Barbara Jean Aleksivich

Aleksivich, circa 1973; Richard W. Davis in 1973; Davis, circa 2012

  • Missing Since 10/03/1973
  • Missing From Bath, New York
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Age 24 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 140 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A green pullover sweater, a white blouse, a blue and white plaid skirt and brown loafers.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Aleksivich's maiden name is Jones and she may use the last name Flanigan. She wears eyeglasses. Her hair was shoulder-length at the time of her disappearance.

Details of Disappearance

Aleksivich was last seen at the local Elks lodge in the vicinity of Gansevoort Street and Williams Street in Bath, New York on October 3, 1973. She left her husband there and began walking the two blocks to their home in the 100 block of east William Street, but she never arrived and has never been heard from again.

A local man, Frederick C. Bush, was convicted of murdering another woman and burning her body after Aleksivich's disappearance. He served a prison sentence, was released and is now living again in the area. For decades, he was considered a possible suspect in Aleksivich's case. However, in 2020, police announced they no longer believed he was involved. Another suspect, Richard W. Davis, was named after he was identified through DNA as the man who kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed five-year-old Siobhan McGuinness in Missoula County, Montana in 1974.

Davis didn't live in Montana and authorities believe he was just passing through the area when he abducted the child. He is known to have lived on Mail Route Road in Bath, where Aleksivich disappeared, between 1973 and 1976, and possibly for as long as 1968 to 1981. He worked at the Polly-O Dairy and was known to the police; he was arrested multiple times in connection to luring children.

A photo of Davis is posted below this case summary. He died in 2012, without ever being charged in the Montana murder or in Aleksivich's case, but investigators are trying to see if he was involved in other unsolved cases. Aleksivich's disappearance remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Bath Police Department 607-776-2175

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 4, 2021; distinguishing characteristics updated.