IL IL - Rachel Mellon Skemp, 13, Bolingbrook, 31 Jan 1996

[theshadow45]

Rachel has been missing for 27 years today.

 

[Pennysmom1]

article from Jan 28, 2021

25 years later, questions linger over Bolingbrook girl’s disappearance

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Twenty-five years after 13-year-old Rachel Mellon vanished from her Bolingbrook home, clouds of suspicion over the case have never lifted. The investigation, according to local …

wgntv.com

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping, today is Rachel’s birthday.

 

[theshadow45]

Rachel has been missing for 28 years today.

 

[Diavola]

This is kind of a nitpick, but isn't Rachel biracial? All sites list her as Asian only.

 

[Noirdame79]

This is kind of a nitpick, but isn't Rachel biracial? All sites list her as Asian only.

Yes, her father is Caucasian and her mother is Asian.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Rachel’s birthday.

 

[Caring1]

5 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Today I learned about this case because a skull has been found in Bolingbrook and mentioned on other threads. (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs))

Of course there are other people it could be, and I don't know whether Rachel could have realistically been in a nearby wooded area undiscovered since 1996?

She sure suffered a lot in her short life, though, and she deserves justice.

 

[theshadow45]

Rachel has been missing for 29 years today.

 

[spartanx]

I wonder if she was pregnant and that was the problem she was referring to... Maybe she told him and said she'd tell others, and Vince killed her... if she mentioned anything to Vince about living with her father... That would alienate Rachel from him, and she probably would have told her father about Vince...
Everyone failed you, and the mother continues to fail her even when her daughter is no longer physically here... How could you go on with a man who, according to your daughter's diary, kissed her, groped her, and even gave her an obscene book? It's a shame the father lived in another state and allowed another man to raise his daughter... Even he admits that if he had taken responsibility as a father, this situation probably wouldn't have happened... Obviously, she was a very strong and brave girl to maintain such a happy attitude while living with a stupid mother and a pedophile stepfather...
Little Rachel, you look a lot like my oldest daughter, even now she's the same age as you... If I were involved in a situation like this, even though I'm not violent, I would take justice into my own hands... I would have taken you with me and you would be protected forever... Everyone failed you, no one was there for you...
Whatever happens,
Rest in peace, little Rachel

 

[t.nichevo]

Here from the Voices for Justice podcast.

Clearly Vince Mellon harmed Rachel. As it was trash day, he likely put her in the trash with her bedding and she may never be found.

One thing I can say is that the police really dropped the ball on this one. Yes, Rachel had ran away before but the converging circumstances and evidence surely pointed to something terrible happening while the stepfather was home alone with her. (1) He was covered in scratches (2) He was walking the dog in minus 20 weather? (3) She did not take any clothing suitable for the weather with her (4) The stepfather was so stupid that he left the diary, steak knife, book about fathers molesting their daughers in her room to be found by police!

Any competent investigation would have found those items the day she went missing. This should have been the thought process at a minimum

"You think shes run away? Maybe her diary will tell us where she might have gone to... Wait whats this? A whole entry about how her stepfather abused her? Let's get a warrant and go over the whole house with a fine tooth comb"

 

[Queen of the Winter Night]

This is one of the cases I most wish would get solved. So many people are still here missing her, worried about her, and want closure about where she is. With so many cold cases in recent years being solved, one can hope....