Sheila and Katherine Lyon-sisters missing since 1975

[joellegirl]

Anyone else familiar with this case? Sheila and Katherine Lyon, sisters, aged 11 and 13, walked to a shopping mall near their Wheaton, MD home in March 1975 and have never been seen again. I believe they were actually last seen leaving the mall, and then again a possible sighting a week or so later. Someone saw two girls in the backseat of a car bound and gagged, fitting their description. There have been no new leads since. I can't imagine the torture their family has gone though, losing two children and not knowing if they are alive or dead. Sorry I don't have a link but if you do a Google search you will find their story.

[blueclouds]

Here's some links:

http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/slyon.html

http://www.nealjconway.com/essays/whyweliketobe/lyonsisters.html
http://doenetwork.bravepages.com/65dfmd.html

[joellegirl]

Blueclouds, thanks for the links. If you have any more, please share. Like the one link stated, I believe the man at the shopping plaza with the tape recorder is the one who abducted them. I wonder if their family will ever put up a website about their daughters' disappearance, though I understand it may be too painful for them. Somebody somehwere must know something....but then again maybe not. It is just heartbreaking their loved ones will go to their graves probably not knowing what happened.

[Trino]

In today's world with cell phones, etc. the person who saw the bound and gagged girls could have called police at the touch of a few buttons. Thank goodness for today's technology. Sincere prayers to the family of these two girls.

[revlis]

I grew up in Maryland not far from where the sisters disappeared and I can remember their story like it was yesterday.....Every March i read the Washington Post to see if there are any updates....It caught my attention because of the fact that there were two of them and as my mom always told me back before this happened "You safe with two"...Boy was mom wrong....I know that their dad was on a radio station back then and have wondered over the years how the family is doing? I remember that after this happened I realized that the world is not always a wonderful place...I grew up that year alot.....God Bless those two little girls (wherever they may be)

Does anyone else remember anything about this story???

[WasBlind]

Doe link for Sheila Mary Lyon
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/64dfmd.html

Doe link for Katherine Mary Lyon
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/65dfmd.html

With HOPE, Lanie
Help For The Missing
HelpForTheMissing@yahoo.com

[Richard]

The case of the missing Lyon sisters, Sheila and Katherine is Montgomery County's longest open cases. It received so much media attention back in 1975 because their father, John Lyon was a radio announcer and personality with WMAL AM radio. The station owner also owned Channel 7 TV and the Washington Post Newspaper. So this case received a lot of coverage.
Unfortunately, there just was not much evidence. The strongest lead to a suspect were several corroborated reports about the middle aged man in the brown suit with the tape recorder in a brown briefcase. Sheila and Kate were seen talking to that man, as were several other children. Police sketch artists drew a composite sketch of the suspect, and when this was published, about 15 new leads came in from other persons who had seen a man who resembled the sketch and fitting the description a few days earlier at two shopping centers in neighboring Prince Georges County. The man was never identified and no one ever came forward claiming to be him.
The extensive media coverage generated many tips and leads over the weeks, months, and even years following the girls disappearance.
I wrote the story that is repeated on most of the linked websites. It is long, but as concise and factual as I could be. There was much, much more information available in news paper stories, and certainly in Montgomery County Police files. At one time, those police files filled twenty three large boxes. There are probably more now. The case is still considered open and active.
Mr. Lyon is now a counselor who works with families who have lost a child. He was mentioned in the news a few years ago, when he provided support to the father of little Michele Dorr. Michele, also of Montgomery County, Maryland had been murdered by Hadan Clarke, in 1986 and buried near White Oak Naval Weapons Center. She was missing for 13 years before prosecutors got a conviction (without a body) on Clarke. After his conviction, Clarke led investigators to her grave.

[mom-a-licious]

I lived in Prince Georges County and Montgomery Cty in the early to mid 70's, left about a year before this happened. Shopped often at the Wheaton Plaza, where the girls met the "tape recorder man" prior to their abduction. Someone somewhere knows this man---the sketch of him was definitely recognizable to enough people that they reported having seen him at other shopping centers prior to the sisters' disappearance, yet they didn't know who the guy was. Someone, somewhere who actually knew (and still knows) who this guy was also had to have recognized the sketch. This person still knows who this "tape recorder man" was. I wonder if the guy wasn't local to state or county, and if the sketch was circulated on a nationwide basis. I'd like to see the sketch myself, but have never seen it in any of the articles on line that I've read about this case. Would be nice if the sketch was still viewable somehwere, might jog someone's memory even after all this time.

[Richard]

There were actually two sketches made of Tape Recorder Man, both done by artist PFC D. Morton of the Montgomery County Police. The first sketch appeared for the first time on 1 April 1975, and again on 2 April in the Washington Post Newspaper. The first sketch generated 15 phone-in leads which placed the unknown suspect at Iverson Mall and Marlow Heights Shopping center three days prior to the disappearance of the Lyon Sisters. based on information from new witnesses, the origional sketch was modified slightly and a second version of it appeared in the Post on 4 April, and again on 17 April. The sketch is of a caucasian, well dressed, middle aged man "in his 50's", with thick lips, a narrow nose, and with black and gray hair.
News reports of that time indicated that police spoke with at least one PG county man and possibly two or three, who may have fit the description of the suspect, but that none were considered to be suspects during the investigation.
In 1982, Montgomery County officers spent about three and a half hours digging "test holes" in the backyard of a house on Suitland Road, not far from the two Prince Georges County shopping centers. The house belonged to a man who had been convicted and imprisoned for murdering his wife and son in that same house in November 1977. Tips from other inmates led police to that backyard, but nothing was found, and the matter dropped.

[Richard]

I tried to reply to your question about the sketch yesterday, but evidently the website did not accept my message.
There were two sketches made of Microphone Man, both by artist PFC D. Morton of the Montgomery County Police. The first was based on descriptions of witnesses who had seen him at Wheaton Plaza the day the girls disappeared. It was published 1 and 2 April in the Washington Post Newspaper.
Following publication of sketch No. 1, a number of people phoned in to say that they had seen a man who resembled the Sketch and description three days before the girls' disappearance. He was seen at two Prince Georges County Maryland Malls: Iverson Mall, and Marlow Heights Shopping center, both just south of Washington DC on Route 5.
Police interviewed a sales girl who stated that a man of this description had approached her with a microphone and tape recorder. He asked her to read a message for his answering machine, but she refused. He left, but was seen by at least two other teenaged girls whom he also approached. Based on their recollections, Sketch No. 1 was altered only slightly and published by the Post on 4 and later 17 April 1975.
Both sketches show a caucasian man in his 50's with thick lips, thin nose, medium brushed back hair which was black and gray in color. The man was said to be well dressed, and some witnesses said that he wore a brown suit and carried a brown briefcase.
Police reportedly questioned at least one PG county man, and possibly 2 or 3, but considered none of them to be viable suspects. The Microphone Man has never been identified and no one ever came forward to say that he was the person.
In 1982, MCP detectives dug "test holes" looking for possible remains of the girls in a yard behind a house on Suitland Road, not far from the PG County Shopping Centers. It was a house which had belonged to a man convicted of murdering his son and wife in 1977. The tip had come from other inmates at the Maryland Prison where he was serving a 40 year sentence. Nothing was found in the three hours that detectives spent looking, and the tip became only one of thousands filed away as unfruitful.

[joellegirl]

I am glad to see this thread I started back in April has come back to life. This case has always bothered me. At least on the anniversary of their abduction, the newspapers should do a story, on the small chance it jogs some one's memory or causes someone with a guilty conscience to come forward. I wish shows like Unsolved Mysteries would profile this case, along with Evelyn Hartley, Janice Pockett, etc. All these cold cases need more media attention.

[2sisters]

What was the reasoning for digging in the man's yard? Did it have anything to do with the Lyons girls? Does he resemble the sketch of the tape recorder man? This seems like a case with no end but I hope I am wrong. Keep us posted Richard, you have some good info.

[smile22]

it would be nice if someone else took over the job that robert stack did for unsolved. since doing research on janice pockett, and others and then finding out about the 2 sisters its so sad that people could just take inoccent children. i do agree i think after a long period of time has passed they should re air info on the case on local news channels or the newspaper.

[Richard]

What was the reasoning for digging in the man's yard? Did it have anything to do with the Lyons girls? Does he resemble the sketch of the tape recorder man? This seems like a case with no end but I hope I am wrong. Keep us posted Richard, you have some good info.

The Montgomery County Police detectives were indeed searching specifically for the Lyon sisters when they dug test holes in the yard on Suitland Road. It was one of many stories about the girls disappearance that was in the news over the years. Many tips were followed and many pediphiles and serial killers were investigated in depth before being ruled out.
In regard to the Suitland Road house, I cannot say specifically what information detectives had from the prison inmates, but I do know that it related directly to the Lyon Sisters. Detectives had to investigate and also had to make a determination as to the veracity of that information and as to the reliability of the informants. I do not know how much reliability was eventually given to them, or how thoroughly their information was checked, beyond the one time newspaper account.
There has been, however, subsequent information which seems to link the former owner of that house to the Lyon case. I have not seen a 1975 photo of that individual to compare to the sketch, but know that he was about 38 years old at the time. He is still incarcerated in a Maryland Prison. He had a home based cabinet repair business, and allegedly employed another person who had a long police record and who lived in several places near those two shopping centers.

[Richard]

it would be nice if someone else took over the job that robert stack did for unsolved. since doing research on janice pockett, and others and then finding out about the 2 sisters its so sad that people could just take inoccent children. i do agree i think after a long period of time has passed they should re air info on the case on local news channels or the newspaper.

Fox Channel 5 in Washington DC airs a special once a week called "Cold Case Files" in which they feature various local cases which have not yet been solved. I do not recall ever seeing anything on TV about the Lyon Sisters. Newspapers make reference to their disappearance from time to time, but usually when comparing more recent crimes of a similar nature.
Some time after I wrote the story and posted it on "Marylands Most Missing" website, there was an anonymous tipster who provided investigators with a lot of second hand information. Much of what the tipster told investigators checked out, and certain persons were implicated as possible suspects. All tips and possible leads were passed directly to the officer in charge of the investigation.
You are right about the power of the media in regard to crime solving. Look at the case of the Unibomber for a perfect example. It was only after the Washington Post and the New York Times published the "Manifesto" (against the wishes of the FBI) that the right person recognized the writing and after 17 years, Ted Kaczinski, aka Unibom was caught.

