They had their whole lives ahead of them.
Suzie Streeter was 19 on June 7th, 1992. She had just celebrated her high school graduation with close friend Stacy McCall (then 18) in their hometown of Springfield, Missouri. After attending another friend’s grad party, Suzie and Stacy decided to crash at Suzie’s place, which she shared with her mother, 47-year-old Sherrill Levitt.
Some time between 2 am and 8 am on the night of June 7th, all three women vanished. A high school friend of the girls came looking for them at the house at around 8 in the morning. She found the globe over the porch light smashed and the front door open. Except for the broken light fixture, there were no other signs of foul play, but all the women’s purses and cigarettes were in the home and the family dog appeared to be extremely agitated. The beds seemed to have been slept in.
While the teenager was still in the house, the phone rang. The caller was a male who said lewd sexual things until the friend hung up, after which the man called back. The calls freaked the friend out enough that she left the house. Later that afternoon, Janis McCall–Stacy’s mother–arrived at the house looking for her daughter, and found the same strange scene. She immediately felt that there was something wrong, and called police to report the three women missing. Unfortunately, while playing the messages on Levitt’s machine, McCall deleted a message from an unknown man which the police felt could have been evidence.
Over 23 years later, the women still have not been seen, but there have been several leads.
- One of the first suspects was Bartt Streeter, Suzie’s older brother. Bartt had a drinking problem and had recently fought with his mother and sister, but he was soon cleared. He is still haunted by their disappearance and the fact that he never got to patch things up with them.
- Many people believe Robert Cox is responsible for the women’s disappearance. Cox is a convicted kidnapper and suspected murderer who was living in the area at the time of the crime. He has given several leading statements to local media, claiming that he “knows the women are dead” and that “They’re buried close to Springfield,” but police aren’t sure if he’s legit or if he is only trying to get attention. Cox is currently serving time in a Texas prison for aggravated robbery.
- Dustin Recla, Suzie Streeter’s ex-boyfriend, and his friend Michael Clay, had a falling out with Suzie after the men were charged with vandalizing a mausoleum and selling gold teeth they stole from the corpses (nice). Clay reportedly said he wished all three women were dead, and the police could not confirm the men’s alibi. However, no evidence has been found linking them to the crime. They have not been ruled out as suspects.
- A witness told detectives that she saw a van being driven by a woman she believed to be Suzie Streeter on the morning of the women’s disappearance. Suzie appeared to be distressed. As the van pulled into the witness’s street, the witness heard a man’s voice telling the driver to just back out slowly and get them out of there. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he apparently said.
- Several tips have pointed the police in the direction of the south parking garage at the Cox Hospital, which was still under construction when the three women disappeared. A curious reporter hired a reputable mechanical engineer who specialises in ground penetration radar to scan the parking garage. One small area of the parking lot was found to have three anomalies. While the engineer could not promise that the anomalies were bodies, he did say that they were similar to what he’d see in a graveyard. Apparently the police are not convinced, since this discovery was made in 2010, and they’ve refused to have a core sample taken from the concrete–even though the engineer offered to pay for it.
McCall and Streeter at their high-school graduation.
It is extremely rare for three women to vanish at the same time. Whatever happened to Sherrill, Suzie, and Stacy? Janis McCall continues to search for her daughter, and holds out hope that the three missing women will be found alive.
Since kidnap victims have been rescued as much as 24 years after their disappearance, it is a possibility.
What do you think happened to the Springfield Three? Do you think the police should dig up the hospital parking garage?
If you have any information about this crime, you can now text an anonymous tip to the Springfield Police Department. Just text 417SPD plus your message to 274637 (CRIMES). You can also call 417-869-8477 (TIPS).
For the sake of the family, they really need to check that parking garage. If the bodies are there, then at least it would provide some closure.
I agree, Alex. Especially since the engineer offered to pay for at least a core sample. The hospital has agreed to cooperate with the investigation, but they need to be approached by the police.
I can understand why the police wouldn’t want to tear up a perfectly good parking garage for no reason, but removing a core sample really wouldn’t do much damage.
I don’t understand what the hold up is. Good grief! If it was the one holding up this mess’ daughter, there would be no question. OMG! This is ridicules!
Could you please get a hold of me JH as this twisted story has been bothering me since the year after they has graduated- I was in 1991 but am so very familiar with the story it’s etched in stone in my mind please email me or call me as I do have a very significant donation to possibly help you solve this horrific crime
(310) 228-7874
The hospitals owners son was questioned way early on in the case, for those who might not know that….it it seems there as a video of sorts found somewhere or other that depicted him with at least on of the three that was rumored to be”compromising.”Just say’in…It seems it might not be in the hospital’s best interest to have those women there….,if this were the case
The reason the police have not checked the garage is because it is not a credible lead. Someone on a crime site said he had a dream and in the dream, one of the girls told him she was in the garage. Somehow, unfortunately, that story spread like crazy (every single comment here asking why the garage hasn’t been checked) but again, it is not a credible lead.
Dreams can be a voice from the other side. They should check it out but the owner of the hospital, may be afraid of something himself. I bet he has a lot of pull around there.
And what of the engineer who found three irregularities in the concrete in the garage, as if something is buried underneath? I saw an interview with him. That had absolutely nothing to do with a dream.
Still should b dug up for closure
If the parking lot/garage property is owned by Cox Hospital..then Cox Hospital can have the site dug up or sampled. The police do not have a right to NOT have that done. The buck stops with Cox Hospital System. If the site has not been excavated then that fault lies with Cox…..period. JMHO
From my research, the Cox Hospital is waiting for the police to agree that there is just cause before they move forward with this. They don’t want their parking garage tampered with unless the police tell them there’s a very good reason for it.
That’s what I said to the mrs. Use a diamond core drill and have the dog test for smell.
It is possible to take core sample with a large headed drill. Why has this not been done? My heart goes out to all the families.
I have no idea why this hasn’t been done, Lesley. It’s extremely troubling. Maybe someone should start one of those Internet petitions and apply some extra pressure.
Wondering if they could just drill small holes in the annomolies (spelling) and test for DNA first before tearing the whole parking garage up!?!? FOR GOD’S SAKE, GIVE THE FAMILIES SOME CLOSURE ON THAT PARKING GARAGE!!!
I really need to know why they refuse to do so if everything is been paid for. People who read that just can not understand, WHY NOT ??!!
I think they should dig up the new Hospital pakking lot to fined the bodys of the SpringFieldThree because it would give the Griffing Famlies some Answers and the Police van finally close the Coukd case and arrest the person for the crime and I wish all the Famlies of the missing Women hope and happyness ??
Yes please check the hospital parking ?
I don’t understand why they won’t check the garage??? What could it hurt. A few dollars to excavate and find out. I watched the program last night and I’m shocked that it ended the way it did??
I wish death on all murderers. I hope they and all missing are still alive if they didnt murder anyone.
https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/man-with-connection-to-3-missing-women-arrested-in-tn-for-alleged-kidnapping/1861547266
Oh my
Why not take a sample of the parking garage? We’ve dug up half of Oakland County, Michigan looking for Jimmy Hoffa with no results.
I agree, Denise. I can’t understand why they’re dragging their feet, especially when the engineer offered to pay for it.
https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/man-with-connection-to-3-missing-women-arrested-in-tn-for-alleged-kidnapping/1861547266
I have lived in and around Springfield most of my 61 years. My opinion, it’s a great town, but this case has really bothered me since day one. The families of these women need closure….we ALL need closure! Praying for answers…..
I believe that the police are covering up for someone. Just read about how the investigation went. It was like the police chief was trying to Saratoga it from day one.
Wow. The mystery is freaky and awful. I can’t imagine what happened, and I suspect we’ll never find out. 🙁
Anna from Elements of Writing
It is really strange that all three women disappeared at once. I suspect that whoever kidnapped them used their love for each other against them. 🙁
I still have hope that one day they will be found.
I agree with you J H
sorry It’s JH
Thanks, Lillie! Welcome to my blog. 🙂
Sorry for spelling you name wrong.Your blogs are so awesome.I can’t believe the Springfield three were never found that’s so sad.
No worries! Thanks for the kind words. Agreed, it is extremely sad.
Does any of them have any type of relation to law enforcement. I cant see why they wouldnt take core sample. If hospital says its ok, and contractor us going to pay for it. What does it hurt. If only police are holding this up…what do they have to lose. Makes you wonder….political connections???
Interesting that the friend who first went to the house didn’t call the police, that it was the other mother who did.
And who was the man who called the house? Did they ever find out? Too bad there wasn’t any way to bring back that deleted call. Of course, it might have had nothing to do with anything – some crank call – but you never know….
The friend thought that the girls had just gone ahead to the water park without her (that’s where they were supposed to go that morning). While she thought it was odd, she didn’t immediately think there was anything wrong. Her boyfriend even cleaned up the broken glass, disturbing the come scene further.
And no, they never figured out who the guy was, unfortunately.
Who deletes somebody elses messages!!!!! Can u imagine a friend coming in your house playing ur messages and deleting them…
I believe it was an accident…she didn’t delete them intentionally.
I understand that it was an accident, J H, but what I don’t understand is why a person would go into another person’s house and listen to their messages. That seems a little inappropriate to me. I wouldn’t even do that at my MOTHER’S house.
The circumstances wouldn’t even matter.
The friend and boyfriend that first showed up behavior is suspicious as is a lot of the actions of the other friends that day . They contaminated the crime scene. Cleaning up the broken porch light… Who does that? Then not calling the police when you find an empty house, unlocked with broken glass on the porch.. Who assumes oh they must have left for the water park.. Really? I would assume.. hay something isnt right here, call the police… Then deleting the message, (even if it was an accident deleting it… who goes into someone elses home – no one is there and they play their answering machine messages.. I can understand that was done by the mother of the missing who was probably a wreck but geez…. Apparantley more friends then came over, went into the home and started cleaning things, moving items around.. I mean come on… Either the friends were desperately trying to cover their tracks and have more knowledge than they are letting on or they are the most incompetent idiots who think its a good idea to decide for themselves that the crime scene isnt important, lets tidy up..
I can’t see the friends being involved, but since you put it that way, their behaviour was a bit strange. However, the brain’s capability to rationalize anything is a powerful, powerful thing.
I cannot see how the friend who came over had anything to do with it, she was a fellow high school student who was to have gone to the water park with them that day. She and her boyfriend came over when they didn’t get an answer at the house, and while it may seem odd to some that they cleaned up the broken glass, I see it as trying to be helpful. As it was still early AM, they just assumed the friends had gone on to the water park or had changed plans and hadn’t told her. Nothing suspicous to me there, and not from an 18 year old friend of theirs. I find it unusual that the others did the dirty dishes in the sink, but not suspicious. I wouldn’t have, but they just probably thought that they, too were helpful. Yes, the erasure of the phone message was indeed a mistake. A reporter named Kathee Baird did an interview where she said she believes she knows who is responsible for their murder and why, but she did not give any further information, saying that she herself has been threatened. I don’t think we will ever have an answer to this one!
I know right! I thought the same thing, and cleaning up the broken light? Who does that? That was probably the best lead they could have had and will never know now thanks to them. AND going through the house, rummaging through their purses. I even read people cleaned, like wiped tables down, did dishes.. Its very suspicious that the last person to see them alive was the first person to come back in the morning after they were missing, cleans up the broken light, plays messages.. Answers the phone, goes through the purses.. They contaminated the crime scene so bad.. Thats not normal behavior..There could have been many leads and some answers if the police had been able to secure the scene.. If I went to a friends house and they weren’t home.. I wouldnt go inside, look through things, its really odd…
this is going to sound weird but i know the family that cleaned up the light bulb i was there with them the dad of the family cleaned it and a cop yelled at him. he said that there was a dna sample on the shards from the bulb. so foul play involving the dad is suspected by me. and the dad always seemed….a little off after the event
I’m considering looking into this case further, Vince. Are you willing to chat with me?
Did the cop actually say there was “a DNA sample”, way back in 1992? That doesn’t seem possible. Perhaps you’re confusing today’s terminology and technology with an officer yelling something more likely along the lines of, “Hey, there might be EVIDENCE there!”…indicating fingerprints, blood, or fibers. A 1992 Springfield cop was unlikely to have used lingo about DNA forensics, or even known about the specifics of the emerging technology.
It wasn’t until 1994, that the DNA Identification Act gave the FBI the authority to start a national DNA index to assist with solving crimes in the U.S. Before then, it was barely utilized; Touch DNA wouldn’t be available for another decade or so. The dad, whom you claim cleaned up the shards, would not have truly known what was meant by that command, other than by implication to leave it alone. How would you have known? As a witness to some of the cleanup, your statements may be important to the case. However, you must strive to be accurate with your recollections, as they’re apparently colored with today’s understanding and biases…
In 1992, casual friends and neighbors often cleaned up, cooked, and babysat for others who were known to be experiencing difficulties of some sort. Today the general public is more cautious, even paranoid, about involving themselves in other people’s business…or crossing into a potential crime scene. Perhaps the dad was just trying to be helpful, so nobody would get cut by the glass. Or he knew something more about the case. That’s where detectives take over; a credible tip or statement can make all the difference.
