Stephen H Ahern's Blog
May 17, 2021
Joan Risch's Disappearance: The Early Police Investigation
Joan Risch's disappearance in 1961 has always been both fascinating and tragic. It happened when I was 12 years old and living in Arlington, MA, two towns east of Lincoln MA, where Joan lived. I have always remembered the case, and after I retired in 2015, I decided to write about it.
My book, A KITCHEN PAINTED IN BLOOD: THE UNSOLVED DISAPPEARANCE OF JOAN RISCH, is the result of my research.
Let me introduce you to the Joan's disappearance by summarizing the early police investigation of the case. We'll start with the discovery that she was missing.
Barbara Barker, who lived across Old Bedford Road from Joan, led Lillian Risch and two of Barbara's children across the road and over to the Risch home at around 4:15 p.m. on October 24, 1961. Lillian had, minutes earlier, come over to the Barker home to tell Barbara that there was no sign of her mother at her family's home, even though her brother, David Risch, age 2, was upstairs in his crib, wet and crying.
Upon entering the Risch kitchen through the house's side entrance, Barbara saw copious bloodstains along the kitchen floor and on some of the walls near the kitchen wall phone. The phone receiver had been disconnected from the wall phone and was balanced on the rim of a trash basket that was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. The basket was full.
Joan was nowhere to be seen, and she failed to respond to any of Barbara's calls for her. Lillian and Barbara made a quick search of the home and then got David out of his upstairs crib and quickly walked him back to Barbara's house directly across the road.
Minutes later, Barbara returned to the Risch home, this time with another neighbor, Jane Butler. They searched the home in more detail, trying not to interfere with the scene. Eventually, they summoned the courage to walk downstairs into the basement. There was no sign of Joan there, but the experience was enough to spook Jane Butler. She left the house and searched for Joan outside. Barbara joined her shortly.
At 4:33 p.m., Barbara called the Lincoln police, while Jane called Fitchburg Paper Co. Joan's husband, Martin, worked for the company as a business development vice president. He, however, was in New York City on business, and the company wasn't able to contact him until around 11:00 p.m. that night. He was in bed in an NYC hotel, but flew home immediately.
Five minutes after Barbara's call, Office Mike McHugh arrived at the Risch home. He questioned Barbara and then began searching for Joan. The Lincoln Police Chief, Leo Algeo, was summoned to the Risch house around 5:00 p.m., and, shortly thereafter, a State Detective Lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police, George Harnois, was also called to the scene. Eventually, the Middlesex District Attorney, John Droney, would also inspect the Risch home that night.
From 6:00 p.m. to the early morning hours of October 25th, state and local police were all over the Risch home, yard and neighborhood. Even the Lincoln Fire Dept. joined in, shining bright lights into the woods around the Risch home. Detectives left the house early in the evening to allow a state police photographer and a chemist to conduct forensic investigations of the home. Then the detectives returned to investigate the interior in exacting detail. Nothing appeared to have been stolen, and there was no sign of forced entry.
Police called hospitals, taxi companies and nearby police departments to see if anyone had interacted with Joan that afternoon. No one had. The police also followed up on early leads, but none panned out.
While the kitchen had a large amount of blood on one side, the rest of the home only had a few scattered blood drops. There was no clear sign of violence either. On the other hand, Joan was missing, and she had left her purse, car keys and asthma medicine in the house and her 1950 Chevy parked in the driveway. A police K-9 from the MSP's Andover MA barracks was brought in, but it was unable to follow Joan's trail farther than the Risch driveway.
A large search was quickly organized that day, and searchers both explored the woods that surrounded Old Bedford Road and those that bordered the state highway, Route 2A, which intersected Old Bedford Road at its southern terminus. Nothing meaningful was found. The search would resume the next day with over 100 searchers and 2 helicopters.
Police also canvassed the neighorhood, talking to neighbors and others found in the neighborhood. Even though people had occupied the houses surrounding Joan's house on 3 sides that afternoon, no one had seen or heard anything indicating a crime or terrible accident had taken place.
Martin Risch was questionned by state and local police at the MSP's Concord, MA, barracks until almost 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, October 25th. He was brought back that afternoon for additional questionning. He said he was as surprised as anyone that his wife was missing.
