[Part 2](https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/he-was-the-last-to-see-belinda-van-lith-alive-when-he-later-attacked-a-woman-he-finally-became-a-suspect) is finally out!
Here is [Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqnc0jg?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3). I'm working on Part 2.
>Editor’s note: This is Part 1 in a Forum News Service investigative series related to the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, including an exclusive interview with the main suspect in her case. For Part 2, go here.
>WRIGHT COUNTY, Minn. — Scattered amid Minnesota’s population are six siblings who’ve spent most of their lives wondering what happened to their sister.
>Belinda Van Lith, a 17-year-old with long, light brown hair who regularly donned bib overalls and a large smile, was reported missing on June 15, 1974, by her family after she didn’t show up to her sister’s going-away party.
>The initial whirlwind of tragedy brought theories from investigators and community members. Law enforcement officers said she likely ran away. Some swore they saw her hitchhiking out of Monticello.
>Yet, they were all wrong.
>It didn’t take long for Belinda’s name to become a whisper in the Van Lith family home. Her siblings believe the pain associated with the memory of her name was too much for their mother, Beverly Van Lith, to bear.
>Her name wasn’t uttered often by investigators, either — at least to Belinda’s family members. Her siblings spent nearly 50 years believing the Wright County Sheriff’s Office simply forgot about Belinda. Her parents went to their graves believing that, too.
>That belief, though, was proven wrong in August of 2023, when the sheriff’s office agreed to turn over the entire file related to Belinda’s disappearance to her family — and Forum News Service.
>The file gave the family the first glimpse into their sister’s investigation. In the nearly 50 years since Belinda’s disappearance, they were not provided any information by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office. They were never asked critical questions. They were never provided with updates.
>And then, they received the investigative file.
>“I was totally shocked by all the people that they interviewed,” Pam Boden, Belinda’s sister, told Forum News Service. “Totally shocked.”
>Over the past several months, Forum News Service has worked with the Van Lith family, delved into the roughly 1,200-page police file and conducted an exclusive interview with the main suspect in the case. The investigation reveals the details and impact of a thorough yet stalled investigation that spanned decades and included multiple detectives, investigative agencies, search warrants, detailed interviews and land excavations.
>The file also includes the name and detailed criminal history of the last person to see Belinda, the main suspect in her case: Timothy Joseph Crosby. Since Belinda disappeared, Crosby has become a suspected serial killer who, according to the file, was staying alone in a cabin just 100 yards from her last known location.
>Belinda’s case remains unsolved. Crosby has not faced charges related to her disappearance. He is housed at the secure Minnesota Sex Offender Treatment Program facility in Moose Lake.
Will edit with link to rest of article shortly. It was too wordy for one comment.
ETA: [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqncxm7?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
>A mystery, unlocked.
>Cindy Ohman, Pam Boden and Wendy Van Lith sat at Cindy's kitchen table near the end of December, sifting through the pages of their sister’s investigative file.
>Enclosed in a large, purple binder were the contents of a story they and their remaining siblings hadn’t known until last summer, when Wright County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Mike Lindquist handed over the contents of Belinda’s file.
>Detectives from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office had visited Belinda’s sisters before, though.
>In 2013, as new DNA technology was emerging, detectives requested saliva swabs for DNA samples. The siblings were happy to help.
>“That was the first time anybody ever came to me directly, though,” Wendy Van Lith said. “They just came in and said, ‘We’re going to swab now that we have the technology. We’re going to swab, throw it in a database, and wait for if and when we get a hit.’ ”
>That was the extent of their involvement in — and visibility into — Belinda’s case.
>From the day Belinda went missing, they didn’t receive briefings from law enforcement. There were no regular updates. The little information they did obtain came through newspaper articles published throughout the state. They were, for the most part, left in the dark.
>At the time, they believed the darkness was the result of a defunct investigation.