I don’t like the girls story at all. She comes to the house and sees broken glass and an open door and her boyfriend Micheal grabs a broom and decides to clean up but you say it was her Dad. She never mentions her dad being there but she comes to the conclusion from walking through the house the girls had taken there makeup off so she knows they slept there and not at her house.showing she isn’t dumb or just helping her story either way but then after she says the dog cinnamon was acting funny and seeing the purses and cigs and all the vehicles being there and them not there and the lewd sexual phone calls she says she came to the conclusion they must of went to the water park so she leaves doesn’t call police but cleans up a little also just to be nice. I don’t like her. Something stinks and she fumbles her words when recalling going to the house that morning her voice goes in and out of her normal pitch throughout telling the story.She is a woman and yet never gets emotional about the disappearance of her friends. She has like three or four nervous ticks going off in her face muscles when she is talking. The girls vehicles if they have been in evidence they should go over with a fine tooth comb because they probably didn’t even drive them there and they made reasons why the crime scene at the house was contaminated but they couldn’t tell you about the cars and If the broken glass is any hint the person or persons that did this probably werent all the way sober. I would assume they messed up somewhere else when staging this and you might get lucky in one of the vehicles. Another thing the only reason Stacy’s mom went and contaminated the scene further was after the same people sent her off to do so. Or maybe all this means nothing and the brother Bart or Cox or the ex and his pal did it but and they are under the hospital parking lot. One more thing she says her boyfriends name was Micheal?? It wasn’t the same Micheal clay that was an associate to Susie s ex boyfriend was it??? I would assume these kids ran in small groups or clicks.
Maybe she was nervous about telling her story, I certainly would be, if I was being interviewed on television about the mysterious disappearance of two of my friends and one of the friends’ mom. I mean, she was a teenager, after all, and that sort of thing would be make anyone but especially a young person, nervous. Sometimes “ticks” show up when we are nervous. I do not think she had anything to do with their disappearance. I do think it could be possibly (but not knowing her, I am saying “could be possible”) that she might have had an idea who would have been responsible as she knew the girls pretty well/
And I would not judge whether or not someone is emotional by how you, yourself would react in the same situation. Some people “sound” emotional, some use a monotone (especially if having to tell the same story again). You implicated that all women should sound and act the same when “being emotional” about something but that isn’t the case. I have a male friend who tears up at the slightest thing….unlike I do (I am a female).
That is quite interesting about the light bulb. You were there? I had never seen this before. I am most intrigued.
Interesting! For those of us who don’t know, what was the man’s name? I assume he was the father to the female friend who did all the suspicious cleaning and snooping. Perhaps she was protecting her father?
Nobody collected DNA in 92.
The process, developed by Jeffreys in conjunction with Peter Gill and Dave Werrett of the Forensic Science Service (FSS), was first used forensically in the solving of the murder of two teenagers who had been raped and murdered in Narborough, Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986.
WOW!
If the engineer offered to pay for the core sample, why not let him? It’s at least a lead.
The supposed lewd calls make you wonder if it was a neighbour, or someone with a bird’s eye view of the house who would know if someone entered.
Welcome back, Lisa! 🙂
The hospital will go ahead with the core sample if the police request it, which so far they haven’t. The cops don’t put much credence in the results of the engineer’s tests, for whatever reason. I believe they’ve had so many tips from psychics, etc., that they’ve grown a bit jaded.
You could be right about the caller. It’s definitely creepy!
The fact that there was a male caller who seemed to know when the friend was in the house really creeps me out. *shudder*
Part of me wants to believe that the three women decided to start a new life, and just disappeared. Typically though, that’s never what really happened…so I agree with everyone else: get the core sample!
Especially right before the two girls were supposed to begin a new chapter in their lives. Stacy had gotten into college and was really excited about it, and Suzie wanted to become a hairstylist like her mother. It would be strange for them to start new lives without their purses, credit cards, and cigarettes (apparently, Sherrill and Suzie were both chain smokers).
The obscene caller thing is creepy. It could have been the killer, or just a coincidence.
Well, JH, we know that killers often like to inject themselves into the investigation and that may be sort of what accounts for the creepy phone call. He may have been reveling in the event. Because of this fact, it seems that it could be prudent to review the individual parts of the investigation as well as newspaper articles. We would, SURELY, benefit in checking to see if anyone has consistently shown up in the investigation. In addition, I wonder if there may have been more than one perpetrator although it makes sense that he probably controlled them with their love and concern for the safety of one another.
Have they gotten the phone records and found the call that came in at 8am when the friend was there? I does sound like someone was watching and maybe waiting for the disappearance to be discovered and might have known them since they had the #. And they would’ve had to have a view of the house to know that she was there.
Agreed.
I believe the phone records were perhaps not helpful or so I have been led to believe that.
I have theorized that the door was deliberately left unlocked in the hope the crime scene would be compromised.
A police officer who worked the case told me that Suzie’s side door key was missing from her key chain. Since that was also a dead bolt they could have left from the side door. Had they left from the front door and locked it They would have had to have a key.
The broken globe may have been an invitation to enter the house. Had the door been locked, the crime scene may never have been entered until much later in the day. This suggests to me the perp or perps probably knew police procedure.
Hi Richard, the ‘missing key’ info is very interesting as I don’t think that info was released to the public. I wonder how LE knew she had a key to begin with, however?
I agree, B Lawson! That still makes me think that the perpetrator was basking in the glory of his work. Richard Wendt, many of these types of people will call attention to their handiwork in an effort to see a reaction to what they have done. The broken globe, as you have said, may have been the perpetrator’s ploy to call attention to the scene sooner so that he would still be close when it was discovered. Just some thoughts I had!!!
Ooooh this is way creepy….
I do agree that they should definitely check the parking garage… 🙁
I agree, Lisa. I’m not sure what the hold-up is, especially if the police don’t have to pay for it.
The police holding this up is soooo strange. Medical building parking garage…who has access to when concrete will be poured? City official?
Hospital official? Somebody with power and influence anyway…do police not want to find them? I know it sounds odd but not digging up garage when theres legit evidence something may be there is even more odd
Ed, could also be that they just don’t want to be bothered. There’s a lot of that going around these days!
only just watched the doco…few questions tho….if if was the kidnapper who rang the house that morning…doesnt make sense..how would they know someone would be there…and it said the friend who first arrived at house slept until nine…but here it says the call came in at eight…and they should be checking the car park…they have nothing to lose in doing so
The police look like they’re covering something up if they don’t at least ask for the core sample. If nothing is there, then fine, move on to other possibilities, but what if? That poor mother (McCall), what hell she must be going through. Her daughter was probably an innocent victim. I think Sherrill was the target, maybe someone from her past, or who had a problem with her son. I hope they find some answers for Stacy’s mom’s sake.
I agree, Mary. I’m really not sure where their reluctance is coming from, especially when someone else is willing to cover the cost. There have even been petitions started to convince the police to take the next step!
My guess is that someone was actually stalking Suzie, if not her scary ex-boyfriend, than someone else. And I know Janis McCall thinks her daughter was most likely the target. So many theories!
I firmly believe it’s that Cox guy. Supposably he was around the area prior to their disappearance I can’t remember if he was working with a company building the garage or contracted to do some work for them or what but I know he had a uniform that they said would make him look like possibly a utility person reading meters which would have given him access to the house nobody would look twice at that. And he had access to the parking garage while it was in construction. I know the police have tried to discredit that saying the parking garage was not under construction at the time of their disappearance. But I have read more evidence pointing to it being under construction when they disappeared. I have been helping us someone following the Curious reporter story about a year ago and my thought was, im thinking that concrete would break with a couple of slamss from a sledgehammer. Last time I was in Springfield 2 years ago I even went to the location and checked it out the concrete is not as strong as one would first think. I didn’t break it or anything butt he spent a significant amount of time in that area studying it. My idea is you park there go into the dark corner bang the hammer a couple times. By the time anyone could see it or report it or security could get there the ground would already be tore up enough for a core sample or even to show any plastic that they would be wrapped in. Last I checked with Municipal laws and would be a destruction of property charge which is a misdemeanor. After seeing the results of the ground penetrating radar and then doing extensive research on ground-penetrating radar I am convinced those three women are under there. Not a hundred percent convinced of her put them there but I’m sure that’s where they are. Sure enough in my mind that I’ve seriously considered getting a big sledgehammer and just doing it myself and I’ve had some support from people following the Curious reporter’s story as well. This is gone on long enough the police are not ever going to approach the hospital, for whatever reason. It’s time to get this case out of the cold case files. Finding the bodies doesn’t mean it will be solved the closer for the family would be a huge huge step. Even if it does mean having a destruction of property misdemeanor on my record. I’m honestly surprised the mother has not gone and done it herself. I don’t know if anyone could keep me away if it was my child that I thought was under that concrete. I’m no way insinuating this is what I have planned to do it was just a wild thought. And if you ask me a damn good idea
You are right that it was Cox, I myself pick up on things and what I got was a young man with dark hair looked about late 20’s. I also get his focus was on Suzie. I also get that it was daylight out when they left that house.
Anyway I then seen a picture of Cox and it was the person I seen. I get he kind of staked things out for a while before he did it, like I said his focus was on Suzie. Sad thing is none of this is going to convict him or locate their bodies.
I inadvertently just deleted my whole reply. But the gist of it was that I’ve looked at the concrete it’s not as strong as one might think a few good slams of a sledgehammer could do the job and it would be a destruction of property misdemeanor charge unless the laws have changed in the past year. There is enough evidence to say that they are there. Not only did Cox have a uniform supposably he was seen in the area posing as a utility person which nobody would think twice about. He had access to the house possibly very close access if he pretended to read the meters. Also there’s some evidence that he had connections with the company and contractors building the garage at the time. The police dispute that the garage was under construction at the time of disappearance. So they are not going to look into this. But there’s plenty of evidence to say that was under construction when they disappeared and there’s evidence linking Cox to having access to supplies needed and the area needed for body disposal. And he’s pretty much admitted to it. I’ve also seen the ground penetrating radar results and then did extensive research on ground-penetrating radar. I am convinced those women are under that concrete. I’m not convinced to put them there but I’m convinced thats they’re resting spot. So my question is why hasn’t anyone done this? By the time anyone could see reports or be caught doing it they would have already broken up the ground enough to get the evidence needed yes that can put any case against the killer in Jeopardy if they can stay with the evidence was collected unlawfully but none the less it would give a mother closure an answer a lot of questions. I know if it was my child that I thought was one of their hell or high water couldn’t keep me away from breaking up concrete but I understand the mothers and reasonings for not doing it.
Robert Cox worked at an underground line locating company by the name of SM&P.
Janice McCall believes her daughter Stacy was the target??
Hi Richard, do you have any idea why she would think her daughter was the target? Because I truly think Sherrill was the target and the girls were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hi, JH,
My first time here on your blog. WHy does Mrs.McCall think her daughter was the one being stalked? Everyone else I have read seems to think it is Ms. Streeter, and that the girls were “collateral”, sadly. Excellent blog. I honestly think a bit too much significance is given to the broken lamp cover (to it’s being swept up). I could easily see doing that if I arrived at a friend’s to see where she was and was maybe expecting her to come back to meet me as we had planned to meet at her home at that time…and I have a couple of friends who would definitely do the same for me, if they saw a broom handy. Can you elaborate about “the drug theory”, and why it exists, (why anyone thinks Ms. Streeter may have been involved in drugs) thanks in advance![
Thanks for stopping by, Lynn. I’ll try to respond to your questions once things calm down a bit here. Feel free to nudge me.
I think that Sherrill was the target, also. Kathee Baird, the reporter who has looked into the case and lives there, says that Sherrill was the target and that the girls, unfortunately were collateral (of the worst kind).
I wonder if they could try reflection seismography? I’m not sure if they would be able to trigger some small explosions in (or within close proximity to) the parking garage safely, but it might allow them to see if there is anything buried there.
Hmm…not sure, Mark, but it’s an interesting idea. I think the hospital is located right in the middle of town, though, so it might be tricky.
I still think taking the core sample is their best bet.
That part of Missouri can be prone to the small earthquakes large tornadoes. I’m not wishing either those on the area but if one happens you can bet I’m going to be down there in that parking lot, under those stairs, “assessing” the damage to the concrete and the ground below it
They should check the parking garage. Either get some answers or eliminate it.
I completely agree. I really don’t understand what the hold-up is, especially since the engineer has agreed to pay for it.
From what I’ve heard in interviews with the police, they just don’t trust the science.
I wonder if it’s just the thought of the inconvenience.
I was watching old Dateline episodes and saw this one recently. Or maybe it was 20/20. Either way, it’s just spooky. There’s something haunting about people who just suddenly vanish without a trace. It’s amazing how many times it happens. Bodies are never found, nobody’s ever charged…the people just disappear. Spooky!
It is super creepy, Stephanie. To think that hundreds of people go missing every single day and that very few are found is mind-blowing, and not in a good way!
Just watched this episode on 20/20 Investigation Discovery tonight and wondering why it’s 2016 and in 2010 story said police was cooperating with digging up s portion of the hospital garage ????
