GA GA - Sherri Holland, 34, Morrow, 16 Aug 1996

Kat

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The Doe Network:
Case File 1698DFFL

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1698dffl.html

Sherri Vanessa Holland
Missing since August 16, 1996 from Flagler Beach, Flagler County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing



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Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: May 9, 1962
Age at Time of Disappearance: 34 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'2"-5'5"; 115-120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde or strawberry hair; blue eyes. Petite build.
Marks, Scars: Scar on left arm.


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Holland was last seen at 11:30 a.m. in Flagler Beach, Florida on August 16, 1996, when she and her two dogs left her vacation home in Flagler Beach, Florida, preparing to return to her house on Peachtree Battle Avenue in northwest Atlanta.
Her car, a Champagne Gold, 1985 or 1987 BMW 325i, GA Tag - BKT664, was found August 24, 1996 abandoned on the northbound side of I-75 just south of Highway 54 in Morrow, Georgia. The car had nail in the right front tire, that was flat.
Her dogs were found at a Riverdale apartment complex two miles away. The mixed breed had been killed in traffic, and the other pet was returned to Holland’s sister. Holland’s twin sister called Flagler Beach police a few days later because her sister never made contact with her.
Investigators say Holland, who owned a vacation home in Flagler Beach, may have been abducted anywhere between Flagler Beach and Atlanta. They described her as an adult entertainer who may have been involved in prostitution. Her photo was in a provocative advertisement in a magazine sold in Atlanta strip clubs and adult stores.
Neighbors described Holland as very private and very pretty. She rarely had visitors and kept to herself.



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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Flagler County (FL) Sheriff's Office
904- 437-4116
or
Morrow (GA) Police Department
Police Chief Ken MacGillvary
770-960-3003
or
GBI
Special Agent Fred Mays
770-388-5019

Agency Case Number: F96-2950 (FCSO)

NCIC Number:
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/holland_sherri.html
Much more details about Sherri's circumstances.

http://www.nampn.org/cases/holland.html

I don't find Sherri listed in NamUs at this time.

There are articles about her disappearance but they are pay per view in the Atlanta paper.

Sherri has been missing 14 years today. Come home soon.
 

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Bumping for Sherri.

Please read the detailed information at this link.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/holland_sherri.html
This case is VERY strange. Personally, I don't think she staged a disappearance, I think she was taken and probably killed, I hate to say. Let's find her so her family can have her brought home.
 
You know when you get a gut feeling?
I think convicted killer Gary Michael Hilton has something to do with the disappearance of Sherri Holland.
Websleuths Gary Hilton Timeline & Media

I was doing some research on convicted psychopathic killer Gary Michael Hilton and of all the missing persons connected to him Sherri is not one of them - but ...I was looking at the 4 cases he was convicted on - and there are some startling similarities regarding his modis Operandi and the circumstances under which Sherri Holland went missing.


Hilton's Timeline in full is here: Gary Michael Hilton.

Gary Michael Hilton was convicted for these murders and is on Death Row...

2007
Kidnapping, robbery, murder and dismemberment of Cheryl Dunlap a Florida Sunday School teacher. Hilton burnt and beheaded body in the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida. Dunlap's body was found Dec. 19, 2007.
-----
Hilton killed John Bryant in Nantahala National Forest in Macon County.
Hilton also killed Irene Bryant in the Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania County.

2008
Hilton abducted and murdered Meredith Emerson
-----

Connections - Hilton's MO & Sherri Hollands circumstances

Dog Connection:
In the case of the murder of Meredith Emerson, Hilton came across her when she was hiking on the trail at Dawson Forest with her dog. Hilton also had a dog - a red colored retriever. One of the things he mentioned in his rambling confession was that he couldn't kill the dog - so he ended up letting the dog go in a carpark at a supermarket a few miles away. The dog was found and identified as Meredith's dog.

In the case of Sherri Holland - she also had 2 dogs. After Sherri disappeared the dogs were found 2 miles away in an apartment block complex.

