Josephine Klimczak (c. 1912 - December 24, 1933) was a woman who was struck by a train on Christmas Eve, 1933. She was identified in 1993. She was known as The Girl in Blue before her identification.
Case[]
On December 23, 1933, a woman arrived in Willoughby, Ohio off a Greyhound bus, where she checked into a boarding house downtown at around 8pm. She did not write her name at check-in, but the owner recalled her saying her name was "Kate". The next morning at around 11am, the owner told her how to get to the main bus station. Afterwards, the woman left only to return an hour later appearing worried and headed to her room returning with her suitcase before leaving again. The woman was spotted by multiple eyewitnesses a block south of the boarding house, reaching the end of the street and into a thicket of maple trees, facing a set of railroad tracks. As an eastbound train came down the tracks, the woman dropped her suitcase and ran into the path of the train, striking her at around 65 miles per hour. The woman had no identifying belongings aside from a train ticket to Corry, Pennsylvania, 90 cents, a handkerchief, among other items. She was then know as "The Girl in Blue" after the navy blue skirt she wore.
Identification[]
In December 1993, a local newspaper posted an article commemorating the 60th anniversary of the woman's death. After seeing the article, a reader had recognized the woman. The reader was a Pennsylvania-based real-estate agent who, at the time, was selling the Klimczak family farm in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania. After reviewing court records, the woman was identified as Josephine Klimczak. It has not been determined if Klimczak's death was a suicide or an accident.
Sources[]
- Tipton County, TN
- Josephine Klimczak at Find a Grave POSTMORTEM WARNING