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79. CHILD SEX ABUSE/MURDER ON NORTH FOX ISLAND, FRANK SHELDEN, AND BROTHER PAUL’
Important name correction
The documented owner of North Fox Island was Francis Duffield “Frank” Shelden, not Frank Shelton.
His surname is frequently misspelled as:
- Sheldon
- Shelton
- Shelden
The correct spelling found in court records and the FBI’s file is SHELDEN.
1. North Fox Island
North Fox Island is a remote island in northern Lake Michigan, approximately 19 miles from the Leelanau Peninsula and about 50 miles northwest of Traverse City, Michigan.
The island is approximately:
- Two
miles long - About
one mile wide at its broadest point - Between
800 and 850 acres - Heavily
wooded - Accessible
primarily by aircraft or boat
Frank Shelden’s purchase
Frank Shelden and his brother, Alger Shelden Jr., reportedly purchased the island in approximately 1960 for $20,000. Frank later acquired his brother’s interest and became the principal owner.
The property had previously been associated with the family of investor J. O. Plank.
What Shelden built
Shelden developed the previously isolated island by:
- Clearing
a grass airstrip approximately 3,000 feet long - Building
or improving cabins - Cutting
trails through the woods - Establishing
living and camping areas - Transporting
visitors in private aircraft
Shelden was a licensed pilot. Different accounts identify his aircraft as including a Cessna and, later, a Piper Seneca II.
The private runway allowed Shelden and his associates to bring children and adult visitors to the island with little public oversight.
Current ownership
The island was later acquired by real-estate developer David V. Johnson and eventually sold to the State of Michigan. It is now state-owned and forms part of the Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area.
2. Who was Francis Duffield “Frank” Shelden?
Francis Duffield Shelden was born in Detroit on September 5, 1928. He came from a wealthy and politically prominent Michigan family.
In sworn testimony contained in later federal trust litigation, Shelden stated that:
- His
father was Alger Shelden. - His
only sibling was Alger Shelden Jr. - He
received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University. - He
served in the United States military during the Korean War period. - He
owned and piloted private aircraft. - He
received a Master of Science degree in geology from Wayne State
University. - He
completed coursework toward a doctorate.
Shelden’s 1961 Wayne State master’s thesis concerned the geology of Manitoulin Island in Ontario.
His public reputation
Before the North Fox investigation, Shelden was publicly portrayed as:
- A
wealthy private investor - A
real-estate and oil businessman - A
philanthropist - A
pilot and outdoorsman - A
supporter of educational and scientific institutions - A
Big Brothers volunteer - A
man who brought children to his private island for outdoor experiences
His status, education, family money, and charitable affiliations helped create an appearance of respectability.
3. Shelden’s Yale years and the Bush family
Frank Shelden graduated from Yale in 1950. His probable attendance was approximately 1946–1950.
At least two Bush family members appear to have attended Yale during portions of the same period.
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush graduated from Yale in 1948 after completing his wartime Navy service.
Bush and Shelden were therefore apparently on the Yale campus simultaneously for approximately two academic years, from about 1946 through 1948.
Both men subsequently had connections to:
- Oil-related
business - Private
aviation - Wealthy
establishment families - Republican
political and social circles
George H. W. Bush was inducted into Skull and Bones in 1948.
No photograph, letter, club record, witness statement, or business document has been located proving that George H. W. Bush and Frank Shelden personally knew one another.
Jonathan James Bush
Jonathan Bush, George H. W. Bush’s younger brother, graduated from Yale in 1953.
Assuming a normal four-year course, Jonathan attended from approximately 1949 through 1953. He therefore may have overlapped with Shelden during the 1949–1950 academic year.
Jonathan Bush is also identified in published membership rosters as a Skull and Bones member.
Prescott Bush
Senator Prescott Sheldon Bush attended Yale much earlier and graduated in 1917. He was a documented Skull and Bones member.
Prescott’s middle name was Sheldon, with an “o.” It came through his mother, Flora Sheldon Bush.
Frank’s surname was Shelden, without the second “o.”
I have not found reliable genealogical evidence establishing that Prescott Bush’s Sheldon family and Frank Shelden’s Michigan family were relatives.
Was Frank Shelden a Skull and Bones member?
Some independent sources describe Frank Shelden as a member. However, the published Skull and Bones membership roster covering 1833–1985 does not list Francis Duffield Shelden.
It lists:
- Allan
Shelden — 1913 - Prescott
Sheldon Bush — 1917 - George
Herbert Walker Bush — 1948 - Jonathan
James Bush — 1953 - George
Walker Bush — 1968
Frank Shelden’s name does not appear in the roster examined. His personal membership therefore remains disputed and unverified.
4. Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission
Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission was incorporated in Michigan on June 18, 1975. Its registered headquarters was in Port Huron.
The organization claimed that it existed to help disadvantaged, troubled, runaway, or emotionally vulnerable boys.
Its stated services reportedly included:
- Remedial
reading - Tutoring
- Minor
emotional counseling - Physical-fitness
instruction - Outdoor
activities - Nature
study - Temporary
lodging - Emergency
care for runaways - Hygiene
and health instruction - Religious
or philosophical guidance - Prevention
of juvenile delinquency
Parents and guardians were told that children would receive a healthy outdoor experience on a private island.
Camp literature described an approximate cost of $85 for a six-day session, including transportation. Some material portrayed the program as free while requesting donations to cover expenses.
