Possible Connections

[Richard]

Here is an interesting case of a missing girl from a state adjacent to Maryland. Note her age and description.


Jane Louise Puckett
Missing since November 23, 1977 from Colonial Heights, Virginia.
Classification: Non-family Abduction

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: June 26, 1961
Age at Time of Disappearance: 16 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'2" (157 cm.); 115 lbs. (52 kg.)
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Marks, Scars: Jane has two small scars near her right eye, one is on the side of her eye and the other is about one inch below her eye.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Puckett was last seen hitchhiking south on Interstate 95 near the Washington Street exit in Petersburg, Virginia on November 23, 1977, and has never been seen nor heard from again.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Colonial Heights Police Department 804-520-9300
NCMEC #: NCMC601870
NCIC Number: M-130292702

Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Florida Missing Children Information Clearinghouse
The Doe Network: Case File 887DFVA

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/887dfva.html

Jane Louise Puckett

It has been a little over 30 years now since this young girl disappeared. The case is still unsolved.

Jane was a petite girl, standing only 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 115 pounds. She was 16 years old and had light brown hair and blue eyes.

It is likely that she was abducted by someone traveling from or through Virginia toward North Carolina.

 

[Richard]

Although Louisville, KY is some distance from Wheaton, MD, and there was an 8 year separation between the Disappearance of Kate and Sheila and the Disappearance of Ann Gotlib, there are also some disturbing similarities.

The girls were about the same age when the aparent abductions took place and of similar description. They were last seen at a shopping center in the afternoon, and were away from parents or other adults at the time.

Could these cases be connected?


------------------
Ann Gotlib
Missing since June 1, 1983 from Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

FBI Agency Case Number: 3-008036R
NCIC Number: M-102283792
The Doe Network: Case File 68DFKY

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: May 5, 1971
Age at Time of Disappearance: 12 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1; 85 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female.
Red/auburn curly hair; gray eyes.
Gotlib has a fair complexion and light-colored eyebrows.
Marks, Scars: She has freckles on her face and moles on her lower back. She also has pierced ears.
Clothing: Navy blue shorts with white stripes on the sides, a red and white t-shirt, beige tennis shoes and gold earrings with purple stones.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Police and the FBI think that Ann was kidnapped from Louisville's Bashford Manor Mall on June 1, 1983. She was last seen riding her bicycle back to her home around 5:30 - 6:00 PM. Her red- and-white bicycle was found later propped up outside a department store. Gotlib has never been seen again.

Ann is a Russian Jewish immigrant and came to USA in 1980. She speaks fluent Russian and English.

If you have any information concerning Gotlib's case, please contact:
Federal Bureau Of Investigation Louisville 502-583-3941

Source Information:
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
The Doe Network Case 68DFKY

link:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/68dfky.html

 

[Richard]

This case occurred 11 years after Sheila and Kate disappeared, but note some of the similarities between the two cases. Also note that in the months of May, June, and July, 1975 unsolved disappearances of young girls occurred in Pennsylvania, just to the North of Wheaton, MD. Could all of these cases be linked?

Also of interest is that just five days before Michelle disappeared, on 21 August 1986, a little boy named Travis Shane King (age 8) disappeared from his home in Bristol, VA. His murdered body was found the next day. The last person seen with Travis was a fellow named Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. Coincidence?



------------------------
Michelle Jolene Lakey
Missing since August 26, 1986 from Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: October 21, 1974
Age at Time of Disappearance: 11 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'0; 80 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Dark blonde/brown hair; brown eyes. Lakey had long fingernails at the time of her disappearance.
Clothing: Lakey was last seen wearing dark blue sweatpants; a white shirt with purple trim; and size 8 brown sandals; size 14 clothes.
Dentals: Not available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Lakey visited her mother at Mercy Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania on August 26, 1986.

She was last seen returning to her residence on North Washington Avenue, accompanied by a female schoolmate. Lakey was planning on spending the night at her schoolmate’s residence on Myrtle Street.

Lakey may have entered a light yellow car approximately one block from her family's home. No further contact or information has been received to date concerning the whereabouts of Lakey.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Lakey's whereabouts, please contact:

Scranton Police Department
Corporal Chris Sensi
570-963-3156

OR
Pennsylvania State Police
Troop R
570-963-3156

OR
Criminal Investigation Division is
570-348-4139
Email: policedept@scrantonpa.gov

You may remain anonymous when submitting information.

