The one solid clue investigators had was the sack that had held her body. Some felt it resembled an Army-issue duffel bag. Bucks County officials asked for military help. No luck. Investigators handed out more than 8,000 fliers with a picture of the sack, seeking help. None came.
Clothier's father died six months after his daughter disappeared, his body found in his parked car outside the fire station where he worked. Natural causes, the coroner said. Her mother died in 2007.
The break in the case came in 2005, when NBC-10 featured the cold case on a newscast. A viewer called police to report that she believed the sack the fishermen found Clothier in on April 13, 1968, was her laundry bag, missing since she gave it to her husband shortly after Clothier disappeared.
Investigators restarted their probe, spending months to track down witnesses, many of whom were dead. Yesterday, Pilla, the Northampton chief, gave this account of what they believe happened:
Clothier left her home intending to catch a bus to Mayfair to visit her boyfriend. Instead, she uncharacteristically accepted a ride with an acquaintance, who was in a car with at least one other man.
Instead of taking her to Mayfair, the men took Clothier to a wooded area off Decatur Street in Northeast Philadelphia, popular among teens as a hangout. The men had a history of drug use, and one was known to inject drugs into animals and people, without their consent, retired Northampton Detective Charles Wyant said.
Detectives believe that Clothier died after she was involuntarily injected or given an unknown controlled substance, Pilla said. The men then called a third man to help them dump the corpse off the Chain Bridge on Route 232.
Although Clothier was found wearing only panties, the pathologist found no evidence of sexual assault, Pilla said.
The trio he blamed yesterday for Clothier's fate were among those interviewed decades ago; Pilla didn't know why detectives turned their attention elsewhere.
Although the men were from Northeast Philadelphia, they were familiar with Bucks County and at least one had visited a horse farm and riding stables in Northampton Township, Pilla added.
Heckler said the case proves authorities' unflagging dedication in solving cold cases, no matter how old. He urged citizens with any knowledge of other unsolved murders to call their local police or his office at 215-348-6344.
"There's no statute of limitation on murder," he said, "and we will continue to pursue justice on any case."
