The Kansas City Star
July 21, 1992
Edition: MID-AMERICA
Section: MID-AMERICA
Page: B6
Acquaintance abducted 3, FBI theorizes Person was trusted by at least one of missing women, expert believes.
Author: The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD - An FBI violent crime specialist theorizes that three missing women were abducted by someone at least one of them trusted, and the abductor probably had help from one or more others.
Authorities want to talk with people who may unwillingly have become involved in a possibly unplanned abduction, said James Wright of the bureau's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.
"I think they (other people) were brought into this not knowing what was going to happen. It's quite possible that the primary person did not know what was going to happen," Wright said.
"There are people that have knowledge who don't feel good about the knowledge they have. They may not be the primary person. " Wright spoke after a call-in television show about the case that aired Sunday night on KOZK-Ozarks Public Television.
Wright has been following the case since Sherrill Levitt, 47; her daughter, Suzie Streeter, 19, and Streeter's friend, Stacy McCall, 18, disappeared June 7. Authorities think the women were abducted because many things they would have taken out of town were left at Levitt's home in Springfield.
Wright said his theory came from "the totality of information," but he avoided specifics about the number or type of people he suspects are involved.
The abduction leader probably was an acquaintance "who may have known their comings and goings," he said.
Secondary players may fear going to police because they think the primary culprit would retaliate, he said.
But anyone withholding information probably is feeling strong anxiety, he added.
"If you think you don't feel good about it now, don't think it's going to get any better. Don't think it's going to go away," Wright said.
Springfield Police Chief Terry Knowles said the department could protect those who provide information