I agree, people vanishing without a trace and not a clue left behind is indeed spooky. Just so bizzare.
That’s crazy. Half of me wonders if they went into hiding or witness protection. Sure would be awesome to learn the end of the mystery, eh?
Yes, I would love to know what happened to these women, or to Elisa Lam or Julie Weflen. These unsolved mysteries really get to me!
I could see Suzie and Sherrill going into the witness-protection program, but not Stacy. She had no reason to.
Why would Sherrill and/or Suzie have a reason for going into the witness protection program,, just curious, thanks in advance
Why would they have a reason for going into the witness protection program, do you believe? Thanks.
I’d just do the sample. If it ends up not being human remains, the hospital is eliminated. If it is… shouldn’t it be worth it to dig it up, if only to find out who’s buried there?
I agree, Misha…at least the sample wouldn’t destroy too much of the garage’s floor and shouldn’t be that expensive or that extensive an undertaking.
I guess the hold-up is that the police don’t trust the engineer’s science, and that science, along with rumour, is the only thing pointing at the garage. Part of me suspects they might have given up.
I think the police just don’t want to expend the manpower or the effort. Just my opinion.
First of all let me say how brave you are for not giving up the fight. OK I live in the UK When I heard the story my curiosity got me thinking. The church and graveyard were yet another place mentioned that connects some suspects. What about the underground working place of that vile creature? Also I would completely agree the three anomalies found, and the police refusal to dig a small hole in the car park very strange and a little suspicious.
I’m still thinking I think there must be more than one accomplice!! A professional and the other guy in prison. I’m speculating of course but maybe these people know each other through the church.. The professional he spoke of maybe a police officer? More speculation not scandal. If I were in charge they are avenues that I would chase. And the truck that a witness saw where is that?
Thanks for your comments, and welcome to my blog! This case is really strange. There are so many unanswered questions. I suspect the police are holding a lot back, in case they need to question a suspect one day.
I concur about the “professional” as a real possibility worth exploring.
I have taught forensic science for well over twenty years. To say the technology of ground penetrating radar is not an acceptable. Science is ridiculous it has been used by necrosearch with success in several cases. Not to use it in this cases borders on incompetence by the investigators. My feelings are that something is rotten in Springfield and the police are not doing enough. Why?
Good question, Monica. I thought this situation was quite strange, especially given that the engineer himself was willing to pay for it. I have no idea why the police aren’t pushing the issue.
Thanks for commenting! I’ve always been extremely interested in forensic science–sounds like you have a great career!
The investigators would need a search warrant in order to dig for a core sample. Maybe the hesitation is with the D.A. or finding a Judge willing to sign it off on it.
I’d look in to who ‘shares Tee time’ *wink-wink* at the local country club with each other. It’s easy for the head of the Hospital’s legal department to agree to the procedure if they already know a search warrant will not be given… or, would they still agree to proceed with the core sample retrieval if everything were privately funded?
Also, I’d check to see if there’s any connection between the construction company, or its employees, city surveyors, any city worker that handles construction permits, Hospital executives that knew of the construction… Basically anyone from the City, the Hospital, Construction company, D.A’s, Judges, police officers, or investigators that may be related, went to school with, was in College with, etc. any of the main suspects… especially those that may have had pending legal issues that were quashed due to certain eyewitnesses disappearing, that were supposed to testify against them….
Really good points, Anna. This case is definitely worthy of more investigation.
Thanks so much for commenting!
I just don’t get it. My mind is blown. I’ve been following this story sincell I was like 9 I think. I was scared. I sold candy bars door to door all the time from age 11-15 and I was always terrified I would get kidnapped. I did get rapped but never seen the man’s face and was told if I spoke about this he would kill my family and me. It was when I was an adult when I spoke out about the rap. Anyways back to the three women. Why? Why not put this parking garage to rest? Either they find themore or they dont. And possibly find someone else missing under there. It boggles my mind. If it was there child or wife or friend of there’s I’m sure they would want to start digging and get answers. It’s truly sad. People don’t care until it happens to them. Then they expect to get help and try everything they can. Also the police can’t stop the hospital from digging themselves. They must not care as well. They can obviously do it and check it out. They haven’t been found. No trace of them. So why not try. I bet they are there. I pray that one day they will look and dig. Let’s put this to rest. I, just so bothered by this. I thought about the three girls today and started looking up what I could to see if anything goes had changed or if anyone had agreed to look there. But nope. Still a mystery. It’s really bothering me.
So sorry to hear you were raped, Sondra. That’s terrible. I hope the man who did it was punished.
Wow! What a story! How scary that girl must have been in that house when that creepy call came in..it had to be someone who knew them and was watching the house. Freaky!
It is pretty scary; I agree. There’s a lot about this case that is disturbing and creepy. It definitely needs a closer look.
Welcome to my blog, Shawna. Thanks for commenting!
WHAT ABOUT THE HALL BROTHERS AND THEIR COUSIN ?
How can they not trust Science. If everyone felt that way, do u know how many cases wouldn’t have been solved today. It’s bc of Forensic Science that a lot of cases r solved. And because of Science, look how far technology has become today.
I completely agree with you, Missie. I have no idea what their objections are, but it’s pretty frustrating.
Thanks for commenting!
I was wondering about the message that was accidentally deleted and the creepy caller that called the morning the friend came to check on them…this is a given but I have not heard mention of it yet…couldn’t the police somehow get a list of numbers that called the house around that time? And find out a little more about those mysterious callers? This may have been done already and just not mentioned…just weird that when the callers/messages are mentioned it just seems to stop there like there is nothing else that can be done from there about them. And if the tape was saved from the deleted messages couldn’t they investigate further with today’s technology? I am not trying to be a detective here by any means and I know not ALL the information found in an ongoing case is exposed to the world….so maybe these things were investigated and nothing came of them. It is such a sad and frustrating case…I can only imagine how the families must feel each and every day!
Interesting questions, Beth. I wasn’t able to find anything further about the phone calls and the answering-machine tape. One would assume the police got the phone records in the course of their investigation, but since they have balked at investigating the garage, who knows?
I really doubt anyone has tried to retrieve the message from the tape using today’s technology, but that’s an excellent point. Hopefully someone starts digging into this cold case. While I don’t necessarily think the person who called was the killer, maybe whoever it was knows something. It’s worth looking into, I agree.
I really don’t understand the reluctance by the police to dig the spot. It’s not going to cause the garage to collapse! These families have been in hell for 23yrs for God’s sake….If it was there family member they’d be calling in every favor to find out! Three women just vanished my God. You turn over every stone to find them dead or alive. To many ways science has evolved to discount the expert. This man uses this same science to find bodies at ground zero it worked then why would it not 10yrs later. Wouldn’t it get better?
SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT GET OUT OF YOUR FEELINGS AND DIG THE HOLE!! You’ve not given a real reason not to. Not trusting science sounds ridiculous we rely on science everyday!
I completely agree with you, Jetuan. Everything should be done to find those women. I have no idea why the police are so reluctant in this case, as it sounds like it would only require a small sample to find out either way.
Thanks so much for commenting!
Check out the local gossip about this case on Topix in Springfield. Interesting to read what the locals believe happened, and why there’s a cover up.
Hi, Topix no longer exists by the time I am reading this, would you mind posting what was said there? I would be very interested as I have never seen it. thanks.
I moved to Springfield 6 days after these women disappeared. After 8 months living there and working in the bars and running around with the wrong crowd the stories told by certain parties are that the mother was a drug whore with her daughter quickly following in her footsteps. The mom was in a deal that went wrong she saw something she should not have. The two girls walked in on her getting a “hotshot” and thus they had to be dealt with also. Mccall was in the wrong place wrong time wrong friend. Springfield cops have been told this story several times have tried to pursue but there is no evidence for them. Springfield is a rough little town look into other unsolved crimes there. A plumber shot to death after he ran over a motorcyclist while drunk, dude shot in the BACK three times behind a tat shop, gun found in a dumpster 100-200 feet away yet ruled a sucicide. Guy found dead behind strip club at corner of glenstone and sunset. Shot in head. Tough town, crooked, corupt, or plain stupid police. But hey their DUI taskforce is nationally considered one of the best and has one of the highest per capita arrest records. Moral of the story dont drink and drive while doing crimes in Springfield and you should be fine and get away with it.
I don’t know if I believe that they were “drug whores.” From everything I’ve read and watched about this case, and certainly their faces and skin didn’t look like what you see on habitual drug users, the mom was a successful business owner and her daughter was doing extremely well in school. Kind of hard to keep that up if you’re into serious drugs.
Stop spreading around false rumors. I have lived in Springfield for 39 years now, and most of what you stated is False. And strip club on sunset and glenstone? hmm, must be invisible. People like you saying the mom was a drug whore blah blah, is what made this case unsolvable. They wasted a way too much time on people spreading rumors, and the police fully admit that! Opinions are fine, we all have them, but when you are spreading false rumors and making them sound like facts, you are part of the problem!
That is obviously a bunch of BS! Iif. Those girls walked in on something there would be disarray and things knocked around. All reports are that the beds were slept in and ther where clothes neatly folded that one of the girls wore the night before and the tv’s were on.
Is that you Mike Henson? Or is it your friend? The one that talks bullshit about Suzie.
Wow, that is amazing about that town! Do you still reside there? Sounds like a place I would not want to live! Thanks.
I don’t see any reason not to dig up the stupid concrete. It is replaceable. .. there should be no question of “if they should ” just when. This makes me sick.. what is wrong with people??? My heart hurts for these families.
I agree. I have no idea what the hold-up is.
My whole family has lived here for multiple generations and graduated from Kickapoo and Parkview before that. I don’t believe that they were drug whores either, or that Springfield is crooked town. Don’t believe every piece of gossip you hear and certainly don’t spread rumors about people that aren’t here to defend themselves. Back to the fact at hand, I agree that they should at least check the parking garage and maybe we should set up a group if many of us are here or in the surrounding areas to try and get the police involved more. Or at least open the Cold case back up. I was reading about this serial killer that has crossed the USA and killed many people, he was actually in our area heading to Arkansas in 1992. It might be worth a shot to have him looked into. I don’t know, it is probably a stretch but I have children and I couldn’t imagine what this mother is going through.
I agree, Ashley. Thanks for weighing in as a resident of the town. I have no idea where that “drug whore” accusation came from–I’ve certainly never heard anything like that before. And no matter how people support their families or choose to live their lives, they don’t deserve to simply vanish like this. From all accounts, these were successful, happy women, but even if they weren’t, they still deserve to be found.
Is there any outcry in Springfield these days? I wonder if it’s possible to start a petition there and circulate it on the Internet. Social media can be a powerful tool.
Having just watched the related episode on the program ‘Disappeared’ I google the case, as there is a 4 year difference from the program to today, to find out the update on what they had found at the car park. To my absolute amazement I’ve just read that the police are yet to pursue this line of enquiry!!! I work for the police here in England and for the life of me cannot understand why the people have not gone any further with this. Totally baffles me – considering that from what I can work out, they have EXTREMELY limited avenues of potential evidence, suspects, motive etc – why would you not even look into this area. It may come to nothing, but they will not be losing anything and at least then they can move forward in some direction. 23 years these poor women have been away from their families. That’s longer than the two girls were even present at home. Surely that’s the biggest thing in this whole tragic story. 3 sets of loved ones have no answers. Thoughts are with you all. And thank you JH for keeping this blog open and updated.
You’re very welcome, KG, and thanks for commenting! I have no idea what the hold up is…as an investigative journalist, I would love to call them and ask, but I doubt they would be honest with me. Still, perhaps it’s worthy of an update.
If there’s any stories in your area that would make good posts, please let me know. I’m always looking for ideas.
I have just watched this in disappeared this morning. Gosh. I hope that they do look under the car park just to rule it out if nothing else. The families must be traumatised and that would at least help them with a but if closure if it was anything.
I thought it was strange the first girl didn’t notify the police. I really hope they are able to know what happened to their loved ones soon.
Thanks for commenting, Claire, and welcome to my blog! I hope they find out soon as well. It’s such a sad and creepy story.
Someone asked me if anything new was found out about the disappearance. That’s how I found your website. I live in Springfield also and lived two streets over from victims at the time of the disappearance. Just wondering if the police really took a good look at the ex boyfriend. After the disappearance of the three women, there were still graves being vandalized. Is it possible that the ex boyfriend and friend could have just added an extra body in the graves?
Good question, SS, and welcome to my blog. I’m sure the police investigated all available leads, except for that parking garage.
id say just do the sample without the police concerns….. what does it matter what they think…. are they even trying anymore
Welcome to my blog, George, and thanks for commenting. It’s a good question. I can’t see the police letting this case drop, but there has to be some reason they won’t pursue the parking-garage lead.
Maybe if someone could get a petition going and get the hospital in on it to get an independent core sample but once you have the ok take it to a local judge and ask for the police to be present incase something is found they can take it into evidence. I wouldn’t do it without police presence though, you dont want them to claim it as tainted.
