Key facts
- Name: Paula Jean Welden
- Born: October 19, 1928, Stamford, Connecticut
- Age at disappearance: 18
- Last seen: December 1, 1946, afternoon
- Location: Long Trail near Glastenbury Mountain, Vermont
- Height / build: 5’5″, wearing a bright red parka, light slacks
- Status: Still missing — declared dead in absentia (1956); remains never found
- Investigating agency: Vermont State Police (originally county sheriff; the flawed search led to VSP’s creation)
The girl in the red coat
On the afternoon of Sunday, December 1, 1946, eighteen-year-old Paula Welden left her dormitory at Bennington College — Dewey House — for a hike. She wore a bright red parka and light slacks. She carried no bag, no extra clothes, no money. She told her roommate, Elizabeth Johnson, she was “all through with studies” and was taking a long walk.
She hitchhiked or walked toward the Long Trail trailhead near Woodford. A local contractor, Louis Knapp, picked her up on Route 67A and dropped her at the trail entrance around 4 p.m. Other hikers saw her that afternoon, moving steadily south along the path as the December daylight faded. A couple hiking behind her saw her ahead on the trail — and never passed her, and never saw her turn off.
Somewhere past the Hell Hollow area, her trail ended. She never came back to Dewey House. Her classmates assumed she was studying elsewhere. It wasn’t until the next morning that anyone grew worried, and by afternoon the college called the authorities.
She was never seen again.
Who Paula was
Paula Jean Welden was born October 19, 1928, in Stamford, Connecticut, the eldest of four daughters of William Archibald Welden — an industrial engineer and designer for the Revere Copper and Brass Company — and his wife Jean. She’d graduated from Stamford High School in 1945 and was a sophomore at Bennington College, a bright, well-liked student. In late November 1946 she’d resolved to walk a portion of the Long Trail, a few miles from campus. She tried to get friends to join her. They were busy. She went alone.
Her father, a prominent and forceful man, would later blame the county sheriff for botching the investigation — and he wasn’t entirely wrong.
The search that changed Vermont law enforcement
What followed was the largest search in Vermont’s history to that point: more than 1,000 searchers, aircraft, the FBI, a $5,000 reward. They dragged ponds. They covered brutal December terrain around Glastenbury Mountain. They found nothing — not the red parka, not a footprint, not a single thread.
The criticism of the sheriff’s disorganized, error-ridden investigation was so severe that it led directly to the creation of the Vermont State Police. Paula Welden’s disappearance is the reason Vermont has a state police force.
Her case became the defining mystery of what author Joseph A. Citro would dub the “Bennington Triangle” in 1992 — a cluster of five disappearances between 1945 and 1950 around Glastenbury Mountain, including 74-year-old hunting guide Middie Rivers (1945), 68-year-old veteran James Tedford, who vanished from a bus in 1949, 8-year-old Paul Jepson (1950), and 53-year-old Frieda Langer (1950, whose body was found the following May — the only one recovered).
Paula’s disappearance inspired Shirley Jackson’s 1951 novel Hangsaman. In 1956, she was declared dead in absentia. No remains have ever been found. Nearly eighty years later, the case is still unsolved.
Theories: what might have happened
Lost and exposed. The simplest theory: an 18-year-old in a light parka, no pack, no provisions, hiking into a December afternoon in the Green Mountains, got lost or injured as darkness and cold closed in and succumbed to hypothermia. Supports it: her lack of preparation, the fading light, the brutal terrain. Undercuts it: the largest search in state history found nothing — though 1946 search methods in deep woods were crude, and the mountain keeps its own counsel.
Foul play. She hitchhiked to the trailhead and walked a public trail alone. Someone could have intercepted her. Supports it: the couple behind her who never passed her suggests she left the trail — or was taken off it — between two known points. Undercuts it: no evidence, no suspect, no witness to anything amiss.
The Bennington Triangle lore. Alien abduction, a curse on Glastenbury Mountain, a “vortex.” These are folklore, not theories — but they persist because the facts are so thin. They should be labeled as what they are: stories people tell when the woods give back nothing.
Have information?
Contact the Vermont State Police. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- October 19, 1928 — Paula Jean Welden is born in Stamford, Connecticut.
- 1945 — Graduates Stamford High School.
- 1946 — Sophomore at Bennington College.
- December 1, 1946, ~2:45 p.m. — Leaves Dewey House for the Long Trail.
- December 1, 1946, ~4:00 p.m. — Dropped at the trailhead by Louis Knapp; seen hiking south as daylight fades.
- December 2, 1946 — Reported missing; massive search begins.
- December 1946 — 1,000+ searchers, aircraft, FBI, $5,000 reward; nothing found.
- 1947 — The Vermont Legislature creates the Department of Public Safety and the Vermont State Police, in large part due to her father’s lobbying after criticism of the sheriff’s investigation.
- 1951 — Shirley Jackson publishes Hangsaman, inspired by the case.
- 1956 — Declared dead in absentia; remains never found.
- 1992 — Joseph A. Citro coins “Bennington Triangle.”
- Today — Still missing; nearly 80 years unsolved.
FAQ
Is Paula Welden still missing?
Yes — in the only sense that matters. She was declared dead in absentia in 1956, but her remains have never been found and her fate is unknown. Nearly 80 years later, the case is still unsolved.
Was Paula Welden ever found?
No. No trace of Paula — not her red parka, not any belonging — has ever been found.
How did Paula Welden’s disappearance change Vermont?
The county sheriff’s mishandling of the search was so widely condemned that it led directly to the creation of the Vermont State Police.
What is the Bennington Triangle?
A term coined by author Joseph A. Citro in 1992 for a cluster of five disappearances between 1945 and 1950 around Glastenbury Mountain in southwestern Vermont. Paula Welden’s is the most famous.
How old would Paula Welden be today?
Paula was born October 19, 1928 — she would have turned 98 in October 2026.
What was Paula Welden wearing?
A bright red parka and light slacks — the red coat became the case’s signature detail, and the reason some locals still say wearing red on Glastenbury Mountain is bad luck.
Verification note (October 2026)
Core facts verified against Wikipedia (“Disappearance of Paula Jean Welden”), Seven Days (“Missing!”), the Brave Little State podcast (Vermont Public, Mar 2025), and Bustle’s account of the Hangsaman connection: Paula Jean Welden, born October 19, 1928 in Stamford, CT; 18; Bennington College sophomore; Dewey House; December 1, 1946; red parka with fur-trimmed hood; left ~2:45 p.m.; Louis Knapp ride on Route 67A; father William Archibald Welden (Revere Copper and Brass); declared dead in absentia 1956; VSP created 1947 following criticism of the sheriff’s investigation; Hangsaman (1951) inspired by the case. Minor refinements made: roommate quote corrected to the sourced “all through with studies” / “long walk” account; VSP creation dated to 1947; removed an unverified “50 square kilometers” search-area figure. Gray zone disclosed in-file: declared dead 1956, no remains — case kept with the conflict stated.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Vermont State Police (agency created in the wake of this case).
- News: Seven Days (Burlington, VT), “Does Vermont Have Its Own Version of the Bermuda Triangle?” (2025).
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Paula Jean Welden” and “Bennington Triangle” (retrieved Oct 2026); Vermont Public, Brave Little State (Mar 2025).
- Media: Shirley Jackson, Hangsaman (1951, inspired by the case); Missing podcast (Crawlspace Media), Bennington Triangle series.
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.