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You are here: Home / Unsolved / What happened to Albert Ray McQueen?

What happened to Albert Ray McQueen?

January 27, 2013 By Alice

Lady JusticeWhat happened to Albert Ray McQueen? On March 1979, Albert Ray McQueen was committed to Eastern State Hospital, a Kentucky mental institution, by court order.

On March 23, 1979, McQueen somehow left the hospital. He was reported missing six weeks later on May 2, 1979!

In this time period, then hospital director Ralph claimed that he could not discuss the situation of the missing patient with his family due to privacy concerns. This sounds a little strange to me since patient safety should have been foremost on his mind. The director also stated in the newspaper article that “police are not necessarily notified when a patient leaves after voluntarily committing himself to the hospital.” Note that the newspaper article mentioned a court ordered commitment.

So where did McQueen go? We do not know. The only thing we do know is that he met foul play. McQueen’s remains were found in the Red River Gorge in Clay City, KY, in approx. May 1980. According to relatives, he was shot in the back of the head. He then either fell into or was pushed into the gorge. McQueen was identified by his glasses, dental records, and a hospital jacket that had the name “Eastern State Hospital” on the back.

Albert Ray McQueen was born on December 3, 1955. His date of death is registered as June 1, 1979. His last place of residence was Holmes Mill, Harlan, Kentucky. There is nothing else about McQueen on the Internet.

Do you know what happened to him? Do you have any other newspaper articles about this case? If so, please contact me so we can add those to this post.

To be continued!

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: Albert Ray McQueen, Eastern State Hospital, Gun Fire, Kentucky

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  1. Update Albert Ray McQueen says:
    September 23, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    […] Albert Ray McQueen was made possible after emails with his family. I […]

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Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved cases.

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Thank you,

Alice de Sturler
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