[smile22]

hi everyone i know there is already a project that fetures buttons and letters of the missing it was started by jasons mom and they feture a bunch of recent missing children, what i want to do is similar but i want to feture old cold cases such as the lyon sisters, janice pockett, eten patz, andy pulglise and others like the buttons and stuff that they do my theory is if you send out info on these old cold cases someone might remember something or someone if anyone is intrested or has any ideas or anything let me know, even bumper stickers

[Jeana (DP)]

I think its a nice thing to want to do, but I feel like I need to warn you that we've had some serious stalking activities taking place over the past months. You're going to need to be careful who you give your address and personal information out to.

[messiecake]

I also think you'd need to contact the families for permission.


Have you considered just doing a Cold Cases website?

[smile22]

yes i have considerd doing a cold case website, i woudlnt give out my add i would use a po box. but its just and idea. and yes i would contact the famliys. and i know most of them would prolly turn me down... if i was to do a website would i still need to contact them?

[Jeana (DP)]

I can only speak for myself, but being one of those "families," I can only say that I have deep appreciation for people who want to help out, but I wouldn't ever want to be contacted out of the blue by anyone wanting to do something like this. Its too much of an intrusion. These families have to open every aspect of their homes and lives to law enforcement. They have very little left and again, speaking strickly for myself and my family, I think I'd have to say that this would spook the poo out of me.

[Fronkensteen]

The Montgomery County Police detectives were indeed searching specifically for the Lyon sisters when they dug test holes in the yard on Suitland Road. It was one of many stories about the girls disappearance that was in the news over the years. Many tips were followed and many pediphiles and serial killers were investigated in depth before being ruled out.
In regard to the Suitland Road house, I cannot say specifically what information detectives had from the prison inmates, but I do know that it related directly to the Lyon Sisters. Detectives had to investigate and also had to make a determination as to the veracity of that information and as to the reliability of the informants. I do not know how much reliability was eventually given to them, or how thoroughly their information was checked, beyond the one time newspaper account.
There has been, however, subsequent information which seems to link the former owner of that house to the Lyon case. I have not seen a 1975 photo of that individual to compare to the sketch, but know that he was about 38 years old at the time. He is still incarcerated in a Maryland Prison. He had a home based cabinet repair business, and allegedly employed another person who had a long police record and who lived in several places near those two shopping centers.
Richard, do you have a picture of the sketch? I tried locating it, but to no avail.

[Richard]

Froderick,
Yes, I do have copies of the two sketches made by Montgomery County Police. They were published by the Washington Post newspaper and I copied them from microfilm files.

[Fronkensteen]

If I provided you with my email, would you mind sending them to me, if possible?

Thank you,

Froderick

[Richard]

Yes, go ahead and send me your e-mail address by way of a personal message in this website, and I will try to get the sketches scanned and sent. They are presently paper photocopies made from a microfilm of a newspaper. So the clarity leaves something to be desired, but since they were only black and white sketches to begin with, they don't lose too much. If scanning does not work, I can try to fax them. I have never seen these sketches on any of the websites which feature the girls, and I have never seen them in press stories after 1975.
Richard

[madmission]

I grew up in Maryland and was 9 years old in 1975. I will never forget the case of the Lyon Sisters. My best friend and I walked to the 7-11 which was about 2 miles from our homes and saw their pictures hanging in the store. We were in shock. We had never seen or heard of missing children. I still remember that feeling when I walked home...looking over my shoulder for this kidnapper. In my world, Maryland meant my neighborhood. A little of my innocence was lost that day. It wasn't until I was in high school that missing kids started appearing on milk cartons. Was the danger always there or are we just more aware of it because of the media attention? I would never let my kids(not that I have any) walk two miles to a store at 9 years old or 12 years old for that matter. I am so thankful for the innocence I had in my childhood.

I do recall another young boy who was abducted from our area around the same time. He was located and returned to his family but as a child I remember a rumor that there was a connection between this case and the Lyon case....something like this boy had seen the Lyon girls...probably was just a childhood rumor...I have no facts to back it up.

I will always remember the case of the Lyon Sisters as a rite of passage for me....my first glimpse of a dangerous world.

BTW....Has anyone read any of John Douglas', FBI profiler, books? Fascinating. I also saw him speak locally. I have learned alot about profiling from him and wonder what his thoughts would be on the Lyon Sisters.

[smile22]

missing children were always there it wasnt till john walshes son went missing and then was turned up dead. did they really start to pay more attention to children john had to fight to pass a law for le to take missing childrens reports and eventualy they opened up the ncmec. prior to adam walshes murder. most le didnt really do much about a missing child they took the info down but little was done.. i hope they find the lyon sisters so they can be brought back to the family even though its an old case

[Richard]

Many missing persons websites exist today, and most of them "borrow" information, files, photos, and stories from other websites. A few of the earlier websites have become defunct, yet their files appear on other sites, sometimes altered slightly. I wrote the origional story about the LYON sisters that most of these sites copy, quote, misquote, paraphrase, and alter. Because many of these "edited" versions of my 2001 story have induced errors, or have left out bits of information in the interest of brevity, I decided to locate my origional story and post it here for all to read.
-------------------------------------------

Sheila Mary Lyon

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 25, 1975 from Wheaton, Maryland
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: March 30, 1962
Age at the time: 12 years old
Height and Weight: 5'2; 100 pounds
Classification: Endangered Missing
NCIC Number: M-6053299749
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair; blue eyes. Sheila wears eyeglasses.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Katherine Mary Lyon

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: March 25, 1975 from Wheaton, Maryland
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: March 29, 1964
Age at time: 10 years old
Height and Weight: 4'8; 85 pounds
Classification: Endangered Missing
NCIC Number: M-605329953
Distinguishing Characteristics: Blonde hair; blue eyes. Katherine has a birthmark inside her upper thigh. Her nickname is "Kate."

Case Details

Between 11:00 AM and Noon on Tuesday, 25 March 1975, Sheila M. LYON age 12, and her younger sister, Katherine M. (Kate) LYON age 10 left their home at 3121 Plyers Mill Road in Kensington, Maryland to walk to the Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center in Wheaton, located on the corner of University Boulevard and Veirs Mills Road, a distance of about half a mile from their home. The girls were on spring break from school and it was their intention to view Easter exhibits and to have lunch at The Orange Bowl Restaurant.

They were seen outside the Orange Bowl at about 1:00 PM by a 13-year-old boy who knew them. He described seeing them talking to a middle aged man in a brown suit who had a cassette tape recorder in a briefcase. The boy reported that other children were also talking to the man and into a microphone that he held. This boy's account to police investigators became the basis for a composite sketch and description of a possible suspect in the girls' disappearance.

The girls were seen in The Orange Bowl Restaurant about 2:00 PM by their own brother, Jay LYON age 14, who said that they were eating pizza together at the time.

Another friend of the sisters later reported seeing them walking west on Drumm Avenue between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM near Devon Street. Drumm Avenue, a residential street, was part of the most direct route from Wheaton Plaza to their home. This was the last known sighting of the Lyon sisters.

The girls' mother, Mary LYON had told Sheila and Kate to be home by 4:00 PM, and when they had not arrived by 7:00 PM, she called the Montgomery County Police to report them missing.

The girls' father, John LYON, was an announcer for WMAL radio in Washington, DC. The radio station, area television stations, and the Washington Post newspaper gave the case much publicity. Many people in the Washington Metropolitan area were interested in the case and many were involved in trying to solve it. Rewards were raised and offered and many tips came in.

With the Washington Post's publication of the sketch of the "Tape Recorder Man" suspect, several people called to state that they had seen him at Wheaton Plaza on Monday, 24 March, the day before the girls' disappearance. Aproximately fifteen other callers recognized the sketch and description of the suspect as that of a man seen on Saturday, 22 March at Iverson Mall and at Marlton Heights Shopping Center, both in neighboring Prince Georges County, Maryland. This indivudal was reportedly approaching young girls with a request that they read an answering machine type message typed on an index card into the suspect's hand held microphone. Based on these witnesses, the first sketch was only slightly modified and reissued. A few Prince Georges County men were questioned, but none were considered viable suspects.

A massive search of the Kensington and Wheaton areas was conducted. The search involved tracking dogs, volunteers, National Guardsmen, Helicopters, and divers, but no trace of the girls was found.

In the days and weeks that followed, a few attempts at extortion were made by individuals demanding ransom payments. While most of these attempts were quickly considered crank calls, one was taken more seriously. This occurred on Friday, 4 April 1975, when a male caller demanded of John Lyon that he place $10,000 in a restroom at the Ann Arundel County Court House in Annapolis. John Lyon and Montgomery County Police officials left a briefcase as instructed, but no one came to retrieve it. The man later called back and said that there had been too many police in the area for him to get to the money. When told that he had to produce some evidence that he actually had the girls before the ransom would be paid, he said that he would call back, but never did. This was not made public until the following incident took place.

On Monday 7 April 1975, at 7:30 AM, a witness in Manassas, Virginia reported that he saw two young girls bound and gagged in the back of a beige 1968 Ford station wagon. This sighting was at the corner of Grant and Center Streets in Manassas. When the driver of the car (a man who the witness said resembled the composite sketch of the suspect) saw that he was being followed and watched, he accelerated, ran a red light, and drove west on route 234 toward Interstate 66. It was reported that the vehicle had Maryland plates, possibly with the following letter/number combination: DMT-6**. The last two numbers could not be seen because the plate was bent. That combination of letters had been issued in Cumberland, Hagerstown and Baltimore, Maryland. A search for all possible combinations of those plate numbers failed to produce any information.

With that last report, at first deemed credible, but later considered questionable by police, the case of Sheila and Kate Lyon gradually went from front page daily news to sporadic updates and then to anniversary articles.

Fred Howard Coffey Jr. was viewed as a possible suspect in the sisters' cases beginning in March 1987. Coffey is serving a life sentence in a North Carolina prison for murder and child molestation convictions. Authorities learned that he began working at a scientific firm based in Silver Spring, Maryland one month after the Lyon sisters vanished. Investigators have been unable to determine if Coffey is connected to the cases and he has never been charged in their disappearances.

Investigators considered Raymond Rudolph Mileski Sr. another potential suspect in the girls' disappearances. Mileski resided at 5816 Suitland Road in Suitland, Maryland (Prince Georges County) in 1975. He murdered his wife and teenage son inside their home after a disagreement in November 1977. Mileski's youngest son was wounded in the incident. He was convicted of the homicides in 1978 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Authorities searched the yard of his former residence in April 1982 for material connected to the Lyon cases, but no evidence was discovered.

Although occasional leads have been given to the police over the years, the case remains open and unsolved to this day.

Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Montgomery County Police Department
240-773-5070

[smile22]

the suspects that they had in mind did they have pics of them and if they did, did any of them resemble the sketch and what was the recording that the guy wanted? from those kids.

[Richard]

the suspects that they had in mind did they have pics of them and if they did, did any of them resemble the sketch and what was the recording that the guy wanted? from those kids.

