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

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Why does LE announce they have such a good lead and then let everyone hoping, prayingand upset for weeks?
Why don't they wait til they can release something real???
 
I don't know. This time I would like to think they got a really, really good tip and they let that information out and then wait to see who squirms. Maybe they just need for someone to do something stupid for them to have proof they need. That's what I am hoping for anyway. Maybe they don't even have a new tip and they are just saying that to get someone to do something stupid. They might go check where they hid evidence to see if it was disturbed or found, or maybe they just have someone on surveillance who they have suspected before.

I just really hope this is it this time. Cherie needs justice.
 
I was thinking that perhaps a local specialty detailer was nearby at that time?
Maybe someone came from an area that had heard of such a detailing shop?
Custom vans were a big fad back then..
so?
Maybe someone was over that way to get custom scenes painted or removed?
Something to do with auto air brush artists ?
Just a thought....
 
Her mom says the not knowing eats away at her day after day after day. :( My gosh, how can these moms continue to exist? SO SAD!
 
MK says he's in a better place knowing where Polly is than all of these parents who don't know what happened to their kids. HEARTBREAKING!
 
The investigator on NG says this "new lead" is the most promising lead they have had since she went missing.
 
McGraw just said when asked if mom and step-dad took lie detectors. He said yes.
When asked if her dad took one. He said he "wasn't going to comment on that."
 
Wondering if the new lead is to do with the bio dad ...
 
McGraw said the new dad is not a suspect. He said that a person came into the state police barracks with the tip, which isn't like someone sending a note or making a phone call. It may be someone who "knew" or suspected something back whe. Cherrie was taken, or someone who is now ill, or someone who was in a relationship to the abductor but is now doing the right thing. We can hope for that.
 
McGraw also said the bio dad is not a POI. I suspect they've managed to eliminate him by some other means than a lie detector.
What strikes me most is that no one noticed anything unusual at the time. This makes me think either she was overpowered instantly, most likely by 2 or more people in the van or there was someone she knew in one of the vehicles and she willingly got into either the van or the blue car.
 
It's amazing to me that they haven't even identified the van in all these years. Airbrushing was usually the way design was done back in the 70's. You'd think someone would remember doing it. I've been looking around at van sites (people took a lot of pride in those vans, and many had van clubs and went to van shows). There's mention of an airbrush artist who's still around, now in his 70's, who used to travel to different van events (eVants) and do his work. What I would like to know is if the color of the van, described as blue-green, was an originally factory color one could choose, or was it an aftermarket paint job. Does anyone who's a carbuff have that answer? This is the only description (so far) that I've found of a Dodge Van that particular color, and it appears that one just like the description was recently sold on Craigslist.


Far Out 70's Van!!!!! - Four Eyed Forums

I remember the Van craze of the '70's very well. My uncle had a '76 Dodge Van just like the one in your link and it was built to show quality specs. In fact, he used to show it at the Boston World Of Wheels show during that era.

His was Aqua Blue with "mag" wheels, heart shaped windows, tube front grill, vent in the roof, and air brushed portraits on the sides. Inside, there was shag carpeting, paneling on the walls, bed, refridgerator, captain's chairs, stereo with multiple speakers, etc....

It was awesome and both my brother and I got to ride in it from Massachusetts to Florida back in '76. We were both only 8 years old at the time but we were psyched beyond belief and those memories have endured for the past 34 years.

Lots of good car/van memories from when I was a kid!
 
The paint job could have been either factory or custom. The design could have been airbrushed by an original artist, could also have been a decal (or combination of decals) or possibly even silk screened. Even a design on a magnetic sign would not be beyond the realm of possibility. If somebody went to the trouble of having an original scene airbrushed on, it's more likely they had a custom paint job.

I don't know whether the mountain-and-skier designs were popular in NY, but they were quite popular for a while in Colorado/Utah/Montana ski country. Often corporate vehicles for ski areas and ski equipment stores had that kind of design.
 
I had a guy that lived two streets above me growing up with the skier van, blue in color and I believe similar or exactly to what the skier looked like on the van that is involved with the case of Cherrie. I turned the tip into authorities last March or April, and never heard word back.

I live about 60 miles south of Butler and was only 9 when Cherrie was abducted. The man who owned the van was a grandfather of a girl that I went to school with and his daughter was my Brownie leader. (he is now deceased, I sleuthed him) I only knew the man to see him, I have no clue about him personally.

Every time I saw that van, it reminded me of Cherrie missing, (since it was on the local Pittsburgh news just about every night for awhile after Cherrie was abducted).

Like I said before, this case has haunted me for years and this is why I became so interested in finding missing people, and Cherrie was what brought me to this website.

I hope this tip pans out to be something crucial. I could see the pain in Cherrie's moms eyes on the Nancy Grace Show Friday night. It made me tear up and hurt for her also.

All four of my kids watched the show with me, and now they have a little insight of why I am so crazy when it comes to wanting to bring the missing home.
 
Bargle said:
Outside possibility, a vehicle associated with Busch Beer. I did a bit of searching, but I didn't find one with a skier on the logo. It's just something that popped into my mind when I saw the drawing of the van. As I say, it's only an outside possibility. Link to logo pic below.
http://www.beeraday.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/busch.gif
Click to expand...

Yes, that would be a possibility for sure.

Coors also had a similar design, though I don't remember whether I saw it as early as the '80's. It appeared on a collectible beer mug in 1991: http://www.beer-steins.com/coors/rocky.html They've frequently used mountains in ad campaigns.
 
Billylee said:
...I remember the Van craze of the '70's very well. My uncle had a '76 Dodge Van just like the one in your link and it was built to show quality specs. In fact, he used to show it at the Boston World Of Wheels show during that era....
Click to expand...

The line drawing of the van with the skier which has been shown for over 25 years now is indeed a Dodge van, although I do not believe that they knew for sure that it was a Dodge.

The body style depicted was that of the third model Dodge van, which was made from 1971 through 1979 inclusive. The origional third model grill was changed somewhat in 1974 to what is shown in the drawing.

Those vans were built on a truck chasis and ranged from simple work vans with all metal insides to very fancy window vans from the factory. The craze of customizing vans began with individuals and small custom shops altering standard vans with fancy paint jobs, plush carpeting, furniture, lights, special windows, etc.

The Big three car makers soon realized that money could be made by producing such vans, and by about 1976, you could buy a factory customized Chevy, GMC, Dodge, or Ford van right from the show rooms.

I believe that the van in question was most likely about ten years old at the time, and that it had been customized by an individual or small shop some time before 1985. If still around today (doubtful) it would be around 30 to 40 years old.
 
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