This spokesman declined to further elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. . Add Us To Your Page! There's been a lot of vans we actually processed forensically and unfortunately didn't lead us anywhere.". At the time of her disappearance, she was 4'2" tall and weighed about 68 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. Target 11's Rick Earle has uncovered a new lead in the case that has . And even harder, she says she had to find a way to forgive her own mother's guilt. Long will say about suspects: "Anybody that was implicated, until we find evidence otherwise, they still would be considered a suspect.". Mahan's abduction is strongly believed not to have been committed by a family member. "There was nobody that was a stranger to her," her mom says, "Like if you said her name she thought you knew her. Cherrie's photo is shown age-progressed to 44 years. Upon being reported missing police searched the area around Cherries home for days, with the assistance of helicopters, bloodhounds, and 250 volunteers. An unidentified small blue car was also observed near the bus stop that day, but it is unknown if it had anything to do with her case. ", But like all the other leads Trp. Cherrie Mahan was born on August 14, 1985, to 16-year-old mother Janice Mahan. ", The pain of the unknown has been hard to handle from the start. He maintains his innocence in his daughters disappearance. 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. First published on February 18, 2020 / 11:00 PM. by Chilling Crimes Her name is Cherrie Mahan, and she went missing here in Cabot, Pennsylvania in 1985. Friends Gather To Remember Cherrie Mahan The residents of Skimore watched as the town bully was shot dead in broad daylight. Missing person fliers were distributed which described Cherrie as 4 feet 2 inches tall and 68 pounds with brown hair and hazel-eyes. Leroy wasnt Cherries birth-father. By April, neighbours and family had raised $39,000 as a reward 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. January 17, 2022 Theonly other piece of evidence police had was tire marks that had been left in the snow at the bottom of the hill.Nobody saw Cherrie get into a van or car and nobody saw anybody taking Cherrie. Donations are accepted but not expected; the site remains free-access to all. Cherrie walked homealone. I want to see it, I want to know what happened. "Not him personally but the people that he knows yes. She shared with us that Cherrie was the result of rape when Janice was 16. Cherrie Mahan's Mother Still Searching 35 Years After Disappearance Watch on Cherrie Mahan's mother is still searching, KDKA's John Shumway reports. Debbie Burk, a mother who lived near Cherrie's family, told the Associated Press in 1985 that she always sat . According to Janice, Cherrie's biological father was a man living in nearby Armstrong County. The van was parked on a corner and Cherriehad to turn at that corner and then walk up a hill to her house. "Because the only thing that I cared about was taken from me. January 25, 2022, "The effects of abuse are devastating and far reaching. Cherries family legally petitioned to have her declared legally deceased and the action was granted in 1992. Despite the many tips authorities have received over the years, investigators have no new leads in her disappearance. The young married couple moved to Winfield Township and Leroy worked as a postal worker.They chose the area as itwas a quiet area and they thought it was the perfect place for Cherrie to grow up as there were many children who played outdoors and everyone felt so safe that they left their doors unlocked. Is she alive, is she not alive, is she okay, is she not okay, is she with somebody are they taking care of her, are they not taking care of her? A bright blue 1976 Dodge van with a mural of a mountain and a skier may be involved in her disappearance. Cherrie has pierced ears. Cherrie was born on August 14, 1976, and her mother Janice was only sixteen when Cherrie was born. Only Leroy's strong arm and grip kept it from happening. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. The family and friends of the family were questioned andJanice and LeRoy were given lie detector tests but nothing helped the investigation and the case went cold. Cherrie's father maintains his innocence in her case. His family have no solid clues and no sightings to pin their hopes on, and no idea if they will ever see. / CBS Pittsburgh. She was approximately 100 to 150 yards along the dirt driveway from her familys residence on Cornplanter Road. Email Newsletter: kept saying, My little girls gone. There were some leads in the years that followed. To understand the depth of this mother's despair you need to know this: "I got raped and had Cherrie when I was 16 years old and she was 'IT' for me. Those tips have prompted them to renew their call for anyone else with even small bits of info who were in the Cabot, Butler County, PA area that February 22, 1985 or who know information about the case to come forward with their information: Contact the State Police Butler barracks at 724-284-8100 with any info. 4. So she reached deep in her faith and found a way to forgive whoever was involved in Cherrie's disappearance. Just read another article about it this morning that said that. Copyright Disappeared Blog; All Rights Reserved /. However, investigators did state this "potentially crucial" information indicates Mahan is unlikely to still be alive. Pushing back tears she says, "I just want to be there in case they find her or in case they find just bones I want to be there. Finally found a replay of it and then the link online and it's a potentially MAJOR update. When no leads developed, a national direct mailing company, ADVO, put Cherrie's imageon postcards with the question. She believes people connected to Cherrie's father were involved in her disappearance. The mother was allegedly raped and conceived Cherrie. Although existing laws had determined Cherrie Mahan could have been declared legally dead seven years after her disappearance, Mahan's mother only pe*ioned to have her daughter legally declared deceased in 1998. And I said 'go check' and he went down he checked and she wasn't there," she says. "I was gonna jump out, cause that car behind us was going to squish me like a bug and I didn't care," she says. Missing Since 02/22/1985 Missing From Cabot, Pennsylvania Classification . 