Agency Number: R01-0120878
NCMEC #: NCMC601792
NCIC Number: M-241631308

Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
California Office of the Attorney General
Pennsylvania State Police
The Doe Network: Case File 314DFPA

link:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/314dfpa.html

 

[Richard]

Although I did not start this thread, I have posted to it many times. I have posted cases of other children who either disappeared or who were found murdered. In each instance the cases which I have posted remain unsolved.

The disappearance of the Lyon Sisters from Wheaton Plaza has been unsolved for 33 years (as of this month). What has been perplexing to police investigating this case is the lack of solid forensic evidence and the lack of eywitness testimony as to exactly how the girls disappeared.

A "conclusion" that one might reach is that they were most likely abducted by someone using a motor vehicle. That abductor would have to have been very skilled and experienced to have lured the girls into his vehicle and to have left the area without anyone taking notice.

If the above theory is correct, then this individual would have had to develop his skills and would have had to gain his experience by abducting other children on previous occasions. Also, it is likely that he continued to commit similar crimes against children (and possibly young adults) after "getting away with" the abduction of the Lyon girls. He did not start his criminal career with the Lyon Sisters, nor did he end it with them.

Thus my offering of other similar cases for consideration as possible connections.

I look for cases which:
- took place in the same general timeframe and vicinity.
- victims age and appearance are similar.
- time of day, location and situation are similar.
- time of year, season, weather, and other envirnmental data are similar.

The many cases that I have sited might or might not be connected, but I have a feeling that some of these crimes were committed by the same person or persons. Until some solid evidence is uncovered which links one case to another, any possible connections between these cases will remain speculation. I feel, however, that connections do exist. When those connections can be made by the right authorities, the Lyons sisters' case can be solved.

 

[Jeb]

Excellant job, on these "conections" Richard.
I just wanted to comment on these possible connections. It seems to me that a yellow, or beige, vehicle is suspect in many of these cases. Could this be the "Connection" we've been waiting for?

 

[Richard]

Excellant job, on these "conections" Richard.
I just wanted to comment on these possible connections. It seems to me that a yellow, or beige, vehicle is suspect in many of these cases. Could this be the "Connection" we've been waiting for?

A majority of the cases mentioned in this thread either involved a story about a strange vehicle, OR circumstances would tend to argue that a vehicle was indeed involved. Whether or not the same vehicle was used in several abductions would be only speculation at this point, but it is certainly possible.

If these crimes were committed by the same person, it would involve a lot of travel between states and many of the cases seem to be abductions of "opportunity" rather than carefully planned kidnappings of specifically targeted victims. What I mean by that is that they were not carefully planned home invasions or abductions which occurred in a place where the victims could be expected with certainity. They were, rather abductions of young children who happened to be walking on public roads, shopping at malls, were alone riding a bicycle, etc. Also, no credible ransom demands were made in any of the cases, indicating that the abductor actually knew who he was targeting in advance.

The randomness of where the victims were tends to indicate that they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and intercepted by a guy who was always looking for possible victims. This would almost certainly require that the abductor have a vehicle - or several vehicles available to him.

If a number of these abductions were committed by the same person, what was he looking for in a victim? Now, of course, he might take whomever he could when conditions were right for him. But it is also possible that he had a specific "type" of victim in mind - maybe someone of a specific description, size, age, "look", etc. that he was constantly on the look for.

He likely moved around quite a bit from one state to another, and he quite likely changed his tactics and lines from time to time in trying to perfect his technique. Changing clothing and perhaps even wearing disguises might have been something he did to avoid description or notice. Along that line, having several cars, or changing them often might also have been part of his game.

 

[Skipper]

Excellant job, on these "conections" Richard.
I just wanted to comment on these possible connections. It seems to me that a yellow, or beige, vehicle is suspect in many of these cases. Could this be the "Connection" we've been waiting for?

I think the "Connection" is a white van.

 

[Richard]

I think the "Connection" is a white van.

