Richard Colvin Cox (born 25 July 1928disappeared 14 January 1950) was an American second-year cadet who disappeared from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, on 14 January 1950. On three occasions in the week leading up to his disappearance, Cox was visited by a man whose first name may have been George. According to an eyewitness account from another cadet, the two men seemed to know each other. On the third visit, Cox and "George" left the grounds of the academy and were never seen again. Cox is the only West Point cadet to have disappeared.
Early life
Richard Cox was born in Mansfield, Ohio, on July 25, 1928, the youngest of six children born to Rupert and Minnie (Colvin) Cox. Cox's father died when he was ten years old as the result of a diabetic condition that had gone untreated because the Cox family were practicing Christian Scientists. His mother owned and operated the family business, the Rupert F. Cox Insurance Agency.
Cox graduated from Mansfield Senior High School in 1946. During his high school years, he told a friend he did not have time to participate on athletic teams because he always had an after-school job. In fact, he was sophomore class president, a member of the National Honor Society, an intramural athlete, a member of Hi-Y (High School YMCA) and the sports editor for the school's yearbook.
During summer vacations in his teen years, Cox worked full-time. While working on a road crew in Mansfield, he fell and cut his arm on a scythe. He went home for help from his mother, who refused to obtain medical aid because of her Christian Science beliefs. The injury became infected and a neighbor brought Cox to a doctor. Cox's cut healed, but he sustained a prominent scar.
Military career
After high school, Cox volunteered for the United States Army, completed initial processing at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and underwent basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was then assigned to the United States Constabulary, which carried out police occupation and security duties in Allied-occupied Germany, and attained the rank of sergeant. In May 1947 he began an assignment with Troop C, 6th Constabulary Squadron, based in Coburg. He was later assigned to the 6th Squadron's Headquarters Company, where he worked in the S-2 (intelligence) section. When the 6th Squadron was disbanded, Cox was assigned to Troop D, 27th Constabulary Squadron, in Schweinfurt. Cox was a basketball fan, and while in Germany played guard on his units' intramural teams.
Later in 1947, Cox received an appointment to West Point; he arrived at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (then located at Stewart Field) in January 1948. His prep school classmates included Ernest Shotwell, who later became an important source on Cox's disappearance when he provided an eyewitness account that indicated Cox had disappeared voluntarily and was deliberately avoiding contact with his family.
Cox entered West Point in May 1948 and performed well; academically, he was ranked about 100th of 550. He also took part in extracurricular activities, including West Point's cross-country running team. During his yearling (sophomore) year, Cox was voted his cadet company's (Company B-2) top cadet. Cox was engaged to be married; he and his fiancée, Betty Timmons, planned to wed after his graduation.
Disappearance At 4:45 pm on Saturday, January 7, 1950, a man telephoned Cox's West Point classmate, Peter C. Hains IV, who was acting as Charge of Quarters in Cadet Company B-2 (part of the North Barracks) and answered incoming calls for company members. Hains later said the caller's "tone was rough and patronizing, almost insulting." After he told the man that Cox was not in his room, the man replied, "Well, look, when he comes in, tell him to come on down here to the hotel. ... Just tell him George called – he'll know who I am. We knew each other in Germany. I'm just up here for a little while, and tell him I'd like to get him a bite to eat." Hains later stated he could not be completely certain the name given was "George", as he had answered many phone calls while on duty and that one had not seemed noteworthy at the time; Cox never referred to the man by name.
At 5:30 pm, a man entered Grant Hall—an area where cadets could meet guests—and asked to see Cox. The cadet on duty telephoned Cox to tell him he had a visitor. The cadet later described the visitor as slightly under tall and weighing around . He was fair-haired, had a fair complexion and wore a belted trenchcoat, but no hat. When Cox entered the Hall, he shook hands with the man; the cadet on duty later recalled Cox seemed glad to see him. Cox signed out in the Company B-2 Departure Book, indicating he would have dinner with his visitor at the Thayer Hotel. Cox later admitted to his roommates that they did not dine, but drank from a bottle of whiskey while sitting inside the man's parked car.
Cox returned to Cadet Company B-2, signed in in the Departure Book, took a shower and slept off the effects of the alcohol. As a joke, his roommates photographed him as he slept while slumped over his desk. Later that evening, Cox altered the military time he had written in the Departure Book, changing "1923" to "1823" to make it look as if he had attended the 6:30 pm cadet supper formation. In fact, he had skipped the formation. This detail was not discovered until two years later, when an agent of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) had the Departure Book examined in a laboratory. If the alteration had been discovered when it was fresh in January 1950, Cox could have been charged with violating the Cadet Honor Code. When tattoo sounded at 10:30 p.m. to indicate that lights should be turned off, Cox woke up, ran to the hallway outside his room and shouted something that his roommates thought sounded like, "Alice!" They asked Cox who Alice was, but he said nothing, lay down on his bed and again fell asleep.
