The FBI has released a chilling ransom call made after 14-year-old Margaret Ellen Fox vanished to the devastation of her family
A family’s chilling phone call in details every parents‘ worst nightmare – told their daughter had been kidnapped and ordered to pay a ransom for the return of their beloved and missing 14-year-old daughter.
The FBI made public a phone call from 1974 in a fresh bid to find Margaret Ellen Fox, who has been missing for 50 years.
Margaret Ellen Fox was last seen getting off a bus in Mount Holly, New Jersey, her brother accompanied her to the bus stop. She was heading to an interview for a babysitting position.
She was scheduled to meet with a man who identified himself as ‘John Marshall’, according to CNN.
It is thought Marshall told Margaret he would collect her in a red Volkswagen, and witnesses reported seeing a young girl fitting her description alighting from a bus that same morning.
An eerie ransom call was later made to Margaret’s family home just hours after she was reported missing.
The unidentified caller claimed to be holding her captive. In the call, the man chillingly says: “$10,000 might be a lot of bread, but your daughter’s life is the buttered topping.”
The call ended after Margaret’s mother replied: “Who is this?”. The number the horrifying call came from was later traced to a phone booth at a supermarket in a nearby town, Lumberton.
The nature of the call meant authorities immediately knew that Megan’s disappearance was suspicious, believing that she had been kidnapped.
Several other parents complained of men trying to lure their daughters with fake job offers. In 1976, a suspect in her case confessed to involvement in her disappearance but it turned out to be false.
The FBI also announced a reward of up to $25,000 (£19,706) for information leading to an arrest when they released the audio enhanced version of the man’s voice in 2019.
Burlington City Police Chief John Fine said: “The disappearance of Margaret Fox has haunted this community for decades. I want to bring closure to this case and bring home an answer to the Fox family and community.”
Burlington County prosecutor Scott Coffina said: “If someone out there possesses information that could assist the investigators working to solve this mystery, I urge you to come forward.”
Authorities issued a computer-generated image of Margaret, depicting how she might look today at 59.
Margaret is described as having brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a light blue, long-sleeved floral shirt and maroon-coloured flared jeans.
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