The Candy Heiress Who Vanished and the Mob Behind It

Helen Brach was the wealthy heiress to the Brach candy fortune, living a life of privilege in Chicago. In February 1977, she traveled to the Mayo Clinic for a routine medical visit and was expected to return home shortly afterward. Instead, she vanished. Her houseman claimed she returned home briefly before leaving for Florida, but investigators quickly noticed inconsistencies in his story. Suspicious purchases appeared soon after, including a large meat grinder and an unusually thorough cleaning of her home. As detectives dug deeper, they uncovered a web of financial fraud and organized crime. Forged checks were traced to people in Helen’s inner circle, and she had become entangled with Richard Baily, a con artist linked to the Chicago horse racing mob. Authorities believed Baily and associates targeted wealthy women through horse investment scams, and Helen had reportedly planned to expose the operation. Over the decades, multiple informants claimed Helen was murdered and her body destroyed, including one account suggesting she was killed and incinerated at a steel mill in Indiana. Despite extensive investigations and millions of dollars tied to the case, no one has ever been charged. Nearly fifty years later, Helen Brach remains one of the wealthiest missing women in American history and one of Chicago’s most enduring mysteries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices