PA PA - Cherrie Mahan, 8, Cabot, 22 Feb 1985
- Thread starter mindys
- Start date
mrstfs
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2016
- Messages
- 1,014
- Reaction score
- 6,097
That’s her stepfather, correct?
I wonder if her mom has taken an ancestry DNA / 23 and me DNA test and loaded results into GED match?
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Those are clippings that I found about her bio dad. It says he's an unknown Armstrong County man and he saw Cherrie a year before she was abducted for the first time at a party.
Gameman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
- Messages
- 137
- Reaction score
- 754
Hi, could you explain this further? I don’t know much about these tests. What could her mom find out about her own DNA that would help?
chaddylex
Verified local - Rebecca Stahl case
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2008
- Messages
- 3,128
- Reaction score
- 6,383
I think because maybe if Cherrie was still alive and did an Ancestry test 23and me - she would show up as a match. My mom and I both did ours and my mom obviously showed up as Parent/child. I also uploaded my DNA to GedMatch. If Janice would upload DNA then could be used by law enforcement, geologists etc....
mrstfs
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2016
- Messages
- 1,014
- Reaction score
- 6,097
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Gameman No, I haven't fowarded the van clipping to the police. You're more than welcome too. It was on the site newspapers.com in Bloomington, Illinois classifieds. I can find the link if you want.
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Van listing links. It looks like it was a week ad in classifieds.
Read Text only version by clicking "article text (OCR)" then "find in page" on your browser to enter keywords. I used "ski " you can also use "mural".
Publication: The Pantagraph
Location: Bloomington, Illinois
Issue Date: Sunday, October 5, 1978
Page: Page 54
The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois on October 5, 1978 · Page 54
Publication: The Pantagraph
Location: Bloomington, Illinois
Issue Date: Sunday, October 8, 1978
Page: Page 74
The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois on October 8, 1978 · Page 74
Publication: The Pantagraph
Location: Bloomington, Illinois
Issue Date: Sunday, October 9, 1978
Page: Page 28
The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois on October 9, 1978 · Page 28
Publication: The Pantagraph
Location: Bloomington, Illinois
Issue Date: Sunday, October 11, 1978
Page: Page 51
The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois on October 11, 1978 · Page 51
Keep in mind that custom vans with murals were very popular during this time period and peaked in the late 1970s.
There were likely very many vans with a ski mural around back then, but something like that would be very uncommon today.
There were likely very many vans with a ski mural around back then, but something like that would be very uncommon today.
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Found another van in New York in 1989 for sale
Keyword: Skier Mural
Publication: Democrat and Chronicle
Location: Rochester, New York
Issue Date: August 25, 1989
Page: Page 28
Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York on August 25, 1989 · Page 28
Keyword: Skier Mural
Publication: Democrat and Chronicle
Location: Rochester, New York
Issue Date: August 25, 1989
Page: Page 28
Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York on August 25, 1989 · Page 28
Attachments
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
There were many Vans back in those days with murals but not skier murals.
chaddylex
Verified local - Rebecca Stahl case
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2008
- Messages
- 3,128
- Reaction score
- 6,383
My classmate's grandfather had a van with a skier mural painted on the side of it. He lived a few blocks away from me growing up in Westmoreland County. I called the tips in years ago. I looked up the grandpap and he passed away like in 2004.
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Gameman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2018
- Messages
- 137
- Reaction score
- 754
Thanks for answering my DNA question. That’s a pretty good idea! Sorry to say that I wasn’t considering Cherrie could be alive.
Also, I recall her cousin saying there was once a NY tip. I wonder if that van in Rochester was the reason. I wonder if a van is involved at all...
Also, I recall her cousin saying there was once a NY tip. I wonder if that van in Rochester was the reason. I wonder if a van is involved at all...
Last edited:
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Anyone know if LE ever tried to make a connection in these unsolved child murders all within an hour from each other including Cherries abduction?
Very disturbing and similar circumstances!!!
NAME: Beth Lynn Barr
AGE: 6
LAST SEEN: Nov. 23, 1977
DETAILS: Walking home from Johnson School in Wilkinsburg, PA.
FOUND: 16 months later in a wooded area off Johnson Road, Monroeville, PA.
NAME: Stephanie Ann Boller
AGE: 5
LAST SEEN: Jan. 8, 1977
DETAILS: Walking home from a playmates house around 1pm. In Beaver Falls, PA.
FOUND: 10 months later in Bradys Run Park, Beavers Falls, PA.
NAME: Heidi Morningstar
AGE: 12
LAST SEEN: Sep. 17, 1976
DETAILS: Morningstar disappeared from her Ambridge Beaver County home in the early morning of Sept. 17, 1976
FOUND: 1 day later on the lawn of an estate in Edgeworth, just over the Beaver County line in Allegheny County.
Very disturbing and similar circumstances!!!
NAME: Beth Lynn Barr
AGE: 6
LAST SEEN: Nov. 23, 1977
DETAILS: Walking home from Johnson School in Wilkinsburg, PA.
