SC SC - Eva Gerline (or Jurlyn) DeBruhl, 15, Catawba, 29 June 1977

Richard

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I had posted the following information in the Sheila and Katherine LYON featured case threads, because of some similarities between the two cases. I feel, however, that Eva's case deserves a thread of its own, because there are some interesting discussions and initiatives taking place with it.

Note that there are a few descrepancies between the two case summaries below, in spelling of middle name, and place of disappearance. Catawba, SC is a very small town near Rock Hill, SC, both in York county. York County, SC is adjacent to Mecklenburg County, NC.

------------------------------------------------------------
From the NCMEC files:

EVA GERLINE DEBRUHL
Case Type: Lost, Injured, Missing
DOB: May 25, 1962
Age at the time: 15
Missing Date: Jun 29, 1977
Sex: Female
Race: White
Height: 5'1" (155 cm)
Weight: 105 lbs (48 kg)
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Missing City: CATAWBA
Missing State : SC
Missing Country: United States
Case Number: NCMC834337
Circumstances: Eva was last seen on June 29, 1977. FOUL PLAY IS SUSPECTED.

Source:
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Link:
http://www.missingkids.com/missingk...earchLang=en_US

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The below case summary is from Doenetwork files:


Eva Jurlyn DeBruhl
Missing since June 29, 1977 from Rock Hill, South Carolina
Classification: Lost, Injured, Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: May 25, 1962
Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1-5'2"; 105 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blue eyes; blonde hair.
Marks, Scars: None

Circumstances of Disappearance
Eva was mowing the lawn on a sunny afternoon when she went in her house and poured a glass of tea, which was later found never touched.

Little is known after that and her disappearance remains a mystery. Foul play is suspected.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
York County Sheriff's Department 803-628-3059

Source Information:
NC Missingpersons
NCMEC
The Doe Network: Case File 1948DFSC

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1948dfsc.html

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

Here is a little more information on Eva's disappearance from a family member:

Eva had been cutting grass outside that day. She at some point came back into the house and fixed a glass of tea and ran some bath water.

She never got in the tub or drank the glass of tea. The recliner was also stretched out like she had been watching TV. It was determined that she went missing between 11am and 3pm on 29 June 1977 - a Wednesday.

The York County Sheriff Office has had the case from the beginning.

Below is a link to another website which discusses the case. There is mention of a possible link to a Jane Doe found in North Carolina, and to recent DNA initiatives.

Source:
Courttv.com Message Boards - Eva DeBruhl, 15, Rock Hill, SC - msg. 6-29-77

Link:

http://boards.courttv.com/showthrea...threadid=258379
 
It is interesting to note that Eva went missing from her home in South Carolina, and that she lived just across the state line from Mecklenburg County, NC - where Fred Howard Coffey, Jr. lived.

Note Eva's age (15) and her description: small build, blonde hair, blue eyes. Sounds similar to the description of Sheila Lyon, who went missing (along with her sister Katherine) from Wheaton, Maryland two years earlier.

It would be interesting to know where Fred was at the time.

Fred was convicted of the 1979 murder of ten-year-old Amanda Ray in Mecklenburg County, NC, and is suspected of killing five-year-old Neely Smith, of the same area a few years later. He also had numerous convictions for child molestation.
 
Eva DeBruhl has been missing for 30 years as of today. I do not know if anyone on this list is interested but I would like to start a thread on her dissapearance.

The local paper has published an article today and there is also a link to the original article from 30 years ago. I will post these links below. There have been so many "persons of interest" through the years but I do not know if there ever was a likely suspect or not.

I will be glad to share anything I know about the case but of course I hope there are others who have information to share.

http://www.heraldonline.com/front/story/62620.html

http://media.heraldonline.com/smedia/2006/06/15/11/debrulnewspaper63077.source.prod_affiliate.6.pdf
 
[SIZE=+1]EVA GERLINE DEBRUHL[/SIZE]Case Type: Lost, Injured, Missing DOB: May 25, 1962Sex: FemaleMissing Date: Jun 29, 1977Race: WhiteAge Now: 45Height: 5'1" (155 cm)Missing City: CATAWBAWeight: 105 lbs (48 kg)Missing State : SCHair Color: BrownMissing Country: United StatesEye Color: BlueCase Number: NCMC834337Circumstances: Eva was last seen on June 29, 1977. FOUL PLAY IS SUSPECTED.
www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=834337&o...
 
