Durham police update 60-year-old cold case of missing Bowmanville teen

Durham police have provided new details on what they believe happened to a teen who disappeared in Bowmanville 60 years ago.

In an update on Thursday, Durham Regional Police Service say they believe Noreen Anne Greenley ran away from home while pregnant, likely travelling to upstate New York.

Det. Const. Brad Harnum says the information provided has never been unveiled to the public.

Police say Greenley, who was 13-years-old at the time, has not been seen or heard from since she left her Bowmanville home on Sep. 14, 1963. Durham police took over the investigation in 1995 and have looked into a number of theories surrounding Greenley’s disappearance.

“In 1968, the father of Noreen Greenley came forward to the police with the following information, ‘Noreen did not disappear, she left home,”‘ says Harnum.

Investigators believe she went to Oshawa where she stayed for two weeks, before travelling to Whitby where she stayed for another three weeks. Police said during her time in Whitby she was staying with a couple named Mary and Gary Benson.

Police believe Greenley and another girl travelled from Oshawa to Rochester, New York, crossing Lake Ontario in a 40-foot cabin cruiser called the ‘Mary Bell.’ The boat was owned by a man named ‘Franko.’

They believe she then stayed in a motel or cabins in Syracuse.

Investigators say they have received information that she was pregnant at the time and eventually gave birth to a baby boy.

Three phone numbers have been identified in relation to the case. Durham police say the owners of the numbers have not been identified and are asking anyone who knows the following numbers to contact them

• 781-1373
• 925-3654
• 745-9145

Anyone with any additional information about the case is being asked to contact their local police service.

Police are making a plea to the public for information about a teen girl who went missing in Bowmanville 60 years ago. CITYNEWS/Daniel Frechette