Paula Jean Welden

Paula Welden
Newspaper clipping of the case
Born	Paula Jean Welden (1928-10-19)October 19, 1928 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Disappeared	December 1, 1946 (aged 18) Bennington, Vermont, U.S.
Status	Declared dead in absentia
Education	Bennington College
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight	122 lb (55 kg)

Paula Jean Welden (October 19, 1928 – disappeared December 1, 1946) was an American college student who disappeared while walking on Vermont's Long Trail hiking route, the scene of several other unexplained disappearances around this time. The local sheriffs were criticised for their poor investigation, and this led to the creation of the Vermont State Police.

Paula Welden was the eldest of four daughters of the well-known industrial engineer, architect and designer William Archibald Welden (1900–1970) and his wife Jean Douglas (b at Mount Kisco, New York, 1901–d. at Venice, Florida, 1976), née Wilson, of Brookdale Road, Stamford, Connecticut. Employed by the Revere Copper and Brass Company, W. Archibald Welden was the designer of many familiar household utensils, as well as stylish cocktail shakers and other objects. Paula was a 1945 graduate of Stamford High School.

In 1946, Welden was a sophomore at Bennington College in North Bennington, Vermont. Her college dormitory was Dewey House one of the older dormitories on the college grounds, and which remains to this day. She was an art major but, dissatisfied with the faculty and her progress, was contemplating changing her major; she had discovered a newfound love of botany. Welden, a typical student, was sorting out her own interests from those of her parents and was trying to expand her circle of friends. She and her roommate were quite close and both realized how dependent they were on one another for a social life. Paula started to befriend other students and became involved in square dancing and hiking with groups of friends from Bennington College and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Welden worked part-time at the dining hall in The Commons on campus. On Sunday, December 1 she worked the lunch shift. She decided to find and walk a portion of the Long Trail, a few miles from the campus. Paula knew of the famous trail but hadn't yet had an opportunity to hike it. She tried to get some other students to join her that day, but they were busy. Paula went by herself.