Post by Scumhunter on Aug 16, 2015 11:19:11 GMT -5
(Above photo credits: Myfoxtampabay.com)
Woodruff Scovell Kelly Jr. aka Woody Kelly was aired on the December 6th, 1989 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Articles confirm he was also aired in the 1990's on America's Most Wanted, although I don't know the exact airing date. Below is the Unsolved wiki description of the case:
"Woody Kelly was a forty-two-year-old investment counselor, but as his number of clients increased, Kelly began to suspiciously start living very well. He moved into a luxurious mansion, purchased four luxury cars, two airplanes, three more homes and six boats. Things were looking very suspicious when Kelly seemingly vanished; staging his death after abandoning his yacht on Lake Michigan. After his disappearance, investors discovered over six million dollars of their money was gone, sent straight into Kelly's own pocket. Seven years later, Woody's wife tried to have him declared dead, but two witnesses appeared to confess that Woody was still alive. Instead of being legally declared dead, Woody Kelly was indicted on eighteen counts of mail fraud and two counts of mail fraud. There is a warrant for his arrest. He is 5'11", 200 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, and would today be 71."
A few more notes:
-Investigators initially believed that Kelly either accidentally drowned in Lake Michigan, voluntarily disappeared or was murdered, possibly by one of the people he allegedly defrauded.
-Seven years after Kelly's disappearance his wife filed suit in Lake County seeking to have her husband declared legally dead so she could collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy.
The insurance company hired its own private investigator because of the suspicious nature and timing of Kelly's disappearance. The company presented several witnesses who testified they had seen Kelly alive in the years after he vanished. That was enough for the judge to rule that there was sufficient evidence to believe Kelly was still alive.
-According to two sworn affidavits, Kelly was spotted at the Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida sometime before 1991. However, as of 2013, federal agents believe Kelly has fled the U.S. Kelly had ties international yachting and sport fishing destinations, so there are many possibilities as to where he may have fled.
Thoughts? This is a very interesting case. I too believe Kelly faked his own death, and the only question is whether he passed away for real or if he's still out there somewhere. Federal agents believe Kelly fled overseas, but we've seen from other long-time cold cases that fugitives sometimes come back to the U.S. even if they went overseas initially. The fact that the Fox Tampa Bay station profiled a CHICAGO Most Wanted case just two years seems to indicate the possibility he may still be in the Tampa, Florida area as of today. The problem with Kelly is he's a guy who could literally be anywhere in the U.S. or overseas.
unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Woody_Kelly
www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/21310995/chicagos-most-wanted-woodruff-kelly-junior
articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-01-23/news/9303171744_1_lake-michigan-busch-gardens-fraud
articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-02-18/news/9402180235_1_lake-michigan-busch-gardens-parking-lot
Admin Note: For tips, please still contact the FBI. However, if you have any other information or news-related updates on this case, you may contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
