PART 3: The Disappearance of Belinda Van Lith

The Vault

This is part 3 in an ongoing series on the disapperance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.

In part 3 of this series, we explore the criminal history of Timothy Crosby, the main suspect in the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith.

After being released from a state insitution for sexually violent individuals for the December 1974 kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman, two more women escaped from Timothy Crosby.

In 1983, a young woman escaped from his vehicle after being held at knifepoint. In 1987, Timothy Crosby held a young woman captive in his St. Paul apartment for 16 hours. The young woman, who endured hours of violent sexual assault, threw herself out of Timothy Crosby's apartment window. Two men witnessed her escape, and authorities were called in.

For the full details on Timothy Crosby's criminal history, listen to this episode.

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series.

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [e-mail]