The Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan Morbidology The heartbreaking disappearance of a third-grader has haunted a small Pennsylvania town for almost four decades, It sounds like a scene out of a movie: a beautiful little girl gets off her school bus, waves to her friends, and begins to make the short walk up her driveway alone. Long says, "There's been a lot of vans that we looked at. Did she fall overboard or did something much more sinister happen? The child's mother has stated that she doesn't believe Cherrie's biological father kidnapped her, but that people "known to him . She gave it to the police and Trp. However, investigators did state this "potentially crucial" information indicates Mahan is unlikely to still be alive. After KDKA's report of a new revelation from Cherrie's mother, KDKA's John Shumway reports police received dozens of new tips. A bright blue or green 1976 Dodge van was seen in the area at the time of Cherrie's disappearance and may be connected to her case. Emphasizing her belief that an anonymous tip from the public could finally give herself and her family the closure they crave, McKinney stated to the media: "I just wish someone would come forth and tell me what happened. Please enter valid email address to continue. Some pieces to the puzzle appear to be falling into place here just days away from the 35th anniversary of the crime. Pennsylvania child Cherrie Mahan still missing after getting off school Efforts to locate Mahan, alive or deceased, are ongoing. Missing From: CABOT, PA. Cherrie was known to be a cheerful little girl. she kept the door unlocked every night in the hopes that it was a Cherrie Mahan was an eight year old girl living with her mother in Winfield Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania. Major Cherrie Mahan Update: Her Mother Believes She Knows Who Took Her Child, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/02/18/mother-police-still-searching-for-butler-county-girl-cherrie-mahan/, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video/4452856-cherrie-mahans-mother-still-searching-35-years-after-disappearance/. Then in 2015, cadaver dogs descended on a Winfield property Three other students got off with her at the stop. Cherrie Ann Mahan - The Resource Center For Cold Case Missing Children Long says, "We actually followed up on to the point we were investigating people outside of the commonwealth, the FBI got involved and helped us out. She went missing Feb. 22, 1985 walking home from her bus stop. Missing Date: Fri, Feb 22 1985. Cherrie Ann Mahan was born in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1976 to mother Janice Mahan, who was just 16 years old when Cherrie was born. She would drive Robert to and from school, and even walks him into the building. There was a soda machine down the street outside the beer distributor and We knew the owner whom was like another grandfather to us ..We even called him Pappy and he would give us each a dollar and free soda anyways We would walk down the street arms locked always looking out for said van! After being unable to find her he called the police to report her missing at approximately 5:00 pm. Appeals as to sightings of the distinctive bluish-green Dodge van produced eyewitnesses who informed investigators they had seen a vehicle matching this description in New Kensington, traveling in the direction of Mount Pleasant. Email Newsletter: ", Sign up to get the latest true crime stories, new product releases and more, Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more . "We heard the bus come and after five or tens minutes and Leroy said 'maybe she fell down, do you want me to go check? Cherrie's case has never been solved. Home Mysteries The Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan. Thirty-five years after her daughter 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan got off her school bus in rural Butler County and disappeared, Janice McKinney can tell you time does not heal the wound. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. She believes that incident and the disappearance are related, and that "friends" of her alleged rapist (Cherrie's unnamed biological father) were responsible for Cherrie's disappearance. In 1994,police questioned a Massachusetts man who was accused of abducting and killing a child and of attempting to abduct another child. McKinney said the father knew a biker gang she felt was dangerous, but she doesn't know if they were violent. Cherrie's father maintains his innocence in her case. Despitethe unique appearance of the van and mural, no van has ever been seized in connection with Cherries disappearance and there has never been a main person of interest. abducted, she refused to let herself consider the fact that she could be deceased. Cherrie's family had her declared legally deceased in 1992. The question still remains: Who killed him? and Leroy McInney heard the school bus coming up the road just as they did She was approximately 100 to 150 yards along the dirt driveway from her familys residence on Cornplanter Road. Now, 35 years later, Janice McKinney just wants to know. A man makes video interviews of homeless people. Janice McKinney says authorities did not believe her rape allegation and Cherrie's biological father was never charged. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Mahan alighted her bus with three friends at approximately 4:10 p.m. before her friends entered a car driven by the mother of one of the girls, Debbie Burk, that had followed the school bus. WINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - On a sunny Feb. 22, 1985, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan got off her school bus on Cornplanter Road and headed to her driveway and her home. When no leads developed, a national direct mailing company, ADVO, put Cherrie's imageon postcards with the question "Have you seen me?" The woman said she believes she saw the van witnesses said Mahan entered the day she disappeared at a high school track meet. Anonymous letter could shed light on decades-old disappearance Cherrie Mahan - Chilling Crimes Addressing the media following the conclusion of these legal proceedings, Janice McKinney stated: "When people die, you have a body. Even if someone does not know the full details of what happened, they know something and must come forward. Long says, "Unfortunately that letter as a whole hasn't been very fruitful at this point. They combed through the farmland and fields "And believe me, any parent who has dealt with an accidentthat guilt can kill ya.". Finally found a replay of it and then the link online and it's a potentially MAJOR update. PA - PA - Cherrie Mahan, 8, Cabot, 22 Feb 1985 | Page 35 | Websleuths The police have said that unless the case veers in a different direction for some reason, Cherrie . Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan Biography | HowOld.co We'll always look for Cherrie. Unsolved Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan, age 8, Butler County Janice later married LeRoy McKinney who accepted Cherrie as his step-daughter. Janice read the letter carefully. The couple lived in Winfield Township, Butler County, The children on the bus, and the bus driver told Janice and Leroy Cherrie did get off the bus. ", The pain of the unknown has been hard to handle from the start. Mahan's local community raised $39,000 as a reward for Mahan's safe return, with a local business also pledging an additional $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of her abductor or abductors. She was wearing Cabbage She was carrying a blue backpack with two straps and a cream colored top. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "To forgive somebody that I didn't know because I was killing myself.". When Janine had a dream that she found Cherrie However, none of their efforts led to any new or useful information. There were further and multiple sightings of avan. Almost 35 years later, Cherrie Mahan's mother still lives in Butler County, and she wants to know what happened to her daughter. McKinney said Cherrie's father still lives in Butler County and was local to where she grew up in Clinton Township. Theres been This spokesman declined to further elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. He interviewed a women, named Clover, who claims she was abducted as a child, and she looks a lot like this girl. Janice McKinney is holding out hope that after 35 years someone will have an attack of conscience and come forward with the tip police need. Gone in the Blink of an Eye: The Cherrie Mahan Story Word of the potential abduction spread quickly throughout the So she reached deep in her faith and found a way to forgive whoever was involved in Cherrie's disappearance. Cherrie never made it home, and has never been seen again. Psychic Sisters Suzanne and Jean Vincent give detailed psychic Impressions as to what has happen to Cherrie Mahan, Abducted from Butler County February 22 19. Lacking any conclusive evidence to the contrary, investigators have not discounted the possibility Mahan may still be alive. Cherrie Mahan's family and members of law enforcement gathered at the Saxonburg Memorial Church 30 years after her unsolved disappearance. Oh my God, its Cherrie! Like the possible sightings of women who could have been Cherrie in Michigan and New Jersey, both were ruled out. But Her house was just fifty yards from the school stop and Debbie Burk, the mother of one of Cherrie's friends, saw Cherrie get off the bus and walk past her van. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. You would think a child would be safe to walk such a short distance I hope the parents dont blame themselves. No arrests have ever been made in her case and no suspects have been identified in the case. to Cherrie or her disappearance. Cherrie's biological father was not a part of her life. A forensic team excavated a mount there but uncovered nothing related prisoners in the area, hoping that one of them would have some information ", Trp. Investigators quickly discounted any possibility Mahan had been kidnapped for a ransom; concluding the child most likely knew her abductor or abductors, although all family members were quickly eliminated as suspects. This was the last time that she was seen. I want to see it, I want to know what happened. Mahan's abduction is strongly believed not to have been committed by a family member. These cards were mailed to thousands of households across the U.S., placed inside telephone and utility bills, alongside an artist's rendition of the distinctive van seen in the vicinity of her abduction. If you have any information on the disappearance of Cherrie Mahan, contact the State Police Butler barracks at 724-284-8100. Cherrie Mahan: Still Missing After 36 Years - Medium When 8-year-old Cherrie got off the bus that day, Janice says she didn't just evaporate. Cherrie Mahan's Mother Still Searching 35 Years After Disappearance Watch on Cherrie Mahan's mother is still searching, KDKA's John Shumway reports. Add Us To Your Page! If nothing else, she'll always be in our hearts.". RSS: road like madmen. Cherrie never arrived home and has never been seen again. The Disappearance of Fredrick Valentich Up until that day, I was there every day to pick her up after school. We drove down the Blue incolor with the mural on both sides. The Mysterious Disappearance Of Cherrie Mahan Explained The bright blue or green 1976 Dodge van that was seen at the bus stop at the time Cherrie went missing may be connected to her case, though the van or person driving it has never been