PA PA - Kathy Shea, 6, Tyrone, 18 March 1965

On a cool, sunny day in March of 1965, the innocence of a small PA town was lost forever. Parents no longer felt safe letting their children walk to school by themselves. Lots more adults were seen out and about at the times school started and ended. Even the children, who really didn't understand what was happening, felt the tension and responded, clinging closer to their parents.

Kathy Shea was a pretty little 6-year old, with brown hair and blue eyes. On the afteroon of March 18th, she was walking to the Adams Street school in her hometown of Tyrone, to attend kindergarten class. Along the way, she stopped to say hello to a neighbor, Mrs. Betty Fouss. Somewhere in the next 1 1/2 blocks, Kathy simply vanished and has never been seen again.

Police conducted one of the largest "manhunts" the area had ever seen. Local rivers were searched. Bloodhounds followed her scent to a nearby alley where they lost the trail. Because of this, police believed she was taken from the area by car. For the next several years, police continued the search for Kathy, mailing out circulars to all 50 states and travelling to many states to follow up on leads. in September of '66, a state police official stated that the police had spent 13,00 man-hours on the search for Kathy.

When William Hollenbaugh, known locally as "mountain man" and "bicycle Pete", kidnapped Peggy Ann Bradnick from neighboring Shady Gap, suspicion fell on him for the disappearance of little Kathy but police denied any connection between Hollenbaugh and Kathy. "Mysterious diggings" under his cabin were said by police to simply be hiding places for his guns and other things. Hollenbaugh was killed in a shootout in which Peggy was freed from a week of captivity.

The case, which stayed on the minds of residents over the years, was brought back with horrible clarity in 1996 when 11-year old Melody Curtis disappeared on June 29th. She had been playing with friends in Shea Park, named in honor of Kathy. Melody's body was located nearby on July 7th, and a local teen was arrested for her rape and murder.

Kathy's mother has died in the intervening years, but her father continues the search for any clue as to what happened to Kathy.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/72dfpa.html

Kathleen Ann Shea
Missing since March 18, 1965 from Tyrone, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: February 2, 1959
Age at Time of Disappearance: 6 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 3'11; 47 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: A brown hat; beige coat with a fur collar; red gloves; red knit sweater; brown jumper; red tights; and yellow boots with black soles.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Shea was last seen walking from her home to the Adams elementary school, approximately four blocks away, on March 18, 1965. She was traveling north between 15th and 16th streets in Tyrone, PA when she vanished.

Tyrone, Pa. is a relatively small town. This case has generated, and continues to generate, much interest in the Central Pennsylvania area. No trace of Kathy has ever been found despite extensive efforts on the part of both Local and State Law enforcement. Numerous possible leads were pursued with negative results.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Shea's whereabouts, please contact:
Pennsylvania State Police , Sgt. Jesse W. Zorger 814-696-6100
You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

NCIC Number: M-432795160
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Doe Network: Case File 72DFPA

I grew up in Tyrone, Pa. i graduated with Kathy's brother, todd. I do think though that someone planned to take Kathy, because of the fact that she was within 75 yards of the playgroundat Adams School. They knew her route to school, what time she, and when she got to where she was taken. I don't believe that this is was planned and executed, by someone that wanted her and her alone. I also feel that whoever did this, had to be affiliated with the school district, in some way, to take kathy the way that they did. I would love to hear what you think.

This is one of those cases, where you sit and wonder what ISN"T being said in the summaries.

For instance, who saw her last? Who first noticed her missing? Whose houses did she pass? Were there any known perverts or child molesters living in the area - and where were they that day?

Police must have asked and answered those questions. To write that she she had a four block walk to school and disappeared between two consecutivly numbered streets, implies that they know exactly on what block she disappeared. This must mean that someone saw her at 15th St and someone else who should have seen her at 16th street did NOT see her. (Safety Patrol kids perhaps?)

Those two witnessesses must then have seen any cars traveling on the road, and it would not be hard to determine where along the way, she was grabbed.

It would seem, from what is known, that this was probably a non-family abduction. It could have been done by someone who worked at the school, and who would therefor know the departure and arrival times of students. But it would seem that accounting for all school personnel would have been a priority in the investigation.

It would be easier for a casual acquaintence or family friend to have gotten Kathy to go with him/her than a complete stranger, but either would have been possible. It would not take anyone long to observe when and which children traveled to school, and what route they took. Grabbing a child on the way TO school (if not actually witnessed by someone) might go unnoticed for a while by school officials because it takes some time to take and record attendance, and to match the list against excused absences. It would be riskier to take a child in the afternoon when a mother or family member would be waiting at home for their child, and would become alarmed after only a short wait.