Quite possible, but in reviewing the cases posted here as "possible connections", I do not see many which specifically state that a white van was seen by witnesses. There are mentions of tan Ford station wagon, a yellow car, a blue-and white or green-and-white Jeep type vehicle, a blue Ford, and other various vehicles.

It would seem, from news reports and TV programs, etc. that White Vans are indeed a vehicle of choice in many abductions. My theory about that is that abductors like large vans without windows and with sliding side doors because it facilitates taking a victim quickly and having room to subdue them or tie them up. This "vehicle of choice" would be especially desirable if there are more than one abductor working together.

As to the White color... White is by far the choice of color for work vans. Possibly because it often has the company's name and phone number painted on the sides and back. Sometime when you are driving, count the number of work vans which have no windows (they usually also have ladders or roof racks on them). You will see that better than 90 percent of them are White.

 

[Jeb]

Richard, what I meant to say was this; there seems to be a lot of beige, and/or yellow vehicles suspected in other cases. Some of these cases may be related to this case.

 

[Richard]

Richard, what I meant to say was this; there seems to be a lot of beige, and/or yellow vehicles suspected in other cases. Some of these cases may be related to this case.

That is a good possibility. While it is certainly possible that each of the cases suggested here are linked to the Lyon sisters' case, it is also just as possible that some (if not all) are NOT related to it.

However, I feel that there are connections between at least some of these cases. There are just too many coincidences and similarities to discount.

If one could match a specific car to just two of these cases, then it might in turn link others to them because of a compounding of clues. For instance, one case might have a good composite drawing of a suspect, while another might have other specific information regarding an abduction. Or linking a Jane Doe case with an Unexplained Disappearance might give investigators clues as to where the missing person might be found.

In regard to vehicles specifically mentioned in the Lyon case, you have to remember that no witness ever saw the girls get into a vehicle. The story of the Tan 1968 Ford Station Wagon came out in the news about a week after the girls disappeared. It might or might not have been connected to their disappearance.

A blue Ford with a collection of travel stickers (including one from Disneyworld) was also mentioned in only one news report, but in trying to get more information about it, I was told by LE that it may have belonged to a woman who had two daughters about the same age as the Lyon sisters. She was one of the many "sightings" reported to the police in the wake of Kate and Sheila's disappearance and subsequent media coverage. So, at one point they were looking for the vehicle and when they found and questioned the woman, they ruled her out and were no longer interested in the Blue Ford.

While no witness ever came forward to state that Kathy Lynn Beatty was placed in a vehicle, there was a set of keys found nearby, which police thought belonged to her assailant. I do not know if there was a vehicle key on that ring, or if so, what the make and model was.

When you consider some of the possible suspects, you find that they may have owned (or had access to) more than one vehicle. If investigators had a list of their vehicles and dates when owned, perhaps more of these cases might be linked to them.

 

[Jeb]

Richard,

When I talked to LE, a couple of years ago, we talked about those keys found at the scene. If my memory serves me well, I was told that not only do they know what type car the keys fit, but what county the car was sold in. That's about as far as the conversation went, & I didn't want to wear out my welcome, by asking more questions.

 

[Richard]

Debora Ann was 13 years old, about the same as Sheila Lyon when she disappeared. She went missing just a little over two years after the Lyon sisters did. She was of a similar description as the Lyon girls and was out on her own the day she disappeared.

Note that her disappearance also has elements in common with the disappearance of some of these other cases as well.
---------------------------------------------
Deborah Ann Quimby
Missing since May 3, 1977 from Townsend, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: October 9, 1963
Age at Time of Disappearance: 13 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1; 120 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes. She has freckles.
Clothing: A multicolored shirt, blue jeans, and a royal blue Pop Warner jacket with the name "Debbie" embroidered on the sleeve.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Quimby left a note for her mother saying that she was riding her bike from her house on Smith Street at about 4 p.m, to her grandparent's house on Vinton Pond Road in West Townsend and would call home later that day.

The bike ride was about four miles long. She was last seen on the crest of the hill on Turnpike Road, heading west.

Her bike, a brown Takara 10-speed bike, boys model, has never been found.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Quimby's whereabouts, please contact:

Townsend Police Department
Missing Persons Unit
508-597-2176
All information may be submitted on an anonymous basis.

