Winfield Twp. girl vanished 35 years ago
Saturday marks 35 years since an 8-year-old went missing near her home in Winfield Township.
In 1985, witnesses recalled seeing third-grader Cherrie Mahan get off a school bus near her home on Cornplanter Road, according to reports. She was wearing a little gray coat, a blue denim skirt, blue leg warmers and boots.
There were some who said they saw a bluish-green van with a painting of a mountain and a skier behind her school bus as well as a small blue compact car. But after that last bit of information, the case went cold.
State police Trooper Chris Birckbichler, who used to supervise about 30 cold cases, said he would get two calls weekly related to these cases during his time investigating the Mahan case between 2014 to 2017.
“We always were getting tips, but nothing overly significant,” Birckbichler said.
In 1998, Cherrie was legally declared dead by the Butler County courts.
Cherrie’s family couldn’t be reached for comment.
Over the years, her case has gained regular media attention, and it was the first case to appear on one of the national “Have you seen me?” missing person, direct mail fliers.
Experts with The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children produced a depiction of what they believe Cherrie would look like now as a 43-year-old. The center is responsible for updating Cherrie’s image every five years to show her getting older, and they feature Cherrie, along with countless other missing children, on their website.
Ray Harp, a program manager with the center, recalls visiting the site where Cherrie went missing.
“It was an exhaustive effort by law enforcement. Coming from law enforcement, I can tell when they know what they’re doing. They worked it hard,” Harp said. “It’s very frustrating to the investigators, and it’s painful for the family that goes through this.”
Harp said part of the center’s involvement in the case included devoting consultants and volunteers with law enforcement backgrounds to the case in an effort to help the state police-led investigation.
“We supported the family and provide resources to law enforcement — analysis, resources, information,” Harp said. “I selected two very experienced, retired (law enforcement) investigators who had a significant amount of experience to review the file. It’s important to have different people with different backgrounds take a look out.”
In 2011, CNN revisited the case as part of its network television series on the nation’s top 10 cold cases. Cherrie’s case also has its own Wikipedia page.
In 2015, the Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church, 100 E. Main St., held a memorial service to mark the 30th year of Cherrie’s disappearance; the church said it would not be holding a service this year.
People with information about Cherrie or any cold case in the region can call state police at 724-284-8100. Trooper Max DeLuca is assigned to Cherrie’s case.
“We don’t close a case unless a person is found in any manner,” Harp said. “In long term cases like this, we have to keep the information in front of people. You never know when it will click with someone. Even little, insignificant things help. You never know what piece of information will connect the dots to give us that breakthrough.”
