IN IN - Melinda Creech, 13, Anderson, 4 Sept 1979

[annegrete]

Again, thanks for clarifying, Odyssey. Melinda's brother posted in another forum that the letter for the court date was April 1980. The letter was written and sent AFTER September 4, 1979.

This is a very good entry on Melinda. It got me thinking...
http://whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/melinda-creech/

My questions now:

1. When was Melinda arrested for stealing motorcycles?

2. Could it be an oversight on the part of the court's administrative staff in writing the notification of the court date? Maybe the person responsible for typing up those letters forgot or wasn't informed that Melinda had been missing.

3. Melinda's mother had dementia. When did she first start exhibiting signs of dementia? It's possible she had dementia from the time Melinda got arrested for stealing motorcycles. Her dementia could have caused her to do something to Melinda, be it murder her or sign over her adoptive rites. Alzheimer's is one type of dementia, and early-onset Alzheimer's can strike people in their 30s. Maybe Melinda's mother had early-onset Alzheimer's. That by no means excuses anything she did to her daughter, but it does explain why she may have done what she did, including telling the siblings that Melinda's remains were found.

4. Melinda had a boyfriend at the Indiana Boys School. What was he doing there?

 

[Odyssey]

Again, thanks for clarifying, Odyssey. Melinda's brother posted in another forum that the letter for the court date was April 1980. The letter was written and sent AFTER September 4, 1979.

This is a very good entry on Melinda. It got me thinking...
http://whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/melinda-creech/

My questions now:

1. When was Melinda arrested for stealing motorcycles?

2. Could it be an oversight on the part of the court's administrative staff in writing the notification of the court date? Maybe the person responsible for typing up those letters forgot or wasn't informed that Melinda had been missing.

3. Melinda's mother had dementia. When did she first start exhibiting signs of dementia? It's possible she had dementia from the time Melinda got arrested for stealing motorcycles. Her dementia could have caused her to do something to Melinda, be it murder her or sign over her adoptive rites. Alzheimer's is one type of dementia, and early-onset Alzheimer's can strike people in their 30s. Maybe Melinda's mother had early-onset Alzheimer's. That by no means excuses anything she did to her daughter, but it does explain why she may have done what she did, including telling the siblings that Melinda's remains were found.

4. Melinda had a boyfriend at the Indiana Boys School. What was he doing there?

I found an article on microfilm awhile back from when she was picked up for stealing motorcycles. It didn't mention her by name, but other facts in the article confirmed it was her. I'll have to go back and look for the date.

I tend to think that either a sealed adoption took place, or something happened to her while she was at the group home, and it was covered up. The reason I think this is that there has been zero information from authorities - her family has hired a private investigator, sent multiple letters, etc. and they still don't have any confirmation that she ran away at all?

There has to be some reason why they are not cooperative. That, to me, is the most infuriating thing about this case - the answers to this mystery are probably sitting in a file somewhere that nobody will open, and her family gets to spend their lives wondering if she's alive or dead.

MOO, of course.

 

[annegrete]

Odyssey,

Can you post a copy of the article here?

 

[Odyssey]

Odyssey,

Can you post a copy of the article here?

It was on microfilm so I don't have an image of it, but I did copy it word for word on a notepad, so I can post the contents of it. I need to find it in one of my many notepads...

 

[carbuff]

I found an article on microfilm awhile back from when she was picked up for stealing motorcycles. It didn't mention her by name, but other facts in the article confirmed it was her. I'll have to go back and look for the date.

I tend to think that either a sealed adoption took place, or something happened to her while she was at the group home, and it was covered up. The reason I think this is that there has been zero information from authorities - her family has hired a private investigator, sent multiple letters, etc. and they still don't have any confirmation that she ran away at all?

There has to be some reason why they are not cooperative. That, to me, is the most infuriating thing about this case - the answers to this mystery are probably sitting in a file somewhere that nobody will open, and her family gets to spend their lives wondering if she's alive or dead.

MOO, of course.

There's also the possibility that if she went to a group home and cleaned up her life there, that she moved on and didn't want her family to know where she was.

 

[Odyssey]

There's also the possibility that if she went to a group home and cleaned up her life there, that she moved on and didn't want her family to know where she was.

The only problem I see with that is that she was only 13. She wouldn't have had the right to decide her family shouldn't know where she is unless they had signed away parental rights, or had parental rights taken away by a court.

That could be the case now, as an adult, that she doesn't want her family to know where she is, but it wouldn't explain the letters bring written by her mother to coroners trying to locate Melinda - or their mother telling her siblings that she was found deceased. Five years (until turning 18) would have been an awfully long sentence for a juvenile attemping to steal motorcycles so I can't imagine they would have kept her there that long.

 

[carbuff]

The only problem I see with that is that she was only 13. She wouldn't have had the right to decide her family shouldn't know where she is unless they had signed away parental rights, or had parental rights taken away by a court.

That could be the case now, as an adult, that she doesn't want her family to know where she is, but it wouldn't explain the letters bring written by her mother to coroners trying to locate Melinda - or their mother telling her siblings that she was found deceased. Five years (until turning 18) would have been an awfully long sentence for a juvenile attemping to steal motorcycles so I can't imagine they would have kept her there that long.

I dunno. When I was growing up, once you got sent to girls' school, you stayed there until you turned 18. Lots of girls didn't go home after they got out.