NCMEC #: NCMC727916
NCIC Number: M-195533564
Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.


Source Information
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
NorthWest Herald
The Doe Network: Case File 274DFMA

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/274dfma.html

 

[ShurlT]

Jeb brought this to my attention: Coffey comes up for parole again July 21. Amanda Ray's mother & family are asking people to write letters again to keep Coffey behind bars.
Yesterday, an article appears online from NEWS 14 in NC with a video that shows several different pictures of Coffey. Keep in mind these pictures were taken in 1987 as far as we can tell. Here's the website address...hope I do it right the first time

http://news14.com/content/top_stories/584938/article/Default.aspx

 

[ShurlT]

not sure what this thing is doing but I forgot to say...scroll down the page to area that says "WATCH THE VIDEO."

 

[ShurlT]

About Feb 23rd I noticed someone on Ancestry.com had my younger brother, 10 years younger than I, and his wife listed as the parents of a woman born 1885. While clicking around this persons information I stumbled upon his profile which knocked my socks off. He was the coroner in Bristol, VA during the time frame of Travis Shane Kings murder and the time Fred Howard Coffey, Jr was arrested.
I sent an email to him explaning he had my brother listed as the parent of this woman and that he was still alive and couldn't possibly be this woman's parent.
I then proceeded to tell him a little about Fred Howard Coffey and asked if there was any possibility he might have seen pictures of him in the news and would he take a look at the composite on the Lyon's sisters page to see if he recognized the person.
His response back was one of interest saying he thought he might know the Coffey person, the two names sounded familiar and if I would send more information he would look it up. I sent a little more informaiton to him and maybe a day or so later decided to send a specific website address to him where I was sure he'd find the composite. The site turned out to be Charley Project. To my delight, I learned I could send an email of the information to someone if I wanted to. This was perfect and so I tried to do that.
From that point on all kinds of things started going wrong on the computer and also in my personal email box. Suffice it to say....I never heard any more from Mr. Stanley even though I tried maybe three more times to get a response from him. Maybe it was something totally unrelated that kept him from responding and maybe it has something to do with an ongoing investigation but it always gets on my nerves when answers seem so close and something that appears really stupid pops up to overthrow it all.
:furious:

 

[Richard]

...Coffey comes up for parole again July 21. Amanda Ray's mother & family are asking people to write letters again to keep Coffey behind bars....

Coffey comes up for Parole every year around July. This has been an annual event since 1995 when his Death sentence was changed to Life in prison. Strange as it may sound, in Coffey's case a LIFE sentence made him immediately elligible for Parole! Go figure.

It should be remembered that Coffey is a Convicted, Self-Confessed SERIAL Child Molester. He admitted to having molested over one hundred children prior to his sentencing on Nine Counts of Child Molestation with Three different children. He was previously convicted in 1974 of raping a 13 year old girl in Virginia Beach, VA and in 1975 of "Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor" involving a 15 year old girl in Norfolk, VA. Those are facts, not speculation.

He is also a Convicted Child MURDERER, having been convicted of the 1979 murder of Amanda Ray (age 10) in 1987. Also a fact.

Coffey is considered a viable suspect in two other child murders: Travis Shane King (age 8) in Bristol, VA in 1986, and Neely Smith (age 5) in 1981 in Charlotte, NC.

It is speculation or opinion or circumstances that connects Mr. Coffey to a number of other child murders and disappearances, but such speculation is not unfounded, given the nature of the known facts in Coffey's case.

The likelyhood of Coffey being paroled any time soon is pretty close to zero, but each year is another chance for him - however small. By all means, write to the North Carolina Parole board and express your thoughts on the matter. Unfortunately some of his victims can no longer express their opinions about whether or not he should be paroled and turned loose on children again.

 

[curious1]

It just infuriates me that this is eligible for parole each year and the family of the little girl has to go through this year after year after year. It is an absolute slap in their face and a big F-You by the 'Justice' system. :furious: :furious:

 

[Richard]

Could any of the following cases be related to that of the Missing Lyon Sisters? Or to any of the other cases listed in this thread?