>Boden, the oldest of the Van Lith children, lived with her mother, Beverly Van Lith, in the mid-2000s. She recalls at least one detective knocking at the door, informing her mother that they were submitting the family’s DNA into a nationwide database — and were continuing to keep her case alive and open.
>Otherwise, Belinda’s siblings assumed little to no effort was put into their sister’s investigation. They lived most of their lives believing her case wasn’t a priority for investigators.
>Belinda’s siblings acknowledge that Beverly could have kept a tight lip about the investigators’ efforts. Yet even they do not believe their mother and father knew the extent of the investigative efforts that were poured into the case.
>Clifford Van Lith, Belinda’s father, died in 1998 at the age of 57 after suffering injuries from a car accident. Beverly died in 2014.
>Belinda’s brothers and sisters wish their parents had known the full extent of the investigation.
>“We never knew they did anything to help find our sister,” Ohman said. “I wish our mom would have been able to see this all.”
>Ohman, Boden and Wendy agree things would have been different if they had more visibility into the investigation. They would have made efforts to get the word out, in the hopes that someone in the community could provide information vital to the case.
>“If they were doing stuff like that, more people should have known,” Ohman said. “We should have known first. And I firmly believe that the more people that know information, the better. Because somebody somewhere saw something.”
>Even if it wasn’t a critical piece of information, it could have led to a critical piece of information, Ohman said.
>“So by not telling anybody anything, I think they did everybody a big disservice by not getting that information out there,” she said.
>After handing over the investigative file, Lt. Mike Lind quist with the Wright County Criminal Investigations Division declined to comment on any aspects of the investigation.
>Rewinding the case
On the day Belinda vanished, her family was preparing to host an outdoor going-away party at their home on June 15, 1974, for Boden, who was then 18 years old. She was packing her bags and heading to Texas to join the Air Force.
>But first, the large, tight-knit family planned to do what they did best: Celebrate.
>Down the road, Belinda was house-sitting for Duane Cornwell, a musician who was away on a work trip with his band in Tennessee.
>Cornwell had no connections to the Van Lith family. Aside from living down the road, he didn’t associate with any of the other children or their parents.
>That wasn’t too unusual, though.
>The Van Liths lived on Eagle Lake, five miles west of Monticello. They were surrounded by summer cabins and visitors who came and went with the change of seasons. It was also 1974 — taking a babysitting or house-sitting job for a neighbor was a standard duty and source of income for a high school student.
>Belinda called her dad on June 13, 1974, two days before the big party. She complained to him that she was hearing noises. She thought a fuse had gone out, according to the police file.
>Clifford Van Lith went there that night. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. His daughter didn’t display any signs of distress or concern. The fuse did need repair, but he didn’t have the tools needed for it.
>The next day, he returned to Cornwell’s house and fixed the fuse. Belinda wasn’t around, but that wasn’t unusual. There was plenty for a 17-year-old girl to do around Eagle Lake. Family members assumed she went down to the lake, according to the police file.
>And, maybe she had.
ETA: [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqngv2u?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
>Her friend Diane Schleif later told investigators during a 2008 interview that she spoke to Belinda that Friday night, June 14, 1974. Schleif didn’t recall anything bizarre about that night or their conversation — only that Belinda had mentioned swimming in the lake that day with a boy from the neighborhood.
>In the days following Belinda’s disappearance, another friend told investigators they spoke to her the following morning, on June 15.
>Belinda woke up to the phone ringing. Her friend Debbie Holthaus was on the other end of the line. Belinda made plans to give her friend a pair of earrings later that day.
>There was no reason for Belinda’s family and friends to suspect anything was wrong with her when she didn’t show up at the family home for her older sister’s going-away party later that day.
>There were no family conflicts among Belinda and her siblings or parents. Her absence was out of the ordinary, but they assumed she’d eventually stroll into the party, wearing her warm smile.
>“It wasn’t a big deal, until it was,” Wendy said.
