Connie Converse

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Ann Arbor Police Department (MI)

Missing From:

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Summary:

Elizabeth Eaton 'Connie' Converse was an American singer-songwriter and pioneer of the modern singer-songwriter genre. In August 1974, at age 50, she disappeared from Ann Arbor, Michigan, after sending farewell letters to family and friends stating her intention to start a new life elsewhere. Her car and body have never been found.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On August 10, 1974, one week after her 50th birthday on August 3, Connie Converse mailed a series of handwritten letters to family and close friends. In these letters, she expressed her desire to leave her current life and start anew, writing in one letter: 'Let me go, let me be if I can, let me not be if I can't. Human society fascinates me and awes me and fills me with grief and joy; I just can't find my place to plug into it.' Her nephew Pete witnessed her walking out to her Volkswagen Beetle, which was already packed with her guitar and belongings. He watched her set her bag on the passenger seat, start the engine, and drive away, waving goodbye. She was never seen again. The letters she sent told different recipients different things—some suggested she was returning to New York, others indicated she would head west. Her destination was unknown, perhaps even to her.

Additional Details:

Prior to her disappearance, Converse had been experiencing significant depression and despair. By 1973, she was burnt out and depressed. Her family noted that she relied increasingly on smoking and drinking in the final period of her life in Michigan. Several setbacks contributed to her deteriorating mental state: the Journal of Conflict Resolution, where she worked as editor and which meant much to her, had moved to Yale at the end of 1972 without her knowledge. Her colleagues and friends had pooled their money to give her a six-month trip to England in hopes of improving her mood, but it had little effect. A subsequent trip to Alaska with her mother apparently made her condition worse. She was also told by doctors that she needed a hysterectomy, which devastated her according to her brother. Following her departure, her family initially conducted informal searches but found no leads. Around 1984, approximately ten years later, her family retained a private investigator to determine whether she had died by suicide or started a new life elsewhere. The investigator advised them that adults have the legal right to disappear voluntarily and advised them to respect her apparent decision. No police missing persons report was filed at the time due to the voluntary nature of her departure. The case was later reported to the Ann Arbor Police Department, which assigned it case number 19-21806. No body or car has ever been found. The case was entered on NamUs as missing person case MP23656. In 2004, decades after her disappearance, animator Gene Deitch played one of her songs on a New York radio show, sparking renewed interest in her life and music. In March 2009, a compilation album titled 'How Sad, How Lovely' containing 17 of her songs was released. In May 2023, author and musician Howard Fishman published a comprehensive biography titled 'To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse.' A 2014 documentary by filmmaker Andrea Kannes titled 'We Lived Alone: The Connie Converse Documentary' explored her life and music through her home recordings, letters, and journals. Her music, recorded in the 1950s, is now recognized as pioneering work in the singer-songwriter genre that predated similar work by Bob Dylan and is celebrated internationally.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 04, 2026