-----------------------------------------------------
In The Summer of 1974, in a three month span, five little girls disappeared from near their homes in Jacksonville, Florida. Only two bodies were ever found.

The five abductions - coming so close and apparently unrelated - were unprecedented, according to Jacksonville police.

Nine-year-old Jean Marie Schoen, known as Jeanie, disappeared on 21 July 1974 after going to a store near her grandmother's house on West 19th Street in Springfield.

Lillian Annette Anderson, 11, and her sister, Mylette Anderson, 6, disappeared from their Oceanway home on 1 August 1974 while their mother was attending a sick relative.

Virginia Helm, 12, disappeared 27 September 1974 while going to a convenience store a block from her home on Dean Road on the Southside. A month later, her body was found in a shallow grave south of Beach Boulevard. She had been shot through the head.

Rebecca Ann Greene, 12, disappeared 12 October 1974 after buying soft drinks at a store in her Fairfield neighborhood. Her skeleton was found three years later on Heckscher Drive.


Source:

Jean Marie Schoen, 9, missing July 21, 1974 from Jacksonville, Florida - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53017

 

[Richard]

This Thread is getting rather long, and I thought that it might help to post a sort of "index" to previous postings of cases which might have connections to the Lyon Case.

The below list is certainly not meant to be an all-inclusive or an exclusive listing. I only wanted to put all of these cases together in one post so that readers can go back to them and look at the case files for comparison.

Cynthia Gooding (16) and Teresa Alfonso (12) Missing 3 Sept 1974 Marathon, FL - page 1.

Wendy Eaton, 15, Missing since May 17, 1975 from Media, PA
post #33 P. 2

Edna Christine Thorne, 15, Missing since June 24, 1975 from Philadelphia, PA
post #34 page 2

Tracy Anne King, 14, Missing since July 8, 1975 from Littlestown, PA
post #35 page 2

Eva Gerline (or Jurlyn) DEBRUHL, 15, Missing 29 June 1977 from Catawba, York Co, SC
post #37 page 2

Elizabeth Archard, 13, Murdered 28 Aug 1978, Prince Georges County, MD
post #51 page 3

Dorothy Delilah Scofield, 12, Missing since July 22, 1976 from Ocala, FL
post #58, page 3

Carolyn Majane (Carolyn Majane, age 15, went missing Friday, Aug 22, 1975, from Moorestown, NJ. Her body was found in 1985, buried in a remote area.)
post #65 page 3

Elizabeth Ann Metzler, 10, Murdered 6 Dec 1971, Anne Arundel Co, MD
post #68 page 3

Judy Ann Sylvester, 22, Missing 24 Jan 1977 from Virginia Beach, VA
post #81 page 4

Double Abductions of Children around that time...
Cynthia Gooding (16) and Teresa Alfonso (12) Missing 3 Sept 1974 Marathon, FL
(updated post) #93 page 4

Steven Anderson,17 and David Williams, 12 Missing 7 April 1975 from New Lisbon, NJ
post #94 page 4

Tina Faye Kemp, 14, Missing 3 Feb 1975 from Felton, DE
post #108 page 5

Summary and Comparisons
(of previously posted cases) Post #110 page 5

Sharon Lynn Pretorius, 13, Missing since September 28, 1973 from Dayton, OH
Post #113 page 5

Jane Louise Puckett, 16, Missing 23 Nov 1977 from Colonial Heights, VA
Post # 114 page 5

Donna Michele Barnhill Missing March 18, 1981 from Lexington, NC
Post # 115, page 5

Jacksonville, FL child abductions and murders 1974
Post #117, page 5

Martha Jean Lambert, 12, Missing since November 27, 1985 from Elkton, FL
Post # 194 page 8

Ann Gotlib, 12, Missing since 1 June 1983 from Louisville, KY
Post #196 page 8

Michelle Jolene Lakey, 11, Missing since August 26, 1986 from Scranton, PA
Post #197 page 8

Deborah Ann Quimby, 13, Missing since May 3, 1977 from Townsend, MA
Post # 206 page 9

Five little girls missing from Jacksonville, FL - Summer 1974
(Repost) # 212 Page 9

 

[Richard]

Here is a link to a discussion of this case on Websleuths:

Who murdered Carolyn Majane? - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37179