I saw this at ‘disappeared’ a few days ago. I think its horrible. But I really dont understand why they wouldnt check the parkinggarage? Like its not by coinsidence to find three figures under the ground thats almost the same size, in a place where people called in about. they really should check it out. They would have wanted it if it was their family. Its definately a good lead. the families are probably thinking every single day “what if they are there in the garage?”. and many, many other people are wondering. They really should dig in there, especially if that man were willing to pay. It has gone so many years now, they should take every lead they get and this is a very good one.
I agree, Jonna. I have no idea what the hold-up is with this case. Strongly considering phoning and asking…I wonder if anyone would talk to me?
I am also from Springfield, I have to disagree with Ashley. Springfield is very crooked town now and always has been. I do not believe that we will ever know what happened to these three ladies. Springfield is a very rough place and filled with drugs. No one involved in this case will ever talk, they are to afraid of who is responsible. I know a lot of people in town that get nervous and do not want to know anything about this case!
That’s really too bad, JJ, but thanks for weighing in. It’s always great to hear from people who live in the town. It’s a good sign, though, that this case is getting so much renewed attention.
I think you are probably right, sad to say. I doubt it will ever be solved. I am sorry to hear that your town has become that sort of place but it seems to be happening a lot the past few years in various towns, things in general seem to be rough these days.
From Florence (Italy). Heard about this sad story on tv. 23 years missing… that’s crazy. I’m sure they are under the garage.
That man… Cox, is still alive? Very disturbing man! Is he in death row, really? I don’t like death penalty but… sometime… crimes are so evil that I forget it.
My love to these poor girls families!
Thanks for your kind words, Kishanna. I’m going to Florence for the first time next April! Any tips?
I believe Cox is still alive, but I couldn’t find any reliable information. I plan to speak to one of the cops assigned to the case soon. Watch my newsletter for updates.
Are there legal issues tying the police to the parking garage and stopping a private source from taking the core sample ? If not,why couldn’t someone take the core sample with the hospital,s permission since the police don’t seem interested? Obviously it’s not important enough to be considered part of the crime scene or the police would’ve checked it already if they are covering every angle of the case. If those ladies are no longer with us may their souls rest in peace!
Thanks for commenting, James. The last I’d heard, the hospital said they were okay with the sample *if* the police approved it and asked them. Hence the stalemate.
Thanks, if there are remains there, with all the people missing everywhere you’d think LE or anyone else would want to know who or what was there. If it’s not the 3 ladies then who or what is it? Has there been a movie made about this case? Food for thought.
I don’t believe there has been a movie, James, but I’m definitely going to do a follow-up post if I can get the police to talk to me. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
You’re welcome-maybe someday all the efforts you and others put into this will pay off. Those ladies deserve better than this.Thanks for listening and please keep us posted.
I will for sure, James. Thanks for the kind words.
I would think the hospital would only do it if the police were involved because no one would want to do something that would mess with the evidence if they are buried there.
This case drives me crazy. For years I’ve kept hoping for it to be solved. For some reason I thought they DID dig up the garage and found nothing. .. but it must have been another case.
Can’t the community petition to dig up the garage…..I don’t get it..it angers me
That’s a good idea, Allison. I’d be surprised if this hasn’t been tried already.
Come on, open the area of the hospital parking garage indicated. I believe the hospital can afford to repair it. And by doing that it will answer some questions. Either they’re there or not. If a second independent specialist dealing with ground penetration is needed for an opinion then do it! Come on hospital…step up to the plate. Settle the mtstery… One way or the other! This is rediculous to wait this long.
I agree, BLS. I’m not sure what the hold up is, but I’m going to try to find out.
Thanks for commenting!
https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/man-with-connection-to-3-missing-women-arrested-in-tn-for-alleged-kidnapping/1861547266
Oh my
All of these years and they still haven’t dug up that parking garage! ! That makes no sense! !
I agree, Carolyn. It’s extremely frustrating. Thanks so much for reading and commenting.
Not sure if anyone is still checking up on this website but my dad has always been obsessed with this case. We lived in a different part of Missouri at this time well it was actually two yrs before I was born. Anyways, my parents took a trip to Arizona to see the grand canyon. My dad says he saw those three girls at a rest stop in Arizona or very close to it with a man and they were all in a van and they seemed to be clearly upset and what not. But from what my dad says he didn’t have a chance to intervene they were gone so quick. At the time he didn’t know they were missing he later saw it on the news and recognized them. I’m not sure if he ever tried to tell the police this or not I just think that maybe they haven’t looked any where but Missouri and they could be far away. My dad’s took me past where they lived and it of course has new occupants. Probably a few over the years.
Hi Alex,
I’m here and I’m very interested. Do you think your dad would do an interview with me, either by email or over the phone?
Thanks so much for commenting! Sorry it took me so long to respond. This month has been crazy!
It’s okay. My dad passed away in 2012. I think in a sense he felt guilty like he could have helped in some way. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful. I just have never understood how some one gets away with kidnapping 3 people.
I’m so sorry to hear, Alex. I hope he did tell his story to the police when he had the chance.
Sadly, this kind of tragedy (the kidnapping) happens far too often.
I have read over and over that they were buried at Cox South “while the garage was under construction.” I worked there from 1998-2002 and they had not even began construction on it. Try nailing down a few areas that were actually under construction in 1992…
I hope these 3 women’s still alive. I saw a t.v show today in spanish. I looked up a the internet and find out was real case. My prayers are with this family….
Thanks for visiting, Diana. It’s a lovely thing to hope, but I’m afraid the chances are probably slim.
I appreciate your comment.
I was born and raised in Springfield. I was 12 years old when the women disappeared. It made an impression on me. I remember that summer wherever you went you would see their missing persons posters. The van parked in front of the police station. The endless rumours. Which, btw, I have never heard anywhere that Sherrill was a ‘drug whore’. I do tend to agree that Stacey was in the wrong place at the wrong time and wasn’t an intended victim.
Springfield is a college town, home to MSU, Drury Univ and several other smaller colleges. To say that Springfield is a ‘crooked’ little town is just untrue. It’s population is about 500,000 (currently) of course it has its share of drugs but it certainly isn’t a defining characteristic. There are rough parts of town just like any city.
The area where Sherrill lived is right off one of the major streets in Springfield. Small single family houses. Certainly not a bad area.
I think part of the issue with digging up the area in the parking garage is because the Cox family is a prominent name in the area and they don’t want their name to be connected to this. They have a lot of money therefore a lot of sway. That’s just a personal theory.
My 12 year old self would have never believed that 23 years later we would still have no idea what happened to Suzy, Stacey and Sherrill.
Thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences, Casey. I can only imagine how frightening it must have been to have something like this happen in your hometown when you were a child.
And thank you for setting the record straight. I haven’t seen any mention of Sherrill being involved in drugs, and I didn’t care for that accusation either.
I hope the Cox family’s money won’t keep these poor families from getting some closure.
With their being no sign of forced entry into the home, no broken/open windows, no kicked-in doors and none of the locks on the doors or windows were busted, I have to believe the suspects were willingly let in the house. If that’s the case I have to believe it was someone they knew or at least one of them knew. It’s crazy to think Janelle almost went with Suzie and Stacy to the Delmar Street home but her mom said no. If she had gone… it’s chilling to think this might be a case if four missing women.
I’m sure Janelle is haunted by that, Dan. I know I would be!
I agree one of the attackers was known to the women – or at least charmed his way inside somehow.
does anyone know if they looked into the older ladies ex husband…they had only recently divorced.
Actually, I’m pretty sure Suzy and Stacey were planning on spending the night at Janelle’s house that night so they could all go to White Water in Branson the next morning but Janelle had a lot of family in town due to the graduation and there wasn’t room so Suzi and Stacey decided to go to Suzi’s. Stacey’ s mom was pretty upset the next morning because Stacey hadn’t let her know there was a change in plans. I don’t recall hearing that Janelle ever planned on going with them. If the original plan of Suzi and Stacey staying at Janelle’s hadn’t fallen through the girls would most likely be here today. That may be why the house was targeted that night- the perp was expecting Sherrill to be there alone.
No forced entry. The light bulb on the front porch was broken, maybe on purpose? The dog was very nervous and upset the next day when Janelle arrived. One theory is that Sherrill let Cinnamon out in the back to go to the bathroom, the perp used the dog as an excuse to knock on the front door and gained entry that way.
The cars in the driveway were not parked as they usually were. Were the women subdued then the perp used their keys to move the cars so they could get theirs close to the back door? Or was the perp already there forcing Suzi to park in a different spot? Really wish the cars and keys had been dusted for prints. There was a back door entrance that Suzi used as to not wake her mother. Maybe she just forgot to lock it and the perp came right in. It’s possible the girls were followed home although I tend to not think so. The girls had enough time to get ready for bed, maybe even go to bed. Stacey’s clothes were there. She borrowed a night shirt which was most likely all she was wearing when abducted.
Sigh. So many questions, possibilities and what if’s.
For the Hospital garage problem. At MIT they are studying how to see through concrete. They arrive to identify an alive human but perhaps it is possible also to understand if there is something else underground. However is always possible to ask them.
This is the link if it can be useful (I hope):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3292246/Forget-X-rays-walls-using-WI-FI-Device-captures-silhouettes-identify-people-stood-CONCRETE.html
This case has hounted me as well here in Finland after seeing the episode on tv. I am very suprised that her (Staycy’s )Mother is not doing more to find out if they are burried under the hospital garage. Maybe she and police have more information than we? I would be furiously trying to dig the place to at least rule that oportunity out if I was her. But maybe there isn’t much she can do.
Correct me but weren’t there a man who said he would reveal the secrets of this case after his mother passes away? I think it was on the episode and he was already in jail.
After all, this is a very mysterious case and I would love to get answers. Hard to be optimistic about any new clues after all this time but I guess there is hope until we know. Wish I could support the families somehow. I can only imagine what these 23 years have been like. Truly a tragic case.
Perhaps new investigator could bring some fresh thoughts and see the evidence differently to open up the case again and solve it. Anyway, my thoughts are with the families and friends. Please keep updating!
Thank you for starting this blog, JH. I’m glad people are keeping this case in their thoughts even 23 years later. Also, how can I get updates on your interviews?
Thanks so much, Dan! That’s very kind of you to say. If you subscribe to my “updates by email” it will tell you whenever I have a new blog post. (Link posted below)
http://jhmoncrieff.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=9dc98c0e937fed80bc6abe28d&id=edb6466b12
Personally, I don’t believe those three women are burried under the hospital garage because I don’t see how the perpetrator could have done it without being noticed by anyone. It’s just impossible. First, he would have to keep the three bodies in a huge freezer for a year (work at the hospital garage started a year after the disappearance). Then he would have to bring them in a car with a trunk big enough to fit them in and go to the hospital, without being noticed. Dig a hole large and deep enough to place them in. The digging alone would have taken a lot of time and efforts, and on the top of that he would have to be careful enough not to make too much noise while digging to avoid being heard. And then go to his car back and forth three times to carry the bodies one by one in order to place them in the hole. Then cover the bodies with dirt in a way that the construction workers coming in the morning wouldn’t have noticed that the place had been disturbed during the night…
Try to imagine that picture in your head and you’ll see that it is just impossible to be achieved with success by anyone, especially in the middle of a big city like Springfield, it’s not the countryside.
There are a couple possibilities.
A) the perp was working as or for a construction worker.
B) the 3 could have been kept alive and not killed right away
C) this location could have been avoided altogether and a more convenient one may have been selected. I myself am going to look into construction projects that may have been going on or around the are at the time.
P.s. I have lived in Springfield almost all my life.
I would think the lack of construction in that spot makes it all the more likely that they were buried there, and then the spot was leveled and covered with concrete later. I’m wondering, does anyone know who the first people were to begin suggesting that the women were buried under the Cox parking garage? I’m very curious; from where did that suggestion come?
A guy admitted it. I want to say his last name was Cox and that’s just a coincidence. For the life of me I cannot find the link to the story but a reporter from down there that hired the guy to do the ground penetrating radar, she puts it in her article a bunch of times. I’m on my phone and my tablet simultaneously searching to find the link…
i think her name is Kathee Baird….I may have it spelled incorrectly.
I was having a conversation with Larry Hall about a girl he said he and an accomplice took from Chester, Illinois. Her name was Paulette Webster. She vanished in September of 1988. When I asked Larry where she was, he replied “she was either placed in the Mississippi River, or buried in the Mark Twain Forest in Missouri.” I had never mentioned the MTF in my book or to Larry. Her offered that to me. Then in the next sentence of the letter, he said “there are a number of girls buried there.” When he called not long after, I asked what that number was. He replied “five.” Can you tell me what towns they were from? “Three of them were from Springfield,” was his reply. Larry said the other two were from small towns and he did not remember the names. He also said he had two accomplices with him when they took the S3. I have talked to all three of these men. A family member recounted to me that Larry and accomplices went to Battleground for the 130th anniversary re-enactment of the Civil War Battle of Wilson’s Creek in 1991. That is documented in the records of their re-enactment group. The family member also told me Larry and accomplices returned the next summer in the dark teal van that was Larry’s killing machine. We have a witness who identified one of the accomplices as driving a dark, windowless van away from the S3 abduction site that night. I believe Larry DeWayne Hall and the other two men took the S3, and they were subjected to the same treatment as more than 30 other women and girls. Springfield police supposedly interviewed Larry Hall and dismissed him as a wannabe. Cops in Marion first thought that too, until Larry was convicted in the Roach kidnapping and murder. Larry is in federal prison for kidnapping Jessica Roach of Georgetown, Illinois. The other two men live free in Wabash, Indiana, Larry’s home town.