What investigators found
According to police records, Richards’s admissions, contemporary reporting, and later investigations, Brother Paul’s was used as a front to:
- Recruit
vulnerable boys - Transport
them by private aircraft - Isolate
them on North Fox Island - Sexually
abuse them - Photograph
sexual acts - Produce
child sexual-abuse material - Distribute
material through the mail - Attract
wealthy sponsors or subscribers - Provide
certain visitors with access to children
The organization operated during a period when child camps, informal charities, and religious entities were subject to far less supervision than today.
5. Who was “Brother Paul”?
The available corporate and investigative evidence indicates that there was no actual Brother Paul directing the mission.
“Brother Paul” appears to have been:
- A
fictional identity - A
charitable brand - A
religious-sounding name - A
device intended to gain parents’ confidence - A
way to make the operation appear connected to a church or ministry
No reliable record establishes that Frank Shelden’s personal name was Paul.
It is also not proved that Shelden personally introduced himself as “Brother Paul.” The name appears to have represented the organization rather than one verified individual.
6. Officers, directors and trustees of Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission
Available Michigan corporate information and later documentary research identify the following people:
Gerald Stewart Richards
Richards was listed as:
- President
- Resident
agent - Director
or trustee
Richards was a physical-education teacher and an amateur or professional magician. He performed at schools, churches, parties, and children’s events.
Dyer Grossman
Grossman was listed as:
- Vice
president - Director
or trustee
He was described as a wealthy New York educator and science teacher associated with a prestigious boys’ school.
Gordon Lindsay
Lindsay was listed as:
- Secretary
His corporate position should not, without additional evidence, be treated as proof that he personally participated in abuse.
Judith Richards
Judith Richards, Gerald Richards’s wife, was listed as:
- Treasurer
Investigative accounts say she warned Shelden following her husband’s arrest. Her precise knowledge of the larger operation remains a separate question.
Francis Duffield Shelden
Shelden was listed as:
- Director
or trustee - Principal
financial supporter - Owner
of the island - Provider
of aircraft and facilities
The reported corporate roster therefore consisted of:
1. Gerald Stewart Richards
2. Dyer Grossman
3. Gordon Lindsay
4. Judith Richards
5. Francis Duffield Shelden
7. Principal people uncovered or examined in the investigation
Being mentioned in an FBI or police file does not automatically mean that a person committed a crime. Investigative files contain suspects, witnesses, corporate officers, lawyers, relatives, leads, newspaper reports, and unverified allegations.
Francis Duffield Shelden
Shelden was the island owner, financier, pilot, and central wealthy figure.
He fled the United States after Richards’s arrest. He was never brought to trial for the North Fox Island allegations.
Gerald Stewart Richards
Richards became the central cooperating witness after his arrest.
Police reportedly recovered from him:
- Photographs
of children - Undeveloped
film - Material
prepared for mailing - Customer
and correspondent information - Organizational
records - Communications
involving Shelden - Information
about related operations
Richards admitted his role and described an extensive child-exploitation network.
He claimed to have communicated with approximately 600 customers and correspondents. That does not mean that all 600 visited North Fox Island or committed crimes.
Richards pleaded guilty and received a sentence of two to twenty years. He later testified before Congress concerning the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Dyer Grossman
Richards accused Grossman of helping establish Brother Paul’s and participating in sexual activity involving minors.
Grossman was reportedly charged with criminal sexual conduct involving two boys but fled before he could be arrested. He was never tried in the North Fox Island case.
Adam Aristotle Starchild
Adam Aristotle Starchild was born Malcolm Willis McConahay.
He was associated with:
- Church
of the New Revelation - Trust
Company of the Virgin Islands - Offshore
trusts and corporations - Educational
Foundation for Youth - Ocean
Living Institute - Shelden’s
financial affairs
Starchild was reportedly president of the Church of the New Revelation, described as an affiliated or parent organization of Brother Paul’s.
He was not convicted of a North Fox Island sexual offense.
Claudius Ira “Bud” Vermilye Jr.
Vermilye operated the Tennessee Boys’ Farm, another supposed youth program later connected to child exploitation.
Investigators found material connecting Richards and Shelden’s network with the Tennessee operation. Shelden was reportedly identified as a sponsor.
Christopher Busch
Christopher Busch was investigated in a separate case involving the sexual exploitation of boys.
He has been described as:
- A
customer or associate within the wider network - A
person connected to child-abuse investigations - A
person of interest in theories concerning the Oakland County Child Killer
Busch was never convicted of the Oakland County murders. Later reporting says available DNA did not match him to biological evidence in that case.
Gregory Greene
Greene was arrested with Busch in a separate investigation involving the abuse of boys.
He implicated Busch in statements concerning the Oakland County Child Killer investigation. The reliability and meaning of those statements remain disputed.
Edward “Ed” Brongersma
Brongersma was:
- A
Dutch lawyer - A
former Dutch senator - An
advocate for changing age-of-consent laws - A
trustee connected to Shelden’s financial arrangements after Shelden fled
A 1978 document reportedly replaced the Trust Company of the Virgin Islands with Brongersma as a trustee of Shelden’s trust.
This establishes a documented personal and financial association. It does not prove that Brongersma visited North Fox Island.
Frank James Holahan
Holahan appeared in litigation as a director or shareholder with Starchild in the Trust Company of the Virgin Islands.
The court described him as a college student following Starchild’s directions. His name appears in financial litigation, not as a proven island abuser.
L. Bennett Young
Young was a Michigan lawyer and protector or successor trustee of Shelden’s trust.
His documented role was legal and financial. His inclusion in trust litigation is not proof of involvement in the island crimes.
Peter J. Cipollini
Cipollini asserted authority over:
- FDS
Land Company - Windigo
Ranch, Inc.
