Police Release Chilling Ransom Call 45 Years After Girl, 14, Vanished in Hopes of Cracking Case
Police in New Jersey are hoping a newly released ransom call from a decades-old kidnapping will be the break they need to crack the 45-year-old abduction case.
14-year-old Margaret Ellen Fox boarded a bus in her hometown of Burlington City the morning of June 24, 1974, bound for a potential babysitting job in nearby Mount Holly.
Witnesses saw a girl who matched Fox’s description exit the bus, but she vanished shortly after and has not been heard from since.
The FBI said in a news release that authorities recorded phone calls made to Fox’s home shortly after she was reported missing.
One of those calls, which has been enhanced through new technology, was released this week to mark the 45th anniversary of Fox’s disappearance, and police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for any information that leads to an arrest or conviction.
In the chilling phone call, which was made hours after Fox disappeared, a man appears to demand money in exchange for the teen’s life, saying, “$10,000 might be a lot of bread, but your daughter’s life is the buttered topping.”
A voice on the other line then asks, “Who is this?”
Fox had put out an ad in the newspaper seeking babysitting gigs, and was contacted by a man who called himself John Marshall, the FBI said.
Marshall claimed he needed someone to watch his young son, and arranged for Fox to meet him in Mount Holly on the corner of Mill and High Streets for an interview.
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Authorities later traced Marshall’s call to a phone booth in a local supermarket.
Over the years, both the FBI and the Burlington City Police Department have reexamined the case and its leads in the hopes of discovering what happened to Fox.
“The disappearance of Margaret Fox has haunted this community for decades,” Burlington City Police Chief John Fine said in a statement. “As many local residents and police officers would tell you, they would hear the message every week at the end of church services to pray for a safe return of Margaret Fox. As chief of Police, I want to bring closure to this case and bring home an answer to the Fox family and community.”
Authorities have also released age-processed photos of Fox, who would be 59, hoping that someone might recognize her.
She has brown hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a light blue, long-sleeved, floral-patterned blouse, a checkered waist-length jacket, maroon flared jeans with a yellow patch on one knee, brown sandals and a gold necklace with flowers and a blue stone on it.
Anyone with information is asked to call (973) 792-3000 or (609) 386-0262, extension 211.