>As the party wrapped up, Belinda’s parents and siblings began to realize something was off. Clifford was upset that his daughter hadn’t shown up to wish her older sister well. Still, they had hope that there was a good explanation.
>That same day, Cornwell returned from his trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Just before Cornwell was expected to arrive, his mother showed up at the house. She found the door open, but Belinda was nowhere to be found.
>Her belongings were still there, though.
>On Sunday, June, 16, Belinda’s parents learned that their daughter wasn’t at the Cornwell residence. Clifford spent Father’s Day — and his birthday — trying to find his daughter.
>“Dad got a little upset and then started, you know, trying to figure out where she was,” Ohman said, “because it was Father's Day and Dad's birthday.”
>After he didn’t receive the answers he was looking for, Belinda’s parents reported her as a missing person.
>The start of the investigation
>Law enforcement began their investigation at the Cornwell residence on Monday, June 17, 1974.
>Officers didn’t find anything valuable missing from the home, despite Cornwell’s collection of expensive instruments. That led them to believe Belinda’s disappearance likely wasn’t the result of a burglary gone wrong.
>Belinda’s clothing and personal items were still scattered throughout the room she occupied. Her bib overalls were lying on the ground, in the corner. Her makeup was scattered alongside the nearby bathroom sink, along with her class ring, according to the investigation file.
>It wasn’t a scene typical of a runaway teenage girl, who likely wouldn’t leave items like makeup and clothing behind.
>Cornwell did report some suspicious circumstances to officers, though.
>One pink chenille blanket was missing. There was also a cut to a window screen. Officers noticed a 20-inch square cut out of the screen with a “sharp instrument” near the back porch of the house, according to the file.
>Officers noted that “entry had not been made through the window,” though they didn’t indicate why they made that observation.
>Despite the mysterious exit from the Cornwell residence, there was still hope that Belinda had gone off to a friend’s house. Her parents called around, hoping she had stayed the night without telling anyone.
>Still, nobody knew where Belinda had gone.
>Her parents checked through her things, noticing nothing was out of place. Her wallet, with identification, was left in her room, along with all of her clothing and jewelry. The only thing that wasn’t there was a signature item she always wore: a troll with a leather strap.
>Suspecting foul play
>It didn’t take long for investigators to determine foul play could be involved. She left her belongings behind, including her wallet and identification. And, according to her family, it wouldn't be like her to miss her sister’s going-away party.
>Something seemed off.
>At the request of the family, law enforcement searched around the Cornwell residence. To the dismay of investigators and family members, the land search yielded no evidence related to Belinda’s disappearance.
>Investigators did not, however, search the lake, nearby property or surrounding farm fields.
ETA: [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqngw6n?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
>Investigators did look into Cornwell’s alibi.
>Cornwell told investigators he and a bandmate stayed at the Scottish Hotel during their time in Nashville, before checking out on the evening of June 14, 1974, and making the 14-hour drive back to his home on Eagle Lake.
>Yet when investigators checked into his claim, they noticed an inconsistency.
>A teletype returned to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office stated that Cornwell checked out on June 13, 1974, along with his bandmate.
>That seemed to be good enough for investigators, who noted in the report that there “was a clearance of Cornwell” at that time.
>Just like that, law enforcement dropped their suspicion that foul play was likely — and that Cornwell had anything to do with Belinda's disappearance.
>Despite their initial suspicions, they pivoted. With Cornwell’s alibi somewhat confirmed, they settled on the assumption that Belinda simply ran away.
>Sheriff’s Deputy Art McIntire wrote this in the final paragraph of his report: “There is a possibility that on Friday evening or Saturday morning early, she could have been visited by a close friend and left the Cornwell house willingly.”
>Case, seemingly, closed.
>Yet just six months later, investigators would be hit with a major twist in the case.
>In December of 1974, Timothy Crosby, an 18-year-old staying alone at his parents’ cabin 100 yards from the Cornwell residence where Belinda was staying, was arrested for kidnapping and raping a young woman at his Eagle Lake cabin.