Many persons were questioned by police concerning the Lyon sisters, probably not many of them were photographed as a rule. Police are always careful to say whether or not someone is "considered a suspect". That always implies that they have some sort of evidence on a specific individual. In this case, there simply was very little physical evidence that a crime was even committed. The girls were known to be at the Mall, and were seen talking to the man with the tape recorder, then they disappeared within the next two or three hours. No one actually saw them abducted, and they have never been found.
Some of the possible suspects investigated over the years have been career criminals or convicts in prisons. In those cases, booking photos and official prison photos do exist. I do not know how many of those photos resemble the sketch. I have copies of both sketches, but do not know exactly how to post them in this forum.
Regarding what the Tape Recorder Man wanted recorded: No one stated specifically what he wanted from the Lyon Sisters, or any other children on the day the girls disappeared. At least it was not reported in the papers. Witnesses at two other malls (in Prince Georges County) stated that a man who matched the description and sketch of the Montgomery County Tape Recorder Man had been approaching young teen aged girls and he would say something like "Gee, you have a nice voice. I like the sound of a girl's voice. Would you read an answering machine message for me?" He handed an index card to some of the PG County girls and asked them to read from it, but the girls he approached stated that they refused to do so.

[smile22]

very intresting. how long was the man at the mall? does anyone know if he was there when the girls were on the way home maybe he was secretly following them from a distance and saw them walking home and deicided to follow them

[Richard]

very intresting. how long was the man at the mall? does anyone know if he was there when the girls were on the way home maybe he was secretly following them from a distance and saw them walking home and deicided to follow them

Here is what the Washington Post of Tuesday, April 1, 1975,(one week after the girls disappeared) had to say about the Tape Recorder Man Suspect when they ran the first sketch for the first time:

Quote: Last Friday, police said they were told that a man, described as a white male, about 6 feet tall, wearing a brown suit and carrying a brown briefcase, talked to the young girls at 1 p.m. outside the Orange Bowl Restaurant at Wheaton Plaza. The informant, police said, was a 13-year-old boy who knows the two girls well.
Police said the boy told them that he walked past the girls and the man and saw the girls speaking into a microphone attached to a cassette tape recorder inside the briefcase. After drawing up a composite sketch from the boy's description, police said they interviewed store officials and clerks in Wheaton Plaza and showed them the sketch, but did not come up with any leads. A WMAL spokesman said some people at the station also were shown the sketch before it was released, but that no one recognized the man.
"We're checking the sketch with known sex deviates and ... against everything we got," said Capt. Gabriel Lamastra, head of the county's juvenile section. "To be honest, I wouldn't tell you if we made a hit or not." Unquote.
(After the sketch was published, there were some store clerks who stated that they had seen the man at Wheaton Plaza on Monday, 24 March the day prior to the girls disappearance.)

The very next day, 2 April 1975, the Washington Post reported that: (quote) From more than 300 callers who responded to publication and televising of the sketch, police said they discerned a "pattern" emerging of a man with a tape recorder approaching young girls in suburban shopping centers. (unquote) and that further: (quote) Police... had received at least 15 phone calls from mothers of teen-aged girls who said their daughters had been "bothered" recently by an man with at tape recorder at suburban Maryland shopping centers. (unquote)

That is a lot of tips about the suspect. Unfortunately, there are no further reports of any sightings of the man past 1PM on Tuesday 25 March 1975. No person ever came forward to say "Hey, that was me, and I was only doing..." It was their last solid lead in the case.

Now what you have to wonder is this: Did this weird guy have nothing whatever to do with the girls disappearance, and another person or persons abducted them within the next two or three hours? Or was there a connection? Most logical thinkers would tend to see a connection. But not necessarily an immediate one. The girls were seen by their brother in the Restaurant at 2 PM and later by a 15 year old boy who knew them between 2:30 and 3:30 PM walking home.

The girls' mother stated at one point that she believed that someone in a vehicle may have come up to the girls and might have told them that their father had been hurt and that their mother wanted them to go with him to the hospital. She felt that such a ruse might have worked on them.

Such a person might have been the Tape Recorder Man, or perhaps an accomplice working with him. Perhaps his tape recording was done only as a way to interview potential victims and to build some rapor with them for the next encounter.

Subsequent police interviews with sales clerks and girls who had been approached led to a slight alteration of the origional sketch, and that new sketch was published on Friday, 4 April in the Washington Post. The accompanying article stated that Police spokesman Phillip Caswell said: "There are no new leads and no suspects have been developed in the case. We just continue to pound leather and wear out the tires on our cruisers". This was immediately after a paragraph that stated: "Montgomery police said they had checked out a number of tips yesterday, including one that led them to interview a man in Prince George's County, but that these had 'washed out' by early evening." So clearly the Montgomery County Police were making seemingly contradictory statements almost simultaneously.

The end of the article included some quotes from a Capt. Charles Goddard, who headed the 16 man security force at Iverson Mall. He stated that they had been looking for the suspect, but that they had detained no one. Interestingly, the last paragraph stated the following:

(Quote): Goddard added that Montgomery police had told him in connection with the Lyon search, to be on the lookout for a blue Falcon Station Wagon covered with stickers and slogans, including a bumper sticker from Walt Disney's Florida resort known as Disneyworld. (unquote)

This was the first time that any specific vehicle was mentioned, and there was never any further elaboration on it or why it was a suspect vehicle.

[Richard]

On July 24, 1975, 15 year-old Kathy Lynn Beatty of Aspen Hill/Rockville, Maryland was found badly beaten and possibly sexually molested in a ditch behind a department store in Silver Spring, Maryland. Twelve days later, on August 5, 1975, she died of her injuries at Suburban Hospital. Her assailant was never identified and the case has never been solved.

Aspen Hill is only a few blocks north of Wheaton Plaza, where the Lyon Sisters were last seen alive on March 25, 1975.

Could the two cases be connected?

In 1987, Montgomery County Police investigated a possible lead that Fred Howard Coffey Jr. might have been involved in one or both crimes. It was determined that Coffey had started working at a scientific company in Silver Spring only one week after the Lyon Sisters disappeared. Wheaton Plaza and Aspen Hill are both within one mile of that company's offices. the problem was that police could just not establish any evidentiary links between Coffey and the two cases.

In 1987, Coffey was serving 50 years for molesting three children in North Carolina, and was facing trial for the rape/murder of another little girl, Amanda Ray, age 10. Coffey was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to Death. While on death row, his conviction and sentence was appealed and sent back for re-sentencing. Again, he was sentenced to Death. Another appeal found that because subsequent misconduct (his sexual molestation of children) was introduced during the sentencing phase that this constituted an unfair, illegal procedure, because that misconduct had to have occurred BEFORE the crimes with which he was being charged.

Coffey's sentence was commuted to Life - and he has been up for Parole several times in recent years. Just the kind of guy we need back in society. See separate thread subject on Coffey and Check out the links below.

Offender Data Screen:
http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/apps/offender/offend1?DOCNUM=0081135

Coffey, FH. 704:
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Police/Crime+Info/Citizen+Watch+Programs/Citizens+Parole+Advisory+Committee/Fred+Howard+Coffey%2c+Jr.+704.htm

Text of Decision to disallow subsequent crime info at sentencing:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/nc-supreme-court/jun1794/coffey

[joellegirl]

I wonder if police have compared a circa 1975 photo of Coffey with the sketch of the "tape recorder man". I remember reading some link (the Neal J Conway article?) where police have a strong suspect(who is in prison) in the Lyon case but certain laws keep them from questioning him about it? I think it is nuts that that this person can't be questioned but i don't understand all the laws etc. I wonder if that person is Coffey.

[joellegirl]

Link to the Neal J Conway article on the Lyon sisters:

http://www.nealjconway.com/essays/whyweliketobe/lyonsisters.html

[Richard]

I wonder if police have compared a circa 1975 photo of Coffey with the sketch of the "tape recorder man". I remember reading some link (the Neal J Conway article?) where police have a strong suspect(who is in prison) in the Lyon case but certain laws keep them from questioning him about it? I think it is nuts that that this person can't be questioned but i don't understand all the laws etc. I wonder if that person is Coffey.

I am pretty sure that the police have compared their sketches with every suspect that has come to their attention. Although they probably could not (for legal reasons) state publicly their opinion of how close a match any of them are. One case officer did make some comments to the press in 1987 about Coffey's age being 30 in 1975, and how that differs from the "50 years-old" estimation of the boy who described the Tape Recorder Man. The officer also pointed out that sometimes children have a hard time estimating the ages of adults.

[smile22]

yes children do my godson has this really vivid imagination and will sometimes mistake things for what they really are.. did any of the witnesses go through hipnosis sometimes when ur hipnotized u rememeber some of the oddest things that you couldnt remember

[LillyRush]

Not to say that the microphone-man may not have been the abductor, but it's possible that some other perp completely unrelated to the mall had been driving by when they were walking back home alone. There were other instances in the '70s of young girls disappearing while on their way back from shopping. Although I suppose pair and/or group disappearances are rare. most of the other cases were individuals (w/ the exception of a few cases). I'll have to look for the links somewhere. One of the websites that used to have very good descriptions of old cases is no longer up and running, unfortunately.

[Richard]

Not to say that the microphone-man may not have been the abductor, but it's possible that some other perp completely unrelated to the mall had been driving by when they were walking back home alone. There were other instances in the '70s of young girls disappearing while on their way back from shopping. Although I suppose pair and/or group disappearances are rare. most of the other cases were individuals (w/ the exception of a few cases). I'll have to look for the links somewhere. One of the websites that used to have very good descriptions of old cases is no longer up and running, unfortunately.

It is certainly a possibility that someone totally unrelated to the Tape Recorder Man could have been the abductor. It is pretty likely that the girls were abducted rather than lost or run aways. But the fact that no one could ever identify the man with the microphone, and the fact that he never came forward to clear things up does add to the suspicion that he was probably also the abductor or part of an abduction team.

The back roads that the girls took to and from the mall were a maze of loops and dead-ends in an older housing subdivision. All the houses on their path were checked and owners spoken with by police. Any one cruising those roads, looking for a victim of opportunity would have had to know them pretty well, and even then would have been taking quite a chance at being seen by someone.

[Fronkensteen]

I am pretty sure that the police have compared their sketches with every suspect that has come to their attention. Although they probably could not (for legal reasons) state publicly their opinion of how close a match any of them are. One case officer did make some comments to the press in 1987 about Coffey's age being 30 in 1975, and how that differs from the "50 years-old" estimation of the boy who described the Tape Recorder Man. The officer also pointed out that sometimes children have a hard time estimating the ages of adults.
Coffey was described in a Charlotte Observer article of 10/17/04 (http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9941209.htm) as a "gray-haired stranger" in 1979, even though he would only have been 34 at the time. It's possible that his hair was prematurely grey by 1975, and that a child could have mistaken the then 30 year old Coffey as a much older man. I had a friend who was going noticeably grey at age 18.

