PA PA - Kimberly Yohe, 20, Etters, 8 May 1996

[Jleckert1981]

Kimberly Yohe’s body was discovered by two fishermen in the Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg, in Middle Paxton Township, on May 22, 1996. She had been beaten and strangled, her hands bound behind her back, and she was nude except for white athletic socks..
Kimberly was an outgoing, energetic 20 year old who's life was cut way to short.
Her killer is still at large.

I have joined this site in hopes to bring attention to this case as her family still morns for justice.
Someone brutal committed this act to Kimberly and does not deserve to continue to walk free.
A documentary will also be created in order to bring light to this case. More details on the case can be viewed at the link below. Details will also be available on our documentary web site soon.


http://abc27.com/2016/03/04/police-seek-new-tips-in-20-year-old-murder-case/

 

[mrs.bermler]

I'm eager to learn the results of the resubmitted DNA evidence- I hope they at least get a usable profile. Truck stop murderers are especially scary and I imagine the transient lifestyle allows most to become quite prolific killers.

Attempting to develop a criminal profile, I have a few questions about the victim. I'm sure the police have already asked everything I can think of and more.

Why did Kimberly stay away from home late or for extended periods of time? She was 20, did she like to party with friends? Or was she rebellious? Did she travel alone or with people she trusted?
Why did she frequent Gable's Truck Stop? Did she often stop there on her way in or out of town? Did they know her there? Did anyone recognize her there that evening? Was she seen with someone? Is there a truck driver who regularly stops through that may have known or been friends with Kimberly? How many witnesses were interviewed?
She was in the army for about a month, why did she leave? Did she make any friends or enemies while there? Was she a victim of sexual harassment or molestation by a fellow soldier or superior? Would she have told someone if she was?

More questions:

What is the community of Etters, PA like? Was the truck stop the only entertainment available?

How long was the body in the water? Was she killed on 5/8 or held captive for a time? Was any evidence collected that might point to the murder scene being outside near where her body entered the river? Or that it might have happened inside a semi trailer, other vehicle, or some indoor location?

Strangulation often indicates the crime was committed by someone by the victim knew- being so up close and personal, and can take some time. Was the strangulation done by hand, rope, or something belonging to the victim? Was it the same material that bound her wrists?
Perhaps instead, the murderer is a serial killer who simply enjoys killing that way? The victim being found only in socks, bound, beaten, and strangled, then dumped in water sounds tragically, yet implacably familiar. Without more detail, the killer's MO seems very common and possibly hard to link to a particular person.

Thank goodness for the FBI's Highway Serial Killings initiative. I hope it helps Kimberly's family.

Here are a couple more links referring to the re-opening of her case:

https://www.crimewatchpa.com/crimes...erly-yohe-dauphin-boro-middle-paxton-township

http://fox43.com/2016/03/04/police-seek-new-tips-in-middle-paxton-twp-cold-case/

http://cumberlink.com/news/state-an...cle_5f8ec7d9-fdef-5d66-89be-972ca148733a.html

 

[Jleckert1981]

mrs.bermler,

These are many of the questions that we have at this time, as well. We are currently in the early stages of our research for this documentary, and will post updates as we have them. In the meantime, if anyone has any information on the case that they'd like to share, please contact the proper authorities, and feel free to let us know what you know. Thanks so much.

 

[Jleckert1981]

Thanks for the additional links! I was able to purchase the original newspaper articles. What I find most strange is how lite the reporting was on such a brutal murder. Reporters covered the case for a solid two or three weeks consecutively, then there was one follow up in June of that year and then nothing. Most of the questions you have above are questions we also have. The goal that has been set is to bring new light to this case and look for new possible clues. I'm looking to speak to anyone who might have any recollection of this case or have any information about it, even if it's just hearsay. Thank you for your interest in it!