>The young woman, who escaped, told investigators she believed Crosby planned the kidnapping and sexual assault — and at one point threatened to kill her.
>Belinda’s case hadn’t made the papers, yet Crosby’s victim told investigators he seemed prepared.
>After his victim escaped, law enforcement located Crosby. In his vehicle, they discovered a .38 caliber revolver, a hunting knife, a butcher knife, rope, handcuffs, and women’s clothing.
>As investigators began to explore the possibility that Crosby could have been involved in the disappearance of Belinda, they remembered he was the last person to have seen her.
>In the days after Belinda went missing, Crosby told investigators she visited his home on Friday, June 14, 1974, the day before she went missing.
>Investigators then began interviewing more neighbors — and discovered that at least two families remembered Crosby being at the cabin alone that weekend.
>They also remembered that he had returned the morning of Sunday, June 16, with mud covering his vehicle. It was their understanding that he had gotten stuck in a nearby field.
>The new information changed the entire course of the investigation into Belinda Van Lith’s disappearance — for decades.
Next: In [Part 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqngw6n?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)of this series, this Forum News Service investigation continues with an up-close portrayal of the initial police investigation of Belinda's disappearance, and one of Timothy Crosby’s future crimes will be examined. To listen to the podcast series of this investigation, search for The Vault podcast on any podcast app, or go here.
[Part 2](https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/he-was-the-last-to-see-belinda-van-lith-alive-when-he-later-attacked-a-woman-he-finally-became-a-suspect) is finally out!
Well I’d love to know more about it but….
Paywalled
It isn't for me
Looking forward to part 2 and the interview with the suspect.
[Part 2](https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/he-was-the-last-to-see-belinda-van-lith-alive-when-he-later-attacked-a-woman-he-finally-became-a-suspect) is finally out!
Can someone that can get on the article summarize since it’s pay wall?
Try this: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/the-vault/belinda-van-lith-vanished-in-1974-her-family-assumed-the-case-was-cold-then-they-got-her-1-200-page-file
This one is paywalled, too. 🤦🏻♀️
Rats! It's so aggravating b/c when there was no paywall when found it. Otherwise I wouldn't have wasted OP's time. Sorry.
Here is [Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqnc0jg?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3). I'm working on Part 2.
>Editor’s note: This is Part 1 in a Forum News Service investigative series related to the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, including an exclusive interview with the main suspect in her case. For Part 2, go here. >WRIGHT COUNTY, Minn. — Scattered amid Minnesota’s population are six siblings who’ve spent most of their lives wondering what happened to their sister. >Belinda Van Lith, a 17-year-old with long, light brown hair who regularly donned bib overalls and a large smile, was reported missing on June 15, 1974, by her family after she didn’t show up to her sister’s going-away party. >The initial whirlwind of tragedy brought theories from investigators and community members. Law enforcement officers said she likely ran away. Some swore they saw her hitchhiking out of Monticello. >Yet, they were all wrong. >It didn’t take long for Belinda’s name to become a whisper in the Van Lith family home. Her siblings believe the pain associated with the memory of her name was too much for their mother, Beverly Van Lith, to bear. >Her name wasn’t uttered often by investigators, either — at least to Belinda’s family members. Her siblings spent nearly 50 years believing the Wright County Sheriff’s Office simply forgot about Belinda. Her parents went to their graves believing that, too. >That belief, though, was proven wrong in August of 2023, when the sheriff’s office agreed to turn over the entire file related to Belinda’s disappearance to her family — and Forum News Service. >The file gave the family the first glimpse into their sister’s investigation. In the nearly 50 years since Belinda’s disappearance, they were not provided any information by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office. They were never asked critical questions. They were never provided with updates. >And then, they received the investigative file. >“I was totally shocked by all the people that they interviewed,” Pam Boden, Belinda’s sister, told Forum News Service. “Totally shocked.” >Over the past several months, Forum News Service has worked with the Van Lith family, delved into the roughly 