[Richard]

The term "Cold Case" is usually used to mean that a case has been unsolved and that it has been closed due to lack of evidence, lack of suspect, or other reasons. With new technology and sometimes with the arrest of a serial killer, many Cold Cases have been reopened and solved recently.

It should be noted, that although the case of the Lyon Sisters appears on this website with the "Cold Cases", it has never been considered a Cold Case by Montgomery County Police. It is actually their longest running, continuously Open Case. It has always been regarded as active with an investigator assigned. This coming March marks the 30th anniversary of Sheila and Kate's disappearance. Their case is quite possibly the longest running Open Case in Maryland, and probably ranks among the longest running Open Cases US history.

[mom-a-licious]

1) Were there ever any more reported incidents of a man trying to use the same tape-recorder tactics anywhere else *after* the Lyon sisters disappearance? Or only during the time-frame prior to their abduction?

If this tactic worked so well, and those who abduct will often try to do so again using the same methods, I wonder if any future reports of someone trying to use this same tactic thing ever came up.

2) If tape recorder man was the abductor, then was never seen doing his thing again, makes me wonder about men of that general age who may have been arrested and imprisoned, or died, or committed suicide in the near future after the girls went missing. This would of course prevent this man from ever using this approach again.

3) What purpose did using the tape-recorder approach at the mall serve for the man, if he was the one who abducted the girls? They weren't taken at the mall, they were seen walking home quite a bit later.

Perhaps the tactic was used to both choose the victim and also to establish a level of familiarity so that the abductor could more easily lure the girls later in another area away from the mall, with something such as "Hi, remember me? Something went wrong with that tape we made, so could you come here and talk into it again?"

4) Perhaps TR man didn't have anything to do with the abduction, was so frightened by seeing a sketch resembling him and his actions related in the media, that he hid out and then disappeared, never using his tactics again.

5) I still keep wondering why with as much exposure as this case has had, that even though the sketch was recognizable to so many people who had seen this man at the malls, not one person recognized it as someone they could even tenatively put a name to.

[Richard]

1) Were there ever any more reported incidents of a man trying to use the same tape-recorder tactics anywhere else *after* the Lyon sisters disappearance? Or only during the time-frame prior to their abduction?

If this tactic worked so well, and those who abduct will often try to do so again using the same methods, I wonder if any future reports of someone trying to use this same tactic thing ever came up.

2) If tape recorder man was the abductor, then was never seen doing his thing again, makes me wonder about men of that general age who may have been arrested and imprisoned, or died, or committed suicide in the near future after the girls went missing. This would of course prevent this man from ever using this approach again.

3) What purpose did using the tape-recorder approach at the mall serve for the man, if he was the one who abducted the girls? They weren't taken at the mall, they were seen walking home quite a bit later.

Perhaps the tactic was used to both choose the victim and also to establish a level of familiarity so that the abductor could more easily lure the girls later in another area away from the mall, with something such as "Hi, remember me? Something went wrong with that tape we made, so could you come here and talk into it again?"

4) Perhaps TR man didn't have anything to do with the abduction, was so frightened by seeing a sketch resembling him and his actions related in the media, that he hid out and then disappeared, never using his tactics again.

5) I still keep wondering why with as much exposure as this case has had, that even though the sketch was recognizable to so many people who had seen this man at the malls, not one person recognized it as someone they could even tenatively put a name to.

All excellent comments and observations. To answer your first point, Nobody was seen after the girls disappearance at any area malls with the tape recorder. I know that Iverson mall Security officers were specifically looking for anyone fitting the man's description and actions in the weeks following the 25 March incident.

This was front page news in the entire Washington DC metropolitan area, and people were all looking for this guy and any sign of the girls. Anybody attempting a Tape Recorder Man impression, for whatever reason would have been noticed immediately.

If anybody used such a tactic elsewhere, I have not heard of it, but that is not to say that a subsequent Tape Recorder Man might have appeared in another city. Although this was big news in the Washington area, it was before the kind of National coverage and attention that occurs today in abduction cases.

It is certainly possible that the guy with the Tape Recorder was just a harmless weirdo who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I find that difficult to accept. A middle aged man going to a mall and tape recording young girls is innappropriate no matter how you look at it.
And another thing, the girls disappearance was not in the papers until late the following day. But Tape Recorder Man had vanished at about the same time the Lyon Sisters did. I am sure that he got plenty scared in the days to follow with all the publicity and news that he had generated, but his exit from the scene at the same time as the girls disappearance is suspect.

I also think that he must have been somewhat of an "unknown" to the area since many folks remembered seeing him, but nobody could put a name to him. My feeling is that he was fairly new to the area, and may have left soon after the girls abduction. Police checked out all known pediphiles and sex criminals at the time and for years afterward with no luck.

Your comment on his use of the tape recorder as a set up to a subsequent contact sounds very likely. If this was in fact the same guy seen the day before at Wheaton Plaza and three days before at both Iverson Mall and Marlow Heights Shopping Center (both are right next to each other and South of Washington), then it means that he was biding his time until the right opportunity presented itself. I don't think the girls were specific targets for abduction, (like for ransom) but rather victims of opportunity.

Regarding WHERE the girls were abducted - there is some room for debate and confusion - whether it was in the parking lot of Wheaton Plaza, or on the back streets to their house. Initially the police told the press that someone had seen the girls in the vicinity of the mall as late as 7:00 PM. This was later found to be incorrect, but it caused the boy who believed that he had seen the girls on Drumm Ave between 2:30 and 3:00 PM to remain silent for a few days before coming forward. This delay then caused the police to wonder if he might have seen them on a previous day and just thought he had seen them at that time on the 25th. Or if he might have been mistaken about the time that he saw them there.

The place on Drumm Ave that they were supposedly last seen is only about a block from Wheaton Plaza parking lot. It is not a driving entrance to the mall today, but may have been one back in 1975. So it would not have been far for the abductor to travel, and he may have positioned himself in a place that he could have observed anyone else in the vicinity and taken his chance if the coast looked clear. Nobody ever came forward to report having seen the girls taken.

[smile22]

since media coverage back then was spars and only the place were u were last seen and and like a few other towns or a neighboring state herd about the disaperances, was this ever nationaly covered like after, when media was like the big outlet for missing children and such.. someone out there knows something. what about hypnosis on the people who saw the tape man or the people to last see the girls. they might remember something

[Richard]

since media coverage back then was spars and only the place were u were last seen and and like a few other towns or a neighboring state herd about the disaperances, was this ever nationaly covered like after, when media was like the big outlet for missing children and such.. someone out there knows something. what about hypnosis on the people who saw the tape man or the people to last see the girls. they might remember something

As far as I know, there has never been any kind of National coverage of the Lyon Sisters' case by newspapers, radio, or television. It was not until the late 1990's that their pictures and a very short few sentences about them appeared in the NCMEC data base. I wrote the story a few posts back in this forum about 1999 and it was first published in 2000 by a website for missing persons, which is now defunct. The national and international coverage that this case now has is due to the proliferation of websites such as this one which have picked up their story and featured it. This is true of many other cases as well.

I agree with you that the best evidence and information available to the Montgomery County Police was the first hand accounts of those people who had seen and remembered Tape Recorder Man. Their names were never published and none were ever interviewed by the press. If a list of those primary witnesses could be made from MCP files, and as many as possible located and interviewed, perhaps more information could be made available - even at this late date. Who knows, maybe they saw the guy later and no one requestioned about him. Also, perhaps a photo gallery of past suspects could be shown to them for possible Identification.

[revlis]

Richard....I thought awhile back i heard something about a person who had murdered those little girls in Fredericksburg, Virginia in either late 1980's or early 90's being looked at as someone of interest in the lyons case.. Am i right or wrong? I'm sorry, but i don't remember the little ones names in Virginia, but i do remember one was on her front doorsteps doing homework when she disappeared...Does any of this ring a bell or am i having brain gas again??? thanks for all your updates on this case!!!

[Richard]

Richard....I thought awhile back i heard something about a person who had murdered those little girls in Fredericksburg, Virginia in either late 1980's or early 90's being looked at as someone of interest in the lyons case.. Am i right or wrong? I'm sorry, but i don't remember the little ones names in Virginia, but i do remember one was on her front doorsteps doing homework when she disappeared...Does any of this ring a bell or am i having brain gas again??? thanks for all your updates on this case!!!

The girls you are thinking of were Sofia Silva and Kristen and Kati Lisk. Their killer was caught after abducting another young girl who escaped. There were some references made to the Lyon Sisters during that time (mid 1990's) but I do not believe that the perpetrator was ever linked to them.

[Richard]

Richard Marc Evonitz was the abductor and murderer of Sofia Silvia and the Lisk Sisters, Kristen and Kati. He was not actually captured, but committed suicide when faced with imminent capture. He would have been only 12 years old when the Lyon Sisters disappeared, but as indicated in this article, he is being looked at as a possible suspect in other abductions and murders. Here is a link to a website with some pretty gruesome details about him:

Marc Evonitz was a classic sociopath, a man who appeared on the outside to be a normal guy; an intelligent, hard-working, white-collar husband. But underneath he was a man obsessed with bondage, pornography, and young girls. A homicidal bomb just waiting to go off. ...

Evonitz was born in 1963 in Colombia, South Carolina. ...

On September 9, 1996, Sofia Silva disappeared from her rural Spotsylvania home. There were not signs of struggle. It appeared as if Silva had been doing her homework on her front porch when she simply disappeared. No sign of Silva could be found and family and friends hoped she might possibly be returned safely. Five weeks later her body was found in a shallow pond twenty miles from her home.

It appears that an appearance in bankruptcy court is what triggered his next two killings. After a morning court date on May 1, 1997, Evonitz arrived at the Lisk family home, like the Silva house, in a rural area of Spotsylvania County. Also like the Silva abduction, he had carefully scouted the after school habits of the Lisk daughters, fifteen-year-old Kristin and twelve-year-old Kati, and abducted them without a fight before the two girls had even made in into the house after being dropped off by their respective school buses. Kristin's book bag laying in the front yard was the only sign that anything was amiss. Despite a massive search, the Lisk sisters were found dead five days later and forty miles away in the South Anna River.

The similarities in the two cases were unmistakable. Three dark-haired, pretty, slender young girls, missing immediately after returning home from school and later found dead in water long distances from their homes. All three were drowned but not at the their places of discovery. ...

Authorities are still attempting to link Evonitz to several rapes and murders, so far without success.