Hmm…that’s a great leader, Christopher. Thanks for sharing. Are you going to follow up?
I do remember a couple other disappearances at thst time. A convenience store clerk, and a pregnant woman taken from a grocery store parking lot while on the payphone….
BINGO !!!!!
HIS BRO HAS VANISHED AFTER WIFES DEATH ?
Hi Christopher! The story sounds intriguing but I think the Springfield Police went to the prison Larry Hall is in to interview him. They asked him several questions regarding the case and there were many inaccuracies on Larry’s part although he did pass a polygraph. I just don’t see how Larry could have possibly the house on 1717 Delmar Street would have had three women in it who were there by themselves. I guess there are many questions on this. Did he just randomly select that house? Remember Suzie and Stacy kept changing their plans that evening. They were going to sleep in a motel near the waterpark they were going to the next morning, then they scrapped that idea and decided to stay at Janelle’s house. When there were too many people at her house, Suzie and Stacy made a last minute decision to go and spend the night at Suzie’s home on Delmar. There is no way Larry Hall and his accomplices could have known that (unless they were following/stalking them). However, one thing that supports your argument is there was a witness who saw a person hanging around the area near the home and gave Police and a sketch artist the information. The sketch artist’s pic does strongly resemble Larry Hall’s brother. There is also the description of the van but many many different witnesses reported a van and they gave conflicting accounts about the color/ description of the van. Don’t forget the woman who saw a van turning around in her driveway at 6 am the morning the 3 women disappeared. She claims Suzie was the driver of the van and she heard a male voice in the back round say, “don’t do anything stupid.” Would Larry have let or forced one of the victims to drive the van? I would ask him more questions if you get the chance. There was no forced entry into the home and we have the shattered glass from the globe on the front porch. A lot of people speculate the suspects removed the globe and smashed on the porch to alert someone from inside the house and once they opened the door the suspects forced their way inside. I would ask him about how he gained entry and how he came upon the women to begin with. Otherwise he could just be lying to boost his serial killer resume. Many of these nutjobs do that.
bingo !!!!
THAT CREW DID A LOT OF JOBS
DAN PURE BAD LUCK THOSE GUYS DID IT.
THEY HAVE A TON OF EVIDENCE FROM LARRYS GARAGE WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED HAS ANYONE EVER LOOKED INTO MOMENTOS KEPT OR OTHER KILLINGS?
I am supsicious of the police department. MAJOR RED FLAG!!! The family needs to petition ASAP.
I agree 100%, Red Flags everywhere.
I can’t imagine the pain the mother has gone through all these years. The brother too, has to live with the fact that he didn’t get the chance to make things right with his mother and sister. I think as soon a new Cold Case Investigator comes into the picture, he’s going to push for that core sample. I can’t understand why this has taken so long? You think the PD would jump on this rumor. If any chance to find these women is there, what’s to lose? Springfield PD, please do the core test now!!
What’s really creepy and scary to me…who ever was involved in the disappearance of the these ladies…is probably watching/reading this page…
Electricity and other things are killing people. Just as bad as the murderers.
Why not drill down and take a core sample of the area in question?
i am from springfield, and i was friends with both girls and graduated with them. some of these posts on here are disgusting! i am not going to go in full detail, but i am going to give you some actual facts about the case. mrs mcall, is the one that by accident erased that message. do you think a women that’s daughter is missing purposely erased that?! it was nothing more then an accident. also, there was 15 people in that house before the police were even contacted that beyond messed up the crime scene. if they had stayed out of there, it would of been solved period! the police have personally told the people they have interviewed over they years, including myself, that they know the people that were involved in this, but without evidence, and remains the case would never be prosecuted. and those people are not talking and never have where the remains are. the police have not dug up the parking garage because they are not there. if all these people on here that claim they know so much and are from springfield, if they would do a little research they would see the parking garage was poured and finished 4 months before they even disappeared. so why in the world would they dig?! the short of it is, unless these people talk, or someone they confided in talk and say where the remains are, it will never be solved even though the police know. saying the cops are corrupt, or that the girls were druggies is ridiculous. try solving a triple homicide with a house that was cleaned and gone completely through by 15 people.
So my question is who do they suspect in the case? Why can’t the public smoke them out? Nowadays with social media the public can really put pressure on them. And nobody has a correct date was it 4 months prior to their disappearance or 15 months prior that the construction on the parking lot was done? I don’t doubt your account I just would love to see some hard evidence showing when the construction of the garage was started the dates of the stages and date of the final completion
I am from Argentina. I have just watched a documentary about this case and I’ m shocked. I can’t understand how three women have disappeared even before I was born and they are still missing. But After reading Bridgette’ s comments i am surprised. Is she saying that the police know the kidnappers/Killers but for some reason they can’t arrest them unless someone confesses? Who are those 15 people who messed up the crime scene? Were some of these people involved and ruined the scene on purpose? Someone else from Springfield wrote on this page that he/she witnessed how the friend of the girls cleaned the house with her boyfriend and her dad. Why would anyone do that?
Welcome, reader from Argentina! Thanks for being here and adding to the discussion. I can’t speak for Bridgette, but hopefully she sees your questions and has some answers for you.
I WAS READING ALSO DRUG ISSUES FRIENDS COULD HAVE BEEN COVERING FOR THIM AND NOT THINKING.COKE WAS AND IS A REAL PROBLEM.
Bridgette – construction on the parking garage began around September 1993 – 15 months after they went missing. IF they are there, they were most likely kept alive for 15 months.
I was thinking this. Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou. It doesn’t hold absolute that they are NOT buried anywhere. They could be very alive or they could be very dead. If they are buried there they most likely would have been kept alive. Otherwise the trouble with hiding corpses would be an issue. Although, it wouldn’t be absolutely crazy if they were killed a little early and the bodies were moved around before their final place.
Whether they are there or not, it wouldn’t hurt taking a sample from that lot. Something needs to be done.
What am I missing? I don’t understand why people keep saying that they would have to have been kept alive if they are buried in the garage. Wouldn’t it make sense that they were buried there before construction began, and then the ground was later leveled and concrete poured over them? I don’t get why anyone is thinking that construction there would have had to have already began in order for anyone to be buried there.
I have done so many searches to verify this information in just can’t come up with anything solid I’m curious how did you come up with the date of Construction
Sorry that reply was to go to someone else
I have done so many searches to verify this information in just can’t come up with anything solid I’m curious how did you come up with the date of Construction
I just wanted to acknowledge your comments regarding the brother, Bartt. Thank you for noting that he was cleared and still haunted by what happened to his mother and sister. Bartt and I dated and lived together for several years beginning in 1997. He loved and missed his family very much. He did have a drinking problem, but this by no means meant he had anything to do with the disappearance. I never believed that he did and still do not believe it to this day. Bartt does have a good heart. The loss of his mother and sister have forever altered him as a person. I pray for him and all the other family members that there will one day be closure on this terrible event.
I feel so badly for Bartt, Jill. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for him.
Thanks for your comments.
I seem to remember reading once that there were serious questions on whether the garage was in construction at the time of the abductions or not. Will have to find that link again.
There have been documentaries that have started pre-production regarding this and many other sudden disappearances. Unfortunately, funding usually falls short and they get scrapped.
Have always held out hope that The families would find out the truth but every passing year it gets thinner and thinner.
Websites like this is what keeps them in the minds of others. And with that, hope won’t go away for good. Thanks for this.
Every now and then, just when you feel like you are shouting into the void–that no one cares and you should just give up, someone will reminder you this is not the case.
You just did this for me.
Thank you, MHamby. I hope someone does the same for you when you need it. Your comment couldn’t have come at a better time.
UPDATE: Based on new information I’ve received (and more than a little pressure), I’m seriously considering using my investigative skills from 20+ years of journalism to write a book about this case and one other. This would include traveling to the area and conducting new interviews to try to get some answers for these families, which requires money. While I’ll do my best to get a publisher onboard, if you’d be willing to contribute to a crowd fund, let me know in the comments or a personal message. I’m not expecting many, if any, will respond, but I figured it was worth a try.
I am of limited me so I couldn’t donate much but I definitely think you should start a go fund me. Also I think you should colaborate with the person you call a curious reporter. She is an untapped well of knowledge for this case. Please send me an email if you end up starting a go fund me so I can donate
Thanks Sarah. I am the curious reporter. 🙂
Hi! I’m from th Netherlands and have just seen a documentary about this horrible and sad story. I was checking if there were any news . . I hope it will be solved soon for the families.
Hi Cynthia,
I don’t think there will be any more news until someone decides to do an independent investigation…and that requires funding.
Hi, I really don’t understand how, after these 3 women went missing, they are still unwilling to dig up the car park. It’s a bit of a coincidence that there are 3 anomolies and 3 people went missing. Is there no way the police will dig or take samples. This could possibly lead to the bodies and also possible dna from the people that took them. This would close the case if they are there. Also I believe that the abduction was directed towards Sherrill Levitt and Suzie Streeter, and they took Stacy McCall purely because she witnessed it all. Case of wrong place and wrong time. Is there any way the public can help in getting this car park dug up?? The family needs closure and this case needs to be solved NOW…It has gone on too long. Don’t just forget these women & bring these criminals to justice. With the technology we have now in forensics surely the police can do something! Thank you LH
I just replied to another comment about how it would take a sledgehammer to do the job and how it’s just a misdemeanor crime of destruction of property. But.. That part of Missouri can be prone to the small earthquakes large tornadoes. I’m not wishing either those on the area but if one happens you can bet I’m going to be down there in that parking lot, under those stairs, “assessing” the damage to the concrete and the ground below it
Just finished watching the disappeared episode and reading the comments here. Just wanted to put my thoughts out there. I saw a couple comments about the girls would have had to been kept alive for an amount of time before being buried at the parking garage. But if he worked in the gas lines, laying those out happen way before construction. Or it’s possible he moved the bodies when it was close to time they put the concrete down.
Good insights, Mrs T. I’m glad you chimed in. Those are sound theories.
Just got done watching disappeared, for the sake of the family the police department needs to dig up the concrete in the parking garage, regardless to their thoughts, they need to do anything in thier power to give those family justice, period point blank, doesn’t matter how many leads you have followed & be nothing, so many tips have took you to that parking garage, get off your butts & give that family a little justice knowing if thier are there or not,WHATS IT GOING TO HURT, how about this Springfield police what if it was your family or friend that disappeared, tips lead you there would you ignore it or dig up that parking garage?
Hi,
I just watched the Disappeared episode and was curious if anyone had investigated any ex-boyfriends of Sherrill. Her son admits that she often got with men who had drinking problems and that’s why she was pushing him so hard to get away from that life-style. Since the two young girls changed their plans so many times it’s possible that Sherrill was targeted and the girls got in the way. I just think it’s worth checking out to see if any of those ex- boyfriends were angry enough to hurt her or owned a van at that time.
Kylie
Hi I know this sounds kind of crazy but I just saw the episode of Disappeared on those three woman and I do believe they are buried under that hospital concrete like predicted. I just have no idea for sure who did it or why the police are trying to cover it up and so reluctant to dig it up. If I had money to contribute to your purpose I would but unfortunately I do not.
Thanks, Jill. I appreciate the thought. You’re the first to even comment on my willingness to investigate further if I had the funds.
Whoever is saying no to digging up concrete
should be a suspect/accomplice with something to hide. OR, hire a team to do it yourself.
I have been keeping tabs since 2011 about this case. Its really sad and confusing. I read where Cox said after his mother dies he will disclose the location (if its true) then why hasnt anyone questioned his Mother or even searched her property? Why wait until she passes away? Does she know what her son did and knows where the women are burried and is covering for her son. If so that could be why hes waiting for her to pass, so she isnt convicted and dies in prison. Or maybe she doesnt know that theyre burried on his property and the news would kill her. Not sure but they need to press a few buttons on his mom and see if she can spark a few things.
Can’t we start a petition to dig up the garage? Also has anyone figured out what type of car Cox was driving? Did any of them match the van that the woman saw turn around in her driveway or the celery colored van the police displayed?
I just finished watching the episode regarding these three beautiful women on disappeared it truley is a tragedy what happened to them! What a shame someone stole their whole lives and the light of all their familie’s lives leaving them to dwell and always wonder what if! It has truley got my heart and I can only hope one day there will be closure!! It’s kind of hard to believe 3 women could have been taken and not one person knows a thing no matter what time it occurred! It makes no sense but I pray for the families and parties involved and hold on to hope someday the truth will come to light!
Makes you wonder what the police are hiding? If the girls or mother was a relative that lot would have been dug up three or four times by now.
Dumb detectives! Lazy sheets!! If this was NYC/LA/Boston etc that parking garage would have been torn up. What does it take to jack hammer a 20 square foot section of parking garage. They do that all the time on bridges and roadways when they repair them.