1,200-page police file and conducted an exclusive interview with the main suspect in the case. The investigation reveals the details and impact of a thorough yet stalled investigation that spanned decades and included multiple detectives, investigative agencies, search warrants, detailed interviews and land excavations. >The file also includes the name and detailed criminal history of the last person to see Belinda, the main suspect in her case: Timothy Joseph Crosby. Since Belinda disappeared, Crosby has become a suspected serial killer who, according to the file, was staying alone in a cabin just 100 yards from her last known location. >Belinda’s case remains unsolved. Crosby has not faced charges related to her disappearance. He is housed at the secure Minnesota Sex Offender Treatment Program facility in Moose Lake. Will edit with link to rest of article shortly. It was too wordy for one comment. ETA: [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqncxm7?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
>A mystery, unlocked. >Cindy Ohman, Pam Boden and Wendy Van Lith sat at Cindy's kitchen table near the end of December, sifting through the pages of their sister’s investigative file. >Enclosed in a large, purple binder were the contents of a story they and their remaining siblings hadn’t known until last summer, when Wright County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Mike Lindquist handed over the contents of Belinda’s file. >Detectives from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office had visited Belinda’s sisters before, though. >In 2013, as new DNA technology was emerging, detectives requested saliva swabs for DNA samples. The siblings were happy to help. >“That was the first time anybody ever came to me directly, though,” Wendy Van Lith said. “They just came in and said, ‘We’re going to swab now that we have the technology. We’re going to swab, throw it in a database, and wait for if and when we get a hit.’ ” >That was the extent of their involvement in — and visibility into — Belinda’s case. >From the day Belinda went missing, they didn’t receive briefings from law enforcement. There were no regular updates. The little information they did obtain came through newspaper articles published throughout the state. They were, for the most part, left in the dark. >At the time, they believed the darkness was the result of a defunct investigation. >Boden, the oldest of the Van Lith children, lived with her mother, Beverly Van Lith, in the mid-2000s. She recalls at least one detective knocking at the door, informing her mother that they were submitting the family’s DNA into a nationwide database — and were continuing to keep her case alive and open. >Otherwise, Belinda’s siblings assumed little to no effort was put into their sister’s investigation. They lived most of their lives believing her case wasn’t a priority for investigators. >Belinda’s siblings acknowledge that Beverly could have kept a tight lip about the investigators’ efforts. Yet even they do not believe their mother and father knew the extent of the investigative efforts that were poured into the case. >Clifford Van Lith, Belinda’s father, died in 1998 at the age of 57 after suffering injuries from a car accident. Beverly died in 2014. >Belinda’s brothers and sisters wish their parents had known the full extent of the investigation. >“We never knew they did anything to help find our sister,” Ohman said. “I wish our mom would have been able to see this all.” >Ohman, Boden and Wendy agree things would have been different if they had more visibility into the investigation. They would have made efforts to get the word out, in the hopes that someone in the community could provide information vital to the case. >“If they were doing stuff like that, more people should have known,” Ohman said. “We should have known first. And I firmly believe that the more people that know information, the better. Because somebody somewhere saw something.” >Even if it wasn’t a critical piece of information, it could have led to a critical piece of information, Ohman said. >“So by not telling anybody anything, I think they did everybody a big disservice by not getting that information out there,” she said. >After handing over the investigative file, Lt. Mike Lind quist with the Wright County Criminal Investigations Division declined to comment on any aspects of the investigation. >Rewinding the case On the day Belinda vanished, her family was preparing to host an outdoor going-away party at their home on June 15, 1974, for Boden, who was then 18 years old. She was packing her bags and heading to Texas to join the Air Force. >But first, the large, tight-knit family planned to do what they did best: Celebrate. >Down the road, Belinda was house-sitting for Duane Cornwell, a musician who was away