Brach, circa 1977

Helen Vorhees Brach
Missing since February 17, 1977 from Rochester, Olmsted County, Minnesota.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

• Age at Time of Disappearance: 65 years old
• Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10"
• Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Red hair; brown eyes. Brach was a bit overweight at the time of her disappearance.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Brach had just finished a checkup at the the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She paid her bill at the clinic and was walking back to the hotel to catch a flight from Rochester to Chicago when she stopped at a gift shop and bought some sundries. Her last words to the clerk are still the subject of much confusion. "I'm in a hurry," she said. "My houseman is waiting." The clerk swears Brach used the word "houseman" and the present tense, although no one was seen with Brach and it was believed that she traveled to Rochester alone.

In July of 1994, Richard Bailey was convicted of conspiring to murder and soliciting someone to murder Brach. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and a fine of 1 million dollars.

Brach is heiress to the Brach Candy Co. fortune and had an estimated net worth of $17 million when she disappeared. The third wife of the president of the E.J. Brach and Sons Candy Co., Brach lived quietly in suburban Glenview after her husband's death in 1970.
She was declared legally dead in 1984.

Source Information:
Crime Library
Northwest Indiana News
Illinois Police & Sheriff's News