Virgil LaPanta | The Published Pen

Duluth mystery, Robert Bodin interview

Colleen — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:47:46 +0000

Robert Bodin was a friend of Jerry Tharaldson. It has been said that Robert and Jerry were together the night that Sally and Virgil went missing.

He met Jerry and Sally when he began to rent a house from them on Piedmont Ave in Duluth. It was a three-plex and Robert and his wife Jerryl at the time lived in the basement apartment. Robert had never met any of the LaPlanta family.

The afternoon of the 29th of August, 1978 Jerry and Sally had shown up at Robert’s house. Jerry had made plans with Robert to go out and have a few beers that night. Jerry and Robert had made plans to go out at 7 pm that night. Robert drove to Jerry and Sally’s to pick up Jerry. When Robert arrived he did not go into the house but honked the horn in the driveway. Their first stop was the Amber Flow. They had a couple of beers there and then left. They left the Amber Flow and went over to the Curly’s. They had one beer at Curly’s and left. They went over to Hammonds in Superior after Curly’s. Then headed out to Captain Cliffs and on to Johnny’s. Robert left the bar scene around 12:15 am and was home by 12:30 am. Jerry was left at Johnny’s. Not much more than that in the interview just how he knows people and where he met them, etc.

You can read the interview here:

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

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Duluth mystery Sally Tharaldson & Virgil LaPanta 1978 Part 2

Colleen — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 20:18:36 +0000

This letter was found in the Police files. It names Jerry Lee Tharaldson and Robert Brodin as drinking buddies who were out the night before and into the late hours of the morning on 31 August 1978 when Sally and Virgil went missing. It is unknown who wrote this letter. I will be going over Robert Brodin’s interview next!

Here is a look at the first page. The whole file can be viewed below the first page.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

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Duluth mystery Sally Tharaldson & Virgil LaPanta 1978 part 1

Colleen — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 01:44:47 +0000

IT’s just a mystery!

Sally Tharaldson and Virgil LaPanta went missing on 30 August 1978 in Duluth. Five years later they were found in Lake Superior 31 August 1983. The Philip R. Clark dropped its anchor and when they pulled it up, Sally Tharaldson’s car was on the end of it. It is unknown how they drove off the pier, it’s been said Sally Tharaldson would never have gone there at 2 am.

Two bodies found in a car that was pulled…
UPI Archives ⋅ Aug. 31, 1983

DULUTH, Minn. — Two bodies found in a car that was pulled from Lake Superior when a ship’s anchor accidentally snagged it were tentatively identified as a man and a woman who disappeared exactly five years before. Police tentatively identified the bodies as Virgil Lapanta, a longshoreman at the time he disappeared, and Sally Tharaldson, who was driving the car. A 700-foot boat Monday accidentally pulled the car out of the water in the Duluth Harbor when it brought in its anchor. The car and its occupants had been reported missing five years ago to the day that the vehicle was recovered. Duluth police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were investigating the incident.

Found this on a bulletin board:

The double mystery of Sally Tharaldson and Virgil LaPanta are one of Duluth’s dirtiest secrets and many people would rather it die at the bottom of Lake Superior just like they did. For those who remember or care to read this, Sally was a 44-year-old housewife with 5 children & 2 grandchildren.

Her husband was Jerry Lee Wayne Tharaldson former owner of Jerry Lee’s Truck Stop on 28th Ave West & Superior Street. The truck stop was a very popular place until it burned down in the mid-’70s. Virgil LaPanta was a 66-year-old former Longshoreman who due to an injury he sustained was not able to work any longer. He lived alone at the Seaway Hotel. Virgil was harmless, that can’t be said about Sally’s husband. Many people just thought, or were led to believe that Sally and Virgil were drunk and looking for a good time when she drove her car off the pier and into Lake Superior in 1978. For five years they were considered missing persons. Five years to the exact date that they disappeared, the steel ore ship, the Philip R Clarke dropped its six-ton anchor into Lake Superior as it was approaching the harbor berth. Guess what was attached to the anchor when they pulled it up? Yep, Sally’s car, and inside were the perfectly composed bodies of Virgil and Sally. There is tons of information that the family of Jerry Lee either doesn’t know about or would rather it not be talked about. Not just information about the incident talked about but also years and years of activities in Duluth that, how can I say, we’re not family friendly which involved Jerry Lee. I could continue on for pages and pages, but this might be too shocking or not “nice” for those who participate in this blog. This is part of Duluth’s dark past and you will see more coverage regarding this on TV in Duluth & Minneapolis plus a national podcast by a former New York City Prosecutor who is also fascinated with this case. Stay tuned.

I have been going through the interviews that are online! Part 2 will be out soon!

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