PA PA - Cherrie Mahan, 8, Cabot, 22 Feb 1985

[PghinAZ]

I find it interesting that the letter states she suffocated her. There is a blog that shares the names of a husband and wife couple

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Can’t find link to story, but reportedly two cadaver dogs have independently hit on the exact same spot in this case.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Can’t find link to story, but reportedly two cadaver dogs have independently hit on the exact same spot in this case.

Find Cherrie Mahan

🚨 BIG Updates 🚨 This weekend, we were able to search an area of interest identified from multiple tips with the help of two incredible cadaver dog teams: Jack and his handler Chrissy from Hubbard,...

www.facebook.com

 

[PurpleEarth95]

State police, FBI begin digging operation in South Buffalo


“Zigo would not confirm or deny whether the excavations were related to the Feb. 22, 1985, disappearance of Cherrie Mahan, an 8-year-old who was last at her bus stop in nearby Winfield.

Police still do not have a prime suspect and have not identified specific areas they think might hold Cherrie’s remains.”

 

[PurpleEarth95]

Dig in South Buffalo Township connected to Cherrie Mahan case, sources say

“Sources told KDKA that digging in South Buffalo Township on Tuesday morning was connected to the Mahan case.”

 

[chaddylex]

Dig in South Buffalo Township connected to Cherrie Mahan case, sources say

“Sources told KDKA that digging in South Buffalo Township on Tuesday morning was connected to the Mahan case.”

I woke up this morning to my daughter and a friend sending me this article. Hoping they find something...

 

[chaddylex]

Notice of Privacy

Cherrie Mahan: what you need to know​

https://triblive.com/author/tawnya-panizzi/
Tawnya Panizzi | Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 11:02 a.m.
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The disappearance of Cherrie Mahan 40 years ago is making headlines again as authorities apparently run down leads and conduct searches related to the case.

Cherrie’s is one of the longest running missing persons cases in state history. Here’s what you need to know about the case:

• Cherrie Mahan, 8, was a third grader in the then-South Butler County School District (now the Knoch Area School District) when she was seen for the last time on Feb. 22, 1985, getting off a school bus about 100 yards from her home in a rural area of Winfield.

• At the time, social media, text messaging other methods of instant communication hadn’t been invented. Instead, Cherrie’s school photo was splashed on the most up-to-date missing children platform of the time — milk cartons. Soon, her case grabbed national attention and was featured on network television shows such as “Good Morning America.”

• Investigators focused their case on a bright blue or green van with a mural of a skier on the side. It was reported as lingering near her bus stop around the date of Cherrie’s disappearance, but no formal link was ever established. No such van has ever been verified as being located during the investigation.

• Cherrie’s photo was on the first-ever “Have You Seen Me?” direct mail ad in 1985.

• 1994 — Authorities investigate, and later rule out, the involvement of a Massachusetts man suspected of kidnapping and killing two children

• 1998 — At the request of the family, Cherrie is declared legally dead by a Butler County judge. Her family placed a cherub statue in a Saxonburg cemetery, despite not having a grave.

• 2000 — Mailers are sent across the U.S. with an age-progressed photo of Cherrie, but no legitimate leads emerge. The age progression photo, showing what Cherrie would look like if she still was alive, was a tool of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

• At least four women have come forward claiming to be Mahan. All have been disproved or disappeared before police could vet their claims with genetic testing.

• The advent of smartphones and social media in the early 2010s broadened the search reach with shares on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

• 2018 — Cherrie’s mother, Janice McKinney, gets a handwritten letter claiming to know who killed her daughter, why they did it and where the body could be found. The letter is shared with authorities, but no solid leads are attributed to it.

• 2025 – a new Facebook page is launched, Find Cherrie Mahan, hoping to increase search effort. McKinney and a group of volunteers, “Cherrie’s Angels,” mark the 40th anniversary of Cherrie’s disappearance with a fundraiser at the Saxonburg VFW. Money is used to hire a private investigator and cadaver dogs.

• May 2025 — A private investigator claims a blue backpack carried by Cherrie at the time of her disappearance could be key to cracking the case. He believes it was submerged in a pond near her grandmother’s house in Clinton. He puts up a $100,000 reward for information leading to the location and positive identification of her remains.

• October 2025 — State police crews, with assistance from the FBI, begin an extensive digging operation near a private residence in South Buffalo. State police declined to confirm if the efforts were related to the search for Cherrie.

Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at [email protected].

 

[PurpleEarth95]

Posted today, 10/22/25.