Paula Jean Welden — Disappearance Profile

Paula Jean Welden (born 19 October 1928) was a second-year student at Bennington College in North Bennington, Vermont. On the afternoon of 1 December 1946, after finishing a shift in the college dining hall, she returned to her room, changed into walking clothes, and left campus. She took no bag, no extra clothing, and little or no money, and was reportedly under-dressed for the cold — circumstances consistent with an intended short walk rather than a planned departure.

A passing motorist picked her up while she was hitchhiking near campus at about 2:45 p.m. She said she was going to hike the Long Trail off Route 9, near Glastenbury Mountain. The driver dropped her on Route 9 roughly three miles short of that point. Several people reported seeing a young woman on or near the trail that afternoon. After this she was never reliably seen again.

Bennington College closed for several days and students, faculty, family, firefighters and National Guard troops joined organised searches of the Long Trail and surrounding terrain. No trace of Welden and no significant physical evidence were found.

At the time, Vermont had no statewide police force, and the response was coordinated among local sheriffs and volunteers. Criticism of the handling of the search contributed directly to legislative action: within about seven months of the disappearance, the Vermont legislature created the Vermont State Police. The case remains on the Vermont State Police list of unsolved missing-person cases.

No confirmed sighting, no remains, and no physical evidence has been established since 1946. The disappearance is one of several in the same general area over a five-year span that were later grouped by writers under the popular label "the Bennington Triangle." That label is folklore and cultural commentary, not an investigative finding, and PRN does not treat it as evidence of anything.

• Vermont State Police — Paula Welden (official cold-case page)
• The Charley Project

Status as of June 2026: Missing / unsolved. No remains recovered. Open cold case (Vermont State Police).