GUILTY PA - Sherry Leighty, 21, Altoona, 1 October 1999

[SCHMAE]

http://www.examiner.com/article/she...ported-missing-after-13-years?cid=db_articles

"Some of her friends in the area heard her say she was going to move to Maine with some kid," Aaron told a local newspaper in 2000. "I have no idea."
This is a curious thing to say from a husband who has CHILDREN with this woman and does not want to sign off on a divorce , right? This sounds like something a very very casual acquaintance would say , not a husband. Also ' some kid' sounds like he didn't have a lot of respect for this other male who was probably around their same age, so not a ' kid' .

Perhaps if many people write the police department, they can request the FBI help .

 

[sreshowtime]

Thank you very much Shell. Wow. Hmm red flags. Man LE dropped the ball I feel.

She was going TO Labor Ready on a Sunday??? Were they open on sunday?
Or to a job they had for her? On a Sunday around 10 a.m.??

Did 'they' ever allow any of Sherry's family to have any of the possessions left behind?

Do YOU think she met foul play there in Altoona?
Or, with all due respect- she was an awfully young mother with 3 little ones- do you ever wonder if she did just leave because she was so totally overwhelmed , or afraid to stay for some reason?

Ever any rumors floating amongst her family and friends??

 

[shellbellz216]

Shellz, were you pretty young when she went missing? I figure younger siblings don't know that much about an older sibling not living at home as far as details about her friends and her marriage etc. Do you remember any of her friends' names ? Do you remember any ofthe marital trouble, like maybe what the restraining order was about ?

I am the oldest sibling. I know most of Sherry's friends. Yes I do know why she went for a restraining order & yes there were problems in their marriage.

 

[SCHMAE]

I am the oldest sibling. I know most of Sherry's friends. Yes I do know why she went for a restraining order & yes there were problems in their marriage.

What do you and her friends think about where she is ?
What was the x' s demeanor with you and your family
after your sister disappeared? Did you get to have a
'normal' relationship with your sister's children or are they
virtual strangers to you ? I mean , did he and his family
shut you and your family out , or were they engaging
and try to keep everyone in touch for the kid's sake?

Also anything really oddball going on in that last few days or weeks
leading up to her disappearance ? Either with her behavior or things
she said or with the x' hubs' ?

Sorry for all the questions. I feel we might overwhelm you .
We are a very curious bunch here. Hope you understand !

 

[shellbellz216]

Thank you very much Shell. Wow. Hmm red flags. Man LE dropped the ball I feel.

She was going TO Labor Ready on a Sunday??? Were they open on sunday?
Or to a job they had for her? On a Sunday around 10 a.m.??

Did 'they' ever allow any of Sherry's family to have any of the possessions left behind?

Do YOU think she met foul play there in Altoona?
Or, with all due respect- she was an awfully young mother with 3 little ones- do you ever wonder if she did just leave because she was so totally overwhelmed , or afraid to stay for some reason?

Ever any rumors floating amongst her family and friends??

I never even realized Sept. 26th was a Sunday. I just emailed the detective to inform him of this. I'm pretty sure Labor Ready isn't open on a Sunday.

No, we were never given any of her possessions. And my sister was a young mother but she would have never left her children or family.

Yes, just recently since the investigation started there have been some rumors going around but of course we can't go on rumors alone.

 

[shellbellz216]

What do you and her friends think about where she is ?
What was the x' s demeanor with you and your family
after your sister disappeared? Did you get to have a
'normal' relationship with your sister's children or are they
virtual strangers to you ? I mean , did he and his family
shut you and your family out , or were they engaging
and try to keep everyone in touch for the kid's sake?

Also anything really oddball going on in that last few days or weeks
leading up to her disappearance ? Either with her behavior or things
she said or with the x' hubs' ?

Sorry for all the questions. I feel we might overwhelm you .
We are a very curious bunch here. Hope you understand !

I don't really want to post my opinion or speak for others but we all have our thoughts about this.

When she first went missing my father kept in contact with her ex & family so we were able to see the kids but as time went on, all that stopped. Now that the kids are older, they have started to come around & we talk on facebook.

 

[SCHMAE]

What I'm hoping is that the cops who were initially on the case have now moved on, gotten promoted or retired and there is a new batch of younger , more enthusiastic cops in that department. Sometimes a new young cop might like to look at old cold cases and get a name for themselves. They lack the apathy the older ones have. Now that there's a bit of fresh attention on the case ,maybe that will be the case.

