Disappearance of Etta Riel  Etta H. Riel was an American woman who disappeared November 22, 1934 from Worcester, Massachusetts. Her case remains unsolved. In early 1934, Etta Riel was living with her family in Oxford, Massachusetts and attending nearby Worcester State Teachers College. In May she had filed a paternity suit against a local man, Henry Sawin, who she named as the father of her unborn baby. She and Sawin were dating at the time they graduated from Oxford High School in 1932. Sawin moved to Maine to attend Bates College, but he and Riel remained in contact. In September, Riel gave birth to a baby girl. On the evening of November 21, Riel and Sawin spent several hours alone together. Early in the evening, Riel's hairdresser saw her talking with Sawin and, around midnight, an Oxford police officer observed Sawin's car parked in front of the Riel family home. Shortly after midnight, Riel informed her sister that she and Sawin had decided to marry. Stating that they were traveling to New York City that night, she packed a small travel bag and said she would return later in the week to retrieve her baby. She left in Sawin's car. On November 22, the day of the scheduled paternity hearing, Riel's sister encountered Sawin, who denied making any marriage or travel plans with Riel and stated that he dropped her off at Worcester's Union Station hours before. When questioned by police, Sawin said that Riel had admitted to falsely accusing him of paternity and had expressed apprehension about the day's court proceedings. He said he was unaware of where she intended to travel that night and that she may have been suicidal. Sawin's claims seemed supported by letters Riel wrote to friends in October in which she expressed a desire to commit suicide. On December 2, Riel's attorney received a telegram ostensibly signed by Riel directing him to withdraw the paternity case against Sawin. Police later discovered the telegram was ordered from a pay telephone in New York City by a caller who provided a false address. The identity of the sender was never determined. In 1935, several witnesses claimed they had seen or spoken to Riel in the weeks and months following her disappearance, but police were unable to confirm any sightings of Riel subsequent to November 22. Early in the investigation, police discovered that between 2 and 4 a.m. on. the day of Riel's disappearance, the Worcester train dispatcher and station master received three telephone calls to the station's unlisted numbers.