Thanks for posting this. I'm in SC and have never heard about Eva. My prayers for her family.
 
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/13546899/detail.html

Tour Shines Light On Missing Person Cases; Family Still Mourns Missing Rock Hill Teen


POSTED: 4:22 pm EDT June 21, 2007
UPDATED: 5:39 pm EDT June 21, 2007

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Thirty years ago this month was the last time anyone saw one Rock Hill teenager.
However, on Thursday shoppers could see a picture of Eva DeBruhl at a table outside Rock Hill's Galleria Mall.
It was part of a nationwide effort called “On The Road To Remember” -- a tour that's shining new light on cold cases.
Eva DeBruhl was 15 when she simply vanished from her home on Old Friendship Road on June 29, 1977. She was cutting the grass and went inside to get something to drink.
Her mother, who worked third shift and was asleep, woke up to find the house and yard empty.
DeBruhl was not considered a runaway, and her family believes she was kidnapped and killed.
Her sister, Elaine Tyre, said she still thinks of Eva every day.
"You never forget, you know. Every day, every occasion, it's always right there with you," she said.
DeBruhl's case is one of hundreds getting attention from the national tour. Her mother, Opal Phillips, knows her daughter is no longer alive, but hopes she can learn something of what happened to her.
"Maybe find out who done it. Because the person that done it must be miserable. Eva never bothered nobody," she said.
At the family's request the York County Sheriff's Office is taking another look at DeBruhl's case. So far there's no new evidence.


Video interview with her family. They sold their home to fund the search. They just want to know what happened to her.
 
This case, although 30 years old, is still active and is receiving renewed attention by police. Here is an updated file on Eva, as posted on the Doenetwork. Note that the link is also updated. There is an age progressed artist's rendition of what Eva might look like today.

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

Eva Gerline DeBruhl
Missing since June 29, 1977 from Rock Hill, South Carolina
Classification: Lost, Injured, Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: May 25, 1962
Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'1-5'2"; 105 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blue eyes; blonde hair. Glasses.
Marks, Scars: None
Other: DNA on file

Circumstances of Disappearance

Eva was last seen at her home southeast of Rock Hill on June 29, 1977. She was mowing the lawn when she went in her house and poured a glass of tea, which was later found never touched.

Her grandmother saw a white man on the porch. Police conducted a massive search
Little is known after that and her disappearance remains a mystery. Foul play is suspected.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
York County Sheriff's Office 803-628-3059
Email - info@yorkcountysheriff.com

NCMEC #: NCMC834337

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

Source Information:
NC Missingpersons
NCMEC
The Herald
Rino Kids
Herald Online 5/19/07
The Doe Network: Case File 1948DFSC

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1948dfsc.html
 
frustratingly few details here. it says the grandmother 'saw a white man on the porch'... well, where was the grandmother? in the house? across the street? somewhere else? what did the man look like, what was he wearing, was he carrying anything, was he taling to eva, if so- was eva behind the door or on the porch or in the yard? what was eva's demeanor? did it look like she knew the guy? did the guy have a vehicle parked in front of the house? come on,, why wasn't there more details recorded at the time? if the grandmother got a good enough look, why was there no sketch made of him?

obviously,, this guy is the clue to her disappearance....

if the guy was a complete stranger,, i can imagine the following scenario:
the guys watches her mowing the lawn from afar, and when she goes inside, he comes to the porch and knocks, she sees him & he asks if she would like to make some good money mowing his lawn, he says, 'come here, let me give you my number',, and she comes out to the porch, and he possibly lures her over to his car (and being shy, she probably isn't cautious enough to stand up to the guy and say no)- and he grabs her.
or it could be any number of things.. i'm taking a survey.. or, i was wondering if you could give me your signatire to help needy children, etc.. but there is some way that the guy got her out of the house and onto the porch.. although if he abducted her from her own porch, with family members possibly inside, in broad daylight-- that is pretty bold....!!
so there must be some way he got her over to his vehicle (he must have had one right? how do you abduct someone w/o a vehicle?)
or if she came outside because she knew the guy..... maybe it was someone from school? or... maybe from....... church.......??????
 