My only initial feeling is that this x and/or parents may be involved. Her missing date on a sunday does sound like they have the date wrong. That would be a big mess.
Do you have access to the police file from way back then? How far away do you live now? Is it convenient to stop in and chat with them or are you not local anymore ?

 

[Geralyn]

Shellbellz..
My heart goes out to your & the family. I can't imagine having to beg and badger the police to do even the basics of their job in a case like this. Must be incredibly frustrating.

I wanted to ask if you or your father/family have had any contact with the Maine bf. Either when she initially went missing or in the subsequent years? I understand you said your sister broke up with him when the estranged husband and he got into a hassle? If you recall, what kind of time span between that exchange between the men (and sis breaking up)...and her going missing?

At the very least, I'm thinking he could shed some light on whether they even discussed any future plans of her moving to Maine for him. Perhaps he'd be willing to make a voluntary call/email to the PD to shed some light on both that aspect and anything else. I'd be interested to hear what kind of reaction he'd have to being asked to do so, if that hasn't already been asked of him?

Another question I had was regarding how the Labor job paid. Did they pay daily at the end of a job or weekly paychecks? If the latter, do you know if they owed your sister money at the time of her disappearance and if so, whether a last paycheck was ever cashed *after* her disappearance?

 

[SCHMAE]

Is Altoona a city police department? Or county? Seems that you could go up , either to county and if not then STATE police and demand some action. It's terrifying to think someone can come up missing for ever and no law care enough to look. I'm so sad for you.

 

[sadnpod]

Welcome Shellbellz213!!!!!!!!!

 

[coeurfragile]

What a bungled mess

And to think that if they had even casually talked to the players involved, their hinky meters would have boiled over and prompted a closer look at the situation.

I hope that the police are encouraged to start investigating and that your family gets some answers.

How many times have we seen this chain of events?

Ex/Ex's family last to see the missing person
Ex/Ex's family always claim "they left another lover" and strangely, all of their belongings and their beloved children are left behind.

The ex in-laws are my main suspects at this point. Why would you drop your DIL off a block from her job instead of right in front? I have a feeling they never even went near Labor Ready that morning, which is scary because that means we have no idea what direction they could have taken her.

Shellsbellz, do you know what time she was supposedly picked up that morning by her in-laws and is that corroborated by anyone OTHER than the in-laws?

 

[sreshowtime]

Need to get clarification on the actual date/day of the week supposedly dropped of at Labor Ready

Yes Sunday would seem very odd given the nature of the business

and working backward- who, other than AL/his parents/his family, last saw Sherry...more precisely WHEN did they see her and/or under what circumstances ( possibly good to know of any last phone calls too)

Can Labor Ready, or anyone that was employed with or by them, still provide any info as to her work schedule in the days leading up to the supposed drop off?
( had she been reliable to show for work previously?? BUT How can they say she didn't show IF indeed it was a Sunday she was supposedly dropped off? And they weren't open?)

This is just terrible that Sherry, and her family, seemingly were brushed off so easily.
Yes adults have the 'right' to take off....but with basic investigative work, it could have been proven true or not, imho...it's not like 1999 was the stone ages...or at least a genuine attempt?

 

[shellbellz216]

What I'm hoping is that the cops who were initially on the case have now moved on, gotten promoted or retired and there is a new batch of younger , more enthusiastic cops in that department. Sometimes a new young cop might like to look at old cold cases and get a name for themselves. They lack the apathy the older ones have. Now that there's a bit of fresh attention on the case ,maybe that will be the case.

My only initial feeling is that this x and/or parents may be involved. Her missing date on a sunday does sound like they have the date wrong. That would be a big mess.
Do you have access to the police file from way back then? How far away do you live now? Is it convenient to stop in and chat with them or are you not local anymore ?

Well unfortunately the detective assigned to the case is deceased & the new detective isn't much help. He always seems to rush me off the phone if I can get ahold of him. He hardly returns my calls, I have to just keep calling until he answers. He doesn't respond to my emails, if I have a question in them I have to send them several times for a response, it's rediculous.

As far as her file is concerned, there isn't really anything in it. They are going by the first newspaper article & what we (my brothers & I) have told them.

I still live in the area.