As to whether Kathy was specifically targeted by someone, or simply a target of opportunity - that would depend on a number of factors, all of which are unknowns at this point. There was no ransom note or call, and there was no known or stated family problem concerning child custody and no previous threats/attempts against Kathy. In the absense of that, it is probably a 50/50 chance of her abduction being a specifically planned attack, or simply a general plan with her being targeted only by chance.

Richard said:

This is one of those cases, where you sit and wonder what ISN"T being said in the summaries.

For instance, who saw her last? Who first noticed her missing? Whose houses did she pass? Were there any known perverts or child molesters living in the area - and where were they that day?. . .

Click to expand...

Makes you wonder if anyone living nearby had one of those weird underground dugouts under it like that guy did under his mobil home recently. I also agree that this case makes you wonder what else is not being said.

I grew up about 20 or so miles from Tyrone and was about 8 years old when this happened. It caused much stress among us kids. For some reason we always said that the riverman kidnapped her. We would always say "you better be careful or the riverman will get you". I think it was our first realization of the evil in the world. God Bless her parents all these years.

God bless her parents is exactly how everybody felt then, and I know it is how everyon still feel today. Mary Alice is no longer alive, but her husband is. I don't know his name. I only ever saw Mary Alice pick up Todd, from school.
Kathy had been sick a lot that school yr., for whatever reason, i am not sure. Judy Ferarri, the Kindergarten teacher thought nothing of her not being there that day, for that reason. She called after school, to find out how is was feeling, and that was when they discovered that she was missing.
I do agree that they have not disclosed, very much, about anything that might have to do with her disappearence, and that there is most definitely more to it. Every year, for a very long time, aroiund the time of her disappearence, they would have an article, or a group of articles, restating the facts that, they wanted the residents to know. I have always wondered if there was more to it, mainly because this happened where I grew up. I know that it truly shook Tyrone, down to its core.
If you look on the Doe network, you will see this case posted. It also has a photo of Kathy then, and it also has a computer generated photo of what she would most likely look like now. Her father had this done after Mary Alice passed away. I think that it would have taken a lot out of her mother, to see what she may have grown up to look like. I am sure that it did for the entire family.
After she disappeared,the enire town turned out in force to look for her, my father, included. It was then that everyone, adults mainly, started to watch everyone else kids, including there own.
If you should happen to know, or hear of anything, I would love to hear it.

Bumping Kathy's thread up for consideration. Could she be one of the victims recently mentioned by a Pennsylvania convict? This man has claimed that as a child, he saw his own father (a known pedophile, now long dead) bury two young children in Pennsylvania. The time frame being looked at is from about 1957 to 1963.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/72dfpa.html
Kathleen Ann Shea
Missing since March 18, 1965 from Tyrone, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction



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Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: February 2, 1959
Age at Time of Disappearance: 6 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 3'11; 47 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: A brown hat;beige coat with a fur collar red gloves; red knit sweater; brown jumper; red tights; and yellow boots with black soles.


vs.
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/14ufaz.html
Unidentified White Female
Little Jane Doe

Body located on March 24, 1979 in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona.
Cause of death is unknown due to skeletal remains. The child's neck was possibly broken as a post-mortem injury.
She is believed to have died between 1966 and 1978.


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Vital Statistics


Estimated age: 3 - 5 years old.
Approximate Height and Weight: 3'3"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Long brown hair, 7 inches in length.
Clothing: Her remains were strewn with pieces of decaying fabric. One item appeared to have been an off-white coarse-weaved cotton garment; another piece could have possibly been a dark blue or dark gray loose-weaved blanket.
Dentals: Available


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Case History
Two rock hunters discovered the skeletal remains of this young girl in Tempe, AZ in 1979. She was found partially buried in a shallow grave in the riverbed under the Tempe Bridge.
Her shallow grave was lined with fragments of old newspapers. It was later revealed that the remenants were from The Arizona Republic, dated "June 6, 1966" and "October 2, 1966."
The coroner judged that she had been deceased anywhere from 1-13 years. (It has been judged that the child probably died in 1966, but that is not certain).
The press dubbed the young child Little Jane Doe, a nickname which continues to hold presently.

I wonder if the garments were wool? I think wool is water resistant.

