The Van reported on S. Kentwood was significantly different from Van Lady's van.. Certainly, people's power of obsevation and memory isn"t perfect and they could very easily have been the same van. From what I can gather, it was Van Lady's description that was accepted as "accurate" (she saw it in daylight, the "frightened blonde" would make the sighting more significant, and Van Lady worked in the Used Car industry and would, presumably, have a better eye for the details of a vehicle). I recall reading that a "lead ivestigator" refered to Van Lady's sight as "the best lead we have". It was a replica of the Van Lady van that was parked outside City Hall. (to me this would be very poor police proceedure unless they were very confident, bordering on positive, that that was the vehicle). We know that a great deal of effort went in to identifying the van. There were probably thousands of older American vans in the extended Greene Co area (mostly driven by men 18-45) but very few would fit Van Lady's description. We do not know what methods were used to identify the van; how closely they stuck to Van Lady's description.
I am inclinded find the Kentwood sighting more credible than Van Lady, but the only valid judge would be the interviewing officers. If I was satisfied that Van Lady was telling the truth howerver, I would have more confidence in the accuracy of the details of her van description. Thus, if as I suspect, Van Lady was accepted as credible, then the search for the van would focus on her description. I think it is reasonable that every van that fit this description in the area could have been located and the driver fairly well checked out. It would not be possible to do this with all "older American made" vans; but their are some profiling techniques that could have been used. We don't know how the investigation was conducted.
Hurricane, was the staus of the van, stolen from a lot, resolved?
I dont think there is a significant difference in the reported sightings from the witness at 4:30 a.m. and the porch lady at 6:30 a.m. that cant be explained away by the lighting conditions. At least SPD didnt think so:
Investigators are asking for help in locating a brown, possibly 1967-70 model Dodge van with rust along the bottom sides and no side or back windows. The van was seen parked on the west side of Kentwood Avenue, near Delmar Street around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, when the women disappeared. A van matching that description was stopped in Branson on Monday night, but two men were released after being questioned. No individual is being associated with the Dodge van in question.
N-L, June 17, 1992.
Police had long suspected the van they are seeking was brown after a witness reported seeing such a van parked near Levitts 1717 E. Delmar St. home about 4:30 a.m. on June 7.
It was dark outside then. But a few hours later, as the sun was rising, another witness in east Springfield saw a green van with a woman driving.
The color discrepancy could be explained by the differences in lighting. Both witnesses recalled a similar year and make. N-L, Aug 27, 1992.
I believe that we can safely assume that the dark blue 1985 Dodge motor home type van was properly eliminated. It was stolen from a car lot in Springfield sometime between 4 p.m. last Saturday (June 6th) and 2 p.m. Sunday (June 7th). N-L, June 13, 1992.
It wasnt recovered until late October 1993 in Indiana:
A van that disappeared about the same time last year as three Springfield women was found in Indiana last week. But police do not believe it is linked to the still unsolved abduction case. N-L, Oct. 31, 1993.
In this edition it was reported that the van was stolen sometime between June 4th and June 9th, 1992. The man who witnesses said had been living in it for some time was nowhere to be found. However the van was processed by the Indianapolis Police for SPD so I have to assume no forensic evidence leading to any of the 3MW or a suspect was found.
Indianapolis police will check the van for evidence and forward their findings to Springfield police. N-L, Oct. 31, 1993.