Here is some info from the Charley Project:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/debruhl_eva.html

DeBruhl was last seen at her residence in Catawba, South Carolina on June 29, 1977. She mowed her lawn and then went inside to make some iced tea. She told her father he had been called in to go to work, and he left just after 11:00 a.m. DeBruhl's mother, who worked the night shift, was asleep at the time. She woke up at about noon and her daughter was gone. DeBruhl has never been heard from again. A pot of iced tea and a glass were later found undisturbed in the house, the television had been turned on, and DeBruhl's rubber flip-flops were on the front lawn. None of her clothes or other belongings were missing.

DeBruhl's grandmother lived near the family's home in 1977. She stated that on the morning DeBruhl went missing, she saw a late model blue and white or green and white Jeep-type vehicle drive up to the DeBruhl residence and stop by the front door. A man got out and stood on the front porch; he appeared to be talking to someone through the screen door. The vehicle left, but returned ten or fifteen minutes later. DeBruhl's grandmother did not hear any suspicious noises and did not see her granddaughter get inside the car. The man driving it has never been identified and it is unclear whether he has any connection to DeBruhl's case. He is described as Caucasian. of medium height and build, wearing a light-colored shirt and pants.


DeBruhl is described as shy and deeply religious; she was a member of the Providence Baptist Church and sang in the choir. She graduated from Castle Heights Junior High School prior to her disappearance and was looking forward to attending Rock Hill High School in the fall of 1977. Her family stated she was well-behaved prior to her disappearance, had no boyfriends and always kept her mother informed of her whereabouts. Her father is deceased, but her mother and two sisters continue to search for her. Few details are available in her case, but foul play is suspected.
MySpace page for Eva DeBruhl:
http://www.myspace.com/evadebruhlmissing
 
oh OK thanks for that. usually i check both doe & CP.. but this time just assumed there was no further info. unfortunately if disappearances like this were taken more seriously back then, a description could have been released (with a photo of a similar jeep) and the guy may have been identified. also neighbors could have spoken up to LE if they had been approached by the same guy.. (if he were posing as a door-to-door solicitor, hoping to meet a young vulnerable girl).. and they could have been witnesses to what he looked like up-close and given a better description. but it's been so long now.
 
The best and perhaps only lead in this case is the description by Eva's grandmother of a White man of medium height and build who apparently approached the DeBruhl house twice just prior to Eva's disappearance.

He may have been observing her mowing the grass earlier and waited until she entered the house to drive up in his two tone Jeep vehicle.

His first stop was probably a probing one to see who was at home and to make some contact with Eva. He may have asked if her parents were home, or if there was anyone home who could give him some directions. On finding that she was home alone, he may have asked other questions like if she had any relatives or friends nearby who could give her better directions...

His second stop was made knowing that Eva was alone, and perhaps knowing some other bit of information. He may have told her that he had just stopped by her grandmother's house and found her unconcious in the yard, or that her grandmother asked him to bring her over right away, etc. etc. He was a con man who got her to get into his vehicle quickly and without any struggle which would attract attention. He probably was a soft-spoken guy who seemed very nice and sincere...
 
good possibilities.. and you are probably right,, that he sweet-talked her into getting into the car with him somehow. however, didn't the article(s) say that her mom was home, taking a nap? that's why it was pretty bold of someone to just take a girl from her home (the front door, broad daylight).. while a relative was there.
 
...it was pretty bold of someone to just take a girl from her home (the front door, broad daylight).. while a relative was there.

It was indeed a bold move, and yet he did it anyway. It is this sort of thing that would possibly connect this case to others. When one might think, "Nobody would do that, it is too risky", that is the time to consider that maybe the perpetrator has a risk taking personality, and may have done similar things before and since.

Taking a risk like this would tend to indicate that he had done it before and was comfortable in doing it. He may have left himself an "out" when approaching for the second time. For instance, if the mother were awake, he might have simply asked for directions again, or some such. But finding the mother still asleep, he might have used it to his advantage in some way. Certainly, Eva would have been more comfortable going to his car if she knew her mother was nearby.
 

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