Possible Break in Case of Cherrie Mahan 8 yo, missing since 1985

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/01/13/possible-break-case-seen-missing-girl/?intcmp=prn_baynote-js_Possible_Break_in_Case_of_First_Have_You_Seen_Me_Missing_Girl
Possible Break in Case of First 'Have You Seen Me?' Missing Girl
January 13, 2011


These images provided by The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children show at left, a photograph from 1985 of 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan and, at right, a computer art depiction of an age progression image of how Cherrie Mahan may look today, at 33 years of age (AP).

A tipster has provided "potentially crucial" information that could help solve the case of an 8-year-old western Pennsylvania girl missing since 1985, state police say.

Cherrie Mahan, who was last seen stepping off a school bus in Winfield Township on Feb. 22, 1985, became the first child ever featured on the now-famous "Have You Seen Me?" advertising circulars produced by Advo Inc. aimed at finding missing children.

On Wednesday, the Valley News Dispatch reported that Trooper Robert McGraw says police are chasing a new lead in the case. McGraw declined to specify the new information, only to say that the person providing the information is apparently trying to help the girl's family find out what happened to Mahan, who would now be 34.

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a bright blue 1976 Dodge van with a mural of a mountain and a skier may be involved in her disappearance.

Mahan's mother, Janice McKinney, of Saxonburg, Pa., told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette she doesn't want to get her hopes up, but that this could be the "answer" to her prayers.

"It would [be] beyond my wildest dreams if she was still alive and I could hold her and tell her everything that I've missed, but that's my heart talking," McKinney told the newspaper. "My mind's saying, 'Janice, wake up, smell the coffee. If she was alive she would have come home.'"

McKinney continued, "I've always felt that Cherrie's OK. I just don't know if she's dead or alive. I put it in the Lord's hands."

Mahan, who had pierced ears at the time of her disappearance, was last seen wearing a gray coat, blue denim skirt, blue legs warmers and beige boots.

Anyone with information pertaining to her whereabouts is asked to call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (800) 843-56

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13844741
Missing girl case reopens after 26 years
January 12, 2011

WINFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA (CNN) - Police in western Pennsylvania have received a tip that could answer the mystery surrounding Cherrie Mahan, who disappeared 26 years ago on her way home from school.

On Feb. 22, 1985, Cherrie Mahan, 8, got off the school bus on Cornplanter Road in Winfield Township in Butler County and she was never seen again.

"After 26 years, all I pray for is just an answer," said Janice McKinney, the mother of Cherrie Mahan. "You know, something credible is going to let me know exactly what happened to Cherrie."

Now, Janice McKinney may finally have her prayers answered. State police have said someone gave them what they call perhaps the most promising tip they have received.

"It's like they just appeared of the blue. It was just, the timing was strange, they were sent here for a reason," said Robert McGraw, a Pennsylvania state trooper.

Police describe their mood as extremely optimistic. They will not say what the new information is or who the witness is. They are pretty much keeping all information under wraps.

"I just know that this person is doing the right thing now. They are seeking closure for Cherrie's family," said McGraw.

"I just want to know what exactly happened to my daughter. It would ease my heart tremendously," McKinney said.

"What we are working on right now could turn out to be absolutely nothing. It could be another dead end or this could bring closure to Cherrie's family," said McGraw. "We don't know yet, but we are going to find out."

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20028563-504083.html
Cherrie Mahan Missing: Penn. Police May Have Break in 1985 Missing Girl Case
January 14, 2011

Eight-year-old Cherrie Mahan disappeared 26 years ago after getting off her school bus. Now, Pennsylvania State Police say "potentially crucial" information has been revealed in her disappearance.
Unfortunately, police also say that this new information means it is "highly unlikely" Cherrie is still alive.

Cherrie was last seen stepping off a school bus in Winfield Township, Pa., about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh, on Feb. 22, 1985. She was the first child ever featured on the now-famous "Have You Seen Me?" advertising circulars produced by a company called Advo Inc., for the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children.

"An individual came to the Pennsylvania State Police Butler station and provided some information to an investigator regarding this case," Trooper Dan Kesten told CBS affiliate KDKA. "[It] may or may not produce additional leads for us."

Investigators will not reveal what the person who came forward said, but they do say the information is more specific than past tips have been.

Trooper Robert McGraw told The Associated Press that the new information makes it "highly unlikely that she is alive."

McGraw has been the lead investigator on the case since late last summer and told The Valley News Dispatch that there still is a chance that Cherrie is alive. If she is, she would be 33 years old. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has produced an age-progressed photo of what Cherrie might look like today.