Florida Connection:
Hilton had grown up in and lived in Florida. His victim Cheryl Dunlap was killed in Florida.
Hilton was known to travel extensively - he was being looked at as a POI in 3 states - Atlanta, North Carolina and Florida.

Sherri Holland had been travelling the Highway from Florida to her home in Georgia.

Georgia Connection:
Sherri Holland lived 22 minutes away from where Hilton lived - from what I can gather he moved to Marietta GA (directly north of Peach Battle Ave NG where Sherri lived) and he worked at Duluth - 35 minutes away from Sherri. He was a regular at the DeKalb County Court - he was (self stated) a serial criminal - a conman.

Sherri's residence was in between these locations that Hilton frequented daily.


The Car Connection:
When Hilton abducted (and went on to murder) Cheryl Dunlap, Dunlap's car was found on the side of the highway with a flat tyre. Hilton had flattened the tyre by puncturing it with a knife.

Sherri Hollands BMW was found at the side of the road with a puncture from a nail.


Other thoughts:
In 1995 Hilton helped develop a plot to a murder movie that had similarities to the crimes (that he later was accused of committing). An Atlanta attorney who also produces movies said Gary Michael Hilton helped him come up with the plot of "Deadly Run" in 1995. This movie was about a Hunt Club - basically abducting women and taking them to the forest and hunting them down and killing them.
The film was brought up in Hilton's trials. Basically he carried out what the plot was in the films. The locations he used on the film were stomping grounds of where later Hilton was to murder Emerson.

Sherri was killed in 1996 - a year after the film was made.

In many of the timeline lists for Hilton, there are many unsolved murders and Missing Persons scattered down the years in the area's he was later known to frequent. There were similarities of how he disposed of the bodies - what he did to them.
Gary Hilton, said to the jailers at the Dawson County, GA; Jailers, when asked, if you are so intelligent, why were you caught. His response, "They haven't caught me since I was 14 years old!"


Sherri was a sex worker and it was known that she ran a high-class escort service business from her residence.
I am wondering if at sometime that Sherri had come across Gary Hilton in her line of work.
If he had recognized her alone and in her car travelling the highway with her dogs on her way home he may have easily been able to get Sherri's confidence after he damaged her car tyre, and offer her a lift - or just abduct her at knife/gun point - and damage her tyre as a cover up.

My gut feeling with this case is so overwhelming - I can almost see it.
It would not surprise me to think that Sherri Holland was abducted and killed by Hilton and ended up in Stone Mountain Park - or one of the other forests in the area.
Even where Meredith Emerson was found at Dawson Forest - just north of Sherri and Gary Hiltons residences.
Also, just to add, Hiltons 2nd wife was a security person at Stone Mountain - there maybe no connection, but he would know that Park and all the surrounding ones very well.

I hope this could be looked into - this cold case is frozen.


I hope this map helps below as to where the places are to see the connections...
NOTE: Please ignore the Blue Road Lines and the Time box - I couldn't wipe them out.
The arrows are about 20-30 minutes away from each other.

attachment.php



References:
Websleuths Gary Hilton Timeline & Media
http://crime.about.com/od/current/a/hilton.htm
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/13/hilton.movie/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
http://www.wyff4.com/Serial-Killer-Admits-Murdering-N-C-Couple/10075600#ixzz3ACFG0XSg
http://www.officialcoldcaseinvestigations.com/showthread.php?476-Sherri-Holland-1996-Florida
http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc 405/serial killers/Hilton, Gary Michael.pdf
 
Bumping for Sherri.

Please read the detailed information at this link.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/holland_sherri.html
This case is VERY strange. Personally, I don't think she staged a disappearance, I think she was taken and probably killed, I hate to say. Let's find her so her family can have her brought home.

I certainly do not think Sherri staged her disappearance and I am just hoping beyond all hope that this case is looked at again with fresh eyes from anyone in an investigative capacity that can see past the fact that she was a sex worker and that she may very well have been a victim of an horrendous crime at the hands of a local known serial killer who now sits on death row.

her family have waited long enough for answers.
Just an inquiry to the right person/people/family member would do to get this case moving.