The families should file a civil suit against the police department and the hospital!
Suzie’s boyfriend was Dustin Recla…not Reckler.
I am the reporter who has offered to pay for the core sample at the parking garage.
Suzie’s boyfriend was Dustin Recla…not Reckler.
I am the reporter who has offered to pay for the core sample at the parking garage. The hospital has agree to the core…only if the SPD is involved in it.
Any idea why they’re balking, Kathee?
I saw your Video report where he was doing the ground penetrating radar and it was awesome! I didn’t know much about GPR at the time so had to do hours of reading and watch many videos showing how to interpret the images from the radar but after I was content with my knowledge of it, I completely think you guys really hit the nail on the head with your theory!!! I’d put money on that’s where they’re buried at.
And if THEY are not buried there, it’s quite obvious that SOMETHING definitely is…
I have watched one of the interviews you did on this case, and I admire you greatly! You rock! Your investigative skills are terrific.
I have no idea how to do it, but someone needs to start a GoFundMe page. I’m sure the funds would come down considerably if all these people could even donate little bits at a time. People want answers in this case and its definitely time to get them.
I’d want to be assured that enough people are dedicated to this before taking that step.
I would contibute to a GoFundME
Thanks, Lynn. I have a producer pitching a true-crime investigation show on one of these unsolved cases. If it sells, that will give me renewed hope that we can do something on the Springfield Three.
I just watched this on disappeared. I googled the spring field 3 to see if they have got anymore leads,or at least dug up the hospital parking garage. Sadly,I don’t see that there has been any more information or that they have inspected the hospital parking garage. If it was under construction it would have been easy,especially if it was a city worker or someone who had access to the cement to hide something,or someone there. My goodness,check the concrete area. This is 3 missing women. Not only do their families deserve closure regardless the outcome but if they are there it could have clues,DNA, any evidence who couple lead to the person responsible. The person responsible is more than likely still out there and to take 3 grown women,this was probably someone who has done this before and since. At least check the area,and if there is nothing there it will give the family some closure. I dint understand why the city,police won’t check the concrete. I would harass them everyday until they dug it up just to check. So sad and disturbing. Praying for the family,and that the 3 ladies are still alive ,but if they aren’t, praying that their remains are found,so the family can rest. Such a scary world we live in.
There is someone there I heard I was there and alot of other persons. We call 911
Hey Mark. Thanks for contacting me. I’m out of the country until June, so can’t call, but I can chat on email if that helps. Please let me know.
I don’t understand why the police have to request the core sample be done! The parking garage belongs to the hospital correct? And the engineer agreed to pay for it right? Then why doesn’t the HOSPITAL give the ENGINEER PERMISSION to take a core sample from their property??? If the police refuse to consider asking for the core sample to be taken, then seems to me it’s the same as them saying it has nothing to do with their case so, if the engineer took the samples & whether he did or didn’t find anything, he shouldn’t be able to be charged with hindering or interfering with a police investigation as the police are refusing to investigate!!!
Ummmm, why not start a go fund me page and raise the funds to survey the parking lot.? be done with it, and at least eliminate and move on.
or how about go to WebSleuths.com,, see if they will sleuth the case,, they can be amazing.
jmho
Funds aren’t required for that, Abby–several people have offered to pay for it. What’s required is the police’s willingness to move forward with that proposal.
Thanks for commenting.
What about that change.or (I think) the site that lets you start a petition? What if we could get a petition going that would allow us to dig or requires police to investigate that spot, something about those lines. Do you think it would make a difference? If so let me know. I’d be happy to do my best to get that petition going!!!
I came across this mystery from the unsolved.com website and this has a few similarities to another case where 2 girls went missing but 1 of the girls parents were murdered.Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible in Oklahoma.
http://unsolved.com/archives/kathy-danny-freeman
For fucks sake police let them take a sample of the parking garage there will be no big damage and you ain’t paying for it.Hope you write this book as i’d buy a copy even though i live in Australia
I know someone who graduated in the same class from a different high school in the area. She said that Billy Long, a prominent public figure, was heavily involved and had arguments and confrontations with one of the women. In Springfield, its not about evidence, its about who you know to get things covered up. The families should hire a private investigator to analyze that area. I’ve heard from multiple people that were in the same class that they suspect they are there.
Would you be able to elaborate a bit on the rumors you have heard about this man? Iwould be interested as I have not heard his name before in conjunction with this case.
The first time I heard about this case was about five years ago when I first started getting into true crime. At the time, there was a blog on a hosted site or website specifically dedicated to the crime that had a VERY detailed timeline. I have since tried to find it but can’t, but since you are a journalist be aware that it may still be somewhere on the net and a great place to start. I am gonna name a couple of things that I am almost 99.9 percent positive were listed.
1) The girls were not supposed to stay there that night, which is why cops believed the target was Sherril.
2) The friend that came in the morning did not come alone, she had her boyfriend with her. HE was the one who admitted to cleaning the glass.
3) When Stacy’s mother came and saw the scene, she DID NOT call police first, she called friends and family and they all invaded the home, ruining the crime scene completely. Not only that, the supposed voicemails were ONLY heard by Stacy’s mother, no one cooberated this.
4) I am almost positive a neighbor reported that he had seen someone messing with the light about two days before the dissapearences. I believe he said it was a man in his mid 20’s to early 30’s who may have been wearing a utility uniform.
5) Reports IMMEDIATELY came in about the hospital because a small portion of the parking garage was under construction. It was not the WHOLE garage, from my understanding it was an addition to an existing structure.
6) Police never wanted to check that garage despite the Hospital being willing. I have no clue as to why they did not think this was a viable lead but it seemed dismissed incredibly quickly? This leads me to another point:
Police may possibly have a lead suspect – or evidence – and are not releasing that info(personally doubtful on this).
Or, and I hate to be a conspiracy theoroist, but it is possible someone close to a police officer or a police officer was a part of the crime.
And finally, I have never been to Springfield and have no idea if there is a large drug scene/problem etc, but I have never seen any reports of this.
Also, a lot of the evidence is purely given by the testimonies of people who knew the women, so it has to be taken with an understanding that it may be biased.
I hope this helps you track down info for a book/anything that can help with the discovery of these women.
You’re not a conspiracy theorist at all. It is suspicious that the police do not want to dig up the location. No reason should not be an acceptable reason. The cops can’t just say we have no reason to. that’s ridiculous! At this point any Theory seems plausible. I’ve even seen other sites that say alien abduction and at this point I’m thinking…hell, why not?!?!? Ppl do vanish but they gotta go somewhere… this is as puzzling as frustrating.
You are the second person to raise the possibility of police involvement. I find that intriguing and would not rule it out.
I find that interesting also. In one TV interview on YOUTUBE I heard a reporter say that “There’s a reason this hasn’t been solved.” That kind of says “police” to me.
I am kinda late to this blog. I am close to the area of Springfield and I don’t really remember when this took place, was kinda before my time. I was researching the serial killer Jeremy Bryan Jones from N.E. Oklahoma, which is about 1 to 1 1/2 away from Springfield. I have never found any connects to him but I just find it is odd that a known serial killer from the same area hasn’t been connected. But then again, it would have been at the very start of his serial killing career (sorry for the lack of better description), I haven’t seen if you have a book on this subject coming out soon or what. If you are into a intriguing cases look up the Freeman/Bible case with Jones maybe connected and is N.E,Ok as well.
Hey a lead is a lead. Whatever keeps the pressure on the PD. maybe now, yrs later there will be a connection. Good lead!
I watched a show on 20/20 about a abductution and it made me think of these Three women who disappeared, and Janis, the mother of Stacy. I live in Springfield, and i was a young single mother of two and it was the first real kidnapping i’d ever hear54d of, and the newscoverage here was massave. Janis was SO devestaed, and I know she went on to help others who have gone this. As far as the answering machine, i myself have accidently deleted my own messeges, so its NOT unreasonable to think someone would listen to someone elses answering machine and not know how to save it. Janis has kept this story alive and active, and she deserves to know what happened to her child, and the community deserves to know what happened to all 3 of thesewomen!. as far as the parking garage, Cox, has been remodeled sev eral times since the dissapperance, i’m not sure if your talking about Cox North or South, but they both have always had security patroling around. Just like every town, we have had a change in police and sheriff staff so every time that happens, they have to start all over getting interest in the case i imagine. I dont understand why it cant be dug up. You dont need the police for that! if They found a dead body, they could then call the police, but if Cox wanted to dig , they could get City Utilities permission (our law) and then dig and let the engineer pay for it! i dont really see what is so hard about that. I wish you well in your research, but i’d suggest you really check out ALL of the footage from the TV and newspapers, and Janis. Good Luck, and May God soon bring peace to all who cared for these three missing ladies.
There was drug money owed & too much info known…I believe they’re buried in Ozark County
Where? That county is HUGE…
Do you know if they ever found out what happened to them or their bodies.
No one has found the women or their bodies, Lydia. It’s a sad case.
Maybe the reason the police doesn’t want to open up the parking garage is because someone there knows or is involved in it…
What if that engineer said that the large anomalies looked like a ton
of cash, or those evil assault weapons, or a large cache of drugs?
The cops wouldn’t hesitate a second to tear that whole garage down if they had to.
Like some of the other people who commented, I grew up in the area and am roughly the same age as the girls. I recall at the time, there were statements that the girls weren’t supposed to be at the Levitt home. They were originally going to spend the night at another house with a group of friends and they were all going to go to the water park together. When that house got overcrowded, the girls decided to stay at Suzie’s house. Based on that, it seemed likely that the target was Sherrill Levitt and it was someone who expected her to be home alone.
I don’t see any comments on here about another suspect, Gerald Carnahan. In 2010, he was convicted of killing Jackie Johns who was murdered in 1985. Jackie apparently worked for him at a previous job. He apparently worked at Springfield Aluminum/Springfield Marine, a business started by his father, but I’m not clear if that’s where she worked with him. There were comments that he had been a hairdressing client of Sherrill’s and had asked her out. There have been rumors that Gerald was involved in the drug trade at that time which led to rumors of a connection to Sherrill through drugs. I haven’t seen a drug conviction for either so who knows. Gerald was also convicted of attempted kidnapping in 1994 so his activities before (1985) and after the three went missing show he was capable of kidnapping. Just adding some other thoughts that have lingered about this case. No idea if there’s anything that definitively excludes him, but he wasn’t on your list.
Thanks so much, Michele. I didn’t come across him in my research, but it’s interesting food for thought. Thanks for letting me know.
Michele, awesome lead! Gonna look him up maybe he’s on case.net…hummm…
Just reiterating, THE POLICE NEED TO DIG THE HOLE OR I WILL…j/s
Hi JH,
I am curious about the sexual in nature calls made to the home. It would seem quite a coincidence for such an calls to be made and NOT have something to do with the end result of the 3 missing girls.
Concerning me more is that it was a “new” residence for the girls. Is there information on how “new” the residence was and how many neighbors/ friends and family may have known what I assume was a new phone number? Had the number yet been published in a phone book as was common back then? Strange that additional calls came when the friend and her boyfriend visited in the morning leading me to think someone within sight at least made the calls if not participated in the disappearance.
Ive said from day one Mama was Home Alone. The girls had just graduated n had no plans to go home that night. They walked in on it n had to be silenced as well. Big name, big money, n too much information was the basis. IDK if she threatened to become an informant but believe like lots of mistresses saw n heard too much. The other mother contacting people to clean a house that was not hers then contact police is a red flag. So is cleaning glass that might have fingerprints. I use to live in Springfield…not in 1992 but was in a RN program that did clinicals at Cox South during that time frame and that garage WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION and cement was not all poured at the same time. We did 2-10 pm followed by 6-2 the next day. We came over the enclosed walkway n even at those obscure hours ( after 10pm n before 5:30am) at times workers were there. We slept in the Dr office hotel part. Sad they refuse to let the lot be explored…whether or not it would put an end to that unless law knows they are there otherwise no reason to stand in the way n obstruct justice.
I just watched a 48 hours mystery on YouTube about this case and it said the police were looking into the possibility of digging up the parking lot in 2010. I googled to see if there were any updated reports and ran across your blog. Still nothing happening in the parking lot??? I’m VERY suspicious of the Springfield PD!!!
This is my hometown, Springfield MO; born & raised. There have been speculations on a few different burial places people have come up with over the years. Another one besides the parking garage was under or around the PFI Store Sign. Its one of those stories that haunts us. I graduated in 95′ and will never forget this event. I lived right down the street.
I think it is a little weird that no one checked the father? And was it not possible to find DNA on the shattered glass..
The police must be hiding something, because Nothing happens with the parking area. And i think its weird that nobody have done it themself.
It is not really a big problem to bury up 3 small rectangles, is it? Exuse my english, i know it’s not good
I lived through this in Springfield. We were scared to think three women could just disappear with no trace.
However, I do not believe, as one person replied, that an officer at that time would have said anything about DNA on the light bulb – fingerprints, yes, DNA, no. We didn’t automatically jump to that conclusion then.
