http://charleyproject.org/case/barbara-ann-hilton

Barbara Ann Hilton lived in the small, rural village of Montrose, Illinois. In the 1970’s, interracial dating was still very controversial, especially in a farming community like Montrose. But, Barbara had a bit of a wild streak and didn’t let anybody’s opinion stop her from doing what she wanted. In fact, Barbara had a baby daughter that was bi-racial.

On the night of August 4, 1972, Barbara Ann told her parents she was attending a movie with friends and left her daughter with them around 7 pm. Barbara’s boyfriend, however, told police that she had come to his house around 8 pm and stayed until 1 am the following morning. There are conflicting reports about Barbara’s actions on the night of her disappearance. Some reports state that she left her boyfriend’s home at 10 pm (not 1 am) and went to a local tavern where she was approached by two men. In any case, she was never seen again. The green Nova she was driving was found along Illinois 121 a few miles from Montrose. The car was not disabled, but had been moved a few hundred feet from its original position around midnight on August 4. There were flies buzzing around the trunk, but no sign of Barbara or the car keys. A light rain that night washed away all possible fingerprints on the outside of the car and no other evidence was found.

At the time of her disappearance, Barbara was working at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Effingham, IL and attending nursing school at Lake Land College in Mattoon, IL. While she was a reliable employee, she wasn’t a very good student. Her grades were poor and she had plans to transfer to Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in the fall. Some of her friends report that Barbara usually carried a knife for protection but it is unknown whether she’d felt threatened or whether it was just a precaution.

There have been many rumors about Barbara’s disappearance as will happen in any small town. One story is that she ran away because of the turmoil in her family over her interracial dating. Some believe that she left in order to live a secret life. There was an unconfirmed sighting of her in Montrose a week after her disappearance and since a body has never been located, it is possible that she voluntarily went missing. Others believe she was murdered and dumped in an old well that may have since been filled in. This theory may be supported by the presence of flies swarming the trunk of the car, but again, there’s no body or other evidence to prove she’s even dead.

It’s been almost 47 years since Barbara’s disappearance. If she’s still alive she’d be almost 70 years old. Her parents have both passed away without answers, but she does still have family members who deserve to know what happened to her. Any information on Barbara’s whereabouts may be directed to Effingham, IL State’s Attorney’s Office to Investigator Ron Kilman Phone: (217)342-8447 Email: [email protected] Case #: 08-2628

Sources

Charley Project

Find the Missing

Web Sleuths