PA PA - Tiffany Miller, 5, New Kensington, 21 September 1979

Tiffany Miller was reported missing during the early morning hours of September 21st 1979. Her mother had put her to bed the previous night between 10:00 and 11:00. When she went to check on her at around 5:15, she discovered that Tiffany was missing. About a week later, her body was found in the Allegheny River and her death was ruled a homicide. She was located about five miles from her home. The yellow pajamas Tiffany was wearing have never been found.

Tiffany's parents were separated at the time of her murder and she lived with her mom, Gail. Tiffany was asleep upstairs while Gail was watching television downstairs and Gail's mother was washing clothes. An older news story reported that Gail fell asleep at around 3:30. They are not sure how Tiffany vanished from her home although it was reported to have been unlocked. The autopsy discovered no signs of sexual assault or beating.

Investigators received hundreds of tips but none worked out. The case remains unsolved and active. Her parents and family remain hopeful that they can one day learn the truth.

New Kensington 5-year-old girl's slaying in 1979 still unsolved

She would be in her 40s now, William Butler says. He wonders what she would be doing with her life.

What would his daughter, Tiffany Miller, be if her life not been taken from her at such a young age?

“I think about her all the time,” said Butler, now 62 and living in Penn Hills, wiping away tears that four decades can't dry. “I just want justice for her. She deserves that.”

“At first, I thought someone from my family had come and taken her, but no one had,” said Gail, now 58 and living in Pittsburgh. “I honestly don't know what happened. It's been 40-some years, and no one knows what happened.”

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Even though Tiffany lived less than a quarter-mile from the riverbank, Butler says he knows in his heart his daughter would not have gone to the river on her own.

“She was afraid of water,” Butler remembers about his eldest daughter. “She wouldn't go anywhere near the water.

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Theories have been thrown around over the years about what happened to Tiffany, but police have never been able to lock down the facts.

Butler, Tiffany's father, said he originally was a suspect but police ruled him out.

“It's unbelievable that they would have even suspected that,” Butler said. “It was just devastating to have an officer question you about the worst thing in the world.

“Who could hurt a little child like that?”

Rivera said she absolutely had nothing to do with her daughter's death.

“I think they're crazy,” Rivera said about those who speculate that she played some role in Tiffany's death. “She's my daughter. How could I hurt my own daughter?

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Police Hunting Killer of Girl, 5, After Death Is Ruled Homicide - October 1st 1979

I feel for her family, decades without answers or justice.

And someone abducted her; there could have been other victims later.

I found an article that last year locals were working on a memorial bench for her in a new playground. I hope that did happen.

Memorial to honor 5-year-old Tiffany Miller, murdered in New Kensington 40 years ago | TribLIVE.com

What about the uncle?? He was in the house sleeping upstairs per the last sentence of the newspaper clipping. Did he watch TV with the mom until 3:30am or did he go to bed earlier?

That’s probably why the mom was sleeping on the couch.

Gma was doing laundry in the basement but where did she normally sleep?

At 5 1/2 years old it is possible she was sleep walking. The door was unlocked. She could have been picked up by someone.

Odd that there was no physical assault and no clothing on her. It’s almost like someone changed their mind midway thru a crime.

I hope she wasn't abused but her life was taken. Perhaps clothing / evidence was lost in the water. It's awful to consider. Poor little girl

Some questions: which was the exact cause of death? Was it drowning? It says that the house was unlocked. But were any windows open? Any sign of struggle in Tiffany's room?

Fede said:

Some questions: which was the exact cause of death? Was it drowning? It says that the house was unlocked. But were any windows open? Any sign of struggle in Tiffany's room?

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It was drowning. This one is such a mystery as to why because she wasn't physically or sexually assaulted, thankfully. It almost seems like a sleepwalking accident or a single one of the family members is responsible without the others knowing about it. It seems unreasonable that so many people were in the home (awake, no less) and an outsider came in.

The retired police chief said that he and nearly every officer on the case felt they knew what happened but didn't have the evidence for a conviction. I wonder what that was and if it was accurate. We see so many cold cases today where DNA finds the culprit, but it's NOT the person police spent years suspecting and wishing they could charge.

A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information on a 42-year-old cold case murder of a young girl from New Kensington.

On Sept. 22, 1979, Tiffany Renee Miller, 5, was reported missing by her mother from their home on Peach Court in New Kensington.

State police said Miller was last seen inside the home the evening before when her mother put her to bed around 11 p.m. When her mother went to check on her the following morning, Miller was missing.

After a weeklong search for Miller, her body was found in the Allegheny River near Plum on Sept. 28, 1979