FOUND: 16 months later in a wooded area off Johnson Road, Monroeville, PA.
NAME: Stephanie Ann Boller
AGE: 5
LAST SEEN: Jan. 8, 1977
DETAILS: Walking home from a playmates house around 1pm. In Beaver Falls, PA.
FOUND: 10 months later in Bradys Run Park, Beavers Falls, PA.
NAME: Heidi Morningstar
AGE: 12
LAST SEEN: Sep. 17, 1976
DETAILS: Morningstar disappeared from her Ambridge Beaver County home in the early morning of Sept. 17, 1976
FOUND: 1 day later on the lawn of an estate in Edgeworth, just over the Beaver County line in Allegheny County.
chaddylex
Verified local - Rebecca Stahl case
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2008
- Messages
- 3,128
- Reaction score
- 6,383
Wow - I never heard of any of those cases. I wondered if the Kathleen Kelly disappearance is related to Cherrie's. She went missing from Springdale in 1981.
Yardbunnys
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 30
Oh wow! Very possible and same motto of Cherries disappearance. Wonder if there's any others?
MacPlus512
Pittsburgh Proud
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2006
- Messages
- 120
- Reaction score
- 171
Very interesting thoughts. The amount of time which had passed makes me doubt the cases are related to Mahan, but I do get a feeling Morningstar and Boller could be related to each other.
I live in Pittsburgh and know all of the areas these girls disappeared from. Springdale and Monroeville are about ten minutes from each other on the PA Turnpike, I-76. Both are to the northeast of Pittsburgh proper.
Beaver Falls and Ambridge aren't too far from each other at all and are on the same general stretch of road.
Cherie's area isn't really on the same grid as any of these. You'd need to use I-79 or US 19 to get there from the city. Granted, all of these are close to the PA Turnpike, I-76, but it would require a trip up either of these other roads via Cranberry. I-79 and I-76 didn't directly connect at the time of any of these disappearances and wouldn't until 2004.
All of these areas are also far different from each other. I wouldn't actually use any of them as comparables for each other when looking at various Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
Another comment about Pittsburgh: most people in the area don't generally go too far outside their geographic zones. People in the North Hills stay there, people in the South Hills stay there, people in the Monroeville/east area and Robinson/west area tend to stay put. They'll go downtown, but only will go to N/S/E/W if necessary. An area like Portersville is "the country" for most people in urban or inner suburban Pittsburgh, and even a close-by city like Youngstown, Greensburg, or New Castle is considered a "hike". The city is notoriously hard to navigate for new residents and longtime residents alike, plus roads have not been built or updated due to geographic and political constraint.
A final comment regarding Cherie's area: it's still very rural, but the area directly south of it was also somewhat rural in 1985. Cranberry began to build up around the mid 1990s and everything expanded outward from there. Zelienople hasn't really changed since then and is still a small town, but even Cranberry would have been small-scale and spread out at the time; it was just beginning to get its strip malls and chain restaurants around that time.
I live in Pittsburgh and know all of the areas these girls disappeared from. Springdale and Monroeville are about ten minutes from each other on the PA Turnpike, I-76. Both are to the northeast of Pittsburgh proper.
Beaver Falls and Ambridge aren't too far from each other at all and are on the same general stretch of road.
Cherie's area isn't really on the same grid as any of these. You'd need to use I-79 or US 19 to get there from the city. Granted, all of these are close to the PA Turnpike, I-76, but it would require a trip up either of these other roads via Cranberry. I-79 and I-76 didn't directly connect at the time of any of these disappearances and wouldn't until 2004.
All of these areas are also far different from each other. I wouldn't actually use any of them as comparables for each other when looking at various Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
Another comment about Pittsburgh: most people in the area don't generally go too far outside their geographic zones. People in the North Hills stay there, people in the South Hills stay there, people in the Monroeville/east area and Robinson/west area tend to stay put. They'll go downtown, but only will go to N/S/E/W if necessary. An area like Portersville is "the country" for most people in urban or inner suburban Pittsburgh, and even a close-by city like Youngstown, Greensburg, or New Castle is considered a "hike". The city is notoriously hard to navigate for new residents and longtime residents alike, plus roads have not been built or updated due to geographic and political constraint.
A final comment regarding Cherie's area: it's still very rural, but the area directly south of it was also somewhat rural in 1985. Cranberry began to build up around the mid 1990s and everything expanded outward from there. Zelienople hasn't really changed since then and is still a small town, but even Cranberry would have been small-scale and spread out at the time; it was just beginning to get its strip malls and chain restaurants around that time.
there is something def off with her she will stay minimal on fb in the group when responding to people but when she private messages you her story changes. i did some sleuthing where she says she was born and raised is conflicting to what i saw in a google search so i don't know what to believe i feel like shes looking for attention i am also mad that i accidentally cleaned out those post in my messenger because i wanted to forward them to law enforcement