Richard David MARLOW Missing Person Case

Richard David

MARLOW

91

9

White / Caucasian

Male

In the summer of 1944, on the evening of July 18th, nine-year-old Richard David Marlow, affectionately known as "Peewee" due to his small stature, vanished from outside his family home on Beta Street in Etobicoke, Ontario. He was a small boy for his age, standing at just 3'8" and weighing around 50 pounds. Richard had blond hair, blue eyes, and a small scar on his right temple near his hairline. That evening, while his mother and some of his siblings went to the movies, Richard, who had already seen the film, stayed home with his older brother, Gerald. He was last seen riding his sister's bicycle in front of their house. When his mother returned home, the bicycle was found lying in the yard, but Richard was nowhere to be seen. He was wearing a dark blue windbreaker, long blue pants, a striped jersey, and gray cotton stockings with a yellow band. The disappearance of the shy, quiet boy sparked an immediate and extensive search. Family, friends, and neighbors combed the then-rural area of Etobicoke. The Etobicoke police and the army militia were called in to aid the efforts, which included dredging the nearby Etobicoke Creek, but no sign of Richard was ever found. His father, who was serving in the military, returned home to help in the desperate search for his youngest son. Described by his mother as a good child who was scared of the dark and happiest at home, there was no reason to believe he would have run away. In the years that followed, his parents, John and Gertrude, never gave up hope, following up on reported sightings across Canada and even in the United States, and visiting morgues whenever an unidentified child's body was found, though it was never their son. The case of Richard "Peewee" Marlow remains one of Canada's oldest unsolved missing child cases. Over the decades, his immediate family members have passed away, but his memory and the hope of finding answers are kept alive by his extended family. The family plot in Glendale Cemetery has a space waiting for him beside his parents. Toronto Police have continued to investigate the case, even releasing a video in 2020 with family photos in the hopes of jogging someone's memory. Before Richard's last surviving siblings passed away, police were able to collect DNA samples to be entered into the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains database. The disappearance of a young boy from his front yard on a summer evening has left a void in a family for generations and remains a haunting mystery. The overview of the case is a somber reminder of a life interrupted, a family's enduring grief, and the faint but persistent hope that one day, the little boy who vanished so long ago will be found.

Jacket Nylon, Dark Blue, Windbreaker Jewelry Ring, 'K L' Aluminum Pants Blue, Long Shirt Jersey striped Socks Cotton, Grey, Yellow band at top Scar Forehead, Right temple hairline

Jul 18, 1944

Toronto

Ontario

Toronto Police Service-Missing Persons Unit ;

Ontario

[email protected]

416-808-7411

416-808-7411

Law Enforcement

1944-3968723.D22

Toronto Police Service-Missing Persons Unit ;

Blonde

Blue

Blue

No