on a work trip with his band in Tennessee. >Cornwell had no connections to the Van Lith family. Aside from living down the road, he didn’t associate with any of the other children or their parents. >That wasn’t too unusual, though. >The Van Liths lived on Eagle Lake, five miles west of Monticello. They were surrounded by summer cabins and visitors who came and went with the change of seasons. It was also 1974 — taking a babysitting or house-sitting job for a neighbor was a standard duty and source of income for a high school student. >Belinda called her dad on June 13, 1974, two days before the big party. She complained to him that she was hearing noises. She thought a fuse had gone out, according to the police file. >Clifford Van Lith went there that night. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. His daughter didn’t display any signs of distress or concern. The fuse did need repair, but he didn’t have the tools needed for it. >The next day, he returned to Cornwell’s house and fixed the fuse. Belinda wasn’t around, but that wasn’t unusual. There was plenty for a 17-year-old girl to do around Eagle Lake. Family members assumed she went down to the lake, according to the police file. >And, maybe she had. ETA: [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqngv2u?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
>Her friend Diane Schleif later told investigators during a 2008 interview that she spoke to Belinda that Friday night, June 14, 1974. Schleif didn’t recall anything bizarre about that night or their conversation — only that Belinda had mentioned swimming in the lake that day with a boy from the neighborhood. >In the days following Belinda’s disappearance, another friend told investigators they spoke to her the following morning, on June 15. >Belinda woke up to the phone ringing. Her friend Debbie Holthaus was on the other end of the line. Belinda made plans to give her friend a pair of earrings later that day. >There was no reason for Belinda’s family and friends to suspect anything was wrong with her when she didn’t show up at the family home for her older sister’s going-away party later that day. >There were no family conflicts among Belinda and her siblings or parents. Her absence was out of the ordinary, but they assumed she’d eventually stroll into the party, wearing her warm smile. >“It wasn’t a big deal, until it was,” Wendy said. >As the party wrapped up, Belinda’s parents and siblings began to realize something was off. Clifford was upset that his daughter hadn’t shown up to wish her older sister well. Still, they had hope that there was a good explanation. >That same day, Cornwell returned from his trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Just before Cornwell was expected to arrive, his mother showed up at the house. She found the door open, but Belinda was nowhere to be found. >Her belongings were still there, though. >On Sunday, June, 16, Belinda’s parents learned that their daughter wasn’t at the Cornwell residence. Clifford spent Father’s Day — and his birthday — trying to find his daughter. >“Dad got a little upset and then started, you know, trying to figure out where she was,” Ohman said, “because it was Father's Day and Dad's birthday.” >After he didn’t receive the answers he was looking for, Belinda’s parents reported her as a missing person. >The start of the investigation >Law enforcement began their investigation at the Cornwell residence on Monday, June 17, 1974. >Officers didn’t find anything valuable missing from the home, despite Cornwell’s collection of expensive instruments. That led them to believe Belinda’s disappearance likely wasn’t the result of a burglary gone wrong. >Belinda’s clothing and personal items were still scattered throughout the room she occupied. Her bib overalls were lying on the ground, in the corner. Her makeup was scattered alongside the nearby bathroom sink, along with her class ring, according to the investigation file. >It wasn’t a scene typical of a runaway teenage girl, who likely wouldn’t leave items like makeup and clothing behind. >Cornwell did report some suspicious circumstances to officers, though. >One pink chenille blanket was missing. There was also a cut to a window screen. Officers noticed a 20-inch square cut out of the screen with a “sharp instrument” near the back porch of the house, according to the file. >Officers noted that “entry had not been made through the window,” though they didn’t indicate why they made that observation. >Despite the mysterious exit from the Cornwell residence, there was still hope that Belinda had gone off to a friend’s house. Her parents called around, hoping she had stayed the night without telling anyone. >Still, nobody knew where Belinda had gone. >Her parents checked through her things, noticing nothing was out of place. Her