The reason the SPD is not digging the Cox parking garage is because Janis McCall is not pushing it as she does not believe the women are buried there. Being 24 years later, I think they’re kind of letting her call the shots as she’s really the only interested party still around. The Streeter boy isn’t in town.
I think most people think drugs were involved and Stacy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Thanks for your comment, SWMOG. Wouldn’t the police have interest in resolving this case whether or not Janis was pushing for it? I imagine it’s haunted quite a few cops. If they strongly believed the women were buried in the parking garage, I think they would dig. I’m just not sure why they have ruled it out.
Just read about this story yesterday and have been thinking about it ever since. It’s disturbing enough when one person dissapears without a trace but three peple well that is just unreal. I really hope that they will find out something soon.
Me too, Kaisa.
People who pull gold teeth out of corpses will do anything. They had motive, no alibi, and they are your most likely culprits.
I don’t think the two young girls was ever a target. Personally I think it was some one close to the family that knew Suzie was not going to be home. Why would she be? She just graduated , Plenty of Parties, They was planning on going to the water park. As for Stacy . She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time with wrong people. I do believe that only the mother would have been killed/took if the girls would have not seen what ever happened in that house.
It has been stated that there was evidence of makeup removal in the bathroom……so they walked in on something and then had time to take their makeup off…that makes zero sense.
Just finished watching the episode on Dissappeared. My thoughts are the ex boyfriend and his friend surname Clay (I think). The reason being the police saw signs of devil worshipping at the Clay home when they attended his premises to speak with him, that was all removed by the time they came again. Secondly, the graveyard vandalisim and their treatment of the corpses could tie in with such worship. Thirdly, the offensive calls to the house answered by the friend is a juvenile thing to do that is, something a teen would do. If they are involved, it would make sense that they would be watching the house to observe activity and then torment the victims’ friend. While, I agree a sample should be taken from then parking lot, I don’t think they would be buried there. I think if the ex and friend were involved, they would have buried them in the woods so they could perform some ritualistic crap in the process.
any progress?
I’ve never heard of police not following up on a credible lead!!!! Something very sketchy there!!!! If someone is willing to pay for sample! What’s the problem???? And everyone who said if that was “my child” you best believe come hell or high water, I’m going to find out what’s under the garage!!!!! I would find a way!!! The friends???? That is just weird? Cleaning up? Answering phones? Deleting messages? I wonder if “friends” have something to hide!!?? The person who went to check out the concrete, Good for You!!!! The person who said get a petition going!!!! Great idea!!! It’s been a long time!!!!
I saw this case yesterday on tv and made me wonder. Could it be possible that some one who called to the house has frightened people so they don’ t want to tell what they heard. Why someone would delete a message
otherwise and why they don’ t remember content of this call?
It’ s also strange that did they all have keys to a house who went there before police? How they got in?
If the door was open why they didn’ t called police at once or is it usual to let door open if you aren’ t in a house?
And why they started cleaning the house?
If you consider that all is okay, do you really start clean some ones’ s else house just to be nice?
It sounds also weird.
Had some one really told that they were going to water park next day?
Or was that only assumption for some reason?
What stops that some one ca’nt do a dig without polices permission?
If hospital has accept this?
Isn’ t the evidence valid in court if they were found?
Why is permission required?
If you find a body somewhere else by accident you can’ t ask permission from police: hey, can I find this body?
So how is it different situation if you pay a work yorself and possible find something?
For what reason they thought that bodies are under parking lot? Who told so?
Couldn’ t they prove that picture was same kind of when using this machine
on graveyard?
Did they show for example pictures to police on just said so?
I don’ t undestand why police refuses to trust scince.
So they propably can’ t trust dna tests also because it’ s science .
The broken bulb is the first new information I have seen. But the bulb was not shattered; it was the globe. Need clarification.
The broken bulb is the first new information I have seen. But the bulb was not shattered; it was the globe. Need clarification. I do not believe the parking lot garage is relevant.
I do not believe the parking lot garage is relevant. While it would be possible to core the floor at minimal cost it is not likely to yield up anything. I would look to the people who were there that day.
This case has always stuck with me. I moved to Springfield in 1994 to go to school at what is now Missouri State. The impression someone else gave in the comments above about this town is the complete opposite of what I experienced living there. Very low crime, very nice people, no strip clubs (it is on the border of the Bible Belt). My interest has been resurrected by The Vanished podcast episode that I listened to recently.
I have always been bothered by a few of the details: 1. There was no sign of struggle so somehow they were lured outside (and in their pajamas). The timetable being early morning. I think the globe on the porch light was busted to get their attention and maybe get them out of bed and go outside to see what was happening. I can’t imagine anyone, and especially 3 women, opening the door to someone knocking, as I have heard with the utility man theory. It doesn’t make any sense that utility workers show up at your house that early, unless maybe the power was out, which was not the case. I have to believe that this happened before daylight. Who could kidnap three women at the same time in broad daylight without anyone seeing anything?
2. The phone calls that came when the friend and boyfriend were at the house. Could someone have been watching them and knew when to call the house, to maybe spook them out of there? But then, how did they know the phone number to call? So I don’t know. I have heard people say it’s suspicious that they cleaned up the glass outside. I don’t find this suspicious at all, because it happened before they went inside to find them gone. I probably would have cleaned it up too if I came to the door of someone I knew well. If they had waited and cleaned it up after seeing so much weird stuff inside, that would be a different story. That being said, their behavior is a little strange. If they saw everyone missing and their purses were still there, and their cars, that tells them that they did not go to the water park without them which is what they said they assumed happened. Did they call anyone else and voice concerns or ask if they had heard from the girls? I can see not panicking and calling the police (again, this is not a town where these things happen), but for sure you would have started calling other friends.
3. Is it true that Sherry had a suspicious ex-boyfriend? When I moved to town, the rumor I heard immediately was that they had been killed by her ex who was involved in some shady business, and that they were buried under the PFI store on Battlefield, which was under construction at that time. I had never heard anything about the Cox garage. Of course rumors mean nothing but I wanted to throw that out there.
This case has been a strong interest of mine since it happened in 1992, soon to be a quarter century. Some initial thoughts.
1). The Cox garage has unfortunately gummed up the works. Although I believe the garage floor should be cored to remove all doubt it is very unlikely to yield anything. I would disregard it.
2). The matter of the broken globe has generated a lot of discussion. If one of the above posters is correct it strongly indicates it was broken on exit.
3). I was personally told by one of the officers who was investigating the case that Suzie was missing a key on her keychain. It is not impossible everyone exited from the side door as a key would have been required to lock the deadbolt.
Speculation:
1). I believe the front door was deliberately left open and the VCR/TV was left on inviting the first responders to come into the house which would corrupt the crime scene.
2). I do not believe the crypt vandals committed the crime.
3). I believe the focus should be with the initial relationship where Suzie had (I believe) she had an order of protection. I do not believe, however, he committed the crime. However connections made during and after that time is the genesis of this crime.
4). The only eyewitness testimony I believe credible would be the newspaper’s account. The “porch lady” account is not likely valid.
5). The crime scene was staged. This location was the first location. The second unknown location is where they murdered.
6). The investigation was very poorly done for reasons I won’t address at this time.
7). The suspicion that Carnahan was involved is not likely.
8). The motive is murky although I personally believe LE should not not be ruled out. That would go to the earlier domestic incident.
I’ll leave it here for now.
Posted 1/19/17
I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT HALL BROTHERS CREW
I agree with everything that you said.
Correction: “Newspaper’s” = “Newspaper CARRIER’s account” regarding the alleged sighting of the alleged van on the corner of Kentwood and Delmar at or about 4:30 AM. I believe that account is the most credible account of the time entry would have been made into the home.
Hi Richard, this is an interesting lead that I haven’t heard before. Do you know the source or where I can read about it?
I had hoped this case would get more attention than it has recently and it is coming up on a quarter of a century in three months.
I do not believe the garage is credible.’
There us a theory that explains everything.
One of the most important is that the original plan was only for Sherrill and Suzie to dissapear. Stacy changed all that necessitating the crime scene staging. That is a sort version of what was likely.
People certainly still care about these women, at least. Why don’t you feel the garage is a good lead? What’s your theory?
There is no reputable source who puts any credence in the garage theory. Many people have offered to pay for the coring of the garage floor including myself….I do have a theory but I really shouldn’t put it an open forum….I have followed this case for nearly 25 years. When all is said and done, only one thing really makes sense…. you have my email address. I can provide details there…as far as the grave robbers and the other
‘Usual Suspects” those are almost certainly dead ends. I won’t waste your time on conspiracy nonsense. This will have to be handled off the board.
I will say this much. It is nothing like what people have generally assumed. The “prime perp” has not and will not be publicly named. Although this must be labeled as a theory it is the only theory that I have seen that takes into account all unanswered questions. I won’t take credit for it as two others collaborated; one whose occupation was in military intelligence.
So sad!
I know right!
I dont think the friend had any ill intention in not calling the police. She already likely felt awkward going in to the house uninvited, and the avg person would not jump to strange conclusions so soon, as she had seen the girls nearly 6 hours earlier, and she saw that they changed clothes etc.. Most would assume that they were likely dropped off at the water park, as that was the initial plan, and we hv to remember the year we are talking abt. There were no cell phones or ways of tracing people etc… I wiah the police were a little more proactive honestly. This had to be huge.. i dont understand at all how this was not an obsession for the whole dept. I am very very curious to know more abt exactly what happened aftr they were discovered missing. What happened to the house? The dog? All of their belongings? What about inside the home? Finger prints??? The dog????? At some point someone had to realize that something mustve gone down inaide that home!?!???! I fear I will be researching this and become more frustrated with the lack of action by the authorities… why doesnt anyone ever utilize the FBI? It wasnt one it was THREE missing women.. i think ego and pride and men on power trips are the reason these poor sweet ladies are still unaccounted for… such a damn shame….
For what it’s worth, I agree. I also don’t believe the friends had ill intentions.
Imagine that under the Cox parking garage there was a suspected cache of evil “assault weapons,” or a large sum of cash from drug proceeds. The cops would destroy the whole hospital if they thought for one minute something like that was under there.
I heard that son of springfield police cheif was involved somehow
Heard that! Those poor girls & mom. God i wish i could had been there to protect them when this happened.
First of all my biggest question lies with the person that last seen them alive and the person that cleaned up the mess is this one in the same? The other big question I have did the phone call at 8 a.m. actually happen if so the person would have been watching the house to know somebody was there it don’t add up to me. and the girl statement at a glance seems fine but when you dig into it deeply the things that don’t add up.. the deleted phone call could have been nothing and probably was nothing. it was an accident..what if the supposed man that called at 8 a.m. never called. this investigation would be different and a lot more questions would be asked to the person or persons that cleaned up the crime scene. phone records would show something… if it was nothing and the lead meant nothing?? my question is, did it really happen at all was there a call at 8 a.m. for sure or was it meant to cover up something more cynical.
I agree a100% with you. The police should start all over again and check the statement and alibi of the person who last saw the girls and the one who first entered the house and noticed that the women weren’ t there. It is very suspicious that that person was their friend: Jannelle, who happened to be the same person that cleaned the house and messed up the scene. Could the police confirm that the 8 am phone call existed and if It was actually from a pervert? Have the police investigated the people/relatives that stayed at Jannelle’s house, which were the reason why Stacy and Suzie supposedly went to Suzies’ s house, where It is assumed the kidnapping occurred? There are so many assumptions based on the stament of one person: Jannelle. I wonder if all that was thouroughly investigated or if the police simply trusted her.
I’m not implying the girl did it but I do believe the answers are somewhere in her mind. Something don’t feel right there. I feel she knows ALOT MORE. I also believe Stacy got caught in the middle of something gone very wrong
They need to check out the garage like it or not. The family of these three need closure after all these years. If they aren’t there no damage done fill the hole back up and carry on with hopefully more leads.
Let us not forget the evil excuse for a human being that held Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and her daughter and Georgina DeJesus captive for many years. Though not likely, it is possible they are still alive. My heart goes out to the families and the people who have dedicated time and energy to find the truth.
Maybe taken by a sex trafficking ring?
Jay – Agree about the “friends” . Too many weird parts to that story. Starting with “call me at 8am”….
You can tell the police that arebone the case in 2010 are different from the onse in 1992 because back then they took ever clue seriously. Even the psychics were looked into. “They’ve refused to have a core sample taken from the concrete–even though the engineer offered to pay for it”. There has to be some way around the police department in having this done. It just goes to show you how messed up this monetary system is. They are most likely worried about the hospital losing money.
It is 2017 and I still hope they are alive and well. God speed.
Hello, would you want to talk to me about this further?
Hello Sheri,
I responded to your email, but never heard back.
What you wrote is fuzzy and makes little sense so let me say sth along the lines – so far the main perp has not been publicly named
That “friend” knows a lot more than you think
Your right. Look at her interview she can’t even look him in the eye while telling her “story”. Its obvious
If the final chapter to this story is ever written, Stacy and Suzie’s “friends” will be involved.
All this stuff about serial killers, cop conspiracies, etc. is nothing but hogwash.