He appears in litigation concerning control of Shelden’s companies and trust assets. His financial role is distinct from the criminal allegations concerning North Fox Island.
H. Lee Busch
H. Lee Busch was Christopher Busch’s father and a senior General Motors financial executive in Europe.
His prominent employment and family relationship have attracted attention, but neither fact proves that he participated in Brother Paul’s or visited North Fox Island.
8. The arrest, search and escape
Gerald Richards was arrested in July 1976.
Police reportedly found a communication warning Frank Shelden to:
- Watch
his files - Watch
his mail - Check
or remove sensitive material
When authorities searched Shelden’s Ann Arbor residence, Shelden was absent. Investigators reportedly found drawers, cabinets, and files emptied.
Jurisdictional confusion contributed to the delay:
- One
prosecutor reportedly waited for another jurisdiction to act. - Another
waited for more investigation. - An
arrest warrant was not secured quickly enough. - Shelden
apparently received advance warning. - Shelden
left the United States before authorities arrested him.
He ultimately settled in the Netherlands, where extradition for the Michigan accusations was legally difficult at that time.
Shelden reportedly died in Amsterdam in 1996.
9. Names and aliases used by Frank Shelden
Confirmed legal and familiar names
1. Francis Duffield Shelden
2. Francis D. Shelden
3. Francis Shelden
4. Frank Shelden
5. F. D. Shelden
Reported European alias
6. Frank Torey
European sources concerning the Spartacus network identify Frank Torey as an alias reportedly used by Shelden after he relocated to Europe.
The identification is repeated in secondary research, but an original passport or publicly available Dutch identity document has not been located.
Reported writing name
7. Jotham Lothring
This is also sometimes spelled:
8. Jotham Lotring
European researchers claim Shelden wrote under this name for material associated with The Acolyte Reader. This should be classified as a reported pen name pending confirmation from original publishing records.
Misspellings rather than true aliases
9. Francis Duffield Sheldon
10. Francis D. Sheldon
11. Francis Sheldon
12. Frank Sheldon
13. Frank Shelton
“Brother Paul”
“Brother Paul” was apparently the fictional identity attached to the organization. It is not conclusively established as Shelden’s personal alias.
10. Information released through the FBI and Freedom of Information Act
The FBI has released a substantial Francis Shelden file through its public reading room.
The complete public FBI file can be opened here:
The released material contains or reproduces:
- FBI
communications - Michigan
police information - Fugitive-investigation
material - Information
supplied by prosecutors - Newspaper
reports retained by investigators - Descriptions
of North Fox Island - Information
about Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission - References
to Gerald Richards - References
to Dyer Grossman - References
to Shelden’s associates - Interstate
investigative leads - Material
concerning the Tennessee Boys’ Farm - Efforts
to locate Shelden - References
to his private aircraft - Information
about his finances and property - Corporate
and charitable organizations - Redacted
names of certain witnesses, correspondents, and other people - Reports
concerning related child-exploitation networks
What an FBI file does not mean
An FBI file may contain:
- Confirmed
evidence - Witness
statements - Hearsay
- Newspaper
clippings - Preliminary
leads - Incorrect
information - Unverified
accusations - Names
of innocent witnesses - Redacted
personal information
A person’s appearance in the file does not establish guilt.
Are all FBI records public?
No.
Recent reporting says documentary filmmaker Colin Browen sought additional FBI records concerning Shelden and North Fox Island.
The FBI reportedly identified more than 1,000 potentially responsive records and indicated that reviewing and redacting them could take several years.
Therefore, the public cannot yet claim to possess every FBI document or a complete unredacted customer list.
11. Richards’s congressional testimony
Gerald Richards testified before a congressional committee investigating the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
He described a pre-internet network that operated through:
- Postal
correspondence - Classified
advertisements - Specialized
newsletters - Adult
bookstores - Mailing
lists - Photographic
processors - Private
sponsors - Wealthy
customers - Correspondents
in different states and countries
Richards drew a network diagram showing how publishers, photographers, customers, camps, and distributors communicated.
His testimony is important evidence that the North Fox Island operation did not exist entirely in isolation.
However, the diagram should not be interpreted as proof that every person or organization appearing on it committed the same crimes.
12. Famous stars and celebrities allegedly associated with the island
Various internet posts, podcasts, and social-media videos state that:
- Famous
people visited North Fox Island. - Wealthy
patrons were given access to children. - Actors,
entertainers, politicians, and business leaders subscribed to material. - The
authorities recovered a list containing prominent names.
The existence of wealthy sponsors and a large correspondence network is supported by Richards’s statements and investigative reporting.
What has not been publicly authenticated is a complete list of famous entertainers who visited the island.
I have not found reliable evidence proving island participation by:
- Johnny
Carson - John
Wayne - Dean
Martin - Sammy
Davis Jr. - Other
frequently mentioned Hollywood personalities
Some of these names appear near North Fox Island discussions on social media or unrelated webpages. That is not the same as appearing in a flight manifest, visitor log, victim statement, payment record, photograph, or FBI conclusion.
Responsible conclusion
It is reasonable to investigate claims involving prominent people. It is not responsible to accuse a named entertainer of child abuse without a primary record establishing the connection.
No publicly authenticated “celebrity visitor list” has yet been produced.
13. Lawmakers and politically connected individuals
Edward Brongersma
Brongersma is the most important documented former lawmaker personally and financially connected with Shelden.
He was a former Dutch senator and later served in a trustee role involving Shelden’s assets.
Russell Alexander Alger
Frank Shelden was descended from Russell A. Alger.