When Hilton was finally arrested for the murder of Meredith Emerson his van was conviscated - they found so many things he had kept in the van in amongst the belongings. I am sure I read somewhere that there was a list of what was found and checked for DNA - they were asking if anyone recognized any of the things.
I know that Sherri's disappearance was 10 years after Hilton was arrested, but maybe there's something there which could identify her.

I wonder if the address where Hilton lived in Marrieta (I think it was like a storage unit) was ever checked - or the surrounding grounds.
 
Sherri Vanessa Holland

NAMUS:
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/3989/0/

Last seen departing Flagler Beach, FL in her vehicle bound for Atlanta, GA. Eight days later her car was located abandoned on the North bound lane of I-75 in Morrow, GA just south of hwy 54 near exit # 76 between Macon, GA & Atlanta, GA. The right side front tire had a nail in it and was flat. She has not been heard from since leaving Florida.

Weight: 115pounds - 52kg
Height: 62inches - 5foot 1inches - 1.57metre
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde - Long
Scar on left arm
Both ears pierced
 
These are some of the UID listings in NAMUS which have a detail which matches something about Sherri.
Some of the UID's were found many miles away - in other States.
I've included them.

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ME/C Case Number: FA-2005-41; ME05-751
Jefferson County, Kentucky
20 to 40 year old White Female
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/74?page=demographics

Probable Year of Death: 1990-2005
Recovered: July 22, 2005 00:00
Condition: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Height: 62 inches
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Features: Dental pics available
Other: Medium brown HAIR. Only short shards found on skull
71 exclusions - NOT on ruleout list

Bones were discovered during demolition of several outbuildings by bulldozer.

--------------

ME/C Case Number: DALLAS PD 538421-M
Dallas County, Texas
25 to 40 year old White Female
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/3260?page=demographics

Probable Year of Death: 0 to 2003
Recovered: July 16, 2003 00:00
Condition: Not recognizable - Partial remains with soft tissues
Height: No information
Weight: No information
Features: Blond/Strawberry Hair
Other: Remains are believed to be those of a white female, 30 to 40 years of age at time of death. Remains found at 12900 LBJ Freeway in Dallas, in remote, grassy, and wooded area boarding the city of Garland--illegal dumping area and gathering place of homeless.

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

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ME/C Case Number: 1744-98
Bristol County, Rhode Island
20 to 40 year old White Female
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/12660?page=case_information

Probable Year of Death: 2 years (2006)
Recovered: May 05, 1998 08:45
Condition: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Height: 60inches estimation
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Features:
Other: Questionable if bone came from this area since dirt, and gravel were brought from another site which itself came from somewhere else. Secondary burial. Possibly an anatomic specimen, possible from burial or dragged by animal.

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

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ME/C Case Number: 1998-0382
Broward County, Florida
21 to 35 year old White Female
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/1097?page=demographics

Probable Year of Death: 0 to 1998
Recovered: March 24, 1998 00:00
Condition: Femur Only -Skeletal
Height: est 54inches
Weight: Not available
Features:
Other: 3HRS 45MIN from Fragler Beach to Broward County

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

---------------------------

ME/C Case Number: 980000532
Wahkiakum County, Washington
to year old White Female
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/11755?page=case_information

Probable Year of Death: 1997 to 1998
Recovered: March 15, 1998 00:00
Condition: Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Height: 62 inches
Weight: 130 pounds
Features:
Other: Body found Browns Island, Columbia River in Wahkiakum County.
McGregor brand warm up pants, Duffel Sportswear - long sleeve white pullover shirt, t-shirt type material, Warner brand bra, supercross 1035 size 36A
White and green tennis shoes size 7 1/2 style XJ-900
White metal (sterling stamped in the band) caddagh ring, white metal chain and locket, white metal earrings (loop type with a dangling 1.7 cm white ball)

---------------------------

ME/C Case Number: 96-04907
Clark County, Nevada
20 to 35 year old White Female
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/9249?page=case_information

Probable Year of Death: 1996
Recovered: November 23, 1996 00:00
Estimated postmortem interval: Months
At: Desert Area at Mile Marker 41, Lake Mead Blvd.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Nevada
County Clark
Condition: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Height: Cannot Estimate
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Features: Possibly reddish-brown hair, long in length
Other: Two hikers discovered a human skull in the desert area. After reporting the find to law enforcement, further searches of the area produced more skeletal remains.

