Nevada : Jean Moore
Photo: Unsolved.com
Laughlin, Nevada, is a small town located at the southern tip of Nevada. It is about 90 miles south of Las Vegas, and because it is right on the Colorado River, it is a popular destination for water-related activities and scenic views. Like its more famous neighbor, Las Vegas, Laughlin is known for its casinos and entertainment options. Visitors can find several hotel-casinos along the riverfront, offering gaming, live entertainment, and various dining options. I had never heard of this town before, but I kept reading about it because it was a scaled-down version of Las Vegas. Laughlin hosts various events and festivals annually, including concerts, car shows, and river regattas.
These events draw locals and tourists and add to the town's vibrant atmosphere. Compared to Las Vegas, Laughlin is often considered a more affordable destination for travelers looking to enjoy casino gaming and entertainment without the higher costs associated with larger cities. There are only about 8000 residents living in this town, according to 2020 census records, but back when a woman named Jean Moore vanished, there were even fewer people. Laughlin, Nevada, is rated 16 out of 100 on neighborhoodscout.com. It is just under the state average for violent crimes, and the same goes for property crimes. So overall, it's not the best, but certainly not the worst either, and that is why we are navigating advocacy in the town of Laughlin this week.
Photo: Unsolved.com
Jean Marie Traxler Moore was a 59-year-old regional bank escrow officer with two grown children when she vanished from a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. This is one of those cases you would have guessed made national headlines because Jean was a well-loved older woman who was financially well-to-do. She was even considered a former honorary mayor of Apple Valley. She was in a relationship with a man named Al Henderson. Al had a multi-million dollar real estate business, so money was not an issue for this couple. In December of 1991, after 20 years of dating, Al asked Jean to marry him, and the couple was finally engaged. A few months later, on April 6th, 1992, the couple decided to make the two-and-a-half to three-hour drive from their home in Apple Valley, California, to Laughlin for a few days of gambling and enjoying each other's company. Al was a gambler, to say the least, so he had earned free hotel nights and dining vouchers at The Colorado Belle Resort. Jean loved gambling at the Flamingo Hilton Hotel and Casino, just half a mile from the Colorado Belle Resort. Side note: The Flamingo is now called the Aquarius Resort, and the Colorado Belle closed because of COVID-19 and has yet to be reopened. Let’s talk about the days leading up to Jean’s disappearance according to Al’s original statements because, honestly, that is all we have to go on. As I said, the couple left on Monday, April 6th, and went to the Colorado Belle Resort; they checked in and then hit the slots for a while. On April 8th, Jean apparently got lucky and won $600 from her favorite slot machine at Flamingo. So on April 9th, in the morning, Jean wanted to go back to the flamingo for a few hours and see if she could win even more at that same machine, so Al said he dropped Jean off at the entrance. He went to look for a parking spot. However, he couldn't find one, so he ended up getting his 1989 Cadillac valeted. He said he walked inside the casino gave the valet slip to Jean, and told her they would meet back up at the hotel at 11:45 am so they could check out of their hotel. Al made his way out to hail a cab to take him the half a mile back to the hotel they stayed in. Unfortunately, no taxi arrived, so Al returned to the Flamingo Casino to talk to Jean. He went straight over to her favorite machine. However, she was not playing, and someone else was there. Al looked around, and when the person occupying her favorite machine got up, Al said he sat down at that spot to wait for Jean to show up. He assumed she went shopping or grabbed food and she would be back soon. Al played the slot machine for about 30 minutes from 945 to 1015, and still no sign of Jean. So he went back to the Colorado Belle Resort and played some poker. The time they were supposed to meet came and went, and at 12:15, Al packed up their belongings because it was time to check out. He made his way back over to the Flamingo. He saw the vehicle in the same spot the valet had put it in hours ago, so he went straight to the Valet to see if Jean had turned in the ticket or if they had seen her. When the valet said the ticket hadn't been turned in and he hadnt seen Jean, Al immediately thought the worst. He filed a missing person report, printed thousands of flyers, put up a 25,000 dollar reward, and hired a helicopter for 1200 dollars to take him up to search from the air over the vast desert.
Jean’s son, deeply concerned about his mother's disappearance, flew into the area to assist. His immediate suspicion fell on Al. Both of Jean’s children felt like Al did not treat their mom as she should she should be treated. He would speak to her in front of people, often enough that her kids had a real problem. This suspicion added a layer of tension to the investigation. Yes, Al appeared to be troubled about his fiance missing, but his accounts of what happened the last few days did not add up to the police. The first thing the police did was get all the surveillance footage from the casino. Even back in 1992, this casino was decked out in cameras. Literally, all areas were on camera, and most had multiple views. The camera showed Al get a valet ticket and walk into the Flamingo casino; however, not once on the 9th did they see any footage of Jean. Additionally, they tried to find her on the 6th, 7th, and even the 8th, which was when she supposedly won the $600, but not even once was she shown on any of the cameras. There was no footage of her walking in the front entrance like Al said she did, no footage of her playing her favorite slot machine, literally nothing that proved Jean was actually in that casino at all over the four days they were there. Al said he sat down at Jean’s favorite slot machine and played for about 30 minutes. Law enforcement and casino security never captured Al in this area, either! So it is looking like Al made this whole thing up. When questioned about the fact that there were no sightings of Jean on camera, he says they must have missed her, and as far as him playing that machine, well, that was their fault too, and they must not have looked at the right machines. Law enforcement and security would double-check that this was the correct set of machines, and you can clearly see there was no sitting there when Al said he was playing. Additionally, only one possible eyewitness could put Jean in Laughlin that week. Apparently, on the 8th, the couple went to a diner for coffee, and a waitress there said she did serve them. Other than that, there is not a single person at the hotel, casino, or any other restaurant who saw Jean there.
Photo: Unsolved.com
Another mystery is that one of Jean’s friends said she saw her and Al at a gas station on the 8th, but this was back in Apple Valley, not Laughlin. This woman swears it was them and knows the date and time, which was in the afternoon because she was attending an event right after they saw each other, and that is how she remembered it. But on the opposite side of that, Al provided his call logs from the hotel room they rented at the Colorado Belle, and he made a call at 4 pm and then again at 759 pm, so there is no way they could have made the drive from Apple Valley in time for both of those stories to be true. I have to side with Al because he had documents to back up his claims unless he paid someone to make those calls from inside their room. How else would that happen? The call at 759 that evening was from Al’s bookkeeper, who says she even spoke with Jean on the phone. They were friends and wanted to chat after Al cleared up the work stuff with the bookkeeper. Do we believe the bookkeeper’s accounts? That would make Al's statements true. He participated in the unsolved mystery episode about Jean’s disappearance and seemed calm, cool, and collected; however, his story changed again here. He said he dropped Jean off at the side entrance, not the front like he told police all those years ago. Did he forget? He would have said that same story repeatedly, which would have been drilled into his head if it were the truth. Lies are harder to remember. Al passed away in 2001 without any answers to what happened to his fiance or whether he took what he did to her to his grave. What would his motive be anyway? It wasn't for money. He had plenty and didnt need hers. They were together for 20 years and were about to get married. They were older, usually more mature, and passed all the drama and fighting. Honestly, I don't know what to think in this case. Usually, I have an opinion, and it does lean towards Al having something to do with it, but then again, who knows? Unless her remains are found or someone comes forward, I don't know if this one will ever be solved. But if there is anyone out there with the information that could help authorities find out what happened to Jean Moore back in 1992, please contact las vegas metropolitan police at (702) 828-3111
