Dark Downeast - The Suspicious Death of Marcia Moore (Washington)

Episode Date: October 11, 2021

FROM AWAY, 1979: It took over 10 years for remains found in the woods of Stacyville, Maine to finally be identified. Thanks to a true crime podcast, a listener who trusted her gut, and DNA testing, Mr. Christopher Roof had his identity back.With a name and a face to a man previously known as the Stacyville John Doe, one Maine reporter was tasked with learning more about Christopher Roof. It started with a survey of property records in Concord, Massachusetts, but Alex MacDougall’s search took him far beyond New England to another undetermined death in the same family decades earlier and over 3000 miles away.We’re taking a look at the connection Alex MacDougall uncovered and the curious life of Christopher Roof’s mother, Marcia Moore. View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/marciamooreFollow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

It took over 10 years for remains found in the woods of Stacyville, Maine, to finally be identified. Thanks to a true crime podcast, a listener who trusted her gut, and DNA testing, Mr. Roof finally had his identity back. With a name and a face to a man previously known only as the Staceyville John Doe, one Maine reporter was tasked with learning more about Christopher Roof. It started with a survey of property records in Concord, Massachusetts. But Alex McDougall's research took him far beyond New England, to another undetermined death in the same family, decades earlier and over 3,000 miles away. It just makes for a fascinating case that this ended up being

sort of connection to this original missing persons case from 1979. If you haven't already, go back one episode to hear the story of Christopher Roof. Because in this episode, we're taking a look at the connection Alex McDougall uncovered and the curious life of Christopher Roof's mother, Marcia Moore. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East. The positive ID of Christopher Roof in Staceyville, Maine in mid-September 2021 came at a particularly busy time for crime headlines both locally and nationally. We were coming off of the media blitz surrounding the Gabby Petito case, and were still watching and waiting as Dog the Bounty Hunter searched for her former fiancé Brian Laundrie.

The remains of Annalise Heinig were discovered in Falmouth after nearly two years of searching. Two separate discoveries of human remains at landfills in New Hampshire and Maine were keeping state detectives busy. And amongst it all, the Maine State Police announced, via a short press release, the news about Christopher Roof. The cause of death was listed as undetermined, and that was really it for details. The story landed on the desk of Holton Pioneer Times journalist Alex McDougall. He was tasked with learning more about the man who finally had his identity back. So then my editor took it to me and said,

can you find out more about this case? Can you find out anything? And so I just didn't really give me any leads to work with, but I decided I would just do some digging. You know, I basically stumbled upon, I was like, wow, this actually goes pretty deep. Alex moved to Holton just weeks before the world shut down as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. Writing for the Holton Pioneer Times, as well as the Bangor Daily News as the Southern Aroostook County correspondent, was his first position out of graduate school. Previously, Alex lived in Greater Boston for nearly all of his adult life. The county was different, to say the least. While his typical assignments consisted of covering the Canadian-American border closures that impacted residents of main border towns like Holton, the story about Christopher Roof was different.

As he started digging, it only became more incredible. Basically, what I had done is I had started looking at property records in Concord, Mass. Because I had found out from Maine State Police that they confirmed he was from Concord, Massachusetts. Once that happened, I started making the connection between him and his mother, Marsha Moore. I had started and just kind of Googled and I had found, I kind of stumbled upon some kind of like, you know, sites talking about Marsha Moore. I'm like, this can't be the same person. This looks ridiculous. But I was able to confirm that it was in fact, she was the mother of Christopher Roof and it was the very same Christopher Roof whose body was found in Stacyville. Marsha Moore or Marcia Moore as

some sources pronounce her first name disappeared from her home outside of Seattle Washington one winter night in 1979. Two years would pass before any trace of Marcia Moore was ever found. Marcia Sheldon Moore was born on May 22, 1928 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the only daughter to her parents, Robert Lowell Moore and Eleanor Turner Moore. In 1934, Marsha's father Robert and a business partner, Ernest Henderson, started scooping up real estate around the greater Boston area, including two hotels. They'd pay off the back taxes to the city and become the proud owners of failing properties. The third struggling establishment they purchased, a hotel called The Sheraton in Boston, had a large bright electric sign on the roof. That sign became

the namesake for the growing chain of hotels. The Sheraton Hotel chain was born. Marcia's mother Eleanor was a noted artist and book illustrator, as well as an esotericist, and it seemed those maternal influences guided Marcia's own interest in studies. According to Marcia's biography on the Concord Library website, she first married a man named Simons L. Roof and had three children, Louisa, Christopher, and Jonathan, between 1947 and 1953. When Christopher was about four years old, the Roof family packed up and left for an extended trip to India. Marcia and Simons studied Hindu and esoteric religions while abroad

