This story needs a little love. Contemporary articles from 1980 found on Newspapers dotcom provide additional details not mentioned in the Dateline NBC article. Details in the map above provided by the articles below.
My comments, corrections, and clarifications are in brackets [ ].
10 Jan 1980, Southtown Star, page 2, "Police hunt missing OF [Oak Forest] woman"
Excerpts and abstract:
"Police are searching for information in connection with the disappearance of a 22-year-old Oak Forest woman last Friday.
"Missing is Sarah Katherine Ferree, of [house number omitted] Terry Lane, who told her family she was going to Aldi's Disco [Aldee's Disco] in Calumet City on Friday evening. She has not been heard from Since.
"Police found the car she had been driving on Interstate 294 near Hazel Crest [most other articles say near the Lincoln Oasis in Homewood which is a little east of Hazel Crest].
"She is five feet, two inches tall, weighs 110 pounds, and has brown shoulder length hair.
"When last seen Miss Ferree was wearing black pants, black suspenders, black and white striped blouse, white velour sweater, black shoes, black bow tie and carrying a black purse."
Informants were directed in this article to contact the Illinois Department of Law Enforcement criminal investigation division or the Oak Forest police department.
SOURCE:
Southtown Star 10 Jan 1980, page 2 - Newspapers.com
16 January 1980, The Times (Munster, Indiana), page 1, "Woman Disappears in Calumet City"
Excerpts:
"Police from three agencies are continuing their search for a woman who disappeared 11 days ago after leaving Aldi's Disco [Aldee's Disco] 1025 Sibley Blvd.
"Sarah Kathy Ferree, 23, of [house number omitted] Terry Lane, Oak Forest was last seen when she told the doorman at Aldi's [sic] she was on her way home.
"Her mother reported her missing when she failed to return. "She's a good girl. She never said a word about leaving home," her mother told police.
"Her car was found abandoned on the shoulder of the Tri-State Tollway [westbound I-294] near the Lincoln Oasis in Homewood about 2 a.m., a half hour after she had left the disco.
"The door was unlocked on the driver's side and the window had been rolled down about five inches. The motor was off.
"She just vanished. It's a baffling case," Roger Shiels, with the Illinois Division of Criminal Investigation, said. "We're convinced she did not run away and that she did not commit suicide. This is not your typical missing person case"
"The state is being joined by Oak Forest and Calumet City Police in the investigation. Capt. John Stein, Calumet City investigator, said Miss Ferree left the disco alone."
SOURCE:
The Times 16 Jan 1980, page 1 - Newspapers.com
16 Jan 1980, Chicago Tribune, page 8/section 3, "Hunt woman missing after night at disco"
Excerpts:
"Police are seeking a 23-year-old south suburban woman who disappeared after leaving a Calumet City disco 10 days ago.
"Sarah Kathy Ferree, 23, of [house number omitted] Terry Lane, Oak Forest, was last seen by a doorman early Jan. 5 as she left the disco she and her friends frequented on Friday nights.
"Miss Ferree's friends told police she left the club alone and was headed home. But she never made it. Several hours later, police found her 1979 bronze Pinto station wagon abandoned on the shoulder of the Tri-State Tollway [westbound I-294] near the Lincoln Oasis in Homewood.
"The motor was off, the door unlocked, and the driver's window rolled down about 6 inches, Illinois Division of Criminal Investigation officers said.
"She's a good girl," said Kathy's mother, Sue. "She never said a word about leaving home."
"State, Oak Forest, and Calumet City police are searching for Miss Ferree, who is described as 5 feet 2 inches, 110 pounds, with medium length reddish brown hair, and wearing black slacks, black suspenders, a black and white blouse, and a white velour sweater.
"Miss Ferree, who had no steady boyfriends, recently moved to her parent's home after being laid off from her Loop office job, her mother said."
SOURCE:
Chicago Tribune 16 Jan 1980, page 32 - Newspapers.com
4 March 1980, The Times (Muster, Indiana), page 1, "Missing Girl Found Dead in Will County"
Excerpts:
"Sarah Kathy Ferree, 23, of Oak Forest, had been missing since 1:30 a.m. Jan. 5 when she told the doorman at the disco [Aldee's Disco in Calumet City, IL] she was going home.
"Her abandoned car was discovered a half hour later on the Tri-State Tollway [I-294] near the Lincoln Oasis in Homewood.
"According to Will County Police Sgt. Raymond Van Dyke, snowmobilers discovered Mis Ferree's body Saturday afternoon in a field near Parker Road and 143rd Street just northeast of Lockport.
"Police said the body was fully clothed and lying face down in the snow.
[article continues on page 10]
"Cause of death has not yet been determined and may not be known until we get the toxicology report back from the lab in two weeks," Van Dyke said. "We could detect no marks of violence on the body."
"Because of decomposition, a visual identification was impossible. Dental charts were used in identifying the body.
"Police said there were no signs that Miss Ferree had been sexually molested.
"Van Dycke also ruled out a connection between the death of Miss Ferree and the death of Catherine Jennings [Kathleen Jennings], 17, of Oak Lawn.
"The skull of Miss Jennings was found in a doghouse not far from the site where Miss Ferree's body was discovered.
"According to Van Dyke, Miss Ferree's body was apparently dumped in the field."
SOURCE:
The Times 04 Mar 1980, page 1 - Newspapers.com
[Note: Not to confuse these two cases, but since the article above mentioned it some clarification is needed. Kathleen Jennings remains were found on 26 February 1980 scattered on private property about 3 miles west of the location where Kathy Ferree's body was found. Kathleen Jennings's remains were found near Hwy 171 and 139th Street. Kathleen Jennings had been missing since early December 1979 after leaving a Chicago Ridge club called Hooker's Highway Lounge, or just Hooker's Lounge. It was thought that dogs had dragged bones and pieces of clothing into the doghouse where Jennings's skull was found. Leamon Jordan confessed to being involved in Kathleen Jennings's kidnapping and murder after a dispute in a Chicago Ridge club over some missing cocaine. Kathleen Jennings's case was called the "pink teeth murder" because this was the first time pink teeth were used as courtroom evidence of strangulation. Jordan appealed asking for a new trial, saying that he lied in his confession and that the confession was an attempt to collect a $100,000 reward. It's an interesting and possibly unresolved case in itself, but it looks to be coincidental that remains of victims of two separate murders were deposited in Homer Township within the span of a few weeks.]
15 May 1980, Southtown Star, page 7, "Death reported a homicide"
Abstract:
At an inquest held in early May of 1980 the Will County Coroner's Office ruled the death of Sarah Katherine "Kathy" Ferree's a "homicide by person or persons unknown." The article goes onto say that Will County Sheriff's report the investigation is still open and that there have been no leads in the case as of 15 May 1980.
SOURCE:
Southtown Star 15 May 1980, page 7 - Newspapers.com
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