A Tangled Web

The Search for Josephine Despard

Today’s story begins about 40 years ago in the City of Olean, New York, a family-oriented community located in Cattaraugus County. The City is about 2 square miles with a population of 14,000 with Cutco Cutlery and Siemens among the industry bases located there.

On February 7, 1984, 26-year-old Josephine Cottone Despard left her family home in Olean, New York and never returned. She was called “Josie” by family and friends, and had been separated from her husband, Ken Despard, at the time she disappeared. At about 5:00 PM that evening, Josie was picked up by 26-year-old Dale Vereecken who resided in the Town of Franklinville, about 20 miles from Olean.  They were reportedly running a quick errand to exchange some stereo components. But Dale Vereecken would later tell police that they instead went to the Olean Mall where they had coffee, and that left Josie left there with some “unidentified” friends. Josie’s family said that when she didn’t return home, they knew something was wrong. Josie’s sister, Doris, told APB Cold Case that she had plans to go to a bingo game that same evening.

One of the natural starting points for a missing person and possible homicide case is to look at those closest to the victim. Police did investigate Josie’s estranged husband who was living in California at the time, and they confirmed through west coast police that he was employed and working out of state at the time of Josie’s disappearance.

As police began their investigation they would come to learn that Dale Vereecken, the man who Josie was last seen with, had tried to cross the border into Canada less than 6 hours after he was seen with Josie. What happened in the hours between the time Vereecken picked up Josie at her family’s home in Olean, New York and his attempt to cross into Canada at 10:30 PM? That was the question that police had, too.  But it just so happened that Vereecken was not able to cross the border. Perhaps it was because he was on parole which meant he was not allowed to leave the country; or maybe it was because he was in possession of marijuana. At any rate, he was denied entry and arrested. Reports indicate that he was charged with at least a parole violation and while being held in custody, he was interviewed by Olean police about Josie.

So why was Dale Vereecken on parole in the first place? According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle[1] archives, Vereecken stole a bottle of whiskey from a liquor store in Canandaigua, New York on October 13, 1979. That same night, he watched a 14-year-old girl hitchhiking as she got into a car, and he jumped in the vehicle right behind her. When the car stopped at a local pizzeria, Vereecken and the girl got out and he began beating her and dragging her to a vacant lot where he raped her. After the assault, the girl ran to the pizzeria and got help. But when police arrived Vereecken was gone. There was no information available on the driver and it is unclear whether he had any connection to Vereecken.

The next night, according to published reports[2], Vereecken forced a 21-year-old female to drive to an abandoned farmhouse in Canandaigua where she was sexually assaulted.[3]  Newspaper reports at the time indicate that the police chief in Canandaigua, located in Ontario County, New York, warned the public about a rash of sex crimes in the area, advising women to be cautious and alert.[4] Philip Povero was an investigator with the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office and was working alongside Canandaigua police in the investigative bureau at the time. Investigator Povero (who would later become the Sheriff of Ontario County) noted, “Although many people think that sex crimes are perpetrated by people that jump out of the bushes and attack, that’s not the case, generally. But in this case, it was.” Povero continued, “It was a situation where people were being assaulted in public places in the evening hours by an unknown assailant… it was something we took very seriously.” He said that Canandaigua police had developed information about a suspect – that suspect was Dale Vereecken. Police in nearby Allegany County (near Ontario County, but not contiguous) had located Vereecken and were holding him at the request of the Ontario County authorities. This led to a physical lineup being conducted which included Vereecken. The two females from the October 1979 sexual assaults were brought in, and the 14-year-old positively identified Vereecken as her attacker. He was charged with sex crimes against both the 14-year-old and the 21-year-old victims. But while awaiting trial, Vereecken attempted suicide in jail and was declared incompetent to stand trial. He was remanded to a New York State psychiatric detention center.[5] But after 6 months under psychiatric care, he was determined to be fit to stand trial and a trial date was set for November 1980. On the second day of trial, it was reported that Vereecken pled guilty to all counts in the indictment.[6] He was later sentenced to 2-6 years in Attica State Prison.[7]

It appears that Vereecken served the minimum of his sentence because, according to the timeline, Vereecken is out of jail and picking up Josie Despard at her Olean home in February 1984. Because of the maximum term of imprisonment, it is logical to assume that he was still on parole for those Ontario County sex crimes.

When Olean police first question Vereecken about Josie Despard’s disappearance, he is in jail for the parole violation. Police impounded his truck but they found no evidence of foul play in regard to Josie. During their investigation, they are unable to identify any of the ‘unidentified friends’ who Vereecken claimed that Josie was with when he said he left her at the Olean Mall. In fact, police said that they were unable to identify anyone who saw Vereecken or Josie at the mall that night.