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

-----------
 
Sherri has been missing for 18 years today.
She is #8 in this photo gallery of missing Georgians published last year: http://conyers.11alive.com/photo-gallery/people/245732-photos-missing-georgians

89986109holland.jpg
Sherri Vanessa Holland
Holland was from Atlanta, but disappeared in Flagler Beach, Fla. Her car was found abandoned with a flat tire just south of Highway 54 in Clayton County on August 24, 1996.
 
Sherri has been missing for 18 years today.
She is #8 in this photo gallery of missing Georgians published last year: http://conyers.11alive.com/photo-gallery/people/245732-photos-missing-georgians

View attachment 57050
Sherri Vanessa Holland
Holland was from Atlanta, but disappeared in Flagler Beach, Fla. Her car was found abandoned with a flat tire just south of Highway 54 in Clayton County on August 24, 1996.

Thanks for the reminder KateB :)

Thinking of Sherri today.
18 years is too long a time to be missing.
Lets hope something comes to light this year.
 
This case is so bizarre. It actually would have made a good episode for Disappeared.
 
I changed the details in the thread from FL to GA. Her car was found with a flat tire in Morrow, GA. A few years later, in 1999, Heather Davidson was murdered in Forest Park, GA, just a few miles from Morrow. Her killer was just arrested last week in Texas. No reason to believe the incidents are related other than my own curiosity.

https://gbi.georgia.gov/case/missing-persons-371

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...s-County-suspected-SK&p=11516158#post11516158


Thanks Bessie :seeya:

Morrow to Riverdale is 5 miles - 10 minutes away.

Riverdale to Morrow GA.JPG
 
I changed the details in the thread from FL to GA. Her car was found with a flat tire in Morrow, GA. A few years later, in 1999, Heather Davidson was murdered in Forest Park, GA, just a few miles from Morrow. Her killer was just arrested last week in Texas. No reason to believe the incidents are related other than my own curiosity.

https://gbi.georgia.gov/case/missing-persons-371

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...s-County-suspected-SK&p=11516158#post11516158

Thanks Bessie.
Just for the record here regarding the recent arrest of Fuquah Cash with kidnapping and malice murder in the 1999 death of Heather Davidson...

Sherri was an Escort - its a stretch, but he may have made contact with her through her work.


Butts County investigators believe Cashaw may be linked to other unsolved cases across the country, particularly those involving adult entertainment workers who were strangled.


"Through the evidence that we recovered and the witnesses that we've interviewed, we believe that there are possible other victims out there," said Lt. Darrell Powers.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/28171622/butts-co-investigators-close-cold-case-after-15-years
 
Well, she disappeared while driving back to Atlanta after visiting her mother in Florida. Her car was found on the highway with a flat tire. Sounds random to me. But, being blonde and sexy might have caught the attention of a dangerous someone attracted to a certain look.
 
Well, she disappeared while driving back to Atlanta after visiting her mother in Florida. Her car was found on the highway with a flat tire. Sounds random to me. But, being blonde and sexy might have caught the attention of a dangerous someone attracted to a certain look.

Yes, that's what I was thinking too.
(I just clarified my post above, I didn't make it clear about the connection - sorry)
Even to go as far as to think that if Sherri was known to a person (due to her work) who took her from the highway if she had been recognized from them.
 
Her car was found 8 days after she disappeared....that seems like a long time for it to be left on the interstate right of way without being impounded.

But, if it was there all that time, and that was the location from which she disappeared, here is one thing that goes in favor of her having left on her own: the dogs being loose. It was August in the south....dogs left in the car in the heat would not live long without a/c. If she were waiting for help, would she let them out along the highway? And if she didn't let them out, would an abductor? Not likely, that would just bring unnecessary attention to the scene of a crime. However, if she left on her own, it would seem likely that she would let the dogs out to fend for themselves rather than leave them to die locked in a car that would essentially be an oven.
 
