Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a report from a woman who claims to be Cherrie Mahan, an 8-year-old girl who disappeared from a bus stop in 1985.
According to CBS News, Cherrie was last seen in Winfield Township 39 years ago. On February 22, 1985, a little after 4 p.m. she vanished from a bus stop near her driveway in Winfield Township.
State police said a “bright blue 1976 Dodge van with a mural of a mountain and a skier” could possibly have been involved, according to CBS News.
The unidentified woman made her claim in a Facebook group last month, but according to The Butler Post, Cherrie’s mother, Janice McKinney, does not believe the woman is her daughter.
State police are collaborating with an out-of-state agency to verify the woman’s identity, but noted that, over the years, at least three other women have untruthfully claimed to be Cherrie.
Despite this, McKinney hasn’t given up hope that her daughter will one day be found.
This is the day Cherrie got off the bus and was never seen again and we come here and I pray,” McKinney said during a prayer vigil in February.
“The not knowing is really what sucks the life out of you. It just beats you down every single day and for the past 39 years, this has been the hardest part of my life.”
A $5,000 cash reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is urged to call Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS or the State Police Butler barracks at 724-284-8100.
[Feature Photo via National Center for Missing & Exploited Children]