2023 Chilling Crimes. Previous Stories: June 13, 2011: New Trooper Assigned To 25-Year-Old Missing Girl Case There was an intensified nationwide campaign to find missing children and photographs of Cherrie were featured on spaghetti boxes and tucked inside telephone and utility bills. She still remains missing. More recently, a woman called the nursing home where Janice works claiming to be Cherrie. CABOT, Pa. Thirty-four years ago, on Feb. 22, 1985, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan got off the school bus in Cabot but never made it home. She was 4:feet 2:inches (1.27:m) in height and had brown hair and hazel eyes. Three other students got off with her at the stop. Cherrie, circa 1985; Age-progression to age 44 (circa 2020); Sketches of van possibly involved. She was my life". If you have any information on the circumstances surrounding Cherrie's disappearance, please call the Pennsylvania State Police Missing Persons unit at 724-284-8100. and Leroy McInney heard the school bus coming up the road just as they did Over the years, there have been frenzied moments of hope. About 10 minutes after the school bus stopped outside their home and she still hadnt returned, her stepfather went out to look for her. February 04, 2022, "The criminal justice system will take a hard look at what happened to Matthew Eappen. In the decades since Mahan's disappearance, investigators have pursued thousands of leads pertaining to the child's whereabouts and the iden*y of her abductor or abductors. 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. That afternoon, her mother, Janice McKinney, had promisedtobring her to a friend's house. Mahan's stepfather, LeRoy McKinney, overheard the school bus slowing to a halt near his home. Morbidology is a weekly true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson. The "It's amazing after all these years we still get a lot of inquiries a lot of information, a lot of tips, sometimes we'll get a couple a week, other times it may go months and we don't hear anything," he says. She believes people connected to Cherrie's father were involved in her disappearance. Janice reportedly had a very close and loving relationship with Cherrie, who was described as a talkative and sweet young girl. Some pieces to the puzzle appear to be falling into place here just days away from the 35th anniversary of the crime. Witnesses said she got into a blue van with a skier mural painted on the side. Janice had moved to Mars with Leroy and the couple now had a 5-year-old son, Robert. A forensic team excavated a mount there but uncovered nothing related Cherrie Mahans Disappearance Haunts Her Mother 35 Years Later Trib Live Its a kidnapping. The day Cherrie disappeared, Janice had the day off from work. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Some witnesses believed the van was painted black shortly after Cherrie went missing. 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. hell take her, she said. Lacking any conclusive evidence to the contrary, investigators have not discounted the possibility Mahan may still be alive. Her books are available on Amazon. Almost 35 years later, Cherrie Mahan's mother still lives in Butler County, and she wants to know what happened to her daughter. Domestic violence speaks many languages, has many colors and lives in many different communities. Im still hoping for the day she comes home and I can marry her off, she said.5, In November of 1998, Cherrie was declared legally dead. Every single day. They combed through the farmland and fields In December of 1910, she disappeared without a trace. She thought about suicide and even tried to jump out of the passenger door of her truck on Route 8. Would love your thoughts, please comment. 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. Cherrie's family had her declared legally deceased in 1992. Unfortunately, a thick fog fell across Winfield Township and the Police said they met with Mahan's mother on Monday to inform her of the new developments in the case. Everything! She was wearing Cabbage Other children on the bus and a neighbour told police that they 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. On the 6th of April, 1986, Anthonette Cayedito, 9, disappeared from her home in New Mexico after an unidentified man knocked at the door. On February 22, 1985, Cherrie Mahan got off of her school bus only blocks from her home. Now 35 years later, Pennsylvania State Trooper Jim Long says the phone still rings at the Butler Barracks about Cherrie. Cherrie's biological father was not a part of her life. The Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan Wikipedia Long. State police said they are now tracking a possible sighting of the girl that happened months after she vanished. The skier of the mural was wearing red and yellow clothing and was depicted skiing down the mountain. 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 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. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children featured Mahan as the first missing child to be depicted upon postcards distributed nationwide alongside a headline reading, "Have You Seen Me?" I watched an interview from Soft White Underbelly. Investigators took along cadaver dogs and Cherrie's mom was right there with them. Cherries biological father has never been charged in connection with her disappearance and maintains his innocence. Her birth father had never acknowledged her or attempted to have any kind of relationship wit her. Cherrie never made it home, and has never been seen again. Eight year old Cherrie Mahan was looking forward to finishing school for the weekend. Her It is up to the rest of us to take an even harder look at who is minding our children. Its every mothers dream to have a child graduate, go on to college and get married. Missing Date: Fri, Feb 22 1985. Get WPXI Headlines On Your Phone, iPhone, More I can't begin to imagine the pain. After finding her, he asked many times about what she could remember from the possible sighting. Leroy wasn't Cherrie's birth-father. This line of inquiry failed to generate any significant leads. 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. Cherries mother Janice later revealed that Cherrie was conceived through rape, and later went on to believe people involved with Cherries father may be responsible for her disappearance. "The person who I said was her father never wanted to admit to it," she said. That's all I pray for, all the time, is just to know.". There were further and multiple sightings of avan. and to this day she feels Cherrie's biological father knows . Cherrie's biological father has never been charged in connection with her disappearance and maintains his innocence. The children on the bus, and the bus driver told Janice and Leroy Cherrie did get off the bus. Authorities believe Cherrie was kidnapped, though no person if interest has ever been named in her case. You could However, none of their efforts led to any new or useful information. A distinctive van had been following the school bus and it was theorized whoever was in this van, abducted Cherrie. Cherries name is pronounced Cherry like the fruit and not as shah-ree like the spelling Cherie. According to children on the bus, the van had been following behind the bus, and had murals of a snow capped mountain and skier wearing red and yellow clothing on both sides.