In the late spring of 1978, a shadow fell over the small community of Morgan City, Louisiana, with the disappearance of 14-year-old Bertha Yvonne Gould. A Caucasian female with brown hair and hazel eyes, Bertha had recently moved to the area from Yazoo City, Mississippi, to live with her parents. On the evening of May 11th, she and her 15-year-old friend, Judy Ann Adams, were enjoying the lively atmosphere of the Central Catholic High School fair held at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
As the night drew to a close around 11:30 p.m., the two girls began their walk home. It was the last time they were seen by anyone who knew them. A witness later reported seeing Bertha and Judy getting into a white car driven by an unknown man. When neither girl returned home, their families grew frantic, and a search began. Initially considered runaways, the circumstances surrounding their disappearance soon pointed to a more sinister conclusion.
The investigation into the girls' whereabouts took a grim turn two weeks later when Judy Adams's body was discovered in a septic tank in the nearby community of Bayou Vista. She had been bound and strangled. In that same septic tank, authorities found the body of another young woman, 19-year-old Bridget Cantrell Sons, who had been abducted during a robbery at a grocery store in April. The body of the young man taken with Bridget, 17-year-old Gordon M. Canella Jr., was later found in a cane field.
The focus of the investigation quickly centered on one man: Robert Carl Hohenberger. A former sheriff's deputy from California, Hohenberger had a history of violent crime, including the abduction and rape of four women in that state. He had escaped from prison and was living in Louisiana under an alias. Investigators believe he may have used his old police badge to gain the trust of his victims. As law enforcement closed in on him as the primary suspect in the string of abductions and murders that had terrorized the region, Hohenberger took his own life in June 1978, before he could be arrested and brought to justice. A neighbor who had allegedly warned Hohenberger of his impending arrest was subsequently charged with harboring a fugitive.
While the discovery of the other victims brought a tragic resolution for their families, the fate of Bertha Yvonne Gould remains a painful mystery. Her body has never been found, and she is one of two presumed victims of Hohenberger who are still missing. Though he was never tried or convicted for these crimes, authorities remain convinced that Robert Carl Hohenberger was the serial killer responsible for the death of Bertha Yvonne Gould.
