The disappearance of Virginia C. Douglas is labeled a cold case, yes. And I know that sometimes a cold case story can leave you with an incredibly unsettling ending… But here’s the thing about this case — I think the theory that would give us, and more importantly Virginia C. Douglas’s family, some form of closure, is painfully obvious. How a key suspect evaded charges for his entire life is baffling to me, and once you hear the details of the Maine adventure that ended in the disappearance of one woman, you’ll be just as fired up as I am. Where is Virginia C. Douglas?
On the evening of Thursday, September 1, 1988, Virginia C. Douglas and her husband of 46 years, Frank Douglas, decided to do something spontaneous.
Early September is a gorgeous time to visit the coast of Maine, and with Labor Day that Monday in 1988, it was an even more popular time to take off for a long weekend adventure. That’s exactly what Frank had planned for Virginia. He surprised her with a trip to Bar Harbor that night, and told her to pack up quickly so they could start their trip as soon as possible.
The drive from Lexington to Bar Harbor is over 4 and a half hours, so a pit stop or two is expected along the way. Frank first stopped in South Portland where he got a room at the South Portland Motor Inn for the night. After breakfast at Friendly’s the next morning, the trip to Bar Harbor resumed.
Around 5:30 pm, Frank pulled off Route 1 in Belfast and parked the Cutlass in front of Reny’s at 1 Belmont Ave, where Route 1 and Route 3 intersect and not far from the banks of the Passagassawaskeag River.
That’s only about an hour and a half away from Bar Harbor, but Frank said Virginia needed the use the bathroom, so he stopped… Her pocketbook was still on the front seat when Frank said he watched her walk into Reny’s while he stayed behind.
Ten, fifteen minutes go by and Frank got a little antsy.
At the 15 minute mark, Frank decided to go into the store and take a look around, grab some soda and paper cups, and see what Virginia was up to. He left a note on the steering wheel in case she returned in his absence. But when he returned another 15 minutes later, there was still no sign of his wife.
He went back into the store and started weaving the aisles in search of Virgina. When his full-sweep of the store turned up nothing, Frank Douglas called the police.
This case raises so many questions and I want you to hit play and let me know what you think happened to Virginia on that Maine adventure. Did she ever really make it to Maine at all?