Link
http://www.geocities.com/verbal_plainfield/a-h/evonitz.html

[marylandmissing]

The brother of Katherine and Sheila is a Montgomery County detective...The father works at the Stephanie Roper Foundation. Family rarely gives interviews or talks about the case anymore. Last one was a couple years ago on Fox News DC about the Doe Network.

I turned over an email I got about the case to Montgomery and state police, but nothing ever came of it that I know of.

[Richard]

"Tape Recorder Man" Suspect Sketch now on Doe Network

The first suspect in the case of the Missing Lyon sisters was an unidentified man seen by a 13 year-old boy talking with Sheila and Katherine at Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center. The boy described the man as middle aged, "about 50" with Salt and Pepper hair, standing about 6 feet tall. He was well dressed in a brown suit, carrying a brown briefcase which held a cassette tape recorder. In one hand he held a microphone, into which the girls were seen speaking.
On 28 March 1975, three days after the girls disappeared, Montgomery County Police officer D. Morton made a sketch of the unidentified man and it was shown to employees of several stores at Wheaton Plaza, but no one knew who it was. On 1 April 1975, the origional sketch was released to the news media where it appeared in papers and on television. The release of the sketch generated over 300 phone tips the first day. Although the suspect was never identified by name, several people called to say that the same man had been seen at Wheaton Plaza the day prior to the girls disappearance, and 15 mothers of young girls in neighboring Prince George's County called to say that a man fitting the description and sketch had been seen in two adjacent shopping centers on 22 March 1975 bothering their daughters with requests to speak into his microphone.
"Tape Recorder Man" was last seen at aproximately the same time that the Lyon Sisters disappeared on 25 March 1975. The first sketch appeared twice in the Washington Post. Based on statements by some of the other witnesses, the origional sketch was slightly altered by Officer Morton and reissued to the media. The second sketch showed a slightly smaller chin on the suspect, but all other information remained the same. These sketches have not been published by any newspaper or magazine since mid April 1975, but the Doe Network has just included them both on their website, along with a more comprehensive case summary.

Links:
Sheila Lyon - The Doe Network: Case File 64DFMD
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/64dfmd.html

Katherine Lyon - The Doe Network: Case File 65DFMD
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/65dfmd.html

[Richard]

The brother of Katherine and Sheila is a Montgomery County detective...The father works at the Stephanie Roper Foundation. Family rarely gives interviews or talks about the case anymore. Last one was a couple years ago on Fox News DC about the Doe Network.

I turned over an email I got about the case to Montgomery and state police, but nothing ever came of it that I know of.

With the 30th anniversary of this case coming up in March, there may be more media interest and coverage. It is certainly understandable that the family would decline to talk about their loss, when there has been no solid evidence since the day their daughters went missing.
It is my personal belief and hope that this case may still be solved.

Montgomery County Police have many boxes of witness statements, investigative reports, phone tips, and other information which they have collected and filed over the years. Some answers may be found in those files, but first the right questions have to be asked. I say this as a general statement, not as any criticism of the police. If this case is to be solved, it will ultimately be the Montgomery County Police who will officially solve it. But I also believe that the media (including on-line sites) and members of the public will play a major part in the solution.

When closely following an open investigation such as this case, and submitting possible witness information, it would be nice to have some feedback regarding whether or not they intend to follow up on those tips. Even a note to say that they got the information would be appropriate.

Shows like America's Most Wanted have proven time and again that tips from the public solve crimes. However, all too often police departments hold back information which, if released to the public, could lead to the right informant tip.

A perfect example of this is the FBI and their 17 year search for the Unibomber. The FBI advised the Washington Post and New York Times NOT to publish Unibom's "manifesto", and then the FBI proceeded to release bits and pieces of that document to other media outlets. Finally both newspapers ignored the FBI and published the Manifesto in its entirety. This led directly to Ted Kaczinski's brother contacting the FBI and saying that he could identify the Unibomber and tell them where he was. He asked for no reward, and only requested that the FBI let him remain anonymous. The FBI caught Ted, and immediately began to grandstand "their" success. One of the first things they did was to release the identity of their informant and to ridicule in the national news media some of the many tips which had come in to them.

[smile22]

do u think that they have info that they have witheald from the public stuff they thought was only for le and wouldnt mean a thing to the public? what if they took a risk and gave out some info not alot but some of the sealed stuff maybe someone might know something

[Fronkensteen]

The brother of Katherine and Sheila is a Montgomery County detective...The father works at the Stephanie Roper Foundation. Family rarely gives interviews or talks about the case anymore. Last one was a couple years ago on Fox News DC about the Doe Network.

I turned over an email I got about the case to Montgomery and state police, but nothing ever came of it that I know of.
NPR had an interview with John Lyon in 2002. You can find it here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1149289

[Richard]

do u think that they have info that they have witheald from the public stuff they thought was only for le and wouldnt mean a thing to the public? what if they took a risk and gave out some info not alot but some of the sealed stuff maybe someone might know something

In this particular case, I do not think that they have much - if any - first hand evidence regarding the girls disappearance. They were quick to release all pertinent information regarding the girls' descriptions, clothing, etc.

That said, the best piece of evidence they seem to have is the sketch of "Tape Recorder Man" which they have not released to any news media since April 1975. Except for listing the girls in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the late 1990's, the Montgomery County Police have made little or no effort to publicize this case. Most of the information on the various websites today can be found in old newspaper archives.

There is a lot of information in the police files concerning various people that MCP investigated in connection with the case. For instance, any time an individual of interest came to their attention, MCP would check the guy's record, and question him on his whereabouts on 25 March 1975, question others about him, and then decide that he was not a suspect - or maybe they just could not connect him with the crime scene. For quite a number of reasons, the police would not include specific information on such persons in any press releases.


I think that there are times (not necessarily in this case) that some information is intentionally withheld that (if released to the public) could have stopped a criminal sooner.

[marylandmissing]

Also - police "footwork" was just that back then. No real computers to link criminals. NCIC just started that year, and would take hours to pull up anything. Mostly they got information on convicted offenders by callers, or people calling individual police stations up and down the coast.

[Richard]

The Lyon Sisters' Case has been an open police investigation since 1975 when the girls went missing from Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center. From the start, police checked out all known perverts, pedeophiles, and rapists, but none were developed as "suspects" in the case.

The fact that Sheila and Kate disappeared so quickly and never turned up again left police with little to go on in the way of physical evidence. There had not been any other recent cases of abduction (which this undoubtedly was) in the Maryland area, and the fact that it was an abduction of more than one at the same time, made it very rare, indeed. For a serial killer to abduct TWO girls in broad daylight from a crowded mall, he had to have been either well practiced and sure of himself, or just plain crazy and lucky. Perhaps a combination of the two.

With no previous similar crimes to connect to, it has been the subsequent crimes which have been of interest to investigators. There have been many individuals considered as potential suspects, but none have ever been declared by police to actually BE Suspects. My next post will discuss some of the "Individuals of Interest" who have appeared over the years.

[cat-girl]

Wow - it's amazing to think it's been almost 30 years and the Lyons girls were never found. I just read "The Lovely Bones" and it got me thinking/googling about those girls. I was 13 in 1975 and lived a block away from them (across the street from Tommy, the boy who saw them talking to the man at the plaza). I knew Sheila by sight because we waited at the same stop for the junior high school bus. I remember talking to friends about how to treat her when she came back -- that we would be nicer if the girls had been kidnapped than if they had run away. Sheila seemed a bit nerdy and wore glasses, like me. I didn't think she had it in her to run off with hippies, one theory at the time... but I would have been a little thrilled if that was what happened. It didn't occur to us that they had truly disappeared.

Just to give perspective, it was totally normal to walk to Wheaton Plaza the back way, something most kids in the area did without a second thought. Parents considered it safe because none of the streets were busy -- you simply turned at a vacant lot and walked along a short path that climbed up to the back of the parking lot. Later, that path was seen as the scariest place, and the one where most of us assumed the abduction took place. In retrospect though, it wouldn't have seemed out of the ordinary for a car to pull over in the residential neighborhood and a couple kids to hop in for a ride.

I hope the media do something on the story for the 30th anniversary. As far as I can remember, that was the first big story of a horror that later became depressingly common. I live on the west coast, but still think about the family when I visit Kensington and pass their old house.

[joellegirl]

Catgirl, That is so interesting that you kind of knew them and lived just a block away. Thanks for sharing your memories, it gives us a whole new perspective. I wish more people who knew (or at least sort of knew) the victims we all discuss here would post. Do you remember anything else about the sisters? I remember a while back a poster, saying she was Janice Pockett's cousin(another girl sadly still missing), remembered that Janice always had Tic Tacs with her. It's small stuff like that that I find interesting. I really don't know why, I guess it's just when you think of these missing people it is interesting to know more about them, not just their vital statisitcs, like height etc.

The Lyon sister's case has stayed with me ever since I read about it a few years back. Such a tragic story.

Thanks again for posting. Share more if you remember any other tidbits.

[marylandmissing]

I'm sure all the local papers will revisit this case in March. I plan to contact all of them to remind them, nevertheless.

[Richard]

I'm sure all the local papers will revisit this case in March. I plan to contact all of them to remind them, nevertheless.

Hopefully this will get the case some more attention. On the 25th anniversary, the Washington Post and Washington Times had nothing about it. The only paper that carried anything (that I saw) was the Baltimore Sun, which had a full page spread on the case.

WUSA TV4 does a weekly special with Joe Krebbs called Cold Case Files. I contacted them and provided them with a lot of information. One of their producers called me in December to state that they do intend to feature the case of the Missing Lyon Sisters in March.

[marylandmissing]

Kewl. I know Joe Krebs personally. Hopefully, he will. He's the nicest reporter I've ever met.

[Richard]

There have been a number of possible suspects in the case of the Missing Lyon Sisters. Some of these were actually investigated thoroughly, while others may have appeared briefly in the news but may have been eliminated as suspects for one reason or other.

-----------------------------------
Arthur Frederick "Freddie" GOODE III

Freddie was a homosexual pedophile who lived in Hyattsville, Maryland (Prince Georges County). He had been arrested on three separate occasions for indecent assults on minors when in March 1975 (Same month and year that the Lyon Sisters disappeared) he was arrested for five sexual assaults on a 9 year-old boy. The Goode Family raised $25,000 to bail him out and while on bail, he attacked an eleven year-old. After some plea bargaining, Freddie got five years probation on the condition that he voluntarily undergo treatment at a mental health hospital.

Because his treatment was "voluntary" the hospital had no right to hold him and after 15 weeks, Freddie walked out and traveled by bus to Florida. While there, on 5 March 1976 he met and strangled 9 year-old Jason VerDow. He was questioned by police in Florida, but they did not know of a Maryland warrant out for him, so he was not detained.