It doesn't sound like Melinda's mother is the most reliable source of factual information.

 

[Odyssey]

I dunno. When I was growing up, once you got sent to girls' school, you stayed there until you turned 18. Lots of girls didn't go home after they got out.

It doesn't sound like Melinda's mother is the most reliable source of factual information.

I definitely don't think her mother is a reliable source of information, but I'm trying to figure out why she would have gone to the trouble of writing letters (replies were found after she died) inquiring about Melinda if she didn't really believe Melinda was missing and possibly deceased.

I'd thought about the idea that IF her mother had harmed her, she might have written those letters to appear as though she was in the dark and concerned, but since she didn't show anyone the letters, I'm not sure that would have made sense either.

It's all so strange. I just wish we could get some information from the juvenile system's standpoint... at least then we'd know if she ever actually ran away from the home, if she was at that meeting, etc... Since she was last known to be in their care, I am flabbergasted by the fact that they won't help her family.

 

[annegrete]

I dunno. When I was growing up, once you got sent to girls' school, you stayed there until you turned 18. Lots of girls didn't go home after they got out.

It doesn't sound like Melinda's mother is the most reliable source of factual information.

Never considered that maybe Melinda would have been locked up til she was 18. That certainly puts a new spin on things.

Mom was abusive, dementia or not, so there's no telling what an abusive person will do to get rid of their kid. In this case, "get rid" would mean pretending she ran away and then trying to find her by asking about Jane Doe's. Their mother could have had borderline personality disorder, which would easily explain her actions.

 

[carbuff]

Never considered that maybe Melinda would have been locked up til she was 18. That certainly puts a new spin on things.

Mom was abusive, dementia or not, so there's no telling what an abusive person will do to get rid of their kid. In this case, "get rid" would mean pretending she ran away and then trying to find her by asking about Jane Doe's. Their mother could have had borderline personality disorder, which would easily explain her actions.

Was she sufficiently abusive that they would have terminated her parental rights?

 

[Odyssey]

Was she sufficiently abusive that they would have terminated her parental rights?

Doubtful that the courts would have terminated her parental rights, since her siblings remained at home.

I do think it's very possible that her parents terminated them voluntarily, though.

 

[annegrete]

What do we know about Harold Creech, her father? Was he in the picture when Melinda got arrested? What was his relationship like with his children?

 

[Odyssey]

What do we know about Harold Creech, her father? Was he in the picture when Melinda got arrested? What was his relationship like with his children?

From what I was told, he was very 'passive', and did not really stand up to his wife. He would often leave the home for days at a time following their arguments. Melinda's family believes that if their mother knew something, it was kept from their father as well. (Although they have considered that he may have been convinced to sign parental rights away, they feel he would not have harmed her in any way.)

One of the (former) area directors over at the Doe Network has a personal relationship with Melinda's family, and she and I were in contact about this case several years back. I was going to check in with her to see if there have been any updates, but it doesn't look like she's with DN anymore... I think her DN email was the only contact info I had.

I'll see if I can find her and ask her if she wants to join this thread. I know she's a WS member but I can't recall her username. It's probably been around 5-6 years since I last talked to her.

 

[annegrete]

Odyssey,
You have been so awesome answering questions and explaining some of Melinda's life.

I work in a high school in special education (learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, Aspergers), so I have to ask, Do we know if Melinda was a decent student? Was she in special education? (High correlation between special ed and juvenile delinquency.) She has a September birthday, so was she going into 8th or 9th grade?

I hope we can talk to the former area director for DN soon.

 

[rainwater]

Bumping for Melinda.

 

[Coppertop15]

I wish we could find her.

 

[Alleykins]

I mean this in the best way possible, but have family and friends combed and contacted all the Melinda/Mindy Creeches on social media? There are quite a few, and some I found just by doing Google searches on twitter and linkedin. I would do it every so often myself. It's how I found my college roommate, whom I hadn't been able to find on over 20 years. I checked regularly for her and one day, there she was!

 

[Alleykins]

Bumping for Melinda, it's been over a year since anyone posted.

 

[slamcgill]

I am researching this case and I am struggling to figure out a lot of the details because many sources have conflicting information. I run an unsolved case blog and I am trying to do some research on this case in particular because I live in Anderson. I have read that Melinda was 13 or 14 when she disappeared, but my big question was whether or not there were ever any records of her at the "Blake House." I know an old police report exists that states when police went back to interview her at the Blake House she was no longer there. Does anyone know if there was any proof that she was "checked out" of the home by a parent? Also does anyone know why the police would have waited more than two months to go back to question Melinda about the attempted motorcycle theft?

 

[Odyssey]

I am researching this case and I am struggling to figure out a lot of the details because many sources have conflicting information. I run an unsolved case blog and I am trying to do some research on this case in particular because I live in Anderson. I have read that Melinda was 13 or 14 when she disappeared, but my big question was whether or not there were ever any records of her at the "Blake House." I know an old police report exists that states when police went back to interview her at the Blake House she was no longer there. Does anyone know if there was any proof that she was "checked out" of the home by a parent? Also does anyone know why the police would have waited more than two months to go back to question Melinda about the attempted motorcycle theft?

If there were records, her siblings weren’t able to access them and neither was LE from what I understand. I actually found some names of people who were involved at Blake House at the time and tried to contact them to see if anyone might remember anything but none of them ever replied.

Glad to see you are interested in this case! It has haunted me for years.