Cherrie was 4-feet-2-inches tall and weighed about 68 pounds when she disappeared. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. She has pierced ears and was last seen wearing a gray coat, blue denim skirt, blue leg warmers and beige boots.

Cherrie's mother, Janice McKinney, told KDKA, "It's closure we're all looking for," and hopes this person coming forward will provide that. "The not-knowing is what eats you alive every single day of your life."

[Nut44x4]

WOW Muffy.... thanks for posting this.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/opinion/s_718585.html
Valley Tuesday takes
January 18, 2011

The Mahan case: There may never be an answer to the question, "What happened to Cherrie Mahan?" The Winfield girl stepped off her school bus almost 26 years ago and into oblivion. No solid lead has ever developed and we have doubts one ever will. But we give credit to the Butler state police for keeping the case file active. Investigators currently are hopeful regarding "potentially crucial" information that recently came to light.

*********************
This is obviously someone's opinion, but I hope they're wrong.  The odds would be against Cherrie Mahan being found alive and it would be wonderful if she were.   However, I believe there is hope the case can be solved.  I've been seeing more older, cold cases being solved lately.  I hope there can be some answers found for Cherrie and her for her family and friends. 

[cartfly]

Target 11: Police Seek DNA In Cherrie Mahan Case

Posted: 3:47 pm EDT June 13, 2011Updated: 5:20 pm EDT June 14, 2011

 ::snipping2::
PITTSBURGH -- Cherrie Mahan vanished from a Butler County neighborhood 26 years ago. Target 11's Rick Earle has uncovered a new lead in the case that has investigators working on new interviews and a DNA test in Michigan.

It was February 22, 1985, when a school bus dropped Mahan off at her stop on Cornplanter Road in Winfield Township. That was the last time she was seen. Witnesses said she got into a blue van with a skier mural painted on the side.

State police said they are now tracking a possible sighting of the girl that happened months after she vanished. Police said that girl may now be a woman living in a small Michigan community.

The woman in question denies that she is Mahan, but investigators said they have a lot of questions and interviews to do before making any determinations.

Earle traveled to Michigan to track down the source of the tip. After finding her, he asked many times about what she could remember from the possible sighting. Earle said the tipster was vague but then went into more detail after Channel 11 News cameras were shut off.

The woman said she believes she saw the van witnesses said Mahan entered the day she disappeared at a high school track meet. It wasn't until sometime after that track meet that the woman said she learned about the Mahan case.

The tipster said she called a phone number listed on Mahan's missing person flier, but never heard back from anyone. She said she was so concerned that she even tracked down Mahan's mother.

Now 26 years later, the details of the woman's story are emerging and police said they are looking into every new piece of information.

Investigators said they have received calls and emails about sightings periodically, but the main thing they want now is evidence. Police said they are now doing DNA testing to rule out any possibility that the woman living in Michigan is not Cherrie Mahan.
 ::snipping2::
http://www.wpxi.com/news/28223000/detail.html

[cartfly]

Posted: 1:55 pm EDT June 15, 2011Updated: 7:48 am EDT June 16, 2011

Michigan Police: Woman Is Not Cherrie Mahan
 ::snipping2::
PITTSBURGH -- Target 11 Investigator Rick Earle just spoke with authorities in Michigan who said they have looked into claims from a tipster there that Cherrie Mahan was alive, well and living in rural Michigan.

Mahan was last seen stepping off a school bus in Winfield Township in February 1985 when she was 8-years-old.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s department in Michigan told Earle that the woman in questions is not Mahan.

The spokesman said his investigators interviewed the woman and saw a copy of her birth certificate. He said they also went to the local high school where she graduated from and saw pictures of her from as early as Kindergarten. At that time, investigators said she was a student in a school district in Michigan.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wpxi.com/news/28247006/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

New search unsuccessful for girl missing since '85
Police, K-9s, archaeology team search in Winfield Township, where Cherrie Mahan disappeared years ago
http://www.wtae.com/news/new-search-made-in-cherrie-mahan-case/27015936
UPDATED 4:16 PM EDT Jul 18, 2014

CABOT, Pa. —A search this week of a property in western Pennsylvania came up empty in the latest effort to find 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan who disappeared in 1985.

The Pennsylvania State Police and a team from the Mercyhurst University Archaeological Institute this week searched a property in Butler County.
   
Police say the continued investigation and interviews led to the searches. They brought search dogs to the property and the Mercyhurst team excavated part of it.   

[Sister]

It may happen some day -- hope springs eternal.