said.
If anyone has any information pertaining to the case, they should contact Hensley at 573-3131.