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Disappearance of Beverly Potts

UNSOLVED1951Halloran Park area, Cleveland, Ohio3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Beverly Rose Potts, born April 15, 1941, was the younger of two daughters of Robert and Elizabeth Potts, who lived on Linnet Avenue in a middle-class Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood. Described as quiet, obedient, and notably shy around unfamiliar adults and adolescents, she was a popular student at Louis Agassiz Elementary School and enjoyed music and dance.

On the evening of August 24, 1951, Beverly and her best friend, 11-year-old Patricia "Patsy" Swing, rode their bicycles to nearby Halloran Park to attend the Showagon, an annual children's talent event co-sponsored by the City Recreation Department and the Cleveland Press. Swing left the park around 8:50 p.m. after Beverly chose to stay and watch the remainder of the performances, which she had permission to attend in full. Swing told investigators this was the last time she saw her friend, watching a dance act in the crowd.

Several potential sightings followed the show's end around 9:30 p.m. A 13-year-old boy who knew Beverly reported seeing a girl he believed to be her walking toward home. Other witnesses described a girl resembling Beverly near a parked, battered 1937 or 1938 Dodge coupe occupied by two young men, and an unidentified woman reported seeing a distressed, bound child in the back of a speeding coupe near West 110th Street and Baltic Avenue around 9:45 p.m. None of these sightings were confirmed as Beverly.

When she failed to return home, her family searched the area before contacting police just before 11 p.m. Her bicycle, savings, and belongings were found undisturbed at home. Cleveland Police, led by Detective Chief James McArthur and later David Kerr, launched what became the largest manhunt for a missing person in the city's history at the time, involving over 1,000 volunteers, aerial searches, and dragging of waterways. Her family was cleared of involvement after passing polygraph examinations.

Investigators considered sexual assault the most probable motive, as no ransom demand was ever received, though a man named Frank Dale Davis was later arrested attempting to extort the family with a false kidnapping claim; he was cleared of involvement in Beverly's disappearance and convicted of extortion. Other individuals investigated over the decades — including William Ross Slates, Harvey Lee Rush, William Henry Redmond, and an unidentified man from Maple Heights — were questioned but never charged, and no physical evidence has linked any of them to Beverly's disappearance.

Subsequent decades brought unconfirmed leads, hoax confessions, and a false claim contained in notes found hidden in a Cleveland home in 1994, later disavowed by their author. Beverly's mother died in 1956 and her father in 1970; both believed their daughter's disappearance contributed to failing health. Her sister, Anita, searched for Beverly until her own death in 2006 and placed a memorial stone beside their parents' graves in 1991. The case remains unsolved, with a $15,000 Crime Stoppers reward still active.

Key facts

Victims
Beverly Rose Potts
Date
1951
Location
Halloran Park area, Cleveland, Ohio
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1941-04-15

    Beverly Rose Potts is born in Cleveland, Ohio.

  2. 1951-08-24

    Beverly attends the Showagon children's talent event at Halloran Park with friend Patricia Swing and disappears while walking home afterward.

  3. 1951-08-25

    A statewide manhunt is launched; Detective Chief James McArthur is appointed to head the investigation.

  4. 1951-08-29

    Cleveland News reports the arrest of suspect William Slates, who is later released after his girlfriend provides an alibi.

  5. 1951-09-04

    Warehouse worker Henry Palmer reports sighting a cloth-wrapped human-shaped bundle in the Cuyahoga River; it is never located.

  6. 1951-11-15

    Frank Dale Davis is arrested in a police sting after attempting to extort ransom money from the Potts family with a false kidnapping claim.

  7. 1955-12

    Harvey Lee Rush is arrested in Los Angeles and briefly confesses to a murder investigators link to the Potts case; he recants after extradition to Cleveland.

  8. 1956-05-11

    Beverly's mother, Elizabeth Potts, dies of liver disease.

  9. 1970-02-11

    Beverly's father, Robert Potts, dies alone of heart failure at the family home.

  10. 1973-04

    Police search the former inspection pit of an auto body shop on West 52nd Street following an anonymous 1973 tip; the search proves negative.

  11. 1974

    Retired detectives receive a tip naming a Maple Heights man whose brother alleged he confessed to the abduction; no charges result.

  12. 1988-03

    Convicted child murderer William Henry Redmond is questioned about the Potts case while terminally ill; he declines to make a statement.

  13. 1991

    Beverly's sister, Anita, unveils a memorial stone for Beverly beside their parents' graves.

  14. 1994-02

    Notes found hidden in a Cleveland home during renovation allege a man's guilt in Beverly's death; the author later admits fabricating the claims.

  15. 2000-07

    Anonymous letters begin arriving at the Cleveland Plain Dealer purporting to be a deathbed confession; investigators later conclude they are a hoax.

  16. 2004-12-14

    Documentary Dusk & Shadow: The Mystery of Beverly Potts is first broadcast.

  17. 2006

    Beverly's sister, Anita Potts Georges, dies.

Best coverage

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People

  • David Kerr

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Cleveland Police officer who later assumed leadership of the Potts investigation.

  • James McArthur

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Cleveland Police Detective Chief who headed the investigation into Beverly Potts's disappearance beginning August 25, 1951, until his retirement in 1957.

  • William Henry Redmond

    CONVICTED

    Indicted in 1988 for the 1951 murder of eight-year-old Jane Marie Althoff in Pennsylvania; questioned but not charged regarding Beverly Potts's disappearance. Died 1992.

  • Frank Dale Davis

    CONVICTED

    Arrested in November 1951 for attempting to extort ransom money from the Potts family with a false kidnapping claim; pleaded guilty to blackmail and extortion and was sent to the Ohio State Penitentiary. Cleared by police of involvement in Beverly's disappearance.

  • Beverly Rose Potts

    VICTIM

    Ten-year-old girl who disappeared on August 24, 1951, while walking home from a children's talent event in Cleveland, Ohio; never found.

  • William Ross Slates

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Not applicable — see note: initially arrested as a suspect in August 1951 but released without charge after an alibi was provided; died 1978.

  • Harvey Lee Rush

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Not applicable — see note: briefly confessed to a murder in December 1955 that investigators associated with the Potts case, then recanted; never charged.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Halloran Park area, Cleveland, Ohio

41.4562, -81.7565

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Ten-year-old Beverly Potts vanished while walking home from a children's talent show at Halloran Park in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 24, 1951. Despite a massive manhunt and decades of investigation, she was never found and no one has ever been charged.
Where did the disappearance happen?
Halloran Park area, Cleveland, Ohio.
Who was convicted?
William Henry Redmond (Indicted in 1988 for the 1951 murder of eight-year-old Jane Marie Althoff in Pennsylvania; questioned but not charged regarding Beverly Potts's disappearance. Died 1992.) and Frank Dale Davis (Arrested in November 1951 for attempting to extort ransom money from the Potts family with a false kidnapping claim; pleaded guilty to blackmail and extortion and was sent to the Ohio State Penitentiary. Cleared by police of involvement in Beverly's disappearance.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.
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Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICDisappearance of Beverly PottsWikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. OFFICIAL / AGENCYMissing Person Case — Beverly Pottsnamus.gov · 2026-07-10
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYMissing Child: Beverly Rose Pottsohioattorneygeneral.gov · 2026-07-10