He then met a 10 year-old boy named Billy Arthe and traveled with him to Washington DC, where the two met Kenny Dawson, age 11. In Billy's presense, Freddie strangled Kenny. After a woman saw a photo of the missing Billy, she alerted Baltimore police to Freddie Goode's location. He was arrested, and Billy became a witness at Freddie's murder trial. The Maryland court sentenced him to life in prison and then extradited him to Florida where he was convicted of Jason VerDow's murder and sentenced to death.

Where was he on 25 March 1975? Freddie's victims were all in the age range of the Lyon Sisters, but his known victims were all boys. Also, Freddie traveled by bicycle and bus most of the time. These factors would tend to rule him out as the girls' abductor.

[Richard]

Ellwood Leroy LEUSCHNER

On 1 November 1977, a paroled California rapist was arrested in Salisbury, Maryland by Maryland State Police on the charges of kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 9 year old boy. The boy was abducted from his trailer park and buried on a farm ten miles away. The suspect, was one Ellwood Leroy LEUSCHNER, age 45. He was a tall, gaunt, white man who worked as a general laborer at the Campbell Soup Plant in Salisbury.

Leuschner had been first convicted of rape in 1953. He was sent to a California prison in 1960, released in the mid 60's and then convicted and sentenced again for a subsequent forgery and for the rape of a 12 year old girl. In that incident, he dressed in priest's clothing and asked the little girl to help him bring some packages into a church. When he got her in the church, he raped her.

He was paroled in 1974, and some time after that (exact date not known), he vilolated his parole and left California. He claimed to have lived in Salisbury for three years when captured in 1977. The Maryland State Police called California Corrections Office in 1977 to try to confirm this, but California officials stated that he had left California in March 1976 to avoid another rape charge there.

Leuschner was also suspected of the kidnap and murder of two other young boys, in separate incidents in July 1977. Police ruled him out as a suspect in one, but believed that he committed the other and he was charged with that murder as well.

Leuschner drove a blue or green Camaro (model year not known) in 1977, and it was that car which had been seen at the abduction sites, and at the burial sites that connected him with the abductions and murders. Just prior to his last murder, he had attempted another abduction, but the child escaped and gave a description of him and his car.

Many police departments became interested in him after his capture, but when the California Corrections officials said that he had only been out of California since March 1976, he was "ruled out" of many open investigations. He may have been out of California sometime before he was reported missing and the March 1976 date might only be when the California parole violation warrant was issued.

It would be interesting to know where he went and what his time schedule was between his release from prison in California and his eventual capture in Maryland. That might allow investigators to look into other unsolved murders or abductions.

Leuschner's known victims were male and female children ages 9 to 12, his manner of approach and deception, and his way of burying the bodies in remote areas, the fact that he was a serial offender and had transportation - all would make him a prime suspect in some of the unsolved murders and missing child cases of 1974 thru 1977.

Leuschner was a serial rapist and murderer. It would seem that for him to have accellerated to the point of killing two boys in one month, he may well have killed others between 1974 and his November 1977 capture. In a very short time frame of five months from March to July 1975, and within a very close radius, two girls from Maryland (the Lyon Sisters), two boys from New Jersey and three girls from Pennsylvania all disappeared. One incident per month, each in a different police jurisdiction. All of those sites were within driving distance from Salisbury, Maryland.

Leuschner spent the rest of his life in the Maryland Prison system, evidently becoming a writer for a prison newsletter before his death.

[Richard]

...WUSA TV4 does a weekly special with Joe Krebbs called Cold Case Files....

Correction: TV Channel 4 in Washington, DC is WRC TV4, an NBC affilliate.

[Richard]

Raymond Rudolph MILESKI, Sr.

Raymond Rudolph Mileski Sr. is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in the Maryland Prison system. He is linked to the Lyon Sisters, because of claims that he has made on several occasions. Those stories have some varience to them, but basically Ray states that he knows who the abductor/murderer of the girls is.

A story about Montgomery County Police digging in the backyard of the Mileski home at 5816 Suitland Road was in the Washington Post in April 1982, but only briefly. It was only one of many momentary mentions of the Lyon Sisters in news stories over the years. At the time, nothing much came of it. The story told of police digging test holes for about three hours in response to tips from convicts, and that nothing was found. That story makes specific reference to the address and to it being in response to a tip from Maryland Prison Inmates, but it does not mention Mileski's name.

On 19 November 1977, following an ongoing family argument, Raymond Mileski Sr. shot his oldest son with a high power rifle in the basement of their home. When his wife, Dolores, ran down the stairs into the basement room, he shot her too. The bullet passed through her, through a wall and into the mouth of their 7 year old son, Peter, who was running down the stairs behind his mother. Mileski left his wife and older son for dead and transported Peter to Andrews Air Force Base for emergency treatment. Leaving him there, Mileski, drove to the home of a neighbor where his middle son Karl was visiting. He told Karl to stay where he was and then turned himself in to police.

Mileski, while in prison, had evidently told a story to other convicts that he knew who had abducted and killed the Lyon Sisters, these cons repeated the story to MCP investigators. Montgomery County Police dug test holes in the Mileski backyard for three hours and found nothing. End of story? Not quite.

In 2001, an anonymous tip to police named Mileski as having told others prior to his 1978 murder conviction, that he was in some way involved in the Lyon Sisters disappearance. Many elements of this tipster's story were checked out and found to be accurate.

Mileski, contacted in Prison in 2001, admitted in writing that he did in fact know who the abductor of the Lyon Sisters was. He did not name anyone, but gave a general description of the area in which the girls were buried. Mileski made general statements, but clearly wanted to negotiate for a prison transfer before he would speak with investigators.

It is hard to determine if Mileski actually knows anything about the Lyon case, or if he is just making it all up for his own advantage.

The most intriguing thing about a possible PG county connection is that the sketch of "Tape Recorder Man" was recognized by 15 mothers of young girls who had been approached by a man at Iverson Mall and at Marlow Heights Shopping Center on 22 March 1975, three days before the Lyon Sisters disappeared. The Washington Post reported that from one to three PG men were questioned, but that they were not considered suspects at the time. Those sightings place the primary suspect (Tape Recorder Man) right in the close proximity of Mileski, his home, and his alleged associates.

[cat-girl]

Thanks, J-girl. I agree that it's important to recall the real people involved. It's been a long time and I don't remember a lot about the girls. The '75 Newport yearbook published Sheila's picture with her 7th grade class, and there was also a photo of her table at in the cafeteria, utterly candid and innocent, and in a way haunting. They were regular, nice girls. Not jocks, not cheerleaders, not snotty or mean. I imagine Sheila would have stayed on the quiet side and grown even prettier as she matured.

My memories go beyond Sheila and Katie to that whole place and era... when it seemed, up till 1975 anyway, to be so safe to be a suburban kid. Kids could hang out, go places by ourselves or find places to be alone. Random stuff -- there were a couple big hills next to Plyers Mill Rd where all the neighborhood kids went sledding. On Homewood, we had regular touch football games on summer evenings. Even kids who didn't connect socially knew who their neighbors were. You kind of had to behave well in public because not only your folks but neighbors would keep an eye out. My impression is that the immediate area in Kensington has retained something of that feel.

[Richard]

Cat-girl, please check your private messages this forum. You have provided some very interesting comments and insight. Thanks!

[Richard]

Fred Howard COFFEY, Jr. (see also Neely Smith thread this forum)

Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. is currently serving a life term in NC for the 1979 murder of a 10 year NC girl. He may have been involved in the Lyon Sisters abduction, and possibly in the July 1975 abduction/murder of 15 year-old Kathy Lynn Beatty, also of Montgomery County, Maryland.

Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. was born 03/20/45 in either Virginia or North Carolina. By his and his family's account, he was subjected to severe sexual abuse as a child by his father. An eighth-grade dropout, he attended some college courses later in life.

Coffey enlisted in the Navy at age 17 on May 19, 1962. He served aboard the USS Caloosahatchee AO98 (a fleet oiler), based in Norfolk, VA from 1963 to about 1966. He served his second tour of duty in VietNam, and then a third tour of duty - possibly again in Norfolk. Coffey served a total of 12 years in the US Navy and was honorably discharged as a First Class Petty Officer (E-6) on 12 Sept 1974.

It is quite possible and likely that Coffey had Navy contacts in the Washington/MD/VA area which helped him land a job with Vitro Laboratories.
Employment records from Vitro Laboratories (a Defense Contractor specializing in Navy weapon systems) in Silver Spring MD place him in the area between 1 April and 31 July 1975.

He is considered a suspect in several other murders/abductions, and reportedly confessed to a psychologist as having molested approximately 100 children. He was fond of using gimmicks such as a fishing pole, metal detector, and possibly disguises to lure children.

Coffey's criminal record includes:

- Convicted on two counts of child molestation in Virginia Beach, 1974. Not known whether or not the Navy knew about this, but he was allowed to get out with an Honorable Discharge at the end of his third enlistment - perhaps before the civilian courts had concluded the case.

- Convicted in 1986 and sentenced to 50-years for nine counts of molesting three children in Caldwell County, N.C.

- Coffey was considered a prime suspect in the August, 1986 death of an 8-year-old boy, Travis Shane King, in Bristol, Virginia. King was seen in the company of Coffey near Eastridge shortly before he disappeared, according to Bristol Virginia police detectives. Body found on shores of Boone Lake. He had been strangled.

- Coffey was married between 1978-1982. A friend of Coffey's wife testified that she called police in 1979, two months before Amanda Ray's death, after her 3-year-old described Coffey masturbating in front of her.

- In 1987 was convicted of 1st degree murder for the 1979 Abduction/murder of a 10 year-old girl, Amanda Ray. Amanda was strangled and found near water, in a rural area. Coffey owned a dog (its hairs, found in his van and on Amanda Ray, helped convict him in the Ray killing). Two juries sentenced him to death, but through legal maneuverings, a third jury sentenced him to life in prison with all sentences to run concurrently. Eligible for parole since 1995.

- In 1987, he was investigated by MCP as a possible suspect in the 1975 sexual assault and slaying of 15-year-old Kathy Lynn Beatty of Aspen Hill, which occurred less than a mile from where Coffey once worked. Kathy was found badly beaten and left for dead in a Silver Spring ditch. She lived for two weeks before succumbing to her injuries on 5 August 1975. Coffey quit his job and left town on 31 July 1975. Police had hoped to link Coffey to a set of keys found near the beaten body of Kathy Beatty.