and returned to the States two years later. Marcia went back to school at Radcliffe College, now part of Harvard, and published her senior thesis entitled Astrology Today, a Sociopsychological Survey. A year later, Marcia and Simons were divorced. This is when, as her biography notes, Marcia's life became more, quote, turbulent, unquote. Some sources say that Marcia was estranged from her family. I found her father Robert Moore's obituary and, while his children are listed as surviving family members, it makes no mention of his only daughter. I learned very little about her second husband, Louis Acker, though the marriage

was short-lived. Marcia married her third husband, Mark Douglas, and moved to Maine in 1962. They authored several books together on topics that might have been considered counterculture at the time, titles like Diet, Sex, and Yoga, and Yoga, Science of the Self, as well as Astrology, the Divine Science. The description of Astrology, the Divine Science reads, This unique book will instruct the newcomer, enlighten the expert, and extend the boundaries of contemporary thought. It contains all the information you need to become an expert astrologer, including instructions for casting and interpreting horoscopes. The authors present astrology in a readable manner that enables you to understand basic character, human relationships,

and life trends. Their common-sense approach tells you how you can effectively direct the forces of your destiny by assessing the nature of the assets and liabilities with which you were born. With each new text she authored, Marcia became known as an expert and guru in yoga, astrology, reincarnation, and hypnosis, she believed in the ability to project oneself into a former life. And in 1977, she and her fourth husband, an anesthesiologist named Dr. Howard Altunian, began a long-range experiment together to test the quote, mind-expanding potential, unquote, of a drug called ketamine hydrochloride. Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic reserved for hospital settings and available only to physicians, though reporting by the Spokesman Review in 1979 noted that

it did not appear to be a scheduled substance under the control of federal or state drug laws at the time. At their Alderwood Manor, Washington home, Dr. Altoonian would administer twice-daily megadoses of ketamine to Marcia for a study that reportedly they received FDA approval to conduct. Beginning in 1977 and over the course of 14 months, Marcia Moore took the ketamine and documented her experiences, which she compiled in a new book titled Journeys into the Bright World. The subtitle on the paperback cover read, quote, Pioneering a New Path to Higher Consciousness, a personal account by the extraordinary couple who risked everything to learn its secrets, unquote. Published in 1978, the inner cover of the book features a photo of Howard and Marcia smiling at the camera. Here is the tape-recorded evidence of the struggles they

endured, it reads. The past lives they relived and the joy they found under the guidance of the goddess Ketamine. It's an inner space adventure story, more exciting and more profound than any novel and every word true. crew. On January 14th, 1979, Dr. Altoonian told his wife he was heading to the movies. Marcia stayed behind, according to reporting by Eve Rocket for Maclean's. Marcia wanted to get to bed early so she could get an early start the next day writing her latest book. When Howard returned home around 1am, he saw that his wife's coats, sweaters, and boots were still tucked in the closet, and her prescription glasses still sat on the desk. Her driver's license and passport were there, but Marcia herself was nowhere to be found. The search for Marcia began in full force. Bloodhounds,

helicopters, boots on the ground scouring the frigid temperatures for any sign of her. They traced the graveyard where she liked to walk for any evidence she'd been there. But after a week, the efforts to locate Marcia turned up nothing. Law enforcement narrowed their gaze on Dr. Howard Altoonian, who seemed to have theories of his own. Dr. Howard Altoonian believed his wife's ongoing regular usage of ketamine may have developed into full-on amnesia. It was possible that Marcia wandered from her home under the effects of the drug. When more traditional methods to find Marcia Moore failed, Howard turned to the resources that Marcia would have trusted herself, psychics. Snohomish County Sheriff's Detective Lieutenant Daryl Bemis told the Spokesman Review on January

21st, 1979 that Dr. Altoonian had enlisted the help of several psychics in the Seattle area and beyond. An unnamed woman referenced only as one of the top psychics in the country concluded that Marcia was in Canada, possibly confined in some way. Their home in Elderwood Manor was about two and a half hours away from the U.S.-Canadian border. Investigators took the reports from the various psychics with a degree of skepticism, but told the local press that they weren't automatically discounting the information. Meanwhile, Dr. Altunian himself was considered a prime suspect. A wife goes missing under unexplainable circumstances while the husband is reportedly at the movies?