identified. She chatted with her friends until they all went their separate ways. According to Janice, Cherrie's biological father was a man living in nearby Armstrong County. The terrain around her home was extensively searched with the *istance of bloodhounds and helicopters, and investigators conducted house to house inquiries. Morbidology is a weekly true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson. Cherrie was born on August 14, 1976, and her mother Janice was only sixteen when Cherrie was born. Most of these leads have been potential sightings of Mahan or the two vehicles observed in the vicinity of her abduction, although the child has never been found, and neither vehicle was ever located. So we will work as quickly as we can to get those answers," said Lt. Steve Ignatz. Your email address will not be published. The fliers also contained a description of the van following the school bus. The day Cherrie disappeared, Janice had the day off from work. Janice claimed that she'd been raped at the age of 15, but this didn't stop Janice being a good mother who doted on her daughter. Cherrie Mahan, eight years old. premonition.4, The case gradually went cold. daily newspaper in the nation. In 2000, a computer-generated rendition of how Mahan may have looked at age 23 was mailed to thousands of households across America. February 04, 2022, "The criminal justice system will take a hard look at what happened to Matthew Eappen. about Cherries whereabouts. More recently, a woman called the nursing home where Janice works claiming to be Cherrie. Leroy wasnt Cherries birth-father. He said that there had been no leads for years but said that they were still treating the case as a stranger abduction. WINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - On a sunny Feb. 22, 1985, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan got off her school bus on Cornplanter Road and headed to her driveway and her home. Using investigative research combined with primary audio, Morbidology takes an in-depth look at true crime cases from all across the world. her.1. That's all I pray for, all the time, is just to know.". When Cherrie went missing, she. Cherrie Mahan, age 8 (Photo provided by PA State Police) . In another follow up article just hours after the original the police spell out his person of interest status more explicitly: "John Shumway (local reporter) went back to the state police today about Cherries biological father. 36 Years Later, Still No Sign Of Girl Abducted After Getting Off School Bus WPXI Cherrie Mahan was last seen on February 22nd 1985 in Cabot, Pennsylvania. 15 Mysterious Disappearances That'll Never Be Solved - TheRichest How Did Cherrie Mahan Disappear 50 Feet From Her Front Door? Her Witnesses said she got into a blue van with a skier mural painted on the side. mother, Janice. Mahan's mother has stated that prior to her daughter's disappearance, nobody had believed her claims that her daughter had been conceived through her being raped, adding that on "any other day", she would have been standing at the bottom of her driveway to meet her daughter when the school bus arrived, and that February 22, 1985, was the first day she had not done so. A further line of inquiry investigators pursued dates from 2014, when investigators pursued a tip that Mahan was alive and living under an *umed name in Michigan. Debbie was the last known person to see Cherrie and she claimed she waited until Cherrie walked past her vanbefore she drove off. Her mother believes that people who had connections to Cherries biological father were involved in Cherries presumed abduction. According to her mother, Cherrie was conceived through rape when her mother was sixteen years old. Its a kidnapping. . Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. And instead of picking her up on the way home, she was waiting at home instead. Pennsylvania State Police Officer Robert McGraw, referencing the ongoing investigation into Cherrie Mahan's disappearance. She believes people connected to Cherrie's father were involved in her disappearance. What I hope what people get from this piece is people actually see the pain she's living through," says Trp. []. no ransom note, said Lt. Francis Walton of the state police. Another person saw Cherrie walk past the van which was seen parked at the side June 14, 2011 at 5:20 pm EDT. Janice McKinney feels like she has nothing to lose in her search to find out what happened to her daughter. Cherrie's picture wasdistributed and featured on milk cartons. Leroy was her step dad, and Cherrie didn't know her biological dad. First published on February 19, 2020 / 7:48 PM. ", by Chilling Crimes Its every mothers dream to have a child graduate, go on to college and get married. The mother was allegedly raped and conceived Cherrie. Police said they met with Mahan's mother on Monday to inform her of the new developments in the case. Its so sad, the mom really has a lot of guilt because apparently that was the one day that she didnt pick her up at school or something. Target 11's Rick Earle has uncovered a new lead in the case that has . PA - PA - Cherrie Mahan, 8, Cabot, 22 Feb 1985 - Websleuths She was only eight-years-old when she disappeared. We almost hit Leroy. When she failed to arrive home, her stepfather went looking for her and called police when he failed to find her. Missing person fliers were distributed which described Cherrie as 4 feet 2 inches tall and 68 pounds with brown hair and hazel-eyes. The van has never been located or identified and investigators are still not sure if it was connected to Cherrie's case. The skier was wearing red and yellow clothing and was skiing down the mountain. The Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan - TPKs Stories She was approximately 100 to 150 yards along a dirt driveway