The Teller

The Teller, originally uploaded by Andrew Shapter.

Her name is Francis. She was a teller from a small bank in Central Texas and she is the subject of one of my uncle's most memorable portraits. It hung on his studio wall for years. I lost count of how many times he told me her story.

He photographed thousands of people over three decades but said he'll never forget the girl with the curly hair and hazel eyes. "She was always energetic in front of the camera but on this day, something was very unusual. She sat motionless and quiet as if she was somewhere else. It wasn't the Francis I knew" he said.

I asked why she would allow him to take this photo when she was clearly upset. He replied "I don't know why she was upset. I asked her if she wanted me to stop but she said 'no no keep going' so I did. That's when I took this shot. I had no idea it would be her last photo... but maybe she knew."

What was she thinking?

Just a week before this photo was taken, Francis was taken hostage during a robbery at the bank. She was eventually rescued when the someone shot the theif as he tried to escape with her. The wounded young man got away with thousands of dollars and was never seen again. The incident only lasted a few minutes and Francis was unharmed, so it's hard to say if she was traumatized by it or not.

Just one week after my uncle took this portrait and just two weeks after the bank robbery, she disappeared and was never seen again.

According to police reports, she was last seen leaving her job at the bank on December 30th, 1974. There was no sign of foul play. No goodbye note. No evidence or remains were ever found.


Still to this day, there are so many unanswered questions surrounding her disappearance.