Sheila and Katherine Lyon-sisters missing since 1975 - #1

[Jeb]

In 1962 & 63, when I worked at the Aspen Hill Vitro, ( if my memeory is correct) a vehicle had to be registered for an employee to park legally in that parking lot. I do remember this policy was tough to enforce because of the large size of the lot. Anyway, if this registration policy was in effect in 1975, & the parking records were available in 1987 when Coffey was arrested in NC., then LE should have on file, all vehicles that Coffey registerd to park there.
I believe LE is not going to advertise what type vehicles Coffey drove but would rather have witnesses tell them what he drove, in order to build a (stronger case). Coffey had to buy gas, he stayed at the Holiday Motel, & he had to buy food, during his 5 or 6 mo. stay in Montg. Co. Somebody must remember certain things about him. In 1975 an attendant pumped gas for you, meaning if Coffey bought gas at a particular station, he probably became friendly with the attendant. Big Question- Were is this attendant today, & does he remember Coffey & his vehicle. Same things apply to where he lived & dined.

 

[ShurlT]

Come to think of it, Jeb, did motels require people to record what type vehicle they drove and the license plate number in1975 like they do now? I can't recall. Good thinking on your part.

He probably ate in restaurants. Wonder if anyone working in a restaurant reported seeing him? I've often wondered, if he had the Lyon girls with him for any length of time where did he take them and how come they weren't seen with him in a motel or somewhere in either Maryland or another nearby state. If he fed them how did he accomplish that without someone catching on?

 

[Jeb]

Yes they did require a drivers licence & tag #, when checking into a motel back then. Sometimes they would tell you that they don't need a tag # , but then they would visually check all of the tags later in the night. This way they could verify all of the #'s. According to a newspaper article, LE went to the Holiday Motel in 1987, & discovered all records had been destroyed, because of the 12 yr.time lapse.

In regard to your other question, my guess would be, if the 2 girls where held captive for any period of time, they were probably fed 'fast food'.

 

[ShurlT]

Where was that motel located? There was, a new at the time, motel/hotel located near the entrance of Montgomery Village and RT 355. I thought that was the one you've been talking about but looks like I had the wrong one in mind. I thought it was strange that they had torn it down. It's probably still there. I never was real familiar with Gaithersburg.
McDonell's in Congressional Plaza had a "Drive In" at one time. You drove up to a microphone, like a drive in theatre type thing, ordered your food and someone brought it out to you on a tray. You rolled up your window a little and the tray attached to the window and rested on the side of the door with little metal legs. The last time I went to a Drive In was 1965. I don't recall when they were discontinued. One day I noticed they just weren't there anymore.

 

[ShurlT]

That's a shame that the records were destroyed by the time le went looking. It would have solved the problem if they could have located that information at the time and there wouldn't be a question about the Mannassas siting. At least, it would have confirmed or disproved that alleged siting. Was that motel the only place le found that Coffey had stayed at? Wonder how long he was there?

 

[Malamute]

Where was that motel located? There was, a new at the time, motel/hotel located near the entrance of Montgomery Village and RT 355. I thought that was the one you've been talking about but looks like I had the wrong one in mind. I thought it was strange that they had torn it down. It's probably still there. I never was real familiar with Gaithersburg.

The hotel at the corner of 355 and Mont. Village Ave is a Holiday Inn and it is still there today. The Holiday motel was on 355 close to the Rockville city line. It stood next to a gas station between the Walnut Hill shopping center and Shady Grove Road. If my memory is correct, the Holiday motel had a larger house that served as the office with a few small motel buildings/rooms behind it. I always had the feeling it was somewhat of a dive although I'd never been in the place.

 

[ShurlT]

Malamute, Thanks for the information on the Holiday Motel. That's pretty interesting that the office could have been in an older house in front of the rooms/buildings where customers stayed. This COULD mean it might be very easy - once registered - to sneak someone in and out of a room without being seen by the office or even other people in other rooms, especially if there weren't to many customers during any particular time frame and if it was a seedy place. I'm just thinking, maybe it's a possibility and explains why the girls weren't seen if Coffey was staying there at the same time they disappeared. I guess that's an unknown at this time, unless, le knows where he was staying around the March 25, 1975 to Apr 1st time frame, for example, and it hasn't been released.

 

[NJshrink]

Since the Lyons girls were abducted in March of 1975 and Coffey did not begin his new job until April, he may have simply been looking for housing and not yet received any parking permits for his new job. Does anyone know if he still had housing in VA or was staying with a friend in MD. If he still had a residence in VA, it is likely he disposed (sorry) of the girls on-route back to his residence. It seems the searches centered around the mall and may not have gone outside of the immediate area. Did he have any relative he might have gone to visit around that time as he was in transition between employment?

 

[Richard]

For anyone new to this topic, this particularly long thread was origionally posted under the Cold Case topics of Websleuths. Because it received so many "hits" and commentary, it was moved to Featured Case Discussions, and became only one of the threads here at its new "home".

