The Missing Paula Jean Welden

The Missing 
Paula Jean Welden
Bennington, Vermont

🕯️🌲 The Mysterious Disappearance of Paula Jean Welden 🌲🕯️

Paula Jean Welden was an 18 year old sophomore at Bennington College who vanished on December 1, 1946, in Bennington, Vermont. Born on October 19, 1928, in Stamford, Connecticut, she was the eldest of four daughters and a 1945 graduate of Stamford High School. On the afternoon of her disappearance, Paula finished her shift in the college dining hall, returned to her dormitory at Dewey House, and told her roommate she was going for a hike. Dressed for a mild afternoon but not the cold night ahead, she carried no extra clothes, money, or supplies, suggesting she planned to return within a few hours.
Paula hitchhiked from campus to an area near Route 9 and made her way to the Long Trail near Glastenbury Mountain. Several hikers later reported seeing her walking north along a stretch now known as Harbour Road, asking a few questions about the trail before continuing on alone as daylight began to fade. She was never seen again. When she failed to return that evening, her roommate initially assumed she was studying elsewhere, but by the next morning Paula was reported missing.
An extensive search effort followed. Students and faculty from Bennington College, hundreds of volunteers, family members, National Guard troops, and firefighters combed the Long Trail, surrounding woods, and nearby roadways. Despite weeks of searching on the ground and by air, no trace of Paula was found. At the time, Vermont lacked a statewide law enforcement agency, so local authorities, assisted by investigators from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and later the Connecticut State Police, led the case. Numerous theories emerged, ranging from accidental injury and amnesia to voluntary disappearance, suicide, kidnapping, or murder. A local lumberjack was considered a person of interest after giving inconsistent statements, but no evidence tied him to a crime, and no charges were filed.
Paula Welden was eventually declared dead in absentia, yet her fate remains unknown. Her disappearance became one of several unexplained cases in the area later referred to as the “Bennington Triangle.” Public criticism of how the investigation was handled, prompted significant reform. Within seven months, the Vermont legislature established the Vermont State Police in 1947, a direct legacy of Paula’s tragic and enduring mystery.

Sources:
Paula Welden | Vermont State Police
Disappearance of Paula Jean Welden – Wikipedia
Paula Jean Welden Disappears and the Vermont State Police Are Born – New England Historical Society 

Paula Welden went missing in Vermont in 1946; Her case remains cold 77 years later – masslive.com After 60 years, student’s fate remains a legendary mystery | Local News | benningtonbanner.com
Paula Welden
The 1946 Disappearance of Paula Welden on Vermont’s Long Trail – New York Almanack