Sherri's dogs were found 5-6 miles away from her car, I don't believe she left them there. I believe someone dumped them & sadly one was killed in the road. I happened to work on the road where the dogs were found & the police searched for days in that area for Sherri. This case still baffles me that she has not been found after all these years.
 
Sherri's dogs were found 5-6 miles away from her car, I don't believe she left them there. I believe someone dumped them & sadly one was killed in the road. I happened to work on the road where the dogs were found & the police searched for days in that area for Sherri. This case still baffles me that she has not been found after all these years.

One of the articles mentions that Sherri's dog who survived tried to lead someone to a certain area, and went on to say that LE searched there but found nothing that seemed related to Sherri's disappearance. I've been wondering if they searched with dogs -- either or both tracking and HRD. Seems it would have made a whole lot of sense to do that but I fear maybe that didn't happen. Do you happen to know if dogs were used?
 
Her car was found 8 days after she disappeared....that seems like a long time for it to be left on the interstate right of way without being impounded.

But, if it was there all that time, and that was the location from which she disappeared, here is one thing that goes in favor of her having left on her own: the dogs being loose. It was August in the south....dogs left in the car in the heat would not live long without a/c. If she were waiting for help, would she let them out along the highway? And if she didn't let them out, would an abductor? Not likely, that would just bring unnecessary attention to the scene of a crime. However, if she left on her own, it would seem likely that she would let the dogs out to fend for themselves rather than leave them to die locked in a car that would essentially be an oven.

Yeah, I'm a little confused about the length of time and the car. Are they definitely saying they think it was there the whole time or...?

I don't think she turned her dogs out and left on her own. You're right, of course, that it probably would be the best choice to turn them out to fend for themselves rather than leave them in a hot car, but of course it still wouldn't be a great thing to do. I just feel that someone who cared enough about her pets to take them on a Florida trip and be headed home with them would come up with a better plan for them than dumping them out, even if she WAS planning to "disappear herself". (Which I really don't think she did.) An abductor MIGHT let them out -- it's hard to say, would depend on the circumstances, I guess. I wonder if maybe someone (known or unknown by her) was offering her a ride (there's that "unsubstantiated" anonymous tip that someone saw Sherri loading luggage into the back of a white truck) and indicated the dogs could come, too -- but then grabbed Sherri and took off without them.
 
I just stumbled on this case. It seems that this has been pretty well been written off as the work of a random sexual predator but something seemed a little "off" about the facts of the case. Some things just stand out:

It is pretty hard to give someone a flat tire while they are driving along the interstate. It must have just "happened".

If you have a flat, you don't leave your car as you would if it broke down, you either fix it yourself or contact a shop to come help you. If someone stopped to help, she wouldn't have gotten in their car, she would have asked them to call a shop. (In most states a patrol officer would offer assistance within an hour). If she had been so foolish to be driving without a spare you would still probably have someone call a shop. If she made the very imprudent decision to go with the driver, she wouldn't have taken her luggage. (I can't imagine what she would have done with the dogs).

Morrow Ga is suburban Atlanta, she was almost home. If she didn't call a shop, she would have called someone she knew. If the person she called had an intent to kill her, this would have afforded an opportunity.

The anonymous call sounds suspicious. Normally a witness to a crime would identify himself. If the call was made to 911 or to a published "help line", you would have expected caller id to identify the caller. If the call was made from a pay phone, I would say it was most likely a false lead designed to get law enforcement to seek out a white truck. ( I wonder if it was checked out if her business partner, her boyfriend or anyone else she knew drove a white truck; I'm thinking it w as checked out and none of them did)

Cell phones were just becoming common in 1996. I would like to bet that someone in her business would have had one. Did she? If she did, she would have used it to call someone. Perhaps Law Enforcement what not yet aware of the forensic potential they held.

I think it is extremely unlikely that she just "pulled a runner". What dog owner would have done that? The real test is "is her money accounted for"? If her money did't vanish, she is dead and the person she call to help her killed her;probably that day.
 

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