Disappearance | Historical Mysteries | Missing Persons
Bay State College Girl The First of Two in Dual Ominous Mysteries
The strange tale of two deaths and an unsolved disappearance from the same college campus.
--
In the early morning hours of Friday, 13 November 1925, in Northampton, Massachusetts, a young woman named Jean M. Robeson was discovered dead in her dormitory at Smith College by asphyxiation through illuminating gas. However, shortly after Jean's untimely death, another tragedy would befall the institute. At around 8 a.m. that same morning, Alice M. Corbett exited her room in the Clark House dormitory. She may have also had $75 in cash on her person. It would mark the last time she was seen alive by anyone.
After failing to return later, Alice's other friends entered her room to look for clues. They discovered an unsealed note addressed to Alice's mother and written in her handwriting. One line from the letter read as such: "Mother, I am going home." After promptly bringing it to the attention of college officials, and upon examining the letter, the officials concluded that Alice must have been in a "confused" state of mind, and she was subsequently reported missing.
Miss Alice M. Corbett was born and raised in Utica, New York, to parents James and Emma Corbett. She had one younger brother, Edward, who died at age 7 in 1916. Although her age was not listed in the papers, the 1920 United States Federal Census did list her age at 14, making her about 19-years-old at the time of her disappearance. Alice was stated to have been a good student in her junior year; she had a "clear college record" and reportedly enjoyed going on hikes in the Mount Tom area. Before her disappearance, Alice was dating a male college student from nearby Amherst College named Thomas Sterling. She stood at 5'7", was last known to weigh 112 lbs, had gray eyes, a slender build, and a medium complexion. Her hair was also very dark brown with a shingled bob style.