Alger was:
- A
Civil War general - Governor
of Michigan - United
States senator - Secretary
of war under President William McKinley
Alger died long before the North Fox Island operation and could not have participated. His importance lies in demonstrating the Shelden family’s historic access to wealth, political prestige, and national Republican circles.
George H. W. Bush and Jonathan Bush
George H. W. Bush and Jonathan Bush attended Yale during portions of Shelden’s Yale years.
That overlap is documented chronologically. Personal friendship or participation in Shelden’s later activities has not been established.
Congressional committee members
Lawmakers appear in records of Richards’s testimony because they were investigating child exploitation. Their participation in a hearing must not be misrepresented as participation in the criminal network.
14. Frank Shelden’s companies and financial interests
Shelden’s documented or reported financial interests included:
FDS Land Company
FDS Land Company held real-estate interests connected to Shelden’s trust.
Windigo Ranch, Inc.
Windigo Ranch was another company whose shares or assets became part of the litigation surrounding Shelden’s trust.
Shelden family land and real-estate interests
The Shelden family was associated with Detroit-area land development and property investment, including interests connected with affluent residential development.
Oil and mineral investments
Shelden was repeatedly described as active in oil, geology-related investment, and private investing.
Francis D. Shelden Revocable Inter Vivos Trust
Shelden transferred considerable wealth into a revocable trust.
Litigation over the trust eventually disclosed holdings, corporate shares, brokerage accounts, and international financial arrangements.
15. Offshore and related companies
Federal litigation identified numerous entities through which Starchild or his associates allegedly moved Shelden trust assets.
These included:
- Trust
Company of the Virgin Islands - Sogo
Shosha Limited - British
American Trust Company - Minerva
Consulting Group, Inc. - Minerva
Investments Limited - Eleuthera
Anstalt - Creative
Foods - Farsee
Limited - Atlas
Financial - Keystone
Farms - British
Financial Trust
The court found that Starchild and entities under his control improperly transferred or handled trust assets.
These companies should not automatically be described as businesses personally founded or managed by Shelden. Some were entities controlled by Starchild and used in disputed financial transactions.
The litigation can be reviewed here:
Detroit Bank v. Trust Company of the Virgin Islands
National Bank of Detroit v. Francis D. Shelden
16. Boards and organizations associated with Shelden
Contemporary reporting and FBI-based research identify Shelden with:
Cranbrook Institute of Science
Shelden reportedly served as a trustee or board member.
One account based on FBI material says he resigned by letter in December 1976 after the North Fox investigation became public.
Boys Republic
Shelden was reportedly associated with the board of Boys Republic, a residential or rehabilitative program serving boys.
Big Brothers and the Ann Arbor YMCA
Shelden publicly presented himself as a Big Brother connected to an Ann Arbor YMCA-affiliated program.
This affiliation gave him access to children and reinforced his reputation as a charitable mentor.
I have found no evidence that Cranbrook, Boys Republic, or the YMCA knew that children were allegedly being exploited through the North Fox operation.
17. Oddities on Elm Street
Oddities on Elm Street is a true-crime and paranormal program hosted by Bobbie Prestes, also identified online as Bobbie Curtis Lee.
The program is connected with the TikTok account:
@bobbiecurtislee
The show produced two North Fox Island episodes:
Episode 25
The Dark Truth Behind North Fox Island / Oakland County Child Killer, Part 1
Released May 3, 2023.
Episode 26
The Dark Truth Behind North Fox Island / Oakland County Child Killer, Part 2
Released May 10, 2023.
The episodes discuss:
- Shelden’s
purchase of North Fox Island - Construction
of the 3,000-foot airstrip - Private
aircraft transporting children - Brother
Paul’s Children’s Mission - The
sexual-exploitation operation - Gerald
Richards - Dyer
Grossman - The
wider network - Possible
connections with the Oakland County Child Killer
The second episode describes how children were transported through the island’s private airstrip and considers whether the exploitation network could overlap with the child-murder investigation.
The program appropriately presents the murder connection as something that may exist, not something proved in court.
The episode can be found here:
Oddities on Elm Street—North Fox Island, Part 2
The channel’s official links are collected here:
Oddities on Elm Street accounts
Oddities on Elm Street is a secondary true-crime source. Its claims should be compared with FBI records, court decisions, police files, and congressional testimony.
18. The Oakland County Child Killer connection
Four children were murdered in metropolitan Detroit between 1976 and 1977:
1. Mark Stebbins
2. Jill Robinson
3. Kristine Mihelich
4. Timothy King
Researchers have examined a possible connection because:
- The
murders occurred during the same general period. - The
North Fox network involved vulnerable Michigan children. - Richards
possessed a large customer and correspondent network. - Christopher
Busch was connected to child-exploitation investigations. - Some
murder suspects had histories involving the abuse of children. - Investigators
considered whether children might have been held by a network rather than
one isolated offender.
No court or law-enforcement agency has conclusively proved that Shelden, Richards, Brother Paul’s, or the North Fox Island network committed the four murders.
The possible connection remains an investigative theory.
19. Shelden’s relationships in Washington
Shelden’s most firmly documented Washington or national-political relationship was historical and familial.
Russell A. Alger and President McKinley
Shelden’s ancestor Russell Alger served in President William McKinley’s Cabinet as secretary of war.
This placed the family within historic national Republican and military circles.
Yale and the Bush family
Shelden attended Yale at the same time as George H. W. Bush and apparently overlapped briefly with Jonathan Bush.
This creates a documented institutional overlap, but not proof of a friendship, business relationship, or criminal connection.
