Cherrie Mahan

The 40th anniversary vigil of a missing Winfield Township girl uncovered new names and a new location for police and advocacy groups to search.

State police received about 40 workable tips into the 1985 disappearance of 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan since the Feb. 22 vigil in Saxonburg. During the event, the community gathered to help find answers for her mother, Janice McKinney.

Corporal Max DeLuca said the tips have yielded some new names, and every tip is being investigated.

Cherrie Mahan in 1985

Cherrie’s Angels, a group affiliated with McKinney and the Facebook page “Find Cherrie Mahan,” is conducting its own investigation into tips, but consistently feeds information it receives to state police.

“We understand the need for solid evidence to move forward, but our impatience is growing,” the group said in a recent post. “We see no harm in following the influx of tips we’ve received and conducting searches ourselves, as long as we do so lawfully and do not interfere with the police’s investigation.”

On Tuesday, April 1, McKinney wrote a post on the Find Cherrie Mahan page that said various tips have pointed in the direction of one specific person she now suspects is responsible, but she did not name the person.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since my whole world was taken from me. I’ve never given up looking for answers, and I truly believe I finally know who was responsible. I can’t share their name, but I will say it was someone local,” McKinney said in the post.

The group has also spoken out on Facebook about abuse suffered by children in the community at the time, saying multiple people have come forward about local abusers.

Recent tips have also led the group to narrow its own search down to a specific area of land. The group has turned to cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar as potential tools to locate any remains but has struggled to find the resources for them.

“We’ve been in contact with people with cadaver dogs that are interested in taking the case and looking to help give Janice answers,” said Bailey Gizienski, a close friend of McKinney and one of Cherrie’s Angels. “There are others requesting police to assist them, but we can do the ground penetrating sonar ourselves if we get the equipment.

“We are still looking at the one area that was mentioned multiple times,” Gizienski said. “We’re waiting on the state police to get all materials we need to conduct a search so we can send dogs out.”

DeLuca said police have considered using cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar, but both have their roadblocks. He said the effectiveness of ground-penetrating radar often depends on the topography of the land, so it may not yield definitive results searching the area of interest.

DeLuca said he had considered using cadaver dogs previously but needed to find a canine and handler with a proven track record and experience solving long-term open cases.

Law enforcement also must show evidence to warrant the use of those tools, which is why they cannot provide them to Cherrie’s Angels, according to the group. It is still looking to procure cadaver dogs, ground-penetrating radar and someone to interpret the results. The group also works with psychics and private investigators.

DeLuca said he’s still keeping an open mind as he’s pushing through the case, but any deviation from protocol would risk any potential evidence becoming inadmissible in court.

“We may possibly get together as a community, abide by laws and search the area,” the group said on its Facebook page. “Janice believes 40 years is too long and we’re ready to find Cherrie.”