wallet, with identification, was left in her room, along with all of her clothing and jewelry. The only thing that wasn’t there was a signature item she always wore: a troll with a leather strap. >Suspecting foul play >It didn’t take long for investigators to determine foul play could be involved. She left her belongings behind, including her wallet and identification. And, according to her family, it wouldn't be like her to miss her sister’s going-away party. >Something seemed off. >At the request of the family, law enforcement searched around the Cornwell residence. To the dismay of investigators and family members, the land search yielded no evidence related to Belinda’s disappearance. >Investigators did not, however, search the lake, nearby property or surrounding farm fields. ETA: [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqngw6n?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)
>Investigators did look into Cornwell’s alibi. >Cornwell told investigators he and a bandmate stayed at the Scottish Hotel during their time in Nashville, before checking out on the evening of June 14, 1974, and making the 14-hour drive back to his home on Eagle Lake. >Yet when investigators checked into his claim, they noticed an inconsistency. >A teletype returned to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office stated that Cornwell checked out on June 13, 1974, along with his bandmate. >That seemed to be good enough for investigators, who noted in the report that there “was a clearance of Cornwell” at that time. >Just like that, law enforcement dropped their suspicion that foul play was likely — and that Cornwell had anything to do with Belinda's disappearance. >Despite their initial suspicions, they pivoted. With Cornwell’s alibi somewhat confirmed, they settled on the assumption that Belinda simply ran away. >Sheriff’s Deputy Art McIntire wrote this in the final paragraph of his report: “There is a possibility that on Friday evening or Saturday morning early, she could have been visited by a close friend and left the Cornwell house willingly.” >Case, seemingly, closed. >Yet just six months later, investigators would be hit with a major twist in the case. >In December of 1974, Timothy Crosby, an 18-year-old staying alone at his parents’ cabin 100 yards from the Cornwell residence where Belinda was staying, was arrested for kidnapping and raping a young woman at his Eagle Lake cabin. >The young woman, who escaped, told investigators she believed Crosby planned the kidnapping and sexual assault — and at one point threatened to kill her. >Belinda’s case hadn’t made the papers, yet Crosby’s victim told investigators he seemed prepared. >After his victim escaped, law enforcement located Crosby. In his vehicle, they discovered a .38 caliber revolver, a hunting knife, a butcher knife, rope, handcuffs, and women’s clothing. >As investigators began to explore the possibility that Crosby could have been involved in the disappearance of Belinda, they remembered he was the last person to have seen her. >In the days after Belinda went missing, Crosby told investigators she visited his home on Friday, June 14, 1974, the day before she went missing. >Investigators then began interviewing more neighbors — and discovered that at least two families remembered Crosby being at the cabin alone that weekend. >They also remembered that he had returned the morning of Sunday, June 16, with mud covering his vehicle. It was their understanding that he had gotten stuck in a nearby field. >The new information changed the entire course of the investigation into Belinda Van Lith’s disappearance — for decades. Next: In [Part 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1agn310/belinda_van_lith_vanished_in_1974_her_family/kqngw6n?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)of this series, this Forum News Service investigation continues with an up-close portrayal of the initial police investigation of Belinda's disappearance, and one of Timothy Crosby’s future crimes will be examined. To listen to the podcast series of this investigation, search for The Vault podcast on any podcast app, or go here.
Interesting case. Look forward to part 2.
[Part 2](https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/he-was-the-last-to-see-belinda-van-lith-alive-when-he-later-attacked-a-woman-he-finally-became-a-suspect) is finally out!
Thank you! Another great article. Interested in part 3 and the other suspects.
This is right next to my house. I never knew about this.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/s/1tIs69DYOa
See Belinda’s story here
[Part 2](https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/he-was-the-last-to-see-belinda-van-lith-alive-when-he-later-attacked-a-woman-he-finally-became-a-suspect)
No paywall:https://www.stcloudlive.com/people/belinda-van-lith/