Claims of presidential and royal connections
A 1970s description of Shelden’s family referred to ties with:
- Presidents
- Governors
- Princes
- Wealthy
Michigan families - National
political and financial circles
This language appears to describe the Shelden family’s historical social standing. It does not constitute a North Fox Island visitor list.
No proved White House protection
I have not found primary evidence proving that:
- President
Ford protected Shelden. - George
H. W. Bush helped Shelden escape. - Prescott
Bush financed Brother Paul’s. - The
CIA operated North Fox Island. - The
White House ordered investigators to stop. - Members
of Congress participated in the abuse.
The investigation nevertheless raises serious questions about how a wealthy fugitive received warning, emptied his files, moved assets internationally, and escaped prosecution.
20. Institutional failures that helped Shelden
The documented failures include:
- Delayed
arrest-warrant decisions - Jurisdictional
confusion - Poor
communication among authorities - Shelden
receiving advance warning - His
residence being emptied before the search - Weak
regulation of private children’s camps - Weak
oversight of supposed religious charities - Limited
international extradition options - Offshore
financial structures - Incomplete
sharing of investigative information - Failure
to apprehend Shelden or Grossman - Richards
being the only central figure to receive meaningful punishment
These failures justify continued investigation into whether social influence and wealth affected the case.
They do not, by themselves, prove a Washington-directed conspiracy.
21. Final assessment
The existence of the North Fox Island operation is documented—not merely an internet rumor.
The established core facts are:
- Frank
Shelden owned North Fox Island. - He
built or maintained a private airstrip and camp facilities. - Brother
Paul’s Children’s Mission existed. - “Brother
Paul” was apparently a fictional identity. - Gerald
Richards confessed and was convicted. - Police
recovered child sexual-abuse material and customer information. - Richards
described hundreds of customers and correspondents. - Dyer
Grossman was charged but fled. - Shelden
fled to Europe and was never tried. - Adam
Starchild managed organizations and international financial structures
associated with Shelden. - Former
Dutch Senator Ed Brongersma became involved with Shelden’s trust. - Shelden
came from a family with historic political connections. - George
H. W. Bush and Jonathan Bush attended Yale during portions of Shelden’s
time there. - No
authenticated public list proves that Bush family members, presidents, or
Hollywood stars participated on North Fox Island. - Significant
FBI material remains redacted or unreleased.
The most important unanswered question is not whether North Fox Island existed or whether children were exploited there. Those matters are well supported. The unanswered questions concern the complete customer network, the identities hidden by redactions, the people who helped the principal suspects escape, and why so few participants were ever held accountable.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I investigated that claim specifically. The evidence I found does not establish that North Fox Island owner Francis Duffield Shelden was a member of Skull and Bones.
The distinction is important:
- Frank
Shelden attended Yale. - His
wealthy family had political and establishment connections. - A
man named Allan Shelden appears on a published Skull and Bones
membership list for 1913. - Francis
Duffield Shelden does not appear on that list.
The compiled Skull and Bones roster covering 1833–1985 lists Allan Shelden as a 1913 initiate, but a search of the same roster finds no “Francis Duffield Shelden” or “Francis D. Shelden.” The roster also separately identifies Prescott Bush in 1917, George H. W. Bush in 1948, and George W. Bush in 1968. Examine the published membership roster here.
What may have produced the claim
The likely chain is:
1. Francis Shelden attended Yale.
2. Allan Shelden was reportedly a Skull and Bones member.
3. Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush were documented members.
4. Frank came from an old, politically connected Michigan family.
5. Later writers combined these facts and described Frank himself as a Bonesman.
But identifying Allan Shelden’s precise relationship to Frank—and proving that Frank was independently initiated—requires Yale records, a class society photograph, an initiation-year roster, an obituary, or another primary document.
How it should be included
The responsible wording would be:
“Some independent sources describe Francis D. Shelden as a member of Yale’s Skull and Bones society. However, the published 1833–1985 membership roster examined for this report does not list Francis Duffield Shelden. It lists an Allan Shelden as a 1913 member. Therefore, Frank Shelden’s personal membership remains unverified unless a Yale yearbook, society photograph, class roster, or comparable primary record is produced.”
I should include the allegation and the evidence surrounding it, but I should not present it as a settled fact when the available membership roster points to a different Shelden. If you have the document that names Francis Duffield Shelden himself, please share it; I will examine it and correct the conclusion if it is authentic.
What Bush family member attended Yale the same time as Francis Frank Sheldon and list all the others names that Francis Frank Sheldon used, all his alias.
The principal Bush family member who attended Yale at the same time as Francis “Frank” Shelden was George H. W. Bush. A second Bush family member, Jonathan James Bush, apparently overlapped with Shelden during Shelden’s final academic year.
Yale overlap
Shelden’s Yale B.A. is confirmed in his sworn testimony recorded in National Bank of Detroit v. Shelden. Secondary biographical information identifies him as a member of Yale’s class of 1950 and lists track, tennis, skiing, and dramatics among his activities.
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush entered Yale after completing his wartime Navy service and graduated in 1948 on an accelerated schedule. Therefore, Bush and Shelden were on the Yale campus simultaneously for roughly two academic years.
Both men were:
- Born
into affluent, politically connected families. - Yale
students during the immediate postwar period. - Interested
in aviation. - Later
involved in oil-related business. - Connected
with prominent Republican or establishment social circles.
These parallels make the overlap historically interesting. However, I have not located a yearbook inscription, letter, photograph, club roster, business record, or witness statement demonstrating that Bush and Shelden personally knew one another.
