page_title: Disappearance of Virginia Carpenter
section_title: Personal life
hierarchical_section_title: Disappearance of Virginia Carpenter / Personal life
caption_attribution_description: English: Last known picture of Virginia taken by a friend from Texarkana Junior College
context_page_description: Mary Virginia "Jimmie" Carpenter was a 21-year-old American missing person from Texarkana, Texas, who went missing in Denton in the summer of 1948. Her disappearance remains unsolved. Carpenter was last seen by a taxi driver around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 1948. Numerous individuals have reported seeing her over the years, but none of these sightings have been confirmed. Her mother, Mrs. Hazel E. Carpenter, spent many years helping police chase down rumors and leads. She eventually gave up hope, believing that her daughter was dead, although she still wanted her body to be found. In 1998, Denton police received an anonymous tip that Carpenter was buried at the campus she was supposed to attend, but it turned out fruitless. Countless man-hours and almost a quarter of a million dollars were spent on the investigation. The case is cold but remains open.
  Speculation of Carpenter's disappearance was that the serial killer responsible for the Texarkana Moonlight Murders had murdered her, since she knew three of the victims.
context_section_description: Mary Carpenter was born January 25, 1927 in Texarkana. She was a healthy baby, mostly feeding from Holstein milk which was suggested by her maternal grandfather who eventually gave the family a Holstein cow. She began walking at a young age and as her mother put it, she "inherited a bad streak from me of wanting to walk a little too far from home." To keep her from doing so, Mrs. Carpenter would scare her daughter by telling her that big dogs roamed the streets.
  When she was three, Miss Carpenter rolled down the back steps at her home and hit a tree. X-rays showed that she had no injuries. Three months afterward, she caught a bad case of influenza and could not walk. Her parents diligently searched for a cause for her illness but medical science at the time could not diagnose her. She got better for a while but then a severe attack left her badly crippled.
  The family went through many orthopedic surgeons until one in Memphis, Tennessee found an infection in her right hip bone. It left perforations in it similar to tiny pinholes. Virginia was placed in a contraption for a few months that pulled her leg back into proper position. Too young to understand, Carpenter was given internal medicine, a diet, and the task to sunbathe on the hospital's tar roof for two hours a day for two years. She was able to walk better with the use of a steel brace that fitted into the heel of her shoe which then came up to a leather-rolled "saddle" around her hip. Mrs. Carpenter admitted to making the mistake of placing Virginia in kindergarten while she was still in the brace. Virginia soon became self-conscious and lost weight due to a loss of appetite. She was taken out of school but returned a year later when the brace was removed. She was announced "completely cured" by a specialist when she was 12. She was one of only four complete case histories compiled for the American Medical Association.
  Not long after going to Arkansas High School with her cousin, her father became seriously ill. He died two years later when she was 15. She was not bright in school, but her teachers described her as a child with an unusual amount of common sense and loyalty. She was a quiet girl and rarely participated in activities because she tired easily and had a limp in her right leg from her childhood disease. She joined the band and became a majorette. Because of her participation in activities, she joined a sorority after receiving a bid from each one. After graduating from Arkansas High in 1944, she went to the University of Arkansas to study journalism. After a year, she came home and told her mother that she wanted to go into laboratory technician training but it required something she did not take in high school (science). She went to TSCW from September 1945 until February 1946 when she had to quit and take care of her mother who became ill. She planned on finishing her schooling within a year.
  After her mother became ill, she underwent major surgery. A week later, Virginia was struck with appendicitis and was also operated on. A month later, they were both taken home by an "Aggie" (a student from Texas A&M University) named Mac. Virginia fell in love with Mac, became engaged, and set a date for their wedding. Her grandparents did not approve of the engagement. Three weeks before their wedding date, Virginia broke it off. Virginia's mother said, "I loved Mac because of his fine qualities and because he was so good to me, but I couldn't see their two personalities living together in harmony."
  Virginia soon started working for a clinic. She wanted to be a nurse but knew that her right leg would not support the strenuous hours of being on her feet. She decided instead to be a technician. Mrs. Carpenter revealed that Virginia wanted to be a technician because medical science did not find a cure for her father. Virginia wanted to return to school but worried about finances. She then took a job at an insurance firm because it paid a better salary. She stayed with the firm until August 1947 when she had enough money to go back to school. She started the next m
caption: Last known picture of Virginia taken by a friend from Texarkana Junior College at the yearly picnic in Daingerfield
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