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

[Jmoose]

Was it common for 6 year olds to walk alone back then? I picture my nieces and nephews and I would freak out if they walked alone.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I definitely walked alone to school and back at that age; my mother had a toddler and a baby, and no car, so I had to. We lived in a Pittsburgh suburb when Kathy went missing, and I remember my mother telling me not to ever get into the car of a stranger after this happened. One day I was walking home from school in a downpour, and a woman and a boy stopped in a car to offer me a ride-I told the lady I wasn’t allowed to get in the car, but she insisted, so I did. Of course, I got home fine, but was in so much trouble when I got home

 

[HelpingHeart]

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I definitely walked alone to school and back at that age; my mother had a toddler and a baby, and no car, so I had to. We lived in a Pittsburgh suburb when Kathy went missing, and I remember my mother telling me not to ever get into the car of a stranger after this happened. One day I was walking home from school in a downpour, and a woman and a boy stopped in a car to offer me a ride-I told the lady I wasn’t allowed to get in the car, but she insisted, so I did. Of course, I got home fine, but was in so much trouble when I got home

You know I may have walked alone once too now that I think back. Crazy to imagine because I’m a helicopter aunt now lol

 

[UncoolNegated]

Composite sketch of man sought as her abductor.
July 2nd, 1967. Daily News. New York. Page 26.

 

[Jmoose]

Composite sketch of man sought as her abductor.
July 2nd, 1967. Daily News. New York. Page 26.

View attachment 150740

Wow-I’ve searched the media for years and this is the first time seeing this! Thanks for posting it

 

[LikeTheGeneral]

Reading this thread for the first time, and finding out a lot of information I was unaware of. I am from the Tyrone area, and graduated from HS there. My mom was about the same age as Kathy when she disappeared, and remembered all of the fear from parents and the searches for Kathy.

 

[Jmoose]

Reading this thread for the first time, and finding out a lot of information I was unaware of. I am from the Tyrone area, and graduated from HS there. My mom was about the same age as Kathy when she disappeared, and remembered all of the fear from parents and the searches for Kathy.

I’d love to know what happened to Kathy

 

[LikeTheGeneral]

I’d love to know what happened to Kathy

Right? It's sad that both of her parents passed on without getting any peace of what happened to their daughter.

 

[Jmoose]

Right? It's sad that both of her parents passed on without getting any peace of what happened to their daughter.

I know, so sad. I remember this from when I was a little kid-it sent my normally kind of casual acting mom into orbit. This case is actually what brought me to Websleuths.

 

[tlrd]

Its been quite a while since I came across the "22 Faces" article. I have not heard anything more from the state trooper to whom I spoke, nor did I expect to. I agree with everyone here who said it seems so far fetched, especially since the therapist (supposedly of sound mind, lol) did not call LE. Such a strange story for someone to tell. I grew up in Altoona, PA, and was nine was Kathy was taken. As another poster said, there were not too many kidnappings that we heard of back then, and this was a smaller, rural area where everyone tends to know everyone. This one will always bother me, and I hope against all odds that this case is solved.

I am from altoona Pa too I was 4 when she went missing....

 

[tlrd]

Was it common for 6 year olds to walk alone back then? I picture my nieces and nephews and I would freak out if they walked alone.

Yes....I walked to school by myself too kindergarten and first grade...I lived in altoona pa

 

[Satch]

This an interesting article; it contains more information than most of the other articles written about this case. I wonder how much weight LE places on the statement of the patrol boys who talked about the guy in the car, who asked specifically about Kathy? The disappearance of this little girl changed the way my mother looked at letting us walk to and from school-she still didn't take us to school herself, because she didn't have a car, but under no circumstances were we to accept a ride with a stranger. I would love to know what happened to her

I could not find my post from some years ago. I always believed that Kathy fell in a manhole or was abducted. With the new information in the article that I had not read before, it is now almost certain that she was abducted. The first I had ever heard about a car in the area.

Satch

 

[Jmoose]

I could not find my post from some years ago. I always believed that Kathy fell in a manhole or was abducted. With the new information in the article that I had not read before, it is now almost certain that she was abducted. The first I had ever heard about a car in the area.

Satch

Poor little Kathy-how frightened she must have been.

 

[Satch]

Composite sketch of man sought as her abductor.
July 2nd, 1967. Daily News. New York. Page 26.

View attachment 150740

Was any additional information about this suspect posted?

Satch

 

[rosesfromangels]

Composite sketch of man sought as her abductor.
July 2nd, 1967. Daily News. New York. Page 26.

View attachment 150740

Someone asked me to look at this case and I have concluded there is a high likelihood it is the same miscreant that kidnapped Peggy Ann Bradnick who was from a town close by. Her kidnapping happed a year after Kathleen. Peggy was rescued. I'd say this guy looks like your composite - don't you think? William Diller Hollenbaugh (1921-1966) - Find A...
Here is the link to Peggy's kidnapping story
50 years later: Peggy Ann Bradnick Jackson revisits Mountain Man kidnapping in Shade Gap

I think this is your guy, and he's long gone.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Side by side comparison

 

[UncoolNegated]

Side by side comparison

Yeah, that could really be the guy. There's a reasonable approximation in my opinion. But the location is really convincing as additional evidence. Also, there is a very similar MO. Both Kathy and Peggy were abducted while they were either walking to or from school. I wonder if Kathy is buried somewhere in the backwoods of his cabin? His life steps may be worth retracing, although one article I found said he was committed about half of his life to prison or mental institutions.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Yeah, that could really be the guy. There's a reasonable approximation in my opinion. But the location is really convincing as additional evidence. Also, there is a very similar MO. Both Kathy and Peggy were abducted while they were either walking to or from school. I wonder if Kathy is buried somewhere in the backwoods of his cabin? His life steps may be worth retracing, although one article I found said he was committed about half of his life to prison or mental institutions.

Yes....
I would say it would be worthwhile to take cadaver dogs around his cabin area, and close proximity, to find his trophy stash. I’m convinced this is where Kathy and the remains of others could very well be.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[SAMS]

Following

 

[UncoolNegated]

Yes....
I would say it would be worthwhile to take cadaver dogs around his cabin area, and close proximity, to find his trophy stash. I’m convinced this is where Kathy and the remains of others could very well be.

Amateur opinion and speculation

Are cadaver dogs effective after 55 years?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Are cadaver dogs effective after 55 years?

I googled your question, and it appears that yes they can. Amazing animals.