Lost in Time: Althea and Jeffrey Blankinship’s 1973 Disappearance, Suspect’s Escape to Philippines
Suspect Glenn Bagley’s ex-wife Esther Mae Gesler has also been missing since 1976
In 1973, twenty-three-year-old Althea Dayle Blankinship and her four-year-old son, Jeffrey, moved to Port Townsend, close to Puget Sound in Washington. Althea had spent her early life in Virginia before moving to Washington with her family. She graduated from Shoreline High School, Washington, in 1967, and two years later, her son, Jeffrey, was born. Althea set her sights on creating a better life for the pair. Contemporary news articles do not mention whether Jeffrey’s father was in the picture, and it appears he has never been named publicly.
After spending a few years in Shoreline, Althea decided to move fifty miles to Port Townsend, WA. Althea’s parents, Oscar and Mary Marks owned a home in Port Townsend, and she wanted herself and her son to be closer to her parents. The move was a fresh breath of air for Althea and Jeffrey, and the pair rented a room from Glenn Allan Bagley. According to the Port Townsend Leader, Althea and Glenn developed a romantic interest in one another.
Unfortunately, little is known about Althea’s time in Port Townsend. We do know that at the time, Glenn Bagley was…
