BRIDGES

From page A4

Arkansas women have since participated. Crawford served with the organization for the next 15 years.

On March 2, 1957, Maud Crawford disappeared without a trace. Her husband returned that night to find the home undisturbed but his wife missing. His own frantic search to neighbors and local cafes turned up nothing. Local police stepped into the investigation and also found nothing. A reward of $1,000 was offered by the Camden Police Department for any information on her whereabouts. No one came forward.

A rumor widely circulated at the time alleged that her disappearance was payback by the Mafia in retaliation for the widely publicized attacks and hearings on organized crime led by her former law partner, Sen. McClellan. No evidence ever surfaced to support this theory.

Her husband died in 1969, never certain of what happened to his beloved wife.

Later that year, having no trace of her since her 1957 disappearance and despite not having found a body, authorities declared her legally dead. In 1986, Arkansas Gazette reporter and Camden native Beth Brickell ran a series of articles on the case, hoping to shed some light on the mystery. Brickell alleged that a prominent Camden businessman, Henry M. Berg, arranged for Crawford’s disappearance over a dispute of the will of his aunt, Rose Berg, who intended to leave her oil and timber fortune to three nieces instead. Crawford, who drew up the original will, was Rose Berg’s attorney and court-appointed guardian.

Henry M. Berg died in 1975 and any witnesses to any of his activities in 1957 have also died. However, no one was ever charged or convicted, and the case is still considered open. Brickell has since published her findings into a book, The Disappearance of Maud Crawford.

To this day, no one is certain what happened to Maud Crawford. The tragic disappearance of a respected and beloved figure still haunts Camden.

Dr. Ken Bridges is a Professor of History at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado. Email him at kbridges@ southark. edu.