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.

 

[PGHJW]

I feel like this one's about to blow wide open. I think it's always known to have been solvable, they just needed certain things to fall into place. I hope the YouTube "cold case expert" doesn't take credit. All he did was go the site (gee, I would, too, if I didn't have a job) and sit in front of a camera and act miserable while throwing out theories.

 

[chaddylex]

View attachment 621206

Posted today, 10/22/25.

This makes my heart hurt.

 

[chaddylex]

Notice of Privacy

Cherrie Mahan's family, friends hopeful after property searches in South Buffalo​

Friends and family of Cherrie Mahan believe law enforcement is zeroing in on the location of the young girl who disappeared in 1985 near a rural bus stop in Winfield.

Hopes have skyrocketed one day after state police and FBI conducted a search along River Road in South Buffalo, about 10 miles from where Mahan, 8, went missing along Cornplanter Road near her home.

“The search came as a bit of a shock,” said Bailey Gizienski, a close friend of Mahan’s mom, Janice McKinney. Gizienski is co-founder of the Find Cherrie Mahan Facebook page. “After speaking to the lead detective this morning, we are filled with hope.

“Janice knows Cherrie wants to come home, and she knows it’s about to happen.”

Crews performed an extensive digging operation, using a backhoe to excavate a small section of the private property. State Police Sgt. Scott Zigo confirmed it was part of an ongoing investigation but declined to offer further details.

It was unclear if they retrieved anything from the grassy field where the excavations took place.

Police have never identified a suspect in Mahan’s case. State police said Wednesday they had no information to share on the investigation.

The search comes on the heels of a separate event in September when cadaver dogs made multiple hits on a 26-acre parcel, also in South Buffalo. Coordinated by Gizienski and her “Cherrie’s Angels” team, that search was near an area of Saxonburg close to where Mahan’s grandmother lived.

“They are different areas but not necessarily far, about 10 or 15 miles,” Gizienski said. “We believe these areas are connected by a group of people.”

Gizienski said the land was identified through multiple tips from the public. The search was performed with the help of two volunteer cadaver dog teams, one from Ohio and one from Hamburg, Pa., which were paid for by the Cherrie’s Angels group. Both cadaver search teams alerted to the same plot of land, she said.

McKinney has long asserted she believes her daughter was taken by someone she knew, describing him as a man imprisoned on child molestation charges.

Cadaver dog teams also arranged through Cherrie’s Angels are expected to return to the Saxonburg area this fall, Gizienski said.

“Until then, we’ll just keep holding Janice up,” Gizienski said. “We believe we’re close.”



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

 

[pinballwizard1919]

Looks like the property that the dig took place was 1160 river rd. Freeport pa. Doesn't look like the house was there in 1985 according to the interview and google earth. Someone's hunting or fishing camp perhaps? I wonder who was using the property back in 1985.

 

[chaddylex]

Looks like the property that the dig took place was 1160 river rd. Freeport pa. Doesn't look like the house was there in 1985 according to the interview and google earth. Someone's hunting or fishing camp perhaps? I wonder who was using the property back in 1985.

I wonder if you can go back and look at it thru the county courthouse somehow?

 

[PurpleEarth95]

I wonder if you can go back and look at it thru the county courthouse somehow?

I would imagine so. I could be wrong though but I think it should be available to the public through request.

 

[chaddylex]

Looks like the property that the dig took place was 1160 river rd. Freeport pa. Doesn't look like the house was there in 1985 according to the interview and google earth. Someone's hunting or fishing camp perhaps? I wonder who was using the property back in 1985.

This is what I found about the address when I googled it:

1160 River Rd, Freeport PA 16229​

3 Bd • 2.5 Ba • 2013 sqft • Built in 1992
Estimated Value $584,000 • Estimated Equity $584,000


They have a list of names of who "lived" at this address but I am not seeing anything online prior to the build of the house in 1992.

 

[Gameman]

There was a Cherrie-adjacent story on the local news website today. I don't believe young Cherrie's abduction is at all related to this creep in a white van going after two teenagers in Butler city, 15 miles away. It's unfortunately just the world we live in that there are many predators out there. Still, anything that keeps Cherrie's name in the media is beneficial. 11 Investigates EXCLUSIVE: Was Butler attempted abduction linked to Cherrie Mahan disappearance?

 

[chaddylex]

There was a Cherrie-adjacent story on the local news website today. I don't believe young Cherrie's abduction is at all related to this creep in a white van going after two teenagers in Butler city, 15 miles away. It's unfortunately just the world we live in that there are many predators out there. Still, anything that keeps Cherrie's name in the media is beneficial. 11 Investigates EXCLUSIVE: Was Butler attempted abduction linked to Cherrie Mahan disappearance?

I saw that too and I really believe that Van was a red herring all along. (Scared me to death when I kept seeing it on the news in 1985, knowing my classmate's grandfather had a van with a skier mural painted on the side.)

 

[chaddylex]

From the Find Cherrie Mahan Facebook Page

The Search Continues…
Our first cadaver dog search earlier this fall gave us an approximate location of interest, with two dogs independently indicating in the same general area. However, the terrain at that time—dense, steep, and heavily overgrown—made it impossible to safely reach the more precise point we needed.
On Saturday, November 15th, our team returned to the site alongside K9 Ara and her handler, Jules. The terrain remained difficult, but late-fall conditions finally made it manageable enough to reach the previously inaccessible area—where K9 Ara was able to pinpoint an almost exact location of interest.
To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we cannot share further details at this time. However, we are encouraged by the progress made and optimistic about the next steps ahead. We will provide updates once we’re able to!
We want to extend our sincere gratitude to those who braved the slopes, brush, and rugged landscape with us. Your time, strength, and commitment mean more than you know.
Our tip line and DMs remain open for any information related to Cherrie’s disappearance.
Thank you

 

[Ssschu]

I saw that too and I really believe that Van was a red herring all along. (Scared me to death when I kept seeing it on the news in 1985, knowing my classmate's grandfather had a van with a skier mural painted on the side.)

Did your classmate's grandfather with the van live in the same area as Cherrie?

 

[chaddylex]

Did your classmate's grandfather with the van live in the same area as Cherrie?

We are about 45 -50 minutes south in Westmoreland County. I did a bunch of research on my classmate's grandfather about 20 years ago or so. He passed away in the early 2000's and he lived at the same place when he passed away as he did in 1985
My classmate was adopted. Her adopted parents ended up getting a divorce when we were maybe in Jr high. She then started getting into trouble an was put into foster care I believe. As we got older I wondered where she ended up, and thought to maybe ask her about her grandfather, but now I really don't think the van was involved.