The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 30

C6 THE PANTAGRAPH, Saturday, Nov. 28, 19S2 Court to decide missing investor's fate Huge Mall of America draws 'megacrowd' for holiday shopping Highlights A Chicago judge will decide whether to declare an investor who has been missing since 1985 dead and allow his former wife to collect on his life Insurance policy. II Woodruff Kelly Jr. has been charged with financial fraud for falling to invest $6 million entrusted to him over four years. 'p 1 i AP CHICAGO (AP) After more than seven years, a judge will try to unravel the mystery of a former investment counselor and suspected swindler who vanished, along with an estimated $6 million, while boating.

Investigators think Woodruff Scoval Francis Kelly Jr. faked his death. But his former wife, who stands to inherit $250,000 in life insurance, says he should be presumed dead. "I can't prove that he's dead or alive. My suspicions are that he's alive," said Chicago attorney Daniel M.

Pierce, the court-appointed receiver of the Kelly estate. Investigators "were beginning to close in on him when he disappeared. "The more years that go on, the more doubt arises," Pierce said yesterday. "But the investigators at the time uniformly felt that he had skipped." At wife's request "We believe that he is still somewhere," agreed Lt Chet Iwan, chief of the Lake County sheriff's criminal Investigation division. "Basically what you have is a life insurance policy that is at stake right now," Iwan said.

"If he is declared legally dead, then naturally she is the beneficiary." The hearing, expected early next year before Circuit Judge Emilio B. Santi of Lake County, was requested by ex-wife Ann V. Proctor, who obtained a divorce by default in 1988. Kelly, an experienced yachtsman, last was seen June 8, 1985, leaving Kenosha Harbor, near the Wisconsin border, to try out a 42-foot fishing boat The boat was found hours later off the Lake Michigan shore near Zion, but without Kelly, who was in his 40s at the time. Embezzlement charges Pierce plans to ask Santi on Dec.

21 to let him join the case to oppose a death declaration. Kemper Life Insurance Co. also doesn't want to pay Mrs. Proctor the benefits. And Pierce said there may be additional, undisclosed insurance policies at stake.

Iwan said his department has warrants accusing Kelly of embezzlement, and the FBI accused him of unlawful flight to avoid Scott said officials had increased the estimate of people expected to pass through the doors before the end of the shopping day to between 150,000 and 175,000. Earlier, they had anticipated a crowd of between 120,000 and 150,000. By midafternoon, all strollers and wheelchairs had been checked out at the mall's service centers and all lockers were full, Ms. Scott said. Retailers said sales were brisk in the early afternoon as many morning browsers returned to make purchases.

"Retailers say this morning was like a healthy Saturday, but the crowd is continuing to grow. They feel by day's end they will have had their best day of sales to date," Scott said. 'Tremendous' crowds Filene's Basement a discount clothing store which opened at 7:30 a.m., already was crowded by the time most of the other mall stores opened at 8 a.m. "Crowds out here were tremendous when we opened," said Patti Abeland, store secretary. "The economy was supposed to be down, but when you see all the people out here you wonder how true it is," observed Richard Weber of Neillsville, Wis.

Weber and his wife, Ellen, left home at 5 a.m. for the 140-mile drive to Bloomington, and by 9 a.m. they were resting in lounge chairs at Macy's. "It's so big you need a map to get around," Weber said. Two shoppers from Texas, however, were delighted with the size and variety offered by the mall.

"We love it It's wonderful. This is overwhelming," said Jo Ann Ballantine, of Denton, Texas. BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) An economic recovery may be in store but in the stores at the mammoth Mall of America yesterday many shoppers said they hoped to hold down holiday spending and hunt for bargains. "I'm going to be as conservative as I can possibly be.

I still am not comfortable with the economy yet" said Linda Krauss, an Anoka County woman who arrived at the nation's biggest retail and entertainment mall at 7:30 a.m. with her sister for a day of power shopping. The two women wore matching sweatshirts proclaiming: "Get Out of My Way I'm Christmas Shopping." But they weren't going to buy just anything. "Tis the season to price," Ms. Krauss said with a laugh.

"We're looking for unique gifts," added her sister, Carol Brostrom. 350 stores They also were after a unique shopping experience in their first visit to the Mall of America, about 15 miles south of Minneapolis. "First thing, we hit the roller coaster" at Knott's Camp Snoopy, the amusement park in the center of the 4.2 million-square-foot mall. Then it was time to shop. "We're starting on the first level and will work our way up." The three-tier mall has about 350 specialty stores in addition to the four anchor stores, Nordstrom, Macy, Bloomingdale's and Sears.

"If it gets too crowded, we'll head to downtown Minneapolis or somewhere else," Ms. Brostrom said. Although crowds didn't develop as early as anticipated, 115,000 people had entered the mall by 4 p.m. yesterday. Mall spokeswoman Billie Woodruff Scoval Francis Kelly Jr.

stood next to his boat on June 14, 1984, in Waukegan. A judge will try to unravel the mystery of the former investment counselor and suspected swindler who vanished on June 8, 1985, on a boating outing with an estimated $6 million. Investigators think Kelly faked his death while his former wife says he should be presumed dead so she can collect life insurance. Pierce said claims against Kelly and his estate total about $7 million. Kelly, of Antioch, has been charged in federal court with financial fraud for failing to invest $6 million entrusted to him over four years.

Three hundred people in nine states say Kelly and his defunct Woodland Investment Co. in Gurnee defrauded them. "He was so well-respected in the community," Pierce said. "He had no record. He was a discharged veteran.

His father was a banker. He was active in the church. He was president of the chamber of commerce." Wife won't cooperate Pierce, charged with finding the money and protecting it from misuse, has found Just $65,000 in cash and $10,000 to $15,000 in jewelry that were in Kelly's estate. In court papers, he said Mrs. Proctor, now living in St Joseph, "has failed to turn over the assets or otherwise cooperate." Neither Mrs.

Proctor nor her Chicago attorney, Terrence J. Lavin, could be contacted yesterday. Her phone number could not be obtained, and Lavin did not return phone messages. But Mrs. Proctor has said neither she nor her three children have seen or heard from Kelly since 1985.

The FBI will assume Kelly faked his death unless it learns otherwise, said spokesman Bob Long. Still, "I don't think we can eliminate the possibility that he is dead. We simply don't know. "Periodically, we get information where people contact us and say we suspect he's here or there, but we can't come up with anything." Ho-Ho-Home 'ome Jus iMAipnTr mbx nn nn 0 Jfw Pantograph's presenting a special gift to you Uiis holiday season-a cmnoe to win one of three $1000 shopping sprees. Our local merchants have everything you need to celebrate the holidays in style.

With their quality merchandise and convenient locations, holiday shopping's never been easier! Just watch for Shop i i luyus ill jo Li v-ijja Liny uiduiaxiia ads. When you shop at those stores, you'll be able to register to win one of three $1,000 shopping spreesl And every merchant participating in Shop Ho-Ho-Home is giving away a special gift worth at least $501 Wrap up your holiday shopping needs locally-where you can show your support for our retailers and register to win I The Pantagraph jl if iOME 'I li kjffn Sriniw-miminirflli J-.