Bounded by Becks Run Road , Glass Run Road and E. Carson Street also known as Pa Route 837
40 Acres which is mostly in Baldwin Boro ( Not to be confused with Baldwin Twp.)
Has been the playground for kids and young adults for many decades an abandoned piece of property due to fact of the numerous coal mines under its thickly wooded hill sides it has been lore to many tales and legends none of which seems to bare out . However there has also been its share of Criminal activity as well from underage drinking party's to stolen cars being dumped and stripped to an occasional body dump and suicide victim so as kids you never went alone at least in pairs and with a knife or club as a weapon in case you ran into trouble exploring its vast area and its old coal mine workings all of which have been sealed after couple kids got lost in a mine one time you could also have sticks catch on fire in the many holes from underground mine fires which popped up all thru the property . Supposedly there are still miners body's in one of the old shafts after a collapse and explosion but I have not as yet been able to verify it. There was even an attempt to develop the property which has fallen thru after Charles Betters bought it and wanted to build a casino and race track. He has done some digging and removing of surface coal but that's about it with some housing being built .The Old J&L Steel Research Center is long closed and now a private school for at risk adjudicated youth .
As a young man I spent many a Saturday afternoon exploring the area and luckily never ran into any bogie men but we where always ready. I have been wanting to go back and retrace my foot steps but my health has prevented it.
The place pretty much stayed out of the news till one valentines day in 1980 when a Michael Rosenbloom from Shady side went missing along E. Carson Street where his girlfriends car was found he was driving and Baldwin Police impounded it. and it started a fire storm of controversy that Baldwin Police
covered up or where involved in his disappearance . All of which I believe was a big bunch of Hog Wash and nothing more than a bad decision to CYA regarding the back dated letter when they realized they screwed up and State Attorney General agreed and found no wrong doing on the part of Baldwin Police unfortunately it would put a black mark on them regardless which is a shame they have many highly professional officers on the force as I have interactions with them with customers property's and to see what this force had to go thru was just wrong.
As you read thru the various articles you will see all the controversy and also the fact a mysterious skull showed up during the search which also and has not been identified . So what happened to Michael?
good question.
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site where Michaels car was found |
Was one of his dealers or some one he possibly cheated after him and caught up to him along E. Carson?
Years later A young iron worker and drug user from suburbs would disappear in next door Homestead and it was determined he was killed chopped up and disposed of so it not out of the realm of happening.
This whole area is a hot bed for drug dealing a car wash on Becks Run road I put a security system into in 90's was often the site where junkies from suburbs would meet dealers from St. Clair Village section 8 housing up off Becks Run as the suburban kiddies where afraid to go up there we caught many a suspected drug transaction on the car washes cameras.
Did he end up in the river and drown as a result of his drug use?
never saw that the river was even checked . You also have railroad and an old oil terminal now gone and scrap yard where any of these places checked dd he go for help?
Was he picked up by a robber highway man type killed and dumped some where?
There are always rumors of body's being dumped down old mine shafts and there are documented cases of it happening.
Was he even a victim of a serial killer?
Like I said I really think one has been operating around here
There is also another possibility at that time there where many Russian Immigrants who moved into and around the area and rumors of the Russian Mob operating in the area involved with drugs and if he crossed them.
To make it even more interesting this is also close to where the mysterious B-25 bomber went into the river and was never found also. But thats a story in it self.
They are all possibilities and we will never know till a body is found if ever or some one confesses like in the Homestead case and as far as I know the reward for $25,000 is still being offered. I feel bad for the family not knowing all these years. and hopefully they will have closure some day.