You take a closer look at the husband. But he apparently passed a polygraph test, giving authorities no further reason to suspect he had anything to do with the disappearance of Marcia Moore. For two years, her whereabouts were unknown. Dr. Altunian continued his search for Marcia, even taking ketamine in hopes to reach her telepathically. Eve Rocket wrote for Maclean's that he carried a syringe of adrenaline in hopes of reviving her wherever she may be found. But his searching, too, was unsuccessful. He ultimately moved back to his home of Detroit, leaving behind the research and studies he pursued with Marcia

and returning to his medical practice. Two years later, in March of 1981, construction workers clearing a lot nearby their home in Washington discovered a partial human skull. Dental records revealed that it belonged to Marcia Moore. Though media reports at the time noted that anthropologists tried to determine if the skull fragment had been buried, therefore indicating foul play, the test was inconclusive. Did an animal drag it from somewhere, or did someone place it there? That area had been thoroughly searched in the weeks following her disappearance. How could searchers have missed it? Unless it hadn't been there all along. The questions mounted, and with no real evidence, the theories swirled, including those by her own family.

Marcia's brother, Robin Moore, did not believe his sister died a natural death. That case has also never truly been solved, so there are definitely conspiracy theories. Another thing that's sort of interesting is that Marcia Moore has a brother. He became famous as a sort of novelist. He wrote two books that were eventually made into movies, The French Connection and The Green Beret. And so he, I guess, was of the belief that she had gotten involved in all this sort of some kind of cult, like a satanic kind of cult sort of thing. And clearly, I'm sure she was hanging out with a bunch of alternative people. But the other thing you've got to keep in mind is that if you've ever seen, I don't know if you've ever seen the movie, The Green Beret, it's a very, it was basically the only like pro Vietnam

war movie made during the Vietnam war. So this, these movies, I think he has a very conservative kind of outlook on life. So it could be from his perspective, you know, they kind of looked like all these weird satanic sex cult people, but it could just have been, you know, alternative countercultural. So I'm not really sure how much to take that at face value. Robin later said in newspaper reports that two years before her disappearance, Marcia told him a witch's coven was trying to kill her. In 1977, he'd received a letter with words of condolences for Marcia's death. Marcia told him on the phone that the group was just trying to freak her out. The letter was a hoax. Today, Marcia Moore's disappearance and death remains unsolved, or at least, her cause of death remains

undetermined. Whether foul play or death from exposure were to blame, it may be difficult to ever know the truth. As for the case of her son, Christopher Roof, that too remains undetermined. They haven't really told me much about it. They're still kind of hush-hush, which generally means they're still, because they're probably, it's still under investigation. They wouldn't, you know, give me any details regarding, you know, the cause of death or anything. All they basically did was after I had sort of started making the connections between Marsha Moore and Christopher Roof, that eventually I did get them to confirm, yes, it is the same person. And obviously there's a lot of details regarding this case.

In doing so, that, you know, warrants further investigation. So the case is still under investigation, which means probably we won't get too many details regarding info from Maine State Police at this time. Alex plans to stay close to the case. It's certainly different from his typical stories up there in Aristic County. There's still a lot we really don't know about, and I'm sure that I'm going to keep my eye on this story. I'm sure we're not finished talking about, you know, the full details of what happened here or even what happened with the mother, Marsha Moore.

If this case comes to light or more people start paying attention to this case, there might be more information that gets revealed or that maybe Maine State Police will come out with more findings or that. But I still think there's a lot to be told in the story that we haven't found out about yet. Christopher Roof was an unidentified John Doe for over a decade before his remains were positively ID'd. Marcia Moore was a missing person for two years until her remains were discovered. Missing persons cases and John and Jane Doe cases don't often receive the media attention they need to help a family find answers. In cases of missing Indigenous women, people of color, and individuals with what some

may consider quote-unquote high-risk lifestyles, the coverage is even more scarce. If there's anything we've learned in the last month of high-profile cases making the news, it's that coverage and attention matters. Even if a crime or foul play isn't involved or suspected, boosting the signal on these names and faces is crucial. I want more Sydney cops in the world who happened to hear a description of a John Doe on a podcast and called it in, giving Mr. Roof his identity back. According to NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, there are 292 unidentified persons cases in New England, 292 humans waiting for their identities to be returned to them, and 638 missing persons cases, 638 families, hundreds of friends waiting for their loved ones to come home. I've heard this database is imperfect. The numbers could be even greater than what's listed for one reason or another.