 

[Jleckert1981]

As of recently I have attempted to reach out to the manager of the truck station during that time. No success, he does not want to talk. Tenacity will prevail, we have been successful speaking with several members of the case and are very excited to begin writing episode 1!

 

[SARNDIPITY]

Kimberly babysit my sister and I when we were little. We lived only 4 doors down from her family. Although i was young when she was murdered, i still pray they find the person responsible. I can give you some information on the area of Etters. Etters PA is a tiny town just north of "York" PA. Etters is a quiet place, although it has built up tremendously since 1996. When the murder took place, it took the whole community by shock. Nothing like this ever happens in Etters. The truck stop was not a truck stop in the sense that most people are probably thinking. It was no bigger than a small diner, and the town of Etters got maybe one or two trucks a night passing thru. This said truck stop was safe enough, that the neighborhood kids often hung out there for breakfast before school. Everyone got along well, and kids were often left out to play without any fear. it never made sense to me how Kimberly, being so quiet and reserved, ended up beaten and strangled in the river 15 miles north of her job, and more importantly, in a town where everyone knows everybody, how was nothing seen, or heard on the night this took place.

 

[Hoopsticks]

I grew up in Etters. Lived there until 97, when my family moved away to Elizabethtown, Lancaster county. Had never seen that Kimberly was from Etters until just this morning. From what I gather, Etters no longer retains its 'unincorporated community' status and has now become part of Goldsboro.

After doing a bit of searching online to see how addresses line up, I checked out Gables to see where that lay in relation to her home/my childhood home. I have no memory of ever seeing it as a kid, maybe for one reason or another. Come to find out, the place was a pretty vibrant hub of sex work for quite some time. A March 21, 2006 article from the Post Gazette I stumbled across quotes:

"The federal indictment against the pimps reads like an inventory of brutality: beatings and robberies to keep hookers in check. But it wasn't just at the hands of the pimps, Trooper Olweiler said. "What really started to push this was we had girls dumped. We had one dumped off the highway with a sock in her mouth."

At least two died. One barely survived, he said.

"It's not like they're just getting slapped. These girls are getting violently abused," said David Johnson, chief of the FBI's Crimes Against Children unit."

Couldn't find any dates for those deaths, or how close they were to Gables. It's mentioned in the article that Gables, despite it's homey appearance and small size, was one of the focuses of a massive FBI probe into sex work operations. I haven't seen this mentioned in any discussions about her case, but think it's definitely an angle to look into.

For the record, I'm not suggesting she was engaging in sex work at the time of her death. Just that she worked near people who seek out those who do, some of whom bear ill-intent.

 

[CastlesBurning]

COLD CASE: 20-Year-Old Woman Found In Nothing But Her Socks Along The Susquehanna River

Exactly 27 years to the day Kimberly "Kimmie" Ann Yohe went missing, the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop H, Harrisburg, continue their investigation into the cold case of her homicide— and so is the FBI.

 

[Junebugsleuth]

Is anyone out there still thinking and looking into the disappearance and murder of Kimberly Yohe? I’m a local and baffled there have been no new developments on her story in all these years.

 

[DS2021]

Is anyone out there still thinking and looking into the disappearance and murder of Kimberly Yohe? I’m a local and baffled there have been no new developments on her story in all these years.

Hi Junebug! Im new to this case, but the proximity to a truck stop makes me think a trucker may have been involved. I wonder if they were ever able to determine if Kim was the one who drove the vehicle to the truck stop

 

[DS2021]

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/homicides-and-sexual-assaults/victim---kimberly-ann-yohe---etters-pennsylvania

 

[cutter99]

I wonder if Kimmie drove her car to the truck stop at Route 39 and I-81, or if someone else did. That truck stop is not exactly local to her, and if there is no evidence of someone else in the car, it would make me wonder why she was in that area.

Fort Indiantown Gap is not far from there, and she was in the Army for a very short period of time. Could she have been meeting up with someone she knew from the Army?

Hershey and Hershey Park are not far from there.