During the course of their investigation police went to the Vereecken home. It’s described as a rural property of about 20 acres at the time (since then the lot has been subdivided; the Vereecken property is believed to be about 1 acre today), which borders other rural property. One of the neighboring properties that police visited in the early days of the investigation is a location where Dale Vereecken occasionally stayed, and it’s there they find a receipt from Agway – an agricultural and farm supply store – for calcium chloride. The receipt is dated 5 weeks after Josie disappeared. Calcium chloride can be used to fill tractor tires, and police did say that there was a tractor on the Vereecken property, but it can also have other purposes. When APB Cold Case reached out to a representative at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility (STAFSF)[8], they first told us that calcium chloride is not quicklime. Quicklime is sometimes encountered with certain burials to speed up decomposition. STAFSF also told us that while there is not a lot of industry articles about the use of calcium chloride in clandestine graves it is a good desiccant, and, in theory, could potentially limit smells or speed up decomposition.³

The police investigation continued, including some excavation by a backhoe and the draining of a small pond on the Vereecken property, which yielded no signs of a body. Sometime between the spring and fall of 1984, less than 8 months after Josie disappears, 27-year-old Dale Vereecken commits suicide. And if that was not an attention-grabber of itself, Josie’s sister Doris told us about another eerie encounter. She told us that Dale Vereecken’s mother, Edith, came to their home in Olean. “It was like 8 o’clock at night”, she said. “She had a bag of bones and handed it to my mom and said that it could be Josie.” Police were called and the bones were examined by an anthropologist who determined that they were bear bones.

The investigation continued, but with no new leads and no sign of Josie’s body, the case went cold. And then, 6 years after Josie’s disappearance, Dale Vereecken’s mother also commits suicide. She was 57 years old.

Olean Police Captain Robert Blovsky has been in charge of the Josie Despard investigation for several years and said that there are a number of questions lingering in the case.

·      Why did Dale Vereecken try to cross into Canada just hours after Josie goes missing?

·      Why did Dale purchase calcium chloride 5 weeks after Josie’s disappearance?

·      Why did Dale Vereecken commit suicide?

·      Why did Edith Vereecken bring a bag of bones to Josie’s mother?

·      Why did Edith Vereecken commit suicide?

The people who may have held the answers are now dead. But, said Captain Blovsky, Dale had a brother, Dave, who Blovsky thought that might have valuable information. The detective said he does not suspect that Dave had a direct role in her “going missing”, but he thought that Dave may have had involvement after Josie disappeared. So Blovsky interviewed Dave and felt that he was getting close to getting some information. But Dave’s health was failing, and Blovsky knew there was a limited window of opportunity to get that information. So he went to the District Attorney and got a letter of immunity to reassure Dave that he would not be charged with any crime relating to Josie’s disappearance. Blovsky felt that this was his last chance, but unfortunately, Blovsky said that Dave did not offer anything of value.  Police reported that Dave Vereecken “…died a couple years ago.”

Again, the case went cold. But in February 2018, Olean Police received an anonymous letter from someone offering information about Josie’s disappearance. Police have not identified who they think the letter writer is, but Captain Blovsky believes that he knows and says that he has spoken with the person previously. But Blovsky believes the writer is trying to re-direct the investigation. “It wants me to look in a different direction”, said Blovsky. “It talks about there being a lot of drugs being done back then.” Police would not elaborate on the exact content of the letter, but Blovsky said he would love to have the opportunity to speak with the writer of the letter and will travel to wherever he is. Added Blovsky, “It’s time to get all this out.”

For now, the case remains open at the Olean Police Department. In February (2024),  it will have been 40 years since Josie vanished. Her parents have since died, but her brothers and sisters will never forget her, nor will her daughter. Josie’s sister Doris Herrmann told us, “Josie was the oldest, I was the youngest. She and I always had a good relationship, she was protective over me. She gave me clothes; she played Scrabble with me.” And Josie’s brother Robert Herrmann said that his family is still close, and he has warm memories of old times when Josie and their parents were alive and how they all came together on Sundays for dinner no matter how far away they were as they grew up. “I think about her all the time. She had a heart of gold”, adding, “you know, being so kind-hearted, doing anything for anyone, and then for someone to do such evil…”. Josie’s sister Eileen Payne adopted Josie’s daughter, Lois. And today, Lois is a mother herself. Lois told us that she wishes that her mom could have been around to see her reach the milestones in her own life – graduating, buying a home, and the birth of her daughter. Josie’s mother passed away in 2007, and Eileen promised her mom that the family would never give up looking for Josie. Eileen said, “…if it ever came to a point where we did find her and discovered what happened, our family could be at peace and have a service of some sort; and I just don’t feel like we can do that yet, because I totally believe in my heart that somewhere in Olean, someone knows what happened to my sister.”

Olean Police want to hear from anyone who might have information that can help to move this case forward. Captain Robert Blovsky can be reached at 716-376-5673.

LINK TO EPISODE HERE

© 2024 The Spawn Group, LLC; APB Cold Case. All rights reserved

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[1] Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper; December 5, 1980, p. 5

[2] Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper; August 15, 1980, p. 8

[3] Syracuse Post Standard, January 3, 1980, p. 141

[4] Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, November 17, 1980, p. 16

[5] Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 28, 1980, p. 4

[6] Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper; November 15, 1980, p. 2

[7] Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper; January 9, 1981, p. 3

[8] Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, Institute of Forensic Research, Training and Innovation; Sam Houston University; Huntsville, Texas; August 1, 2023