The next morning, before attending the Sunday chapel service, Cox mentioned his visitor to his roommates. Cox said the man was a former U.S. Army Ranger who had served in his unit in Germany. Cox also said the man liked to brag about killing Germans during World War II and had boasted about cutting off their genitalia afterward. Another story George supposedly told Cox was about having gotten a German girl pregnant, and then murdering her to prevent her from having the baby. That afternoon, Cox signed out a second time to meet the man, returning at about 4:30 pm. The following six days passed without incident. Cox mentioned his visitor once to his roommates, remarking that he "hoped he wouldn't have to see the fellow again," which gave them the impression he viewed the man with distaste.
On Saturday, January 14, Cox attended a basketball game between Army and Rutgers University. Afterwards, he was seen talking to a man thought to be "George," although the cadet who saw the two talking gave a description that differed from the description given by the cadet who had seen the stranger in Grant Hall on January 7. According to the eyewitness description from January 14, George was "dark-haired and rough looking." Cox returned to his room and mentioned to a roommate that he was signing out to dine with his visitor again, although he appeared "not apprehensive, just sort of disgusted." The two men left the grounds of the academy and vanished.
Official investigation
Cox was supposed to return by 11:00 pm, but when he did not appear, no alarm was raised because cadets occasionally returned late. His continued absence was reported to a superior officer at 2:30 am, but again no action was taken as cadets had been known to stay out all night despite the punishment this would incur. On Sunday morning, Cox's roommates reported all they knew of the matter to their superior; the New York State Police and the CID were informed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also became involved in the investigation.
Three days after Cox's disappearance, a public appeal for information was broadcast on nearby radio stations. A poster and photos were widely circulated, though the initial photo was low quality and from Cox's time in Germany, not a current photo of him at West Point. The grounds of West Point were intensively searched by helicopter and by troops on the ground. The Lusk Reservoir was dragged, the banks of the Hudson River were searched and a nearby pond was drained. The manhunt lasted two months but produced no significant leads.
A search of Army records for a soldier who had served with Cox and matched the description of "George" led almost without exception to individuals who could not have been at West Point at the time of the disappearance. Cox's service in Germany was investigated and revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Though he had occasionally written disparagingly of West Point life in letters to his mother and girlfriend, the theory that he had deliberately deserted was discounted, as he had left behind in his room $87 (about $ in 2023) and two suits of civilian clothes. On March 15, 1950, Cox was listed as absent without leave.
Based on a West Point psychologist's speculation (without evidence) that two single men meeting several times were probably "homosexualist," the FBI looked into the possibility that Cox was gay or bisexual. This inquiry included visiting gay bars in New York City with Cox's roommates to see if they could identify anyone as "George" or if any patrons recognized a photo of Cox. The roommates never saw anyone who fit the description of George, and no one provided reliable information about having seen Cox. Despite these rumors, as well as the third-hand story of a Mansfield store employee who claimed to have caught Cox and another man having sex in the store's basement in 1946, Cox's friends and family discounted questions about his sexual orientation.
Subsequent sightings According to a 2021 blog post by Mansfield author Timothy Brian McKee, a friend of Cox saw him in Mansfield in 1950 but did not reveal the details until decades later. According to McKee, he had heard about town that Mansfield resident Ursula Margaret Unterwagner had seen Cox. In response to his query, Unterwagner, a high school classmate of Cox, confirmed in 2010 or 2011 that she had seen Cox within a week of his disappearance.
Unterwagner said she was walking on Fourth Street when she saw Cox walking along the nearby railroad tracks and immediately recognized him because of his distinctive gait. She assumed he had just disembarked from a train at nearby Union Station and was walking home. They waved to each other, and Unterwagner intended to speak with him as soon as the passing train, which was between them, had traveled beyond where they stood. By the time the train had left, Cox was out of Unterwagner's sight and she never saw him again. According to McKee, Unterwagner did not widely share her experience out of concern that she might be jeopardizing Cox's life or career if he had gone to work for an intelligence agency. She asked McKee not to reveal the story until after her death, reasoning that if she was dead, Cox probably was too, and so no longer needed her protection. Unterwagner died in 2020, and McKee then revealed her sighting of Cox.