PA PA - Cheryl Iacovone, 17, Secane, 12 July 1977

[Richard]

CHERYL ANN IACOVONE ....

...Non-Family Abduction

Cheryl Ann was last seen walking to a friend's house. ...

Sheryl has been missing for over 34 years and this case has been posted on Websleuths for 7 years. We still don't know much more than what was in the first post.

It would be nice to have more information of any kind.

There were quite a few girls and young women missing and killed in the PA MD, NJ, DE, VA area in the mid 1970's. Could some of them be connected?

 

[rmroche]

Does anyone know the location of the Mother ?

Does she still live in the same area ?

I would greatly appriciate addresses and contact information if anyone has them .

Feel free to e-mail them to me at rmroche@hotmail.com or post them here.

Thank's

R.M.Roche

 

[CarlK90245]

I read somewere that contact had been made with a half sister that expressed interest in talking with people about this case. " However " when the mother of Cheryl found out she basically told the sister to clam up.

I thought this suspicious , but i have never been a mom , not even a father.

I wonder if it is an issue of being to painfull ? to relive this all over again ?
or does it mean more.

Anyone have any thoughts ?

Does anyone know the location of the Mother ?

Does she still live in the same area ?

I would greatly appriciate addresses and contact information if anyone has them .

Feel free to e-mail them to me at rmroche@hotmail.com or post them here.

Thank's

R.M.Roche

Cheryl's half sister and her mother still live in the general vicinity of where they lived in 1977 (although not in the same city). I do know that Cheryl's mother prefers not to discuss the case with persons whom she doesn't know, so I doubt she would be willing to talk to you about it. I've already told the half-sister that I would honor her mother's request for privacy and not contact them any further, and accordingly, I am withholding her contact information.

And BTW, I wouldn't see that as suspicious at all, and I wouldn't characterize the mother's instructions to the sister as telling her to "clam-up". The term "clam-up" has a negative connotation that I don't think is applicable here. We have to keep in mind that like other family members of missing persons, she probably has been harassed by con-artists trying to take advantage of her grief, and she is understandably leery about discussing the matter with strangers.

Cheryl's half-sister was kind enough to tell me that there is a 1982 (not 1983 as indicated above) article in the Delco Daily Times that provides quite a bit of detail on Cheryl's disappearance. She also mentioned that at the time of Cheryl's disappearance, a couple of biker gangs were active near the shopping mall that was along the route that Sheryl would have taken on the date that she disappeared. One theory was that she might have been abducted by someone from the gang, but they never came up with any solid evidence to support that theory.

The Widener University Library has copies of the article on microfiche, and I have arranged for the microfiche reel containing the article to be loaned to the Manhattan Beach CA Public Library via the nationwide inter-library loan program.

Unfortunately, the microfiche was sent once to the MB Library, but they neglected to notify me that it had arrived, and after a week, they returned it to Widener University. They are currently in the process of borrowing the reel a second time.

When I am able to see the article, I will let everyone here know what is discussed in the article.

ETA: I was reading the previous posts, and there was speculation as to why she had the hyphenated name. I believe that Moser was her biological father's surname, and Iacovone was her step-father's surname. She adopted the name of her stepfather after her mother re-married.

 

[Richard]

Here is a link to another Websleuths thread which discusses Cheryl's case:

MN MN - Mississippi River in St. Paul - White Female *Hot Case 1409*, 16-30, July 1977 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[scriptgirl]

I spent part of my childhood near Ridley Park-I last visited there maybe in the late 90s or early 00s. The area hasn't changed since the 80s. Ridley Park itself was a place i went to various times-never liked it, weird vibes. Weird vibes about Ridley as well-never liked it there. What interests me is the the fact in the mid 70s, biker gangs were active on the east coast and implicated in several disappearances of young women. But nowadays, that is rare-aren't biker gangs still around?

This friend Cheryl was on her way to see-were they ever questioned?