- In 1987, he was considered one of the strongest suspects in the double abduction of the Lyon sisters in Wheaton, MD in March, 1975. Coffey was in the Maryland area around the time of the Lyons' disappearance. Coffey applied for a job at Vitro Corp. in Aspen Hill (then Vitro Laboratories in Silver Spring) as a computer data system employee and was interviewed on 1 April 1975. He worked for them from April 24, 1975, to July 31, 1975. MCP tried to pinpoint when Coffey first came to a Gaithersburg motel where he was known to have stayed. They also tried to get old motor vehicle records to verify reports that he had bought a car in Montgomery about the time of the Lyon girls' disappearance. Montgomery County Police looked at Coffey as a possible suspect in both the Lyon and Beatty cases in 1987, but could not conclusively place him at either scene.

- Police in NC are currently trying to connect Coffey to a 1981 murder of a 5 year-old girl, Neely Smith, from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. Coffey lived in the same apartment complex as the girl. Neely's remains found near water, in a rural area. She had been raped and strangled.

- A 17 October 2004 Charlotte Observer story about the 1981 Neely Smith murder stated: "Amanda Ray's mother told her not to go fishing with the gray-haired stranger". This suggests that Coffey, 34 in 1979, was either prematurely gray, or he was altering his hair color. Eyewitnesses in the 1975 Lyon disappearances described a middle-aged suspect with salt and pepper hair. It would not be unreasonable to assume that his hair could have been salt and pepper gray in '75, and that he may have looked much older to the child witnesses.

A current photo of Coffey can be seen on the North Carolina Prison System's On-Line Inmate Locator Service.

Link:

http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/apps/offender/offend1?DOCNUM=0081135&SENTENCEINFO=&SHOWPHOTO=yes&numtimesin=1http://

[joellegirl]

Cat-girl, Thanks again for sharing your recollections. It is really interesting. I know what you mean when you say it is kind of haunting to see the yearbook pictures. Do you remember their brothers? I think I read they had two brothers, one who was one of the last people to see them alive. One article I read (in the Newpaper Archives website) mentioned another sister, but I never read it anywhere else so I wonder if that was a mistake. What did their house look like? Your Kensignton neighborhood in the 1970's sounds alot my own neighborhood growing up. I was 8 in 1975 and I have alot of the same memories of riding bikes around the block, sledding down the nearby big hill, walking with friends to the store a block away to get candy. And my parents were more protective then most, but I still had some freedom . There were lots of kids around .I even remember games like Kick the Can and Red Rover! We all felt safer then, even though bad things did obviously happen then, we just didn't hear about it as much. I can totally see how back then the Lyon's girls

parents felt it was safe for their daughters to walk together to the nearby mall.

I really hope the 30th anniversary puts their story in the media, and not just locally.

Richard, thanks for posting about the men who have been suspected in the girl's disappearance. It is very interesting.

[h0db]

I was thinking about this case after running across the still-open request for information on the Montgomery County Police, MD website. A google led me to this forum. I remember the disappearance when I was a senior in HS across the river in VA. Thirty years later, I live a block from Plyers Mill Road in Kensington, but I never realized until last night how close we were to where the the Lyons lived back then. One of my daughter's best friends lives right off Drumm Ave, near the the last place the Lyon sisters were seen. But what really threw me was Richard's profile of Coffey-- I had no idea that he was a leading person of interest, not only in this case but the 1975 murder of Kathy Lynn Beatty. When my wife and I first settled in MD after college, one of my wife's best friends was Kathy's younger sister. I was years before we learned of her tragedy. Kathy's sister named her daughter Kathy, and still lives in the area, but not in the county, and we still see her and her family at least once a year.

I hope that the DC-area media covers the 30th anniversay--this one still haunts people with long memories of this area. Drumm Ave. has since been bisected by a housing development; it's some distance from where a remanent of Drumm connects with Plyers Mill. Wheaton Plaza is on an upward curve after hitting bottom a few years ago when Woodies went bankrupt, closely followed by Montgomery ward. Target moved in a couple of years ago, and Macy's is building a massive store there right now.

The demographics have changed considerably, with a lot more hispanic folks than in 1975 (and some great resturaunts around here!). The Vitro building where Coffey worked is still there in Aspen Hill, next to a Home Depot now. The side street that the sisters probably used to cut through from the Wheaton Plaza parking lot is where our community pool is. Despite the changes, people around here still remember the Lyon sisters, and I hope that one day, we'll find out what happened. In part, my wife's and my memories of their dissaperance has always made us very security conscious; we would never let our daughters--both teens now--walk to Wheaton Plaza, and we've had the usual talks about interacting with strangers.

[joellegirl]

Interesting post h0db. Thanks for sharing what the Kensington area looks like now. I know what you mean about being security conscious. I never even leave my small children alone in the backyard. I've read too many stories on the Doe Network of children vanishing from their own yards, sometimes when the mom just left them alone for a minute or two.While my worrying makes sense since they are still little, I don't know when I will be comfortable to not be watching all of the time. It is hard to picture someday letting them ride their bike around the block, or walk down the street to a friends house. When I said I could see why the Lyon parents thought it was safe to let their preteen daughters walk to the mall, it was because I remember how it was in the 1970's. People generally thought it was a safer world, even though it really wasn't. And the thing about the Lyon sisters is that there were two of them. You always hear how it is safer with two, but not in their case.

Thanks again for posting!

[marylandmissing]

One of the brothers works for Montgomery County police - think it the robbery section.

Where is this information on the Montgomery County police web site? I'm not aware of that. There is a file on the state police about them, and on the Maryland Center for Missing kids.

[Richard]

.....Do you remember their brothers? I think I read they had two brothers, one who was one of the last people to see them alive. One article I read (in the Newpaper Archives website) mentioned another sister, but I never read it anywhere else so I wonder if that was a mistake.

John and Mary Lyon had four children in 1975. Jay was their oldest at 14, then Sheila age 12, Katherine age 10, and Joe, age 9. Jay is now a detective with Montgomery County Police.

[smile22]

hi if anyone is intrested in working with me on the janice pockett case let me know through pm or any missing childrens cases from the 70s

[h0db]

I looked and can't find it now; I think I was actually looking at the State Police site. I started out trying to find out if the idiot who broke into my house (while my daugher was home) had been charged (he has). Got me thinking about why we worry about our kids, and the Lyon sisters case still comes to mind.

One of the brothers works for Montgomery County police - think it the robbery section.

Where is this information on the Montgomery County police web site? I'm not aware of that. There is a file on the state police about them, and on the Maryland Center for Missing kids.

[mere]

I just saw today that the sketches of the man in the brown suite have finally been posted. Thanks Richard. I only wish that they have been made public long ago.

[Richard]

I just saw today that the sketches of the man in the brown suite have finally been posted. Thanks Richard. I only wish that they have been made public long ago.

Actually the sketches of the Tape Recorder Man suspect in the Lyon Sisters case were made public in April 1975, the first being released to TV and newspapers exactly one week after the girls went missing. They just remained buried in the newspaper microfilm archives all these years. The Washington Post has never re-printed either sketch since April 1975, and Montgomery County Police have never re-issued any posters or press releases with those origional sketches.

[emma l]

Just to let you know (although some people may have seen them). There are now age progressions of the sisters on several websites. The doe links are:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/64dfmd.html Sheila
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/65dfmd.html Katherine

Theres also a little info on there about a suspected ransom demand in this.............. So unusual 2 girls abducted at the same time.

[Fronkensteen]

Richard,

Not sure if you saw these...new articles in the Charlotte Observer about Neely Smith and family:

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/10712538.htm

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/2005/01/24/news/10712543.htm?1c

[wheatongirl]

I was in 6th grade when the Lyon sisters disappeared and lived near the Peoples Drug Store and Zayres. Although I didn't know them, their case has haunted me for 30 years. I lived a little too far to walk to Wheaton Plaza, but growing up in Wheaton in the '70s, we could walk anywhere and not worry about something bad happening. I remember very little being published about the girls' disappearance. There were some posters in stores but no or little tv coverage. I haven't lived in Maryland in almost 25 years but many of my childhood friends still live in the area. Since it is difficult to obtain copies of the Washington Post in NJ, please keep me posted as to what the various news media reports as the 30th anniversary approaches. Thank you.



Actually the sketches of the Tape Recorder Man suspect in the Lyon Sisters case were made public in April 1975, the first being released to TV and newspapers exactly one week after the girls went missing. They just remained buried in the newspaper microfilm archives all these years. The Washington Post has never re-printed either sketch since April 1975, and Montgomery County Police have never re-issued any posters or press releases with those origional sketches.

[Richard]

....I remember very little being published about the girls' disappearance. There were some posters in stores but no or little tv coverage. I haven't lived in Maryland in almost 25 years but many of my childhood friends still live in the area. Since it is difficult to obtain copies of the Washington Post in NJ, please keep me posted as to what the various news media reports as the 30th anniversary approaches. Thank you.

The Washington Post and WMAL (AM 630) radio were probably the most active in reporting on the Lyon Sisters in 1975. The local TV stations also covered their disappearance. Over the years, the Washington Post has published follow up articles and has made reference to the case on occasion. On the 25th anniversary in 2000, the Baltimore Sun had a full page article with photos, but there was nothing in the Washington Post. It will be interesting to see if there is media coverage on the 30th anniversary.

All of the Washington DC TV network news channels have been contacted with a suggestion that they cover the case. So far, WRC TV4 has indicated an interest in doing a story on them, and WUSA TV9 features an article about the girls on their website.

In 1975 this was a major news story, but only in the Washington, DC metropolitan area - which includes Maryland and Northern Virginia. Today, such stories are national news and the cases are featured on national television shows.

The best source of information on cases as old as this one is still newspaper microfilm archives, which can be viewed in many libraries. The Internet, as quick and informative as it can be, just does not have all the detailed information which was written in newspapers before about 1990. The Lyon Sisters' story is an excellent case in point. Most websites which feature their story simply copy or slightly alter the same article that I wrote in 2000, and do little or no research to update or add to it. Unfortunately, there is little that can be added to the basic facts and clues in the case, but there are many, many more details available in newspaper archives about the police efforts to solve it.

[wheatongirl]

Richard, thank you for providing the most comprehensive information that I've read/heard in 30 years. We used to get the afternoon paper (The Washington Star) and it didn't carry too much information on the case. I've been planning to go to the library and use the archives since The Washington Post makes you pay to review some older newclippings.

The funny thing is, my elementary school never discussed the situation with us students or sent home anything for our parents. Today, any time an unusual situation occurs, parents are contacted immediately. I'm glad things have changed for the better.

Anyway, thanks again for your insight. I look forward to reading additional postings.

[mere]

I have been looking at the picture of Fred Howard Coffey Jr. on the North Carolina offender site, comparing it to the composite of the tape recorder man. I am so convinced that they are the same person. Silver Spring is only a couple of miles from Wheaton, and Plyer Mill Rd. is just too convenient. I also find it interesting that Coffey's birthday is only five days before the Lyon girls disappeared.

