In a poignant case dating back to April 12, 1960, employees of the State Highway Commission stumbled upon a human skeleton in a secluded patch of woods near U.S. Highway 264 in Pantego, North Carolina. This discovery, made next to a dirt road, involved a collection of bones, including a skull, accompanied by the tattered remnants of a print dress and a piece of canvas tarpaulin. Responding to the scene, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office swiftly collected the skeletal remains and handed them over to the Anthropology Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for further investigation.
A crucial lead emerged on June 28, 1960, when the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received information suggesting that Ruth Allen, a 35-year-old Black woman, had been missing from Wilson, North Carolina. This discovery propelled State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Agents and a Deputy Sheriff to secure the dress and tarp associated with the remains. On June 29, the investigative team journeyed to Raleigh to retrieve the dress worn by the deceased, subsequently presenting it to Allen’s family and acquaintances in Wilson County. The dress was positively identified as Rual Allen’s, providing a significant breakthrough in the case.
The investigation took a grim turn when it was revealed that a suspect had been arrested in July 1959 in connection to this case. However, the suspect's opportunity to provide any further information was cut short when he tragically hung himself only 13 hours after his arrest while in the Wilson County jail. The skeletal remains had been uncovered approximately one mile west of Pantego and a mere 100 yards from Route 264, leading authorities to suspect a link to Dewey Topping. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office led the investigation and can be reached at their Washington, North Carolina address or via their contact number. This haunting case remains a poignant reminder of the many unclaimed persons whose stories yearn for closure.
Date Found: 04/12/1960