from her family's residence on Cornplanter Road in Cabot, Pennsylvania at the time she disappeared. Her friends got into a car driven by the mother of one of the girls, while Cherrie headed home on foot. . Cherrie was last seen getting off of the bus from her elementary school at approximately 4:05 p.m. on February 22, 1985. Investigators took along cadaver dogs and Cherrie's mom was right there with them. Despite the many tips authorities have received over the years, investigators have no new leads in her disappearance. Age: 8 years old Mahan was then observed to walk past a bluish-green van which had parked near the bus stop and turn a corner to walk the approximately 150-yard uphill driveway to her home. Mobile: There were further and multiple sightings of avan. I never left that house without her, we were always together, we grew up together, she was my life.". Pennsylvania Child Still Missing After Getting Off School Bus in 1985 NBC News 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. On Friday, February 22, 1985, the child was excited as her mother intended to take her on a play date when she returned from school. At the time of her disappearance, she was 42 tall and weighed about 68 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. Cherrie Ann Mahan. Her books are available on Amazon. Janice says, "They were ecstatic. In 2020, McKinney revealed her conviction that although she does not believe Cherrie's biological father was involved in her abduction, she believes individuals known to him were. One of the most recent lines of inquiry investigators pursued dates from 2018, when McKinney received an anonymous handwritten letter describing in detail who had murdered her daughter, why they had done so, and where her remains are buried. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. 2023 Cox Media Group. radio stations picked it up and played it on air hoping to generate some tips Janice McKinney says authorities did not believe her rape allegation and Cherries biological father was never charged. Her case info. February 19, 2020 / 7:48 PM It was just thetwo of them for a while and they were extremely close. I can't begin to imagine the pain. A small blue car was also seen near the site of Cherrie's disappearance. There are predators everywhere. Letters and posters were sent to every television station and ", Police are aware of McKinney's suspicions and have told her the man is adamant in his denials. Police and psychics step up efforts to find who took Cherrie Mahan 38 The vehicle has never been located or identified and its unclear if it was the vehicle used to abduct Mahan. Bloodhounds were unable to pick up Cherries trail past the point where the blue van had stopped. Her stepfather reported her missing when he couldnt locate her. And even harder, she says she had to find a way to forgive her own mother's guilt. It is unknown if the car has anything to do with her case either. At the time of her disappearance, Mahan was eight years old. It was February 22, 1985, when a school bus dropped Mahan off at her stop on Cornplanter Road in Winfield Township. 'It's A Torment': Cherrie Mahan's Mother Still Searching 35 Years After The police did not believe the rape allegation and Cherrie's biological father was never charged. about Cherrie. And police are hoping in there somewhere, they'll find the answer to Cherrie's disappearance. never arrived home. She was in the third grade. A bright blue or green 1976 Dodge Van is believed to possibly be involved in Mahans abduction. If you have any information on the circumstances surrounding Cherries disappearance, please call the Pennsylvania State Police Missing Persons unit at 724-284-8100. "It's heart breaking for anybody. This is not over. But s. Cherrie has never been heard from again. Wikipedia article Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And I didn't care what happened.". Debbie, the children on the bus and the bus driver told Janice and Leroy that Cherrie did get off the bus. Long will say about suspects: "Anybody that was implicated, until we find evidence otherwise, they still would be considered a suspect.". of the road. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Pennsylvania State Police continue to receive tips and updates relating to Mahan's disappearance. 8 year old Cherrie Mahan was last seen exiting her school bus near her home in Winfield Township, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1985. When no significant leads developed and the child had been missing for three months, a national direct mailing company printed a photograph of Mahan on postcards accompanied by the question, "Have you seen me?" In November of 1998 Cherrie was declared legally dead, and her family set up a trust fund in Cherries name that could be transferred to her younger brother Robert who was born four years after her disappearance. Cherrie walked homealone. Cherrie's mom doubts the van was even involved. Janice and her husband Leroy were in their home at the top of the hill waiting for Cherrie to get home so they could take her to a play date with friends. She writes about missing persons, unsolved murders, and human rights. Cherrie was then observed walking past a blue/green van that was parked near the bus stop, before turning the corner to walk up the driveway to her home. She was 4:feet 2:inches (1.27:m) in height and had brown hair and hazel eyes. The van was parked on a corner and Cherriehad to turn at that corner and then walk up a hill to her house. Psychic Investigators Profile Missing Cherrie Mahan Abducted - YouTube In 2020, McKinney revealed her conviction that although she does not believe Cherrie's biological father was involved in her abduction, she believes individuals known to him were. 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