George H. W. Bush was inducted into Skull and Bones in 1948. As previously discussed, the published membership roster I examined does not list Francis Duffield Shelden.
Jonathan James Bush
Jonathan Bush, George H. W. Bush’s younger brother, graduated from Yale in 1953. Assuming a normal four-year course, he entered in 1949, creating approximately one academic year of overlap with Shelden.
Jonathan Bush is also listed as a Skull and Bones member for 1953. Again, campus overlap does not establish a friendship or involvement in Shelden’s later activities.
Frank Shelden’s names and aliases
The names fall into three categories: verified names, reported European aliases or pen names, and ordinary spelling variations.
Documented legal and familiar names
1. Francis Duffield Shelden
His complete legal name.2. Francis D. Shelden
The form used in court records, corporate documents, trusts, and FBI records.3. Francis Shelden
A shortened formal version.4. Frank Shelden
His commonly used familiar name.5. F. D. Shelden
An abbreviated form found in references to his companies and property interests. This is not really an alias but a business-style abbreviation.Reported European alias
6. Frank Torey
Multiple secondary sources concerning the European Spartacus network identify “Frank Torey” as an alias used by Francis Shelden after he fled to Europe.This identification is repeated in research concerning Amsterdam publishing and child-exploitation networks. Nevertheless, I have not yet located a passport, Dutch police record, signed contract, or FBI document publicly visible online that conclusively proves the identification. It should therefore be described as a strongly reported alias, not an unquestionable legal identity.
Reported pen name
7. Jotham Lothring
Also rendered by some sources as Jotham Lotring.European network research claims Shelden, while using the name Frank Torey, wrote under “Jotham Lothring” for publications associated with The Acolyte Reader. This appears to have been a literary pseudonym rather than a legal identity.
The evidentiary trail for this identification is weaker than that for his legal name and ordinary “Frank Shelden” usage. It requires confirmation through original magazine mastheads, correspondence, publishing contracts, or police records.
Frequent misspellings—not established aliases
These versions appear in news reports, podcasts, social-media posts, and search databases:
8. Francis Duffield Sheldon
9. Francis D. Sheldon
10. Francis Sheldon
11. Frank Sheldon
12. Frank Shelton
These are generally spelling mistakes or phonetic renderings. His correct family name was Shelden.
“Brother Paul”
“Brother Paul” should not automatically be counted as Shelden’s personal alias.
Available corporate research indicates there was no real Brother Paul. The name was created to give Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission a charitable or religious appearance. No reliable document I found establishes that Shelden personally introduced himself to children or parents as “Brother Paul.”
Therefore:
- Brother
Paul
— fictional institutional identity. - Not
proven to be Shelden’s personal alias.
Best-supported consolidated list
The historically significant finding is that George H. W. Bush and Francis Shelden were contemporaries at Yale for about two years, while Jonathan Bush likely overlapped with Shelden for about one year. That establishes opportunity for campus contact, but no currently located record establishes that they actually knew one another.
WHEN I COPY AND PASTE THIS KEEP IT IN THE SAME ORDER AS YOU WROTE HERE.
Understood. I will keep future reports in the exact order written, with numbered sections, names, tables, and sources arranged so they remain organized when you copy and paste them.
For best results, copy the complete response at once. If the table formatting changes after pasting into Facebook, I can also provide a Facebook-friendly version without tables.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
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You are right that the names and alleged connections should be examined—not simply omitted. But the evidence does not presently support saying that Prescott Bush, either President Bush, or identifiable Hollywood stars participated in abuse on North Fox Island.
The Bush-family claim
I found no FBI report, police document, court record, flight manifest, visitor log, photograph, witness statement, or contemporaneous newspaper report establishing that any of these men visited North Fox Island or participated in Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission:
- Senator
Prescott Sheldon Bush - President
George H. W. Bush - President
George W. Bush - Prescott
Bush Jr. - Jonathan
Bush - William
H. T. “Bucky” Bush
The likely source of confusion
Prescott Bush’s full name was Prescott Sheldon Bush. His middle name was spelled Sheldon.
Frank’s surname was Shelden, without the second “o.”
Prescott Bush received “Sheldon” from his mother’s family. His mother was Flora Sheldon Bush, daughter of Robert Emmet Sheldon and Mary Elizabeth Butler. That Sheldon family is not shown in reliable genealogical records to be Frank Shelden’s Michigan family.
Therefore:
- Prescott
Sheldon Bush was not Frank Shelden’s father, uncle, brother, or documented
cousin. - The
similarity between Sheldon and Shelden is not evidence of
kinship. - Both
men attended Yale, but Yale attendance alone does not establish that they
knew one another. - Prescott
Bush graduated decades before Frank Shelden. - Prescott
and later George H. W. Bush belonged to Skull and Bones. I have not found
reliable documentation that Frank Shelden belonged to Skull and Bones.
Could Shelden and the Bushes have moved in overlapping circles?
In the broad social sense, possibly. Both families belonged to wealthy, establishment circles involving Yale, finance, real estate, philanthropy, and Republican politics.
But “overlapping establishment circles” is not the same thing as:
- A
personal friendship - A
business partnership - A
family relationship - A
visit to North Fox Island - Knowledge
of Brother Paul’s - Participation
in criminal activity - Political
protection
The online Bush claim presently rests largely on name similarity, common Yale associations, speculation about elite social networks, and unrelated allegations involving other child-abuse cases. That is not enough to establish a North Fox Island connection.
Presidents connected to Frank Shelden’s family history
The presidential connection that can be documented concerns Shelden’s ancestor, Russell Alexander Alger.
