PA PA - Agnes Young, 43, Long Branch, 1986

Missing since approximately 1986 from Long Branch, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Classification: Endangered Missing

• Date of Birth: about 1943
• Age at Time of Disappearance: 43 years old
• Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: Est. 5'5"; Est 120 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.
• Medical: Mental health records indicated Young attempted suicide three times.

Young was last seen in Long Branch, Pennsylvania around 1986.

On May 8, 2002 a special agent of the U.S. Office of the Inspector General, contacted state police at the Belle Vernon barracks, and learned that that Agnes Young had not been seen by anyone for at least 10 years. However, her Social Security checks had been cashed on a monthly basis from 1991 to September 2001. He spoke with the woman's relatives and friends, but he could not find anyone who had seen her in a decade.

Her husband never filed a missing persons report, but someone did file a missing persons report on October 1, 1986.

Social Security officials terminated Agnes Young's benefits and still attempted to contact her. Agnes Young's sister was told by Agnes' husband that Agnes was moved to a mental institution in upstate New York, and she had not seen Agnes in 10 years. Agnes Young's brother last saw his sister in 1985. The husband told him Agnes Young was unavailable when he attempted to visit her. Agnes's sister-in-law was told Agnes Young was transferred to New York after the mental institution in Pittsburgh burned down.

Police could not find records of recent residence for Agnes Young in mental institutions in Ohio, Pennsylvania nor New York. However, mental health records indicated Agnes Young attempted suicide three times. Her name also was absent from records at the Bureau of Vital Statistics in New Castle.


Doe Network - http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1877dfpa.html

Charley Project - http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/y/young_agnes.html

I don't see a NamUs profile. How can we get her listed?

I wonder what her injuries were and if knowing would be any help in identifying her?

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/y/young_agnes.html

She was recently added to NamUs. The profile lists her date last seen as October 16, 1986. However, the circumstances state that she was last seen sometime in 1986. It's odd how they don't know who reported her missing but they know it wasn't her husband.

I'm assuming she lived a secluded life with her husband, which is why there isn't a more specific date to when she was last seen. Long Branch has a small population size.

If he did murder Agnes in 1986, I really find it hard to believe that there was no serious suspicion raised until 15 years later. Maybe others tried to get the authorities involved but they just didn't have enough evidence to launch an investigation.

I searched for information about Agnes Young on Ancestry.com. She has been declared legally dead as of September 30, 2000. I also found records of her previous addresses. The records state that she was living in Coal Center, PA at the time that they declared her as legally dead. I'm trying to see if I can find any records of her in the census. Since a psychiatric facility can be considered as a residence for those who are inpatient, lists of patients are sometimes in the census.

Agnes is now on PA Crime Stoppers
CASE: COLD CASE - AGNES YOUNG - DISAPPEARANCE - WEST PIKE RUN TOWNSHIP - WASHINGTON COUNTY

2002 article

Wanting2Help said:

I wonder what her injuries were and if knowing would be any help in identifying her?

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/y/young_agnes.html

Click to expand...

Accident in 1961 maiden name Skvarek

Severe skull fracture - the accident was on the Sunday the 9th. Agnes was unconscious until Friday the 14th.

ETA pdf version

Agnes Ann Young

Agnes, circa 1986; Edward Young

• Missing Since 01/01/1986
• Missing From Long Branch, Pennsylvania
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 43 years old
• Height and Weight 5'5, 120 pounds
• Medical Conditions Agnes has attempted suicide at least three times and is considered a danger to herself or others. She also sustained lasting injuries in a car accident as a teenager. She is classified as disabled.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance
Agnes was last seen in Long Branch, Pennsylvania sometime around 1986. A missing persons reported was filed for her on October 1 of that year. She has never been heard from again, but her Social Security disability checks were cashed monthly from 1991 to 2001.

Agnes's husband, Edward R. Young, did not report his wife missing in 1986; it is unclear who did. A photograph of Edward is posted with this case summary. In 2001, he applied for Social Security disability benefits for himself, stating he had a nervous condition. Because Agnes was also receiving benefits, the Social Security Administration asked both of them to come to their office on September 21 so that Edward's claim to be evaluated.

Edward arrived at the appointment alone and said he had not seen Agnes since earlier that month, when she had gone to New York City to go sightseeing with friends and never returned. He speculated she had died in the terrorist attacks that occurred at the World Trade Center on September 11.

The Social Security officials were suspicious of Edward's story and terminated Agnes's disability benefits, although Edward was eventually approved for benefits of his own. The office attempted to contact Agnes, but could not find her.

When police questioned Edward, he was unable to identify the friends who allegedly accompanied his wife to New York, or to describe the vehicle they traveled in. Officials at the bank where Agnes's benefits checks were cashed stated they never saw her, but Edward denied having cashed any of the checks himself.

Agnes has eleven older siblings. None of her relatives have seen her since about 1985 or 1986. Edward apparently told them she had been committed to a mental institution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then was transferred to New York after the Pittsburgh hospital burned down.

Authorities searched for Agnes in mental hospitals in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, but could not find any recent records for her. They obtained a warrant to search Edward's property for his wife's body.

In May 2002, investigators got a second warrant and returned to Edward's home to search it and interview him about Agnes's disappearance. When they arrived at the residence, Edward was dead; he had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

Agnes's case remains unsolved and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear.

Agnes Ann Young – The Charley Project

According to Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers, Agnes Ann Young, 59, was discovered missing in September 2001 when her husband, Edward Young, 60, applied for Social Security disability benefits.

The application triggered an automatic review of the disability benefits already being paid to Agnes. Social Security officials scheduled a meeting with the couple for Sept. 21 but Edward arrived without his wife.

Edward allegedly told the caseworker his wife left home earlier in the month with a friend for a trip to the Empire State Building in New York City and possibly died in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Sept 21, 2023