Thirty-five years ago, Cherrie Mahan stepped off of her school bus, started the walk toward her driveway, and disappeared. Since that dark day more than three decades ago, Cherrie, the eight-year-old with the big brown eyes and the pretty smile, has become a part of Pittsburgh’s collective memory. Each year, the media shines the spotlight on her case on the anniversary of her disappearance, in the hopes that this is the year we’ll find out what happened to Cherrie.
(Please note: Few photographs of Cherrie appear online. To avoid breaking copyright laws, links to her missing persons pages with relevant photos are included below.)
Life was certainly different back in 1985. Kids walked to school, usually with groups of friends or even alone; played outside until the streetlights came on; and rode their bikes all over neighborhoods.
That all changed after February 22, 1985. Cherrie Mahan earned her mom Janice McKinney’s permission on that day to walk home from the bus stop by herself, a monumental event for most of us as kids. How far she had to walk varies depending on the source, but it was estimated between 100 and 200 yards.
The Unfound Podcast recently visited the site of Cherrie’s disappearance. Click here to view video of the area that leads to Cherrie’s driveway.
Four kids, including Cherrie, got off at Cherrie’s bus stop. Cherrie began the walk toward her driveway in the lush, rural area of Winfield Township in Butler County. Somewhere between the bus stop and her driveway, Cherrie vanished.
Cherrie’s disappearance received significant coverage in local media. Witnesses told of two vehicles behind the school bus – a blue car and a Dodge van with a skier and a mountain-scene painted on the side.
Neither the blue car nor the van with the skier on the side has ever been found. Click here for the link to Cherrie’s page on The Charley Project, which includes drawings of the van and additional photos of Cherrie.
Just three months after Cherrie’s disappearance, she became the first child to appear on the Have You Seen Me flier released by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
As the years passed, media has continued to cover Cherrie’s story, most notably in February of each year. In November 1998, Cherrie’s mom went to court to have her daughter legally declared dead.
Through the years, law enforcement has gotten countless tips. One in January 2011 gave everyone hope that a resolution was coming when a Michigan woman came forward with the belief that she was Cherrie. DNA testing proved she wasn’t.
Most recently, Cherrie’s mom received a chilling letter in which the letter writer detailed what had happened to the eight-year-old. The letter has, thus far, lead nowhere.
If you have any information on Cherrie’s disappearance, call 724-284-8100, the Missing Persons Department of the Pennsylvania State Police, or dial 911.
Go to Cherrie’s page on the official website of The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Or, check out Cherrie’s page at The Doe Network.
If you lived in or near Pittsburgh in 1985 or in the ensuing years, you likely remember Cherrie Mahan. What sticks out most in your mind about her disappearance? Join the conversation in the comments. Just a few years after Cherrie's disappearance, the news of Anthony Michalwoski's murder broke. His case remains unsolved.
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