 

[CarlK90245]

I spent part of my childhood near Ridley Park-I last visited there maybe in the late 90s or early 00s. The area hasn't changed since the 80s. Ridley Park itself was a place i went to various times-never liked it, weird vibes. Weird vibes about Ridley as well-never liked it there. What interests me is the the fact in the mid 70s, biker gangs were active on the east coast and implicated in several disappearances of young women. But nowadays, that is rare-aren't biker gangs still around?

This friend Cheryl was on her way to see-were they ever questioned?

I do know the name of Cheryl's friend, but for privacy purposes, I am not putting it here. I am sure that she was questioned.

BTW, I am still waiting for the Delco Daily Times Article, and have been told it should be available in a week or so. The inter-library loan program isn't the tightest-run operation. The gears turn slowly.

 

[Ambercat]

I wish I knew more about this case -- I know nothing beyond what is on the NCMEC poster. I'm wondering if maybe she was married, though. Girls married young back then, and the "Moser Iacovone" could be her maiden name followed by her married last name. There are least three other girls listed on the NCMEC who were married, and I know one of them had children, though she was just 17.

I think Moser is her biological father's surname and Iacovone is her step-father's last name.

 

[CarlK90245]

I finally got to look at the microfilm of the March 21, 1982 (30-years ago tomorrow) edition of the Delaware County Sunday Times. In it, there are two separate stories

Due to the copyright rules, I cannot post the content in its entirety here, but I will post the opening paragraphs from the two stories:

Did the bikers kill this girl?
Lawmen fear missing teen was killed and buried in gang’s graveyard
By Chris Winans
Sunday Times Staff Writer
Delaware County Sunday Times March 21, 1982

On July 12, 1977, Cheryl Iacovone, 17, left her home in Secane.

She told her mother she was walking to a friend’s house.

She has not been seen nor heard from since, but law enforcement officials last week told the Daily Times they have recently learned she may have been murdered and dumped in the Tinicum Marsh, a spot where motorcycle gang victims have been found.

Like six young women slain in the 1970’s Cheryl was friendly with people tied to motorcycle club members, police sources said.
​

Teen’s Mother Knew At Once
By Chris Winans
Sunday Times Staff Writer
Delaware County Sunday Times March 21, 1982

Within a day of 17-year-old Cheryl Iacovone’s disappearance in the summer of 1977, her mother Sheila figured the pretty teenager was dead.

She didn’t know of anyone who would ever want to kill Cheryl, a quiet bright girl who was going through a rebellious period. No one told her Cheryl was dead. She just knew.

“I get feelings about a lot of things that are hard to explain, so I don’t share them”, Mrs. Iacovone said. “But when you have a child and something happens to them you know it somehow.”

“When I reported her missing (to Ridley Township police) 24 hours after I last saw her, I knew something had happened.”

Cheryl, a 5-foot-8-inch 120-pound brunette with long hair, had run away several times before from her home on Chipmunk Lane in Secane, so authorities assumed she’d done it again.

“Nothing it seemed was done about it.” Mrs. Iacovone said. “I went to many different agencies for help, but they’d all say ‘Do you realize how many kids disappear each year? Thousands.’” ...
​

 

[CarlK90245]

The main points of the first article are as follows:

On the night she disappeared, Cheryl visited a friend who was associated with the local bikers, and then she visited her boyfriend, David Thompson of Ridley Township.

Several months after Cheryl's disappearance, Thompson and codefendant Francis Nolan, then 23, were convicted of beating to death Warlocks member William Long, 25. The beating was motivated by a dispute over a stolen leather jacket which had belonged to Nolan.

Thompson served his 6-to-23-month sentence and disappeared. As of the date of the article, police have been unable to locate Thompson.

A biker-informant has recently told authorities that Cheryl was murdered by bikers for reasons unknown and was buried in the Tinicum swamps.

Other unsolved murders possibly connected are the following:
* Jean Delozier, 19, of Collingdale, who disappeared Aug'75 and found dead in the Tinicum Marsh in Jan'76.
* Denise Seaman, 17, of Colwyn, who disappeared Apr'75 and found dead in the Tinicum Marsh in Oct'75.
* Mary Ann Lees , 15, and Dorothy Spicer, 16, of Upper Darby, who were both shot to death in Mar'75 and found in the Schuylkill River.


