Account
Apr 11, 2011
Jun 19, 2023
Jeffrey
Blankinship
54
3
41 inches
75 lbs
White / Caucasian
Male
In the spring of 1973, a young boy named Jeffrey Dean Blankinship, just three years old, vanished from Port Townsend, Washington, alongside his mother, Althea. The last day they were reportedly seen was March 27, 1973. The pair had plans to embark on an exciting journey to Greece to meet Jeffrey's grandparents, who were vacationing there. Their roommate at the time, Glenn Allan Bagley, told authorities that he had dropped them off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for their trip. From there, they were supposed to fly to New York City and then catch a connecting flight to Greece. However, there is no record of either Jeffrey or his mother boarding any flights that day, and they never arrived at their intended destination. Concerns for the mother and son grew when they failed to make contact with family. Althea was known to be very close with her parents, and she and her mother exchanged letters almost daily. When the letters from Althea abruptly stopped, her mother contacted their roommate, who relayed the story about the airport drop-off. For years, the disappearance was not considered suspicious. However, a significant discovery was made in 2001 when family members found Althea's passport in her parents' home; it contained no entries, making it highly unlikely that she and Jeffrey had traveled internationally. This finding, coupled with the lack of any airline records, cast a dark shadow over the roommate's account of their departure. Further investigation into Glenn Allan Bagley revealed a troubling history. He became the prime suspect not only in the disappearance of Jeffrey and Althea but also in the 1976 vanishing of his ex-wife, Esther Gesler. Authorities discovered letters between Bagley and Althea that indicated they had been in a romantic relationship. Shortly after Esther's disappearance, Bagley moved to the Philippines, where he lived for many years and worked as a civil engineer. He never returned to the United States and passed away from cancer in February 2016. Despite law enforcement's efforts to build a case against him over the years, the disappearances of Jeffrey and Althea remain unsolved, and foul play is suspected. The case is a sorrowful mystery, leaving loved ones with unanswered questions about the fate of a young boy and his mother who seemingly vanished without a trace.
Mar 27, 1973
Port Townsend
Washington
Jefferson County
No
27456
Kent Police Department
Kent
Washington
King County
98032
Jon Thompson
Detective
220 4th Avenue South, Washington
2538565800
Local
Law Enforcement
76-705
Kent Police Department
Brown
Brown
Brown
06/26/2026