So I'm going to make a change to Dark Down East to support the search for missing persons in New England. For the remainder of this year 2021, in place of Down East Did You Know Trivia at the end of the episode, I will be sharing information about a missing or unidentified person in New England. It's my hope that you will share their name and face on your own social media channels, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, wherever you hang out on the internet, and help bring these humans home to the people who love and miss them. To begin this effort, I want to bring your attention to two active, ongoing searches for missing Mainers, as well as an unidentified Jane Doe still waiting for someone to come forward with her identity. Nicholas Cross was officially reported missing on June 15, 2021,

after he got out of his sister's car on Howland Road in LaGrange, Maine, and ran away. His sister, Casey Cross, reported that she was trying to take Nick to the hospital for a reaction to a substance. According to the NamUs listing for Nicholas Cross, he was last seen on the lawn of a residence in LaGrange, and the homeowner called 911, but he fled into the woods prior to law enforcement's arrival. Multiple searches of the area have been conducted, and it is unknown if Nicholas was picked up by a motorist. Nicholas Cross is 32 years old, a white male around 5 feet 11 inches tall and 215 to 225 pounds. He has short buzzed brown hair, a mustache and goatee, and blue eyes. His left ear is pierced and he has three tattoos, including a playboy bunny on

one of his legs. He was last seen wearing a black baseball hat, an earring, black shorts, a black sweatshirt with the word Zulu printed in orange letters on the back, as well as black sneakers with white trim. If you see Nicholas Cross, if you've seen Nicholas Cross, or know anything about his whereabouts, please call the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office at 207-947-4585. His photo and contact information for the police is listed at darkdowneast.com slash missing. Terry Tucker Jr. has been missing from Westbrook, Maine since June 20, 2021. His mother, Betsy Tucker Hope, feels that his behavior before he went missing indicates he may have harmed himself.

According to Betsy's interview with the Portland Press-Herald in August of 2021, Terry left without his shoes or wallet, but with items he could have used to harm himself. The wooded area near her home is vast and thick with brush and treacherous terrain. Betsy has spent days searching for Terry, but has not turned up any sign of him. Westbrook police say that based on tips and sightings, they had reason to believe Terry Tucker Jr. was still alive as of August 2021, and therefore other resources, such as a cadaver dog, could not be brought in to assist the search. There is not enough evidence, according to Westbrook Police, of dying by suicide to warrant those actions.

Sightings have been reported in Portland, Maine, near Riverton Drive, Marginal Way, and Temple Street. Terry Tucker Jr. was last seen wearing a gray hoodie, gray shorts, and blue sneakers. However, his mother maintains that he left without shoes. He is 32 years old, a white male around 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 150 to 160 pounds. He has blue eyes and close-cropped brown hair. He has a large scar on the right side of his neck and distinctive tattoos. Tucker with tribal symbols on his upper back, a cross in the middle of his back, and Tucker inside a clover on his right shoulder. If you see Terry Tucker Jr., if you think you have

seen Terry Tucker Jr. or have any information about his whereabouts, please call Westbrook Police at 207-864-0644. His photo and contact information for the Westbrook Police is listed at darkdowneast.com slash missing. On May 22, 2015, a passerby discovered a body in the water of Casco Bay, just a short distance from 4th Street in Portland, Maine. The body was identified as female, possibly between the ages of 30 and 50 years old. Asian descent and 5 feet 1 inches tall and 99 pounds with brown eyes and straight brown hair, about 12 inches long, secured in a ponytail. Her ears are pierced and her eyebrows are cosmetically tattooed. She has a well-heeled scar on the midline of her lower abdomen. It is horizontal and slightly curved, about 6 inches long. She was wearing a jean jacket with a white zip-up

sweatshirt underneath. The word bride was printed in white rhinestones on the back of the sweatshirt. She was also wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a turquoise short-sleeved shirt on top, turquoise jeans, and nude knee-high stockings. To me, the jewelry she was wearing when her body was found is distinctive, and I've posted a photo of the accessories at darkdowneast.com slash missing, and I'll be posting it on the Dark Down East Instagram and Facebook page too. She had a yellow metal quartz watch with white stones around the face, dangling earrings with white metal birds, a yellow metal flower ring with white stones in the middle of the flowers, and a black butterfly hair clip. If any of those details, or if this description rings a bell, if you believe you

might have information about this Jane Doe found in the waters of Casco Bay on Friday, May 22, 2015, please contact the Portland Police Department at 207-874-8479. All of the descriptions, photos, and contact information is listed at darkdowneast.com slash missing. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. Source material for this case is listed at darkdowneast.com. Thank you to Alex McDougall for your help in telling this story. Follow Dark Down East on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to turn on automatic downloads in the top right corner of the app. If you listen on Spotify or another app, same thing, hit follow. That is the easiest way to

support this show and the cases I cover. And if you would like to leave a review or a star rating, that is a huge help. For photos and more information on this case and others, visit darkdowneast.com and follow along on Facebook and Instagram at Dark Down East. Thank you for supporting this show and allowing me to do what I do. I'm honored to use this platform for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones, and for those who are still searching for answers in cold missing persons and murder cases. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East.