On a quiet November day in 1951, Betty Klein’s three sons went out to play and never came home. Though the case was closed as a presumed drowning, their bodies were never found—and Minnesota’s oldest cold case remains a haunting mystery.
—–Editor: Britt Aamodt Producer: Amira Warren-YearbyEditorial support: Emily Krumberger Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood
Transcript
Betty Klein always desired to be a mother. And over the years, she was happy to bring five boys into the world. November 10th 1951. Betty’s three youngest boys asked if they could play in Farview park. She obliged and reminded them to be home before supper.
But hours passed. Betty sent her eldest to find them. They weren’t at the park or anywhere.
The search began. Police officers and boy scouts went door to door. After day three…The phone rang. Police reported that the boys' red winter hats were found by the river. Had they drowned?
After five days, the case was closed. But the tips kept coming in. A young woman claimed she saw three kids on the curb-side crying. Some suspected the neighborhood Park groundskeeper who had previously been investigated for murder. Besides, the children’s bodies weren’t found in the Mississippi River. So, Betty and her family never accepted the drowning theory.
The three boys were never found and their disappearance remains a mystery to this day and the oldest cold case in Minnesota.