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Minnesota teacher's disappearance remains an unsolved mystery after 50 years

On May 10, 1976, 71-year-old Florence Hector disappeared while traveling from Duluth to Minneapolis; her unlocked 1971 Oldsmobile Holiday was later found abandoned behind the Minneapolis Auditorium.
Suspicion quickly fell on local stockbroker Russell Conwell Moore, who befriended Hector; the Federal Bureau of Investigation found he forged her signature on 20 stock certificates, collecting more than $74,000.
Beyond securities fraud, authorities charged Moore in 1976 with receiving stolen model trains worth about $30,000. He fled after posting a $10,000 bond but was apprehended in Sterling, Colorado.
In March 1978, Judge Miles Lord sentenced Moore to 25 years for federal crimes, though Judge Myron H. Bright dissented, arguing the sentence required explanation potentially linked to Hector's disappearance.
Authorities declared Hector dead in 1980, dividing her estate worth about $200,000 between surviving nieces. Moore died in Edina at age 97 in April 2025, leaving the disappearance an unanswered mystery.

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Minnesota teacher's disappearance remains an unsolved mystery after 50 years

DULUTH — Nearly 50 years have passed since anyone in town can recall seeing Florence Hector, a retired English teacher. Her last known sighting occurred May 10, 1976, as the 71-year-old stopped at Wal-Lee’s Service Station in Duluth to top off her tank and have her tires checked in preparation for a trip to Minneapolis. She never returned. Hector, who lived at Mount Royal Manor, said she was headed to the Ebenezer Society retirement home, report…

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