Charlotte, circa 1981
Age-progression to age 44, (circa 2012)
Suspect sketch
Royal Russell Long
Charlotte June Kinsey was a 5’0 tall, 100 lb, blue eyed 13 year old with strawberry blond hair, when she went missing September 26, 1981. Charlotte enjoyed poetry and roller skating.
Charlotte and her friends Cinda Pallett went to the Oklahoma State Fair alone, the first time they were ever allowed to go without their parents. Charlotte called her mother, Paula Peterson, at 5:00 pm to let her know she and CInda had been offered a job helping a carnival worker unload stuff animals from a truck. Her mother agreed she could do this, but she had to call home at 9:00pm, the girls had planned on having a sleep over at Cinda’s house that night. Cinda’s mother, Norma Pallett, told Cinda to do the same and call home at 9:00 pm so she knew where to pick the girls up that evening. The 9 pm phone calls never came. Both mother became worried and called the Oklahoma City Police Department and reported the girls missing.
The Oklahoma City Police Department sent uniformed and undercover officers scoured the fairgrounds, looking for any sign of Charlotte and Cinda. Volunteers went from booth to booth hanging up flyers, while Charlotte’s family set up a 24-hour post at the fair. The police department sent up a dedicated task force for the case, the second time such an effort was organized. The first was after the slaying of six individuals at a local restaurant in 1978.
Witnesses reported a spurious man and a sketch was made, the one that is on the left, the male had claimed he worked for the carnival. He was between 35-50 years of age, 6”1—6”3 tall and between 200-250 lbs, with dark hair, a mustache, a full ark beard with grey streaks, and hairy muscular arms. He wore silver wired-rimmed eye glasses, straw cowboy hat, brown-striped cowboy shirt/plaid shirt, digital watch on left wrist, leather belt tooled with the name “Joseph” and a yellow badge. He drove a tan two door 80-81 Pontiac Grand Prix with half vinyl roof and South Dakota license plate.
Investigators spoke with several other kids at the fair. These kids reported this man had offered them jobs for $5 an hour.
Two teen boys reported that this man asked them to help him. The boys reported that they went with the man, Charlotte and Cinda where in the backseat of the car. He took the four to a truck stop off Interstate 40 to meet the truck with the stuffed toys in it, but the truck was not there. The man dropped the boys off in the parking lot, gave them $10 and told them to wait there. He drove off, with Charlotte and Cinda still in the backseat. This was the last time the girls where ever seen.
After the girls disappeared, a yellow badge was found. The name on the badge was Donald Michael Corey, a 36-year-old carnival drifter who resembled the man in the witness sketches. Police immediately launched a nation wide man hunt for Corey, and charged him with two counts of kidnapping. Some reports state he was arrested in Texas, other say Alabama. After his arrest Corey was able to prove he was in Dallas, Texas at the time of the disappearance. All charges where dropped.
All of the Oklahoma State Fair employees were ruled out as suspects. The police believe the abductor was posing as a worker.
After a few months a reward for leads was announced. Police received numerous tips and sights but none could be verified.
The prime suspect in the disappearance of the girls has been Royal Russell Long. Long was a carnie and part-time long-haul truck driver. He closely resembled the sketch. He arrived in Oklahoma City the day before Cinda and Charlotte disappeared to deliver a flatbed trailer to a local business. He later admitted to visiting the fair the following day. Despite witnesses identifying him as the man offering children jobs at the fair, he denied any involvement.
Long was charged with kidnapping and murder of Charlotte and Cinda in August 1985. Long plead not guilty.
During the investigation of Long, the two boys and other witnesses identified Long as the man who offered the girls jobs and had approached others. Long had a history of sexual violence towards young women. Long’s own daughter claimed he had molested her for years and she had witnessed him try to lure other girls with puppies and stuffed animals.
Authorities located the Pontiac Grand Prix, which Long had rented during his stay in Oklahoma in September 1981. Hairs were found in the car’s trunk and were analyzed using forensic testing. The hairs matched Cinda. There was also animal hairs found in the truck, these matched Cinda’s dogs and her cat.
A lock of blond hair was found in Long’s Wyoming residence that may have belonged to Charlotte. Unfortunately, the testing available at the time could not be conclusive. Forensic tests did prove the floor mat in the trunk of the Grand Prix had a bloody boot print and other blood stains. An expert who examined the mat, thought he saw either one large body or two small bodies outlined in blood in the trunk. DNA technology at the time did not exist, so it was impossible to tell whether bloodstains came from Charlotte, Cinda, or someone else or even an animal.
The court hearing started in October of 1985 to determine if the case should go to trial, because the prosecution did not have the girls bodies. But in December of 1985, the judge threw out Long’s daughter’s testimony, one of the boys from the day the girls was last seen testimony and much of the physical evidence. All charges were dismissed as a result of the Judges decision.
Long proceeded to taunt the family’s of the girls saying he was the only one who knew the truth.
Long took a plea deal in relation to another kidnapping of two young girls, one of which was able to escape, 15-year-old Sandi Brokenleg the other, 12-year-old Sharon Baldeagle nor long were not in the home they where being held in upon polices arrival. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison for charges of kidnapping for the purpose of committing indecent liberties with a minor. In November 1993, Long died of a heart attack while imprisoned at the Wyoming State Penitentiary.
Long is a suspect in three other disappearances. He is still considered the prime suspect in the disappearance of Charlotte and Cinda.
Charlotte was last seen wearing a dark maroon short sleeve pullover with white strips on the sleeves and a white trim neck, blue jeans, Nikes, and a wedding band type ring on her right ring finger. She had a scar below her left eye and silver caps on her bottom front teeth.
If you have any information in this case please notify Oklahoma State Police at
405-231-2121.
Information resource(s):
NamUs #MP6264
Charlotte June Kinsey – The Charley Project
The Disappearances of Charlotte Kinsey & Cinda Pallett – Stories of the Unsolved
Charlotte Kinsey — Oklahoma Cold Cases