Despite jumping on Joan's case immediately, almost 60 years' later, her disappearance has not been solved.
Steve Ahern
My book, A KITCHEN PAINTED IN BLOOD: THE UNSOLVED DISAPPEARANCE OF JOAN RISCH, is the result of my research.
Let me introduce you to the Joan's disappearance by summarizing the early police investigation of the case. We'll start with the discovery that she was missing.
Barbara Barker, who lived across Old Bedford Road from Joan, led Lillian Risch and two of Barbara's children across the road and over to the Risch home at around 4:15 p.m. on October 24, 1961. Lillian had, minutes earlier, come over to the Barker home to tell Barbara that there was no sign of her mother at her family's home, even though her brother, David Risch, age 2, was upstairs in his crib, wet and crying.
Upon entering the Risch kitchen through the house's side entrance, Barbara saw copious bloodstains along the kitchen floor and on some of the walls near the kitchen wall phone. The phone receiver had been disconnected from the wall phone and was balanced on the rim of a trash basket that was sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. The basket was full.
Joan was nowhere to be seen, and she failed to respond to any of Barbara's calls for her. Lillian and Barbara made a quick search of the home and then got David out of his upstairs crib and quickly walked him back to Barbara's house directly across the road.
Minutes later, Barbara returned to the Risch home, this time with another neighbor, Jane Butler. They searched the home in more detail, trying not to interfere with the scene. Eventually, they summoned the courage to walk downstairs into the basement. There was no sign of Joan there, but the experience was enough to spook Jane Butler. She left the house and searched for Joan outside. Barbara joined her shortly.
At 4:33 p.m., Barbara called the Lincoln police, while Jane called Fitchburg Paper Co. Joan's husband, Martin, worked for the company as a business development vice president. He, however, was in New York City on business, and the company wasn't able to contact him until around 11:00 p.m. that night. He was in bed in an NYC hotel, but flew home immediately.
Five minutes after Barbara's call, Office Mike McHugh arrived at the Risch home. He questioned Barbara and then began searching for Joan. The Lincoln Police Chief, Leo Algeo, was summoned to the Risch house around 5:00 p.m., and, shortly thereafter, a State Detective Lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police, George Harnois, was also called to the scene. Eventually, the Middlesex District Attorney, John Droney, would also inspect the Risch home that night.
From 6:00 p.m. to the early morning hours of October 25th, state and local police were all over the Risch home, yard and neighborhood. Even the Lincoln Fire Dept. joined in, shining bright lights into the woods around the Risch home. Detectives left the house early in the evening to allow a state police photographer and a chemist to conduct forensic investigations of the home. Then the detectives returned to investigate the interior in exacting detail. Nothing appeared to have been stolen, and there was no sign of forced entry.
Police called hospitals, taxi companies and nearby police departments to see if anyone had interacted with Joan that afternoon. No one had. The police also followed up on early leads, but none panned out.
While the kitchen had a large amount of blood on one side, the rest of the home only had a few scattered blood drops. There was no clear sign of violence either. On the other hand, Joan was missing, and she had left her purse, car keys and asthma medicine in the house and her 1950 Chevy parked in the driveway. A police K-9 from the MSP's Andover MA barracks was brought in, but it was unable to follow Joan's trail farther than the Risch driveway.
A large search was quickly organized that day, and searchers both explored the woods that surrounded Old Bedford Road and those that bordered the state highway, Route 2A, which intersected Old Bedford Road at its southern terminus. Nothing meaningful was found. The search would resume the next day with over 100 searchers and 2 helicopters.
Police also canvassed the neighorhood, talking to neighbors and others found in the neighborhood. Even though people had occupied the houses surrounding Joan's house on 3 sides that afternoon, no one had seen or heard anything indicating a crime or terrible accident had taken place.
Martin Risch was questionned by state and local police at the MSP's Concord, MA, barracks until almost 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, October 25th. He was brought back that afternoon for additional questionning. He said he was as surprised as anyone that his wife was missing.
Despite jumping on Joan's case immediately, almost 60 years' later, her disappearance has not been solved.
Steve Ahern