[sleuthin4fun]

My family lived in Northern Virginia in 1975. I was 10 years old when the Lyon sisters disappeared. I have thought about them many times over the years. I can not imagine the pain this family must have. I don't think that it is something that would ever leave.
Praying daily for the Lyons family!!!

[joeskidbeck]

I have been looking at the picture of Fred Howard Coffey Jr. on the North Carolina offender site, comparing it to the composite of the tape recorder man. I am so convinced that they are the same person. Silver Spring is only a couple of miles from Wheaton, and Plyer Mill Rd. is just too convenient. I also find it interesting that Coffey's birthday is only five days before the Lyon girls disappeared.
I also noticed the fact that his 30th birthday was only 5 days after the Lyons sister's disappearance. I have an uncle whose hair was totally gray before he was 25, and most children thought he was a much older man. It is quite possible that the children could have been mistaken about tape-recorder man's age. Whether or not he had anything to do with the sister's diappearance, I hope Fred Coffey Jr. will never be released from prison.

[Richard]

Montgomery County Police stated in 1987 that they believed Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. to be the strongest Person of Interest ever considered as a possible suspect in the Lyon Sisters' case.

It should be noted that his resemblence to the Tape Recorder Man Sketch, however strong, was not considered compelling enough evidence on its own to charge him. At the time, he was being tried in North Carolina for the murder of 10 year-old Amanda Ray, and North Carolina authorities - and Coffey's lawyers objected to MCP even questioning him.

There are discrepancies in the initial description of Tape Recorder Man and Coffey's description. Besides the age (50 vs 30), the height was given as "about 6 feet tall", whereas Coffey stands only 5 feet, 8 or 9 inches tall. It is not known if Coffey's photo - or any other photos - were shown to the witnesses who claimed to have seen Tape Recorder Man.

It should be pointed out that a "side by side" comparison of the Sketch and a photo of Coffey (or any other potential suspect) on the internet could be considered legal grounds to disallow any future witness identification of the suspect in court.

MCP seems to have dropped their interest in Tape Recorder Man about a month into the investigation, making official press statements which indicated that the man "might have been there for legitimate purposes", or "might not have been connected with their disappearance", etc. They never released either sketch after April 1975.

Coffey has since gotten off Death Row following legal appeals by a lawyer who has made his living and reputation in Death Row case appeals. That lawyer (mentioned previously in this thread) would almost certainly object to MCP questioning Fred today - for more or less obvious reasons.

Mention of Coffey's birthday being close to the disappearance date has been noted. In fact, there are two other persons of interest whose 30th birthdays were within a few days of the girls' disappearance as well. It is perhaps nothing more than a coincidence, but a very interesting one all the same.

Coffey was, in 1975, in a major transition point in his life. He had been in the Navy since age 17 (1962). Although he had only gone to school through 8th grade, he had made a promising career in the Navy and had attained the rank of First Class Petty Officer (E-6). Suddenly in 1974, he gets out with an honorable discharge - about the same time that he is charged (and convicted) for the first time of child molestation in Virginia. Coffey came from the Norfolk, VA area to the Metropolitan Washington, DC area to seek work as a Department of Defense Contractor. He applied for a computer programmer position with Vitro Laboratories on 1 April 1975, and began work with them later that month. He resigned suddenly on 31 July 1975, telling his employer that his wife and daughter had been involved in a serious auto accident. He used the same excuse later when leaving another employer. Investigation proved that he had lied both times about the accident.

Back to the subject of "coincidences", April first was only a week after the Lyon Sisters disappeared, and July 31st was only a week after Kathy Beatty was abducted, raped, beatten, and left for dead in a ditch.

[tennessee]

About the height discrepancy, this is just a long shot idea but wouldn't it have been possible that the tape recorder man could have been using lift shoes? Weren't they popular around this time? Could the benefit have been a couple of inches? That would get the height close to 6'.

[Richard]

About the height discrepancy, this is just a long shot idea but wouldn't it have been possible that the tape recorder man could have been using lift shoes? Weren't they popular around this time? Could the benefit have been a couple of inches? That would get the height close to 6'.
Good point. Yes, I recall seeing - and wearing - shoes with lift type heels in the mid 1970's. They would probably add an inch or maybe two at the most to the apparent height of a person. The popular style of trousers at the time (even for suits) was bell bottom or flare cut, and often the length covered much of the shoe.

Usually an estimate of height by anyone is done in comparison to one's own height or to others of known height. If the witness was 5 feet tall, and the suspect was taller, then he might easily over estimate the height, but would know that the person was taller than himself. Also, if the boy saw Tape Recorder Man talking to Sheila and Kate, he might have been bending over to speak with them, making height estimation more difficult. Again, he would know that the man was taller than the girls, but by how much?

I have always felt that the sketch of Tape Recorder Man was probably the most important clue available to police investigators at the time. The fact that upon its release, so many other people came forward and claimed to have seen the same person at other shopping centers - and the fact that the sketch was subsequently altered only slightly in the chin area - is a testament to the accuracy of the boy's description and the artist's rendition. It should also be noted that no further changes in description ever resulted following police interviews with those other witnesses.

[mom-a-licious]

Because of the accuracy of everyone's descriptions of Tape Recorder Man, and because so many people recognized the resulting sketch as the same man who'd been seen at area malls, I've always thought also that the sketch was the biggest clue to TRM's identity, and thereby possibly the identity of the abductor.

Because so many MD/DC area people saw the sketch at the time and were able to at least recognize someone they didn't know and had seen only briefly, I really think that someone else who actually Knew TRM's identity Also saw the sketch and knew exactly who it was.

I've only recently been able to see a copy of the sketch on the DOE network. As far as I know it was Never released later in the national news & on the internet the way sketches and security video clips are released today.

Due to the sketch's accuracy, if it were to be presented in this way now, even after all this time, there could be someone who is living on the other side of the country, 30 years later, who might suddenly say---"Hey, that looks exactly like John Doe, who was working temporarily in our office in Maryland for a few months in 1974". You never know.

[Richard]

Because of the accuracy of everyone's descriptions of Tape Recorder Man, and because so many people recognized the resulting sketch as the same man who'd been seen at area malls, I've always thought also that the sketch was the biggest clue to TRM's identity, and thereby possibly the identity of the abductor.

Because so many MD/DC area people saw the sketch at the time and were able to at least recognize someone they didn't know and had seen only briefly, I really think that someone else who actually Knew TRM's identity Also saw the sketch and knew exactly who it was.

I've only recently been able to see a copy of the sketch on the DOE network. As far as I know it was Never released later in the national news & on the internet the way sketches and security video clips are released today.

Due to the sketch's accuracy, if it were to be presented in this way now, even after all this time, there could be someone who is living on the other side of the country, 30 years later, who might suddenly say---"Hey, that looks exactly like John Doe, who was working temporarily in our office in Maryland for a few months in 1974". You never know.
You make some excellent points.

The sketches are on the DoeNetwork because I recently had them scanned and sent to the DoeNetwork, not because they were re-issued by the Montgomery County Police. The MCP has a website, but they do not feature the Lyon sisters case on it. The Maryland State Police also have a website, and they do feature the case, but it is simply a copy of what is on other websites and not a new summary written by either the State or County Police.

Because so many people recognized and remembered the strange man with the tape recorder from the sketch, it would seem to confirm strongly the boy's statements and descriptions of of the man.

Further, because the sketch was only shown in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, and because nobody could identify Tape Recorder Man by name - it would tend to indicate that he had only recently arrived in the area - or that he was not known personally by any local people. This could be significant, because for someone to have accellerated to the point of a double abduction, he would certainly have committed other similar crimes before it. No previous similar crimes had been committed, however and this was a very sudden and unique crime for the DC Metropolitan area. It could indicate that a serial pedophile/killer had suddenly appeared on the scene from elsewhere.

This case is receiving a lot of interest, especially as the 30th anniversary of Kate and Sheila's disappearance is approaching. Hopefully some new clues or tips will result.

[KensingtonAlumni]

Last night I was looking for information about the Lyon's sisters on the Internet and came across this website and read all the posts. Every year about this time I think of them and hope that some new evidence has been recovered. I will be 51 in a few weeks. The girls disappeared the day before my 21st birthday. It was on the news and just hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not understand how something like that could have happened. I thought about them all the time. Especially when going to Wheaton Plaza. And after the report came out about them supposidly being seen in the back of a stationwagon I made a point to look into every stationwagon I passed on the road.

I did not know them or their family. I did know that the father was a local D.J. on the radio.

About a year later my husband and I bought our first house together. It was at 3104 Jennings Road in Kensington ( you can look that up at mapquest ). Jennings goes off to the left from Plyers Mill Road right at the top of the hill. My new neighbor was happy to tell me all about the Lyon's sisters. I did not know that this was where they had disappeared from. It felt so strange.

She told me that the family lived up at the corner of our street by Plyers Mill. So every time I turned into Jennings, I would look at that little white house and say a prayer for the family there. I could not imagine the horror of what they were going through each and every day.

My neighbor ( who was in her 50's then ) told me that the path that the girls ( and lots of kids ) took that day was the one across from her house. There were houses all along the street on both sides, except in that spot. A wooded area. The area does have a lot of trees anyway in all the back yards.

I used to stand and look out her front window when I was visiting and stare out at those woods. I guess you could say that my innocense was taken along with many other people at that time. I had never really heard about children being taken that way and it was quite disturbing to me.

A year later a neighbor on the other side of us said that a man broke in her house and raped her. Not only that but for awhile there he kept coming back. I remember that summer listening for noises in the night and it seemed like every other night the police would arrive to search all the back yards for this culprit. He never was caught as far as I know.

When I became pregnant in 1977, we decided to move away. I did not feel comfortable there raising a child after all these things happened. It was a nice, quiet street - yet something seemed to always be going on. I don't know how it is now. I have not been back to see our old house in a long time. But I do still think of those little blonde headed girls and of the evil person who took them from their family. It effected me in how I raised my kids. I never allowed them to roam around the neighborhood where we lived. They did not understand why I was so over protective - but I didn't care. I just knew I had to be that way. No place is safe.

I wish we had a law that said that whoever has done harm to somebody has to be given a truth serum and asked who they have killed and/or where the bodies are. It seems to me that if this "Coffey" guy is in jail for another child murder...then he should have to be made to talk about anything else he did. Something is not right in our legal system. It is great when people have "rights"....but it always seems to me that the perps have more rights than the victims.

[Richard]

... I wish we had a law that said that whoever has done harm to somebody has to be given a truth serum and asked who they have killed and/or where the bodies are. It se