Alger was:
- A
Civil War general - Governor
of Michigan - A
United States senator - Secretary
of war under President William McKinley
This gave the Shelden-Alger family longstanding social and political prestige.
It is fair to say that Frank Shelden came from a family historically connected to national Republican politics and to a presidential administration. It is not fair to transform that family history into evidence that President McKinley—or later presidents—had anything to do with North Fox Island.
Contemporary descriptions sometimes claimed that the Shelden family had social connections with “presidents, governors and princes.” That language appears to describe the family’s historic social position, not a verified North Fox Island guest list.
Named politicians and government-connected people
Edward “Ed” Brongersma
Brongersma is the most important documented politician connected personally and financially to Shelden.
He was:
- A
Dutch lawyer - A
former member of the Dutch Senate - A
public advocate for changing laws governing sexual relations between
adults and minors - A
trustee of Shelden’s offshore or international financial arrangements
On April 13, 1978, after Shelden had fled to the Netherlands, Shelden executed a document replacing the Trust Company of the Virgin Islands with Brongersma as successor trustee. Brongersma’s role is confirmed in federal litigation concerning Shelden’s assets.
That establishes a real financial and personal relationship between Shelden and a former Dutch senator. It does not, by itself, prove that Brongersma visited North Fox Island or participated in crimes there.
Russell A. Alger
Alger was Frank Shelden’s prominent ancestor and a former Cabinet secretary. He died long before the North Fox Island operation and obviously could not have participated.
L. Bennett Young
Young was a Michigan lawyer and protector or successor trustee of Shelden’s trust. His name appears extensively in the litigation over Shelden’s assets. His legal and financial role should not be confused with participation in the abuse operation.
Prosecutors, FBI agents, state officials, and lawmakers in the files
Numerous public officials appear in the FBI file because they investigated, discussed, prosecuted, or legislated in response to the case. Their appearance does not make them customers or participants.
For example, members of congressional committees appear because Gerald Richards testified about the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The hearing record is evidence against the exploitation network—not evidence that the committee members belonged to it.
Wealthy and prominent people actually named in connection with the operation
These are the principal public names for whom there is meaningful evidence, an investigative allegation, a corporate role, or a documented financial relationship:
Celebrities and entertainment stars
I have carefully looked for a defensible list of actors, musicians, television hosts, sports stars, and other entertainers alleged to have visited North Fox Island.
At present, I cannot substantiate such a list.
I found social-media posts and generalized statements claiming that “famous people,” “wealthy patrons,” “politicians,” or “stars” attended the island. But they generally do not provide:
- A
complete name - The
original police-document page - A
flight record - A
dated visitor log - A
photograph - A
victim’s identification - A
payment record - A
sworn statement - A
criminal charge
Names such as Johnny Carson sometimes appear near North Fox Island material in searches, but I found no reliable evidence that Carson visited the island or had any relationship with Shelden. Search-result proximity, shared web pages, or social-media montages are not evidence.
Likewise, there is no reliable evidence presently available connecting movie stars such as John Wayne, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., or other frequently discussed celebrities to Brother Paul’s. Their names should not be placed on a North Fox Island participant list without primary documentation.
Why a complete customer list has not appeared
Gerald Richards said he communicated with approximately 600 customers and correspondents. Police reportedly recovered address records and customer information. That does not mean:
- All
600 were identified conclusively. - All
were customers of North Fox material. - All
visited the island. - All
committed crimes. - All
names remain preserved. - All
names have been released publicly.
Some information remains redacted for privacy, investigative, or evidentiary reasons. Additional FBI records have reportedly not yet been processed or released.
The public FBI Vault file on Francis Shelden does not provide an authenticated public roster of presidents, Bush family members, Hollywood stars, and lawmakers proven to have participated.
What can responsibly be said about possible protection?
There were serious institutional failures:
- Authorities
delayed securing an arrest warrant. - Different
jurisdictions waited on one another. - Shelden
apparently received advance warning. - His
home had reportedly been emptied before it was searched. - He
successfully moved money through international trusts. - He
escaped to a country where extradition was difficult. - Grossman
also escaped. - Only
Richards received meaningful punishment. - Shelden
retained access to considerable wealth abroad. - Child
camps and supposed charities were inadequately regulated.
Those facts justify investigating whether wealth, social standing, lawyers, or political influence helped Shelden. They do not yet prove that Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush, the CIA, or the White House arranged his escape.
Conclusion
The strongest genuine political connection is former Dutch Senator Edward Brongersma, who became involved with Shelden’s trust after Shelden fled.
The strongest historic Washington connection is Shelden’s descent from Russell A. Alger, President McKinley’s secretary of war.
The alleged connection to Prescott Bush and the George Bush family is presently unsubstantiated. It appears to rely principally on:
1. Prescott’s middle name, Sheldon;
2. both families’ Yale or establishment status;
3. Prescott and the Bush family’s Skull and Bones connections;
4. broader allegations about elite child-abuse networks; and
5. repetition on social media without a North Fox Island primary record.
Those are legitimate leads to examine, but they are not evidence that a Bush family member participated in activities on North Fox Island.
You left out the fact that the owner of North Fox Island was a member of Skull and Bones which has been well documented and should be included.
I investigated that claim specifically. The evidence I found does not establish that North Fox Island owner Francis Duffield Shelden was a member of Skull and Bones.
The distinction is important:
- Frank
Shelden attended Yale. - His
wealthy family had political and establishment connections. - A
man named Allan Shelden appears on a published Skull and Bones
membership list for 1913. - Francis
Duffield Shelden does not appear on that list.