 

[shellbellz216]

Shellbellz..
My heart goes out to your & the family. I can't imagine having to beg and badger the police to do even the basics of their job in a case like this. Must be incredibly frustrating.

I wanted to ask if you or your father/family have had any contact with the Maine bf. Either when she initially went missing or in the subsequent years? I understand you said your sister broke up with him when the estranged husband and he got into a hassle? If you recall, what kind of time span between that exchange between the men (and sis breaking up)...and her going missing?

At the very least, I'm thinking he could shed some light on whether they even discussed any future plans of her moving to Maine for him. Perhaps he'd be willing to make a voluntary call/email to the PD to shed some light on both that aspect and anything else. I'd be interested to hear what kind of reaction he'd have to being asked to do so, if that hasn't already been asked of him?

Another question I had was regarding how the Labor job paid. Did they pay daily at the end of a job or weekly paychecks? If the latter, do you know if they owed your sister money at the time of her disappearance and if so, whether a last paycheck was ever cashed *after* her disappearance?

The detective isn't too interested into talking to the ex bf. I have already asked them if they were going to speak with him & he said only if he needs to and at the moment he doesn't need too, plus him being out of state is a factor.

I don't know exactly when the fight in the alley was to when she went missing. I just know it was after the fight.

I think Sherry was getting paid daily through Labor Ready. You can do weekly too but I'm pretty sure she took a daily pay.

 

[shellbellz216]

Is Altoona a city police department? Or county? Seems that you could go up , either to county and if not then STATE police and demand some action. It's terrifying to think someone can come up missing for ever and no law care enough to look. I'm so sad for you.

It's a city dept. I can't go up, I tried. I contacted the PA State Police & they said they can't help because the APD is a different entity. I even tried the FBI, that's how frustrated I am with this police dept, but they said the only way they can get involved is if the APD asks for their assistance, they just can't come in and take over a case.

 

[MissSunshine]

Maybe I watch too much T.V. but have you tried reaching out to the ex-hubby's old girlfriends? I would think he would have had at least one long term relationship since your sister went missing. Current and/or old girlfriends sometimes know more than they think they know.

 

[shellbellz216]

Why would you drop your DIL off a block from her job instead of right in front? I have a feeling they never even went near Labor Ready that morning, which is scary because that means we have no idea what direction they could have taken her.

Shellsbellz, do you know what time she was supposedly picked up that morning by her in-laws and is that corroborated by anyone OTHER than the in-laws?

My thoughts exactly, that never made sense dropping her off a block away.
She was staying with the in-laws & estranged husband at the time & they are the only ones to have seen her that day.

 

[shellbellz216]

Need to get clarification on the actual date/day of the week supposedly dropped of at Labor Ready

Yes Sunday would seem very odd given the nature of the business

and working backward- who, other than AL/his parents/his family, last saw Sherry...more precisely WHEN did they see her and/or under what circumstances ( possibly good to know of any last phone calls too)

Can Labor Ready, or anyone that was employed with or by them, still provide any info as to her work schedule in the days leading up to the supposed drop off?
( had she been reliable to show for work previously?? BUT How can they say she didn't show IF indeed it was a Sunday she was supposedly dropped off? And they weren't open?)

This is just terrible that Sherry, and her family, seemingly were brushed off so easily.
Yes adults have the 'right' to take off....but with basic investigative work, it could have been proven true or not, imho...it's not like 1999 was the stone ages...or at least a genuine attempt?

I can't pin point to the exact day but it was around the first week of Sept. & my brother was with my sister at a birthday party about a week before she went missing.

I know the detectives said they were contacting Labor Ready but haven't told me what came about it. They havent told us much of anything.

 

[shellbellz216]

Maybe I watch too much T.V. but have you tried reaching out to the ex-hubby's old girlfriends? I would think he would have had at least one long term relationship since your sister went missing. Current and/or old girlfriends sometimes know more than they think they know.

You think just like I do. I've already talked with one of his ex's & she had some interesting things to say. She was very cooperative with the police & went down and gave a statement. I've tried to reach another one but she has yet to respond back to any of my facebook messages.

 

[sreshowtime]

Is there anything on the APD facebook page about Sherry ? I was looking at it and don't know if I missed anything. I am sure people could help put the word on there
Have you talked to the police chief, who I believe is a woman....maybe she can get the detective riled up.