Most subsequent discussions and posts have been made under the other topic threads.

 

[MeoW333]

Is it possible that tape recorder man had dressed up disguised himself somewhat to make him look older and less identifiable? If had got the girls' voices on tape; later killed them, then he could "relive" his crime through the tape. To be seen at 2 different malls to days in a row doing that is either crazy he didn't care or maybe was some sort of perv that just liked young girls voices. He also would create the perfect diversion from the real killer, if the killer knew of him. Maybe both are one and the same.

 

[Richard]

Is it possible that tape recorder man had dressed up disguised himself somewhat to make him look older and less identifiable? If had got the girls' voices on tape; later killed them, then he could "relive" his crime through the tape. To be seen at 2 different malls to days in a row doing that is either crazy he didn't care or maybe was some sort of perv that just liked young girls voices. He also would create the perfect diversion from the real killer, if the killer knew of him. Maybe both are one and the same.

Good observations. It is quite possible that TRM was wearing a disguise of some sort. Possibly he dyed his hair, or wore it in a different style than he normally did.

He was said to be well dressed, wearing a brown suit. He was not said to be wearing glasses or sunglasses that day, but may have normally worn glasses and taken them off for a different look. Many possibilities.

The Tape Recorder Man who was seen approaching young girls at Iverson Mall and adjacent Marlow Heights Shopping Center in Prince Georges County was quoted as saying things like "Gee you have a lovely voice". And "Would you record this phone message for me?" One salesgirl (probably an older teen) said that the man seemed weird and she refused to speak into his microphone.

Montgomery County Police have said that a PG County man later came forward and claimed to have been the TRM seen at the Prince Georges County Shopping Centers, but that he denied being the TRM seen at Wheaton Plaza the day the Lyon Sisters disappeared. He claimed an alabi by saying that he was involved in an accident with a Government Vehicle at the same time. According to police, they believed him and felt that he was a sort of pervert who liked recording girls voices. Supposedly he had a wife and family.

It is also quite possible that the self proclaimed Second TRM was actually just trying to get into the act for one reason or another. No word on whether he was photographed and fingerprinted by police, or whether they obtained his tape recorder and tapes. And no word as to whether his photo was shown to witnesses who saw the TRM at Wheaton Plaza.

The Wheaton Plaza TRM - whether or not you believe that he had a "twin" operating in adjacent PG County - seems to be a key piece of the puzzle regarding the disappearance of the Lyon Sisters. He also disappeared about the same time and has never been positively identified. See a separate thread on him in this Topic area.

 

[fmw63]

Just one more "what if"... Both Meroney & John Lyon were broadcasters. Suppose their paths crossed at some media industry event back then...

 

[Richard]

Just one more "what if"... Both Meroney & John Lyon were broadcasters. Suppose their paths crossed at some media industry event back then...

It is certainly possible, but not necessarily a direct link to the case. It has been said that at most, only six degrees of separation exist between everybody.

I think that many of these unsolved cases tend to point that out. Look at all of the people who post saying that they went to school with a victim or a suspect. Or that they were a relative. Or that they were there that day, etc. People are linked to eachother in many ways.

Ann Rule wrote a book about Ted Bundy titled "The Stranger Beside Me". It was a best seller. She described her initial connection to Ted as the two of them sitting next to each other answering phones at a crisis hotline center. Of course, later, she re-connected with him via correspondance and research - but her first impression of him was that he was a really nice guy.

Still on the subject of Ted Bundy, I was never connected with him in any way, BUT after reading about him, I found that I had traveled through some of the same states that he did about the same time. In fact, when he escaped from Colorado, he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan - only a few miles from where I was visiting relatives prior to my move to Pensacola, Florida. A few months later, Ted was captured in Pensacola, only a few blocks from my new home there.

As I said, I never had anything to do with him, but coincidences do happen all the time. Paths cross (or almost cross) and we meet a lot of people, but as in the case of Ann Rule, she did not suspect Ted at all even though she knew of the cases of missing girls and was sitting right next to Ted on a daily basis.

The same could probably be said of most serial killers. If they operate for a long period of time, it could be that they appear pretty normal most of the time.

 

[wheatongirl]

It's been a few years since I posted last but what new developments in the case, if any, have appeared? Next month is the 33rd anniversary of the girls' disappearances and it would be nice to finally have this case solved. At least to give the Lyons family some closure.

 

[Richard]

It's been a few years since I posted last but what new developments in the case, if any, have appeared? Next month is the 33rd anniversary of the girls' disappearances and it would be nice to finally have this case solved. At least to give the Lyons family some closure.

There have been no announcements by Law Enforcement regarding the Lyon Sisters' case. However, look at the discussion thread on the Kathy Lynn Beatty Case in this Feature to see a recent TV coverage of Kathy's case.

