30 years ago...
Sherry Melissa Eyerly
Missing since July 4, 1982 from Salem, Marion County, Oregon.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: December 6, 1963
Age at Time of Disappearance: 18 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes.
Height and Weight: 62 inches; 100 lbs
Clothing: Blue jeans and Domino's pizza shirt (red/white/blue in color)
DNA: Available
Dentals: Available
Circumstances of Disappearance
Eyerly was called into work at her part-time job delivering pizzas for Domino's Pizza on July 4, 1982. She was sent to deliver three large pizzas to a remote location on Riverhaven Drive near Minto-Brown Island Park late at night. She left Domino's about 21:30. A nearby resident came across the delivery car about one half hour later. The driver's door was open, the engine running, the headlights on and the emergency brake set. The pizzas lay on the ground near the car, and Eyerly was gone.
The neighbor called the police who later determined that the delivery address did not exist. The caller had given a fictitious name and the call had been placed from a Salem motel.
Investigators say the crime appeared to be carefully orchestrated, ruling out simple rape and robbery. She was likely flagged down by someone she knew - she felt comfortable enough to set the parking brake and open the door. There were no signs of a struggle. Extensive searches of the area failed to turn up anything. Eyerly has not been seen since.
William Scott Smith, a convicted serial murderer serving two life sentences pleaded guilty on December 17, 2007 to the disappearance of Sherry Eyerly. Smith said Eyerly died during a botched kidnap attempt.
After kidnapping the wrong woman, Smith strangled his victim to death in a secluded spot along the Little Pudding River, he told police. He left her body in the river.
