Jean Elizabeth Spangler was born in Seattle, Washington on September 2, 1923 and was an American dancer, model, and bit-part actress in Hollywood films and early television.  She mysteriously disappeared on October 7, 1949 at the age of 26.

Spangler was a divorcee and had a daughter, Christine Louise Benner, with her ex-husband Dexter Benner.  Christine was born April 22, 1944 and was five years old at the time of her mother’s disappearance.  When the divorce was finalized, Dexter was given custody of Christine partly because of Jean’s infidelity during the marriage and also because he claimed she put her partying lifestyle ahead of the needs of her daughter.  Dexter denied Jean the right to see her daughter many times.  It’s also been said that Dexter threatened Jean, saying he could make it to where she would never see her daughter again.  Jean took him to court and  after a long custody battle, Jean won custody of Christine in 1948.  The judge had ruled that Jean’s questionable behavior was in the past and that the little girl’s place was with her mother.

On October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles where she lived with her mother and daughter at about 5 pm.  Spangler’s mother was out of town at the time visiting family.  Spangler left her daughter in the care of her sister-in-law, Sophie, and told her that she was going to meet with Dexter to talk about a late child support payment and then she was going to do work on a movie set.

A clerk at a store near Jean’s home is the last person believed to have seen her.  The clerk said that it appeared Jean was waiting for someone.  There has been no confirmed sightings of her since.

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