“Most would assume that they were likely dropped off at the water park”
Why would someone assume that? All of their cars were at the house! There weren’t any plans to be “dropped off” at the park and they obviously didn’t walk to Branson. The moment friends arrived and the cars are there and no one is home, its an instant red flag that something is wrong. Did they call the cops? Did they immediately call Stacy’s mom to find out if Stacy or the others were there? Nope. They started cleaning the house and god knows what else.
This case should’ve been solved within days. It should’ve immediately been handed to the FBI, they take a hard crack at these so called friends, and people start spilling their guts to save their own rear ends. Instead its been in limbo for 25 years.
Sounds like Springfield is hiding some type of secret.. Really gets to me that the police wouldn’t jump on collecting a core sample.. Especially when the engineer said he would pay for it.. So i ask myself why the police will not jump on that opportunity.. They neither have to pay nor make a huge mess.. So WHY WHY WHY WILL THEY NOT PROCEED TO DO THIS.. Let these 2 families have some closer.. And if they do take a core sample & there are not remains under the concrete.. Well then at least they have tried every possible lead.. Cause as it stands this lead has not been dealt with.. It needs to.. come on Springfield what do you have to lose..
Very good question, Jacqueline. I’ve asked myself the same, many times.
I do not remember having read anything similar, so I will state this possibility. It was a celebration night and, to judge from the many parties they attended, the celebration spirit was still present in the wee-hours. Could it be that in Suzi’s house there was an additional celebration and in the course of it the three women were somehow narcotized and then silently kidnapped? It could explain why no traces of resistance were found in the house. Also, dogs get really nervous and disturbed when they see their owners fainted, a fact that could well account for the yorkshire’s restlessness.
Thanks for the page and the information.
Here is a link to a video about the three women possibly being buried under concrete.
I was thinking the same thing about Hoffa. If these women were anyone famous they’d be doing anything and everything.
I used to know Springfield around that time as I had family living there and my grandmother and other family still lives close to there. There is no way on earth that these women could not have been found had the Springfield P
Police Department done their job. I did hear from one of the cops at that time (now retired) who is still frustrated over this case that one of the detectives on that case took his own life due to the non-cooperation of the police chief in checking leads. Other police on the force at that time of whom I did know were extremely frustrated with the way the district attorney and the police chief were taking them at that time. Down apparent dead ends, etc. as if they were trying to stall anyone who had a valid lead in this case. There are so many wooded areas in and around Springfield that these women could easily have been killed and dumped and just never found. At that time they police wanted to put up flyers and ask farmers to check their fields to see if they saw anything suspicious but the police chief objected to that as he said they had not enough money to solve this case. It really was all about the money and the Springfield Police Dept. just did not have sufficient monies to carry this case forward. Clues were blatantly not followed. Sufficient evidence was not gathered at the time. Suspects were not interviewed. Students were never interviewed and it was an all around sloppy investigation. The outside bulb was broken so one would assume that they did not want the mother to see who they were or else she would not allow them into the house. They had all been to bed so who answered that door. The detective told me they knew the mother was the one who did answer the door and that was apparent from what they did find out. There were things scattered so things were not as clean as they say. There are many people who are long time resident in Springfield who have some good answers but it would take an investigation to be reopened. These people know things and saw things and they need to be questioned before they are all dead or cannot remember. I do think this case could be solved still but it will not be by the Springfield Police Dept. They are corrupt as are all the police departments in all those small towns around there. There is still a big KKK following in and around this area and I could take you straight to one of their headquarters. My daddy and mother died recently and they were grieved terribly over what had happened as they knew the mother. My parents spent the rest of their lives crying over what had happened and they knew a lot and told me what they did know. I have investigated all that I can due to my parents wanting to know before they died as I promised my daddy that I would try to find out for him. There are still records the police department will not allow anyone to have and I can only go so far. It will take someone who is passionate in solving this case and I honestly think if it were put on television that we would and could get leads on this case. I have tried to contact Nat Geo and now am contacting Oxygen to see if they might pick this case up and run it to the finish line. This case can and should be solved for the parents who loved and is so missing their daughter and for the family of the loved ones who still has a hole in their heart and deserve to know where their daughter and family is buried. I do not think the hospital parking lot has anything to do with this as there were just way too any woods around there that were easier and many still open lead and zinc mines that have never been sealed. One of those was on my uncle’s property. All that and the surrounding area is covered with mines and tunnels. Just ask the Corps of Engineers and they could try to give you a plat but they do not know where many of these tunnels went as they were not required to tell them where they were digging at the time. It would not hurt to get a core smaple to ease everyone’s mind but that would ahe been just too easy and not far enough for someone to dump their bodies. The KKK is alive, active and well in all of southwest Missouri and even though they had nothing to do with case there are many people who they would know that you could get help from. This is easily solvable but it will take perseverance and lots of leg work and much work on the computer but my daddy did a lot of checking when he was alive and there are still people who know a lot about what happened that day. I pray someone get this on the Oxygen series to see if we can get leads on the disappearance of these three women and can find resolve for the families of those who desperately miss their loved ones and will forever miss them and need finality. They deserve answers before they die.
Why don’t you contact John Lordan? He presented a detailed “Brain scratch” show about this case in you tube, and he is a person eager to investigate.
i agree but they have been missing sence 1992 so if they still havent found anything this why is this case still open?
Often cases stay open indefinitely if there is no indicator of murder or other resolution. That’s why there’s so many cop shows about “cold case files.”
I grew up in the Springfield area. I was younger than the girls when they disappeared, but I knew Stacey. She was a nice person, and my heart goes out to the family.
The reason they aren’t digging up the garage is because well, it’s simply ridiculous. Go to Google Earth and type in Springfield, MO. It is surrounded by an ocean of forest. It’s a tiny metropolis in foothills of the Ozark mountains. Cox South is on the edge of town. No one, not even an outsider, would stop in that location and say “this is it. This is where we will bury them.”No one.
I grew up outside of Ozark, a 10 minute drive from Cox South. My parent’s house borders national forest. You can’t see another house from theirs. This is an incredibly rural area. Many locals hunt and fish. Outdoorsmanship is the way of life there. If it was a local that committed this crime their bodies will most likely not be recovered. And they certainly won’t be buried underneath a parking garage on the edge of town.
If the killer or killers were smart enough to evade law enforcement for this long, they didn’t stop five minutes from dense woods in a hospital parking lot to dispose of three corpses. Anyone who questions this logic just needs to look at Google earth to see. It just isn’t plausible.
The fact remains that an engineer found three aberrations in the parking garage that suggest something is buried underneath. The floor doesn’t need to be dug up–a small core sample is all that is needed to determine once and for all whether there is organic material buried in the garage. And since the engineer offered to pay for it, it seems odd that this hasn’t been given the go-ahead. A small core sample would not damage the floor or cause much disruption. If the engineer is wrong, it could be easily repaired.
Many bodies have been recovered in forests. Animals dig them up and strew the bones around, weather reveals them over time, people going for hikes, etc., stumble across them. If the parking garage was in the process of being constructed and the killer(s) knew the bodies would be buried under concrete, that might have seemed the safer bet. It’s at least worth doing a core sample.
I get your point, and it sounds absolutely reasonable. However, couldn’t it be the perpetrator/s followed the same logic and so they decided to bury the bodies in the lot, knowing nobody would ever think about that place? It is said, and several good detective stories assert it, that the best place to hide something is in the most evident location.
Please stop with the parking garage nonsense. The tip is based on nothing, a psychic guess. The concrete was poured a year later. So many things show up when you use the device this attention seeker used to go over the foundation. Most are trees, roots, rock, shifting dirt, etc. It is so silly to give credence to make believe, it detracts from the real case. Where would the crazy tips end if people knew the police would actually physically investigate the nonsense. Focus on the facts and just the facts. My guess is the graverobbing ex and his buddies. I think those guys were involved in other criminal activities, like dealing. I think the guys those boys were moving drugs for were concerned they might try to deal their way out of trouble and were told to either eliminate the witness against them or deal with harsh consequences. I think the plan was to kill Suzie, but they could not separate her from the other two and as a result, they all were killed. Very tragic.
I am afraid it is too late to stop with this issue. I agree with you respecting the origins of the rumour, but the fact is, as many people have noticed, that an expert-and not a psychic- has found or distinguished three anomalies similar to what could be found or expected to find in a cemetery… In a case full of mislead clues (if clues at all) this information should at least be given a try, so as to prove it wrong or not.
But anomalies are not necessarily bodies, no matter how bad we want them to be. The police are not prohibiting any attempt to dig it up or get a core sample, that is the hospital’s decision. In my heart I believe the police want to find out who did this and if they thought that was a legitimate lead, they would act.
The hospital has gone on record that they are agreeable to the core sample if the police decide that’s the best course of action. So the onus is on the police, not the hospital.
And with all due respect to the police, there have been many cold cases solved because some persistent civilian would not let something go, even though the cops didn’t see any merit in it. Just because the police may not think this lead is valid doesn’t mean it should be dismissed. Anyone can be wrong.
How many were solved because a psychic said their dog told them?
Nothing in my post had anything to do with that. An engineer found three anomalies which could be bodies in the parking garage. He offered to pay for a small core sample to be taken of the concrete, which would cause very little damage and be easily repaired. I personally think it’s worth investigating, but if you don’t, that’s fine. There’s no need to belittle people who feel differently. Let’s keep this civil, please.
Not mocking anybody, that was where the original tip came from, a psychic’s dog, no joke. That is what led to the examination of the garage. When one realizes that is what led to that tip, it does appear somewhat random, yes? Certainly meant no disrespect to anybody here, sorry if it came off that way. Of course there is another tip that came in about them being buried under another parking lot.
Thanks for the respectful response, Mark. I really appreciate it. I had no idea about the psychic’s dog, but I agree, that does sound strange and not something to base an investigation on.
and when the SPD asked the guy in question to bring his machine in so they could examine it, he refused to do so, That made them even more suspicious of what appeared to be self-promotion by the guy in question. If you watch the video of the actual event, the contraption he is using is somewhat ludicrous looking.
The more you dig into the Springfield 3 case, the less you know. My belief is that the police have a strong idea on who was involved, but they don’t have a case. I am fairly certain the parking garage burial site does not play at all into their theory, which is why they completely dismiss it. One interesting thing I discovered is that Suzie always parked in the carport, always, it was her spot. When the cars were discovered the next day, her car was not parked in the carport, it was in the circle, the carport was empty. I think that there was a vehicle parked in her spot. Now, was it a vehicle that the girls knew? Quite possibly, there is proof that the girls did go inside and took off makeup and went to bed. Whose vehicle could have been in that spot that would not have caused them alarm? A friend of the mother? A brother?
It could be a possibility; though it could also mean that Suzie’s car was neither parked nor driven by her, and the supposed actions the girls performed inside the house (rests of makeup, slept-in beds, etc.) just a mere staged scene.
That seems way too elaborate. I am pretty sure they went in the house. I think we all are way overthinking this case, pondering this or that, or this serial killer or this serial killer. I think this thing was more cut and dry than we know. I think one person was the target, of what could have been something that escalated and was not planned. Somebody loses it and kills somebody and then makes the decision to get rid of the two witnesses that happened to be there.
I sometimes think it is too elaborate as well, but some people who have dug up really deep in this case affirm the staged scene is more than a possiblity for the Police. However, it is true that perhaps things could be simpler than they look, though if so, more than twenty years of silence are unexplainable.
Agreed, we should have had answers by now. I always thought a huge reward would have gotten an answer. But the reward was never anything that substantial, I think it hit like $4ok. People are not going to snitch murderers for so little, too much risk, not enough reward. You sound well versed on this, what is your working theory?
Good morning, MG. This case really baffles me, and since I am a lawyer who loves the penal field, I have -and I still do- devoted my part of my time to try to understand this crime. However, it is absolutely tough. Mainly, I have read a lot on the case, as well as exchanged information with people who are entirely versed in this ill-fated women.
My theory? It points at a combination of people the victims knew and people who they did not. Notwithstanding this mixture, I am convinced all the investigators lack a motive, which surely exists. In addition, I have the feeling that some of the perpetrators were women. If you want to exchange more information with me, this is my mail: marcaz@alum.us.es
Have a nice day!
It’s great that you two were able to connect here–I love this!
Good evening, JH! It is you the one to thank for keeping and providing spaces like this, where polite, useful and relevant issues can be discussed, not only to exchange opinions but also to set “bridges” between forumers. Also, I can assure you that many families whose loved ones have been the victims of dark crimes, are deeply grateful to spaces which allow them to keep the memory flame burning when cases seem to get definitively cold.
Aw, thank you, María. That’s so kind of you to say. My dream is to help one of these families find closure. It’s not likely to happen, but nothing would make me happier.
Gerald Carnahan
I thought it was strange that the friend didn’t call the police right away because the purses were there and the women’s cigarettes were left behind. She or her boyfriend had to have seen the cigarettes. Also, since she was close friends with Suzie and went to school with her, she had to have known that Suzie or her mom smoked. I was 8 years old when the women disappeared, and I was 9 when I first saw this case broadcast on TV. They mentioned the women’s cigarettes were left behind, and I knew as a kid that that was strange. Of course, I grew up with smokers, but still. I knew as a kid that no smoker