The compiled Skull and Bones roster covering 1833–1985 lists Allan Shelden as a 1913 initiate, but a search of the same roster finds no “Francis Duffield Shelden” or “Francis D. Shelden.” The roster also separately identifies Prescott Bush in 1917, George H. W. Bush in 1948, and George W. Bush in 1968. Examine the published membership roster here.
What may have produced the claim
The likely chain is:
1. Francis Shelden attended Yale.
2. Allan Shelden was reportedly a Skull and Bones member.
3. Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush were documented members.
4. Frank came from an old, politically connected Michigan family.
5. Later writers combined these facts and described Frank himself as a Bonesman.
But identifying Allan Shelden’s precise relationship to Frank—and proving that Frank was independently initiated—requires Yale records, a class society photograph, an initiation-year roster, an obituary, or another primary document.
How it should be included
The responsible wording would be:
“Some independent sources describe Francis D. Shelden as a member of Yale’s Skull and Bones society. However, the published 1833–1985 membership roster examined for this report does not list Francis Duffield Shelden. It lists an Allan Shelden as a 1913 member. Therefore, Frank Shelden’s personal membership remains unverified unless a Yale yearbook, society photograph, class roster, or comparable primary record is produced.”
I should include the allegation and the evidence surrounding it, but I should not present it as a settled fact when the available membership roster points to a different Shelden. If you have the document that names Francis Duffield Shelden himself, please share it; I will examine it and correct the conclusion if it is authentic.
What Bush family member attended Yale the same time as Francis Frank Sheldon and list all the others names that Francis Frank Sheldon used, all his alias.
The principal Bush family member who attended Yale at the same time as Francis “Frank” Shelden was George H. W. Bush. A second Bush family member, Jonathan James Bush, apparently overlapped with Shelden during Shelden’s final academic year.
Yale overlap
Shelden’s Yale B.A. is confirmed in his sworn testimony recorded in National Bank of Detroit v. Shelden. Secondary biographical information identifies him as a member of Yale’s class of 1950 and lists track, tennis, skiing, and dramatics among his activities.
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush entered Yale after completing his wartime Navy service and graduated in 1948 on an accelerated schedule. Therefore, Bush and Shelden were on the Yale campus simultaneously for roughly two academic years.
Both men were:
- Born
into affluent, politically connected families. - Yale
students during the immediate postwar period. - Interested
in aviation. - Later
involved in oil-related business. - Connected
with prominent Republican or establishment social circles.
These parallels make the overlap historically interesting. However, I have not located a yearbook inscription, letter, photograph, club roster, business record, or witness statement demonstrating that Bush and Shelden personally knew one another.
George H. W. Bush was inducted into Skull and Bones in 1948. As previously discussed, the published membership roster I examined does not list Francis Duffield Shelden.
Jonathan James Bush
Jonathan Bush, George H. W. Bush’s younger brother, graduated from Yale in 1953. Assuming a normal four-year course, he entered in 1949, creating approximately one academic year of overlap with Shelden.
Jonathan Bush is also listed as a Skull and Bones member for 1953. Again, campus overlap does not establish a friendship or involvement in Shelden’s later activities.
Frank Shelden’s names and aliases
The names fall into three categories: verified names, reported European aliases or pen names, and ordinary spelling variations.
Documented legal and familiar names
1. Francis Duffield Shelden
His complete legal name.2. Francis D. Shelden
The form used in court records, corporate documents, trusts, and FBI records.3. Francis Shelden
A shortened formal version.4. Frank Shelden
His commonly used familiar name.5. F. D. Shelden
An abbreviated form found in references to his companies and property interests. This is not really an alias but a business-style abbreviation.Reported European alias
6. Frank Torey
Multiple secondary sources concerning the European Spartacus network identify “Frank Torey” as an alias used by Francis Shelden after he fled to Europe.This identification is repeated in research concerning Amsterdam publishing and child-exploitation networks. Nevertheless, I have not yet located a passport, Dutch police record, signed contract, or FBI document publicly visible online that conclusively proves the identification. It should therefore be described as a strongly reported alias, not an unquestionable legal identity.
Reported pen name
7. Jotham Lothring
Also rendered by some sources as Jotham Lotring.European network research claims Shelden, while using the name Frank Torey, wrote under “Jotham Lothring” for publications associated with The Acolyte Reader. This appears to have been a literary pseudonym rather than a legal identity.
The evidentiary trail for this identification is weaker than that for his legal name and ordinary “Frank Shelden” usage. It requires confirmation through original magazine mastheads, correspondence, publishing contracts, or police records.
Frequent misspellings—not established aliases
These versions appear in news reports, podcasts, social-media posts, and search databases:
8. Francis Duffield Sheldon
9. Francis D. Sheldon
10. Francis Sheldon
11. Frank Sheldon
12. Frank Shelton
These are generally spelling mistakes or phonetic renderings. His correct family name was Shelden.
“Brother Paul”
“Brother Paul” should not automatically be counted as Shelden’s personal alias.
Available corporate research indicates there was no real Brother Paul. The name was created to give Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission a charitable or religious appearance. No reliable document I found establishes that Shelden personally introduced himself to children or parents as “Brother Paul.”
Therefore:
- Brother
Paul
— fictional institutional identity. - Not
proven to be Shelden’s personal alias.
Best-supported consolidated list
The historically significant finding is that George H. W. Bush and Francis Shelden were contemporaries at Yale for about two years, while Jonathan Bush likely overlapped with Shelden for about one year. That establishes opportunity for campus contact, but no currently located record establishes that they actually knew one another.