The two cases occurred only four miles and four months apart. They may or may not be connected, but both are unsolved and both are activily being investigated by the same Cold Case detectives of the Montgomery County Police.

In regard to Fred Coffey, there have been at least two possible attempts to bring him to trial for other cases, one in North Carolina and one in Virginia. I do not know the status of those investigations at this time.

 

[Thrasher]

Richard, I have not posted here in over a year, but I was checking - have you had any further contact with Montgomery County Police that you can talk about. Is Coffey still a person of interest?

I see the Lyons frequently, and the story is never far from my mind. It has been my hope for some time that there would be some resolution in John and Mary's lifetime (or even mine). Following the case for 33 years, I remain strongly inclined to believe Coffey is involved, but I know some material evidence will have to emerge to proceed on that line. I know you have asked MCP about him several times. Thanks.

 

[Richard]

Richard, I have not posted here in over a year, but I was checking - have you had any further contact with Montgomery County Police that you can talk about. Is Coffey still a person of interest?

I see the Lyons frequently, and the story is never far from my mind. It has been my hope for some time that there would be some resolution in John and Mary's lifetime (or even mine). Following the case for 33 years, I remain strongly inclined to believe Coffey is involved, but I know some material evidence will have to emerge to proceed on that line. I know you have asked MCP about him several times. Thanks.

Good to hear from you again, Thrasher. I have not spoken directly with the case officers recently, although I know that they consider the cases (both that of the Lyon sisters and that of Kathy Lynn Beatty) to be open and active.

I cannot speak for Law Enforcement Officials in Montgomery County or elsewhere regarding how strongly they consider Mr. Coffey as a person of interest, but my personal feeling is that he is and will always be a strong person of interest for quite a number of reasons.

You are probably right in saying that some material evidence would have to emerge (or be re-discovered in the files) which would link Coffey to either case forensically in order for a case to be made against him. Suspicion or theory is not enough to bring charges. We can see this in the two cases mentioned earlier (the murders of Travis Shane King in Bristol, VA, and Neely Smith in Charlotte, NC.) While Coffey is an announced prime suspect in both cases, trials have yet to be held.

Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. did a lot of traveling in the Navy and after his discharge in 1974. He is known to have been in several states at various times, and his known crimes against children are spread over several jurisdictions. He is currently incarcerated in the North Carolina prison system. He is therefor not in Montgomery County or Maryland jurisdiction, and investigators would have to seek permission to interview him. Even if allowed to interview him, Coffey could refuse to speak with them and could ask for a lawyer to be present - at North Carolina expense.

Montgomery County/ Maryland prosecutors would need some pretty strong physical evidence to bring charges on Coffey and extradition would be necessary to try him. And they would probably have to stand in line behind Charlotte County and Bristol County prosecutors for a crack at him if their cases are stronger.

A possible resolution might be if a Joint Task Force (involving multiple jurisdictions) were to be convened to share evidence, invormation, and expertise. One strong case against him which could bring the Death Penalty might be enough to entice him to admit to all of his previous crimes in order to avoid prosecution - or to avoid the death penalty.

 

[Thrasher]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like nothing really new, but I have to believe there is something out there in some business, military, government, etc., records, that can tie Coffey to the case (and to the Beatty case, where the circumstances are even more suspicious), archived somewhere in someone's records. No doubt that an intergovernmental task force on this would enhance the chances of finding something. For a long time, I think many people believed that a witness would come forward or someone would be apprehended that could supply the connection to Coffey, but with each passing year the chance of finding a living person with direct knowledge of the disappearance becomes less likely.

I also thought that at some point Montgomery County would offer immunity to Coffey in exchange for information, just to give the family closure - but from all I have read about Coffey, he has no interest in giving anything to anyone.

I wondered about the Beatty case, where they have forensic homicide evidence - what are the chances that a Maryland jurisdiction could obtain DNA from Coffey without his consent?

 

[Jeb]

Hi Thrasher,
Montgomery County LE led me to believe they have a blood sample from Fred Coffey. I assume that there's nothing to match this blood (DNA) with. In addition to that, there was a news report 6 mos. ago, (give or take) on the Beatty Case. According to this report, it looks like to me LE is looking at a suspect, or suspects who knew the Beatty girl. When I talked to cold case detectives years ago, they indicated to me they were not so sure Coffey had anything to do with this case.

One more afterthought. I remember suggesting to LE during that conversation, that there must have been some type of DNA left at the Beatty crime scene, which could be matched up to Coffey. The answer I got was something to the effect that, they did'nt have DNA back then.

 

[CrimeSolver]

One more afterthought. I remember suggesting to LE during that conversation, that there must have been some type of DNA left at the Beatty crime scene, which could be matched up to Coffey. The answer I got was something to the effect that, they did'nt have DNA back then.

DNA testing didn't exist until the late '80s, but wouldn't they have kept fluids, hairs, etc., for microscopic examination or blood-typing?