Did you submit this as a possible match???
I've sent it to my mother along w/ the question: Is/Was Kathy Shea related to ________ & ________ Shea with whom I graduated? The reconstruction looks JUST LIKE THEM! I graduated from a high school 20 minutes down the road from Tyrone and the two blanks are guys I went to school with. This really needs to be checked out!

Richard said:

Bumping Kathy's thread up for consideration. Could she be one of the victims recently mentioned by a Pennsylvania convict? This man has claimed that as a child, he saw his own father (a known pedophile, now long dead) bury two young children in Pennsylvania. The time frame being looked at is from about 1957 to 1963.

Click to expand...

Richard,

Was this the guy on a program talking about a bridge? Or they were walking around near a bridge ,thid guy was trying to remember.

Now I can't remember....

Pandora said:

Did you submit this as a possible match???
I've sent it to my mother along w/ the question: Is/Was Kathy Shea related to ________ & ________ Shea with whom I graduated? The reconstruction looks JUST LIKE THEM! I graduated from a high school 20 minutes down the road from Tyrone and the two blanks are guys I went to school with. This really needs to be checked out!

Click to expand...

No I didn't. I want to look around and see if someone hasn't already.

I got a reply from my mother. While she has no idea whether the Sheas in Tyrone were related to the Sheas in Huntingdon, she agrees that the reconstruction looks exactly like those in H-don. It definitely needs to be turned in as a potential match.

I sent this along to Nancy. We will see what she knows about it .

Poor Nancy I've driven her crazy this month.

ihadcabinfever said:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/72dfpa.html
Kathleen Ann Shea
Missing since March 18, 1965 from Tyrone, Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: February 2, 1959
Age at Time of Disappearance: 6 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 3'11; 47 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Clothing: A brown hat;beige coat with a fur collar red gloves; red knit sweater; brown jumper; red tights; and yellow boots with black soles.


vs.
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/14ufaz.html
Unidentified White Female
Little Jane Doe

Body located on March 24, 1979 in Tempe, Maricopa County, Arizona.
Cause of death is unknown due to skeletal remains. The child's neck was possibly broken as a post-mortem injury.
She is believed to have died between 1966 and 1978.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vital Statistics


Estimated age: 3 - 5 years old.
Approximate Height and Weight: 3'3"
Distinguishing Characteristics: Long brown hair, 7 inches in length.
Clothing: Her remains were strewn with pieces of decaying fabric. One item appeared to have been an off-white coarse-weaved cotton garment; another piece could have possibly been a dark blue or dark gray loose-weaved blanket.
Dentals: Available


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Case History
Two rock hunters discovered the skeletal remains of this young girl in Tempe, AZ in 1979. She was found partially buried in a shallow grave in the riverbed under the Tempe Bridge.
Her shallow grave was lined with fragments of old newspapers. It was later revealed that the remenants were from The Arizona Republic, dated "June 6, 1966" and "October 2, 1966."
The coroner judged that she had been deceased anywhere from 1-13 years. (It has been judged that the child probably died in 1966, but that is not certain).
The press dubbed the young child Little Jane Doe, a nickname which continues to hold presently.

I wonder if the garments were wool? I think wool is water resistant.

Click to expand...

As far as I know, wool IS water resistant - and oddly enough, I was coming here to post the same thing - it is highly possible. Someone should submit it as a match!!

I contacted Nancy( PA . Contact ) and she said she did not think it would be a match considering the 8 inch height difference.
She did provide me with some educational information on height determination.
I then went back to the Maricopia County website that had a different updated height esitmate. Now it says the girl could have been 3 feet 1 inch to 3 feet 5 inches tall.
I am wondering if anyone knows if Shea's height is correct? 3 foot 11 inches for a 6 year old , a kindergartener? Almost 4 foot tall? I am almost positive that is kind of tall for that age. What does anyone have to say? That off white jacket description is the thing that stuck out in my head. The other fabric like the jumper ? probably wool also. Hat & mittens .
This child sounds like someone cared very much by the description of the clothing. She certainly wasn't lacking anything.

So a 6 year could be 3 feet 11 inches tall?

So now the height has closed in to a 6 inch difference.

I do think that is rather tall for a Kindergartener. It could have been an estimate or a typo that never got corrected. Even with a big height difference, it could still be a possible link. Worth checking out as everything else seems to fit.

My 6 year old twins are in kindergarten and stand exactly 4 feet tall. Most of their classmates are almost, if not as tall. So yeah, it's possible. Unless you subcribe to the theory that today's children are taller than the previous one or two generations.

Even with the height difference, the resemblence is close enough that it should be checked, even if it is just to say "well, we tried, one more name crossed off."