In a probably unrelated murder, Warlocks official Robert Nauss Jr. of Aston was convicted of the 1971 murder of 21-year-old Elizabeth Lande of Overbrook, whose body was never found.

 

[CarlK90245]

The main points of the second article are as follows:

* Cheryl had run away on a few other occasions, but always called her mother to tell her that she was OK.

* A reliable informant has recently told authorities that Cheryl was on her way to visit a boyfriend, David Thompson, then 20, when she was supposedly killed.

* Police say they don’t believe Thompson was a biker.

* One of Cheryl's friends was a biker, but she wasn't known to have any other links to the biker gangs.

* Cheryl had only two close friends (Donna Williams and Kelly Ann Morris). According to Williams, Cheryl was a good student, wasn't into drugs, read a lot, but had problems at home and was "mixed up".

* Cheryl's mother still holds out hope that she is alive and well and living somewhere with a family, but authorities are certain from what they've learned that she will not turn up alive.

 

[CarlK90245]

If anyone wants a copy of the article, PM me, and I will send you the text of the article.

I have transcribed it from the photocopy that I have of the microfilm record. But due to copyright considerations, I cannot post it in its entirety here.

 

[Richard]

35 Years ago...

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

Cheryl Ann Moser Iacovone
Missing since July 12, 1977 from Secane, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: April 22, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8; 120 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; green eyes.
DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Iacovone was last seen walking to a friend's house in Secane, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1977.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Iacovone's whereabouts, please contact:

Ridley Township Police Department
Missing Persons Unit
610-532-4000

All information may be submitted on an anonymous basis.

Agency Case Number: 84-2960

NCMEC #: NCMC603887

NCIC Number: M-363861568

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

Source Information:

The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
NamUs
The Doe Network: Case File 197DFPA

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/197dfpa.html

 

[hayaletcatcher]

On November 3rd 2013 Charley updated a age-progression photo.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/i/iacovone_cheryl.html

 

[scriptgirl]

I wonder if she is buried somewhere in Ridley Creek Park.

 

[KateB]

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/2510/
Case Information
Status Missing
First name Cheryl Ann
Middle name Moser
Last name Iacovone
Nickname/Alias
NCMEC number 603887
Date last seen July 12, 1977 00:00
Date entered 07/16/2009
Age last seen 17 to 17 years old
Age now 54 years old
Race White
Ethnicity
Sex Female
Height (inches) 68.0
Weight (pounds) 120.0

Dental Status: Dental information / charting is currently not available
DNA Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete
Fingerprint Information Status: Fingerprint information is currently not available

Cheryl has been missing for 37 years today.

 

[scriptgirl]

What problems did she have and what was she mixed up about? Is her mom still alive? what about the boyfriend?

 

[lindamichelle1]

Could she possibly be Lori Erica Ruff

 

[scriptgirl]

I don't think so.

 

[Thefacelessman]

What problems did she have and what was she mixed up about? Is her mom still alive? what about the boyfriend?


1)Don't know

2)Her mother and sister until 2012 at least still lived in the same vicinity.

3)then she visited her boyfriend, David Thompson of Ridley Township.

Several months after Cheryl's disappearance, Thompson and codefendant Francis Nolan, then 23, were convicted of beating to death Warlocks member William Long, 25. The beating was motivated by a dispute over a stolen leather jacket which had belonged to Nolan.

Thompson served his 6-to-23-month sentence and disappeared. As of the date of the article, police have been unable to locate Thompson.


......all found just reading this thread

 

[Thefacelessman]

What problems did she have and what was she mixed up about? Is her mom still alive? what about the boyfriend?

1)Don't know

2)Her mother and sister until 2012 at least still lived in the same vicinity.

3)then she visited her boyfriend, David Thompson of Ridley Township.

Several months after Cheryl's disappearance, Thompson and codefendant Francis Nolan, then 23, were convicted of beating to death Warlocks member William Long, 25. The beating was motivated by a dispute over a stolen leather jacket which had belonged to Nolan.

Thompson served his 6-to-23-month sentence and disappeared. As of the date of the article, police have been unable to locate Thompson.


......all found just reading this thread