Jean Elizabeth Spangler (September 2, 1923 – disappeared October 7, 1949) was an American actress who appeared in bit parts in several Hollywood films in the late 1940s.

Born in Seattle, Washington, Spangler attended high school in Los Angeles, California, before beginning a career in film in 1948, appearing as a dancer in several uncredited roles, including in Walter Lang's When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948), the comedy Chicken Every Sunday (1949), and the musical drama Young Man with a Horn (1950).

On the evening of October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles, telling her sister-in-law that she was going to meet with her ex-husband before going to work as an extra on a film set.

[1] Spangler's disappearance generated various theories, which ranged from her alleged death in a botched abortion to her fleeing with Los Angeles gangsters with whom she was acquainted.

At the time of her disappearance, she lived with her mother Florence, five-year-old daughter Christine, brother Edward, and sister-in-law Sophie, on Colgate Avenue in the Park La Brea residential complex near Wilshire Boulevard.

It will work best this way while mother is away, On October 9, 1949, Spangler's purse was found near the Fern Dell entrance of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from her home.

When Spangler's mother, Florence, returned to Los Angeles, she told police that someone named "Kirk" had picked up Jean at her house twice but stayed in his car and did not come in.

[8] During the search, one volunteer's dog dug up a denim Los Angeles County Jail uniform in a shallow hole, but no other belongings of Spangler were found.

[7][11][12] Later, when interviewed via telephone by the head of the investigating team, Douglas admitted that he had "talked and kidded with her a bit" on set,[13][14] but that he had never spent time with her outside of the film production.

[6] The theory that Spangler disappeared under circumstances related to a botched abortion attempt was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

[7] Spangler had also told her friend, actor Robert Cummings, that she was having a casual affair at the time, but did not mention the identity of the man.

[17] According to historian Jon Lewis in his book Hard-Boiled Hollywood: Crime and Punishment in Postwar Los Angeles, Spangler had worked for a time as a dancer at Florentine Gardens, a nightclub owned by Mark Hansen and Nils Thor Granlund.

[17] Lewis claims that her acquaintance with Hansen and Granlund "put her in the orbits" of various mob affiliates, including Anthony Cornero and Mickey Cohen.

When Benner was ordered to serve fifteen days in jail for being in contempt of court, he fled California with his daughter,[1] and later settled in Florida.