12/14/2025
In a confidential mental health report sealed during the 1974 court proceedings of Adirondack Killer Robert F. Garrow in Hamilton County, NY, Mr. Garrow was identified as leaving his home for a time period on July 25th, 1973 before later experiencing an 'episode' that caused him to abruptly return home. Mr. Garrow subsequently fled to the Adirondacks on the very early morning of July 26, 1973. Miss Allen was last seen on July 25th, 1973 in an area that is 45 minutes directly east of Garrow's Syracuse home [along NY Route 5]. According to Mr. Garrow's work record he was scheduled for a regular day off on July 25, 1973. The record indicated that Garrow had in fact worked a normal shift from 8 am to 4 pm the day before. According to a written statement still contained in the overall Garrow case file a witness put a vehicle closely matching the description of Garrow's in the radius of the Allen scene near the time that Allen went missing. Garrow was first linked as a suspect in the Allen case sometime after his capture in August 1973. There in fact remains much more in relation to Garrow's potential connection to the case of Martha Allen.
The following is a portion of a mental health record ordered unsealed in 1977 by the Hamilton County Court in Lake Pleasant, NY:
"Mr. Garrow had been living out a recurrent fantasy of flight and fear. It was early on that morning [July 26] that he slipped out of the house before his wife awoke, on what was to be his final journey to the wilderness area in which he was born and raised. Mr. Garrow had started out once before the previous evening his car, which by then had been stocked with the provisions for what he expected and believed would be his final journey before taking up a solitary life as a fugitive living off the land in the wilds of the Adirondack Mountains. An hour out of Syracuse, however, he was suddenly afflicted with the excruciating headache, nausea, vomiting, and sweating which had so frequently visited him during the chaotic weeks before, and on this occasion caused him to turn back home. His stay home on Wednesday night [July 25] , however, was a brief one, and spent in almost constant watching and readiness for flight, occasioned by his then certain belief that an attempted capture was imminent. And so, on Thursday morning [July 26], in the midst of a thunderstorm, he headed to the woods near Speculator...".
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πππ 21 | ππππππ ππππππ, ππ | 1973
Martha Louise Allen vanished in July 1973 from Oneida Castle, New York. Twenty three days later, her body was found in Black Creek near Verona Beach State Park. Her case has remained unsolved for over fifty years, but the circumstances surrounding her disappearance place it squarely within one of the most dangerous periods in Central New York history.
This was not random.
This was an abduction followed by homicide.
π THE CONTEXT THAT MATTERS
1973 was not a quiet year. Hitchhiking was common. Serial predators were active. Law enforcement was already tracking mobile offenders who targeted women along highways, rural corridors, and secondary roads.
Martha lived on 9th Street in Oneida Castle. She told her grandfather she planned to go to Syracuse. No car was reported. Route 5 ran directly through town and was a known hitchhiking route at the time.
That mattered.
That made her vulnerable.
β±οΈ THE TIMELINE PROBLEM
β’ Last verified sighting: morning of July 25, 1973
β’ Reported missing: July 26
β’ Body discovered: August 17 in Black Creek
That initial delay gave the offender time to move, clean, plan, and choose a disposal site without immediate pressure.
π§ WHY BLACK CREEK MATTERS
Black Creek is north of Marthaβs home.
If she was headed west toward Syracuse, she should never have ended up there.
That tells us one of two things: β’ She was picked up under false pretenses and driven north
β’ Or she was intercepted locally by someone she trusted or felt safe enough to enter a vehicle with
Black Creek is not accidental. It requires familiarity with the area. This was a deliberate disposal location.
β οΈ THE CONDITION OF THE BODY
Marthaβs body was described as partially decomposed after twenty three days in summer conditions.
That raises unanswered questions: β’ Was she held somewhere before death
β’ Was her body stored and moved later
β’ Or was she submerged elsewhere and relocated
Those questions were never fully resolved.
π KNOWN LOCAL PREDATORS ACTIVE IN 1973
β οΈ BERNARD HATCH
Hatch was actively abducting and murdering women in Oneida County during this period. His pattern involved outdoor abductions, rural movement, and water associated disposal sites. He is deceased. Any confirmation now would be forensic, not prosecutorial.
β οΈ ROBERT GARROW
Robert Garrow was active in Central New York at the same time and lived in Syracuse.
According to a confidential mental health report sealed during Garrowβs 1974 court proceedings in Hamilton County, Garrow left his home for a period of time on July 25, 1973, before experiencing an episode that caused him to abruptly return home.
Garrow then fled to the Adirondacks in the very early morning hours of July 26, 1973.
Martha Allen was last seen on July 25, 1973, in an area approximately 45 minutes east of Garrowβs Syracuse home along Route 5.
According to Garrowβs work record: β’ July 25, 1973 was a scheduled day off
β’ He had worked a normal shift from 8 am to 4 pm the day prior
A written statement contained in the broader Garrow case file placed a vehicle closely matching Garrowβs in the radius of the Allen disappearance near the time she went missing.
Garrow was first formally linked as a suspect in the Allen case after his capture in August 1973.
There remains substantially more material tying Garrowβs movements, timing, and mental state to this window.
π§ FROM A MENTAL HEALTH RECORD ORDERED UNSEALED IN 1977
The following excerpt was released by order of the Hamilton County Court in Lake Pleasant, New York:
> Mr. Garrow had been living out a recurrent fantasy of flight and fear. He began a journey on the evening of July 25, believing it would be his final departure before living as a fugitive. Approximately an hour outside Syracuse, he was overcome by severe physical symptoms and turned back. His return home that night was brief and spent in a state of heightened vigilance. On the morning of July 26, during a thunderstorm, he departed again, heading toward the woods near Speculator.
This places Garrow mobile, unaccounted for, and psychologically unstable during the exact window of Martha Allenβs disappearance.
𧬠WHY THIS CASE IS STILL SOLVABLE
Even if suspects are deceased, truth is still attainable.
If Marthaβs clothing or remains still exist: β’ M Vac DNA testing
β’ Touch DNA from seams and fabric folds
β’ Skeletal re analysis for overlooked trauma
β’ Investigative genetic genealogy to confirm or exclude
Silence is not resolution.
π―οΈ THE BOTTOM LINE
Martha Allen disappeared during a year when multiple predators were operating freely across Central New York.
The offender knew the roads.
Knew the water.
Knew the timing.
The question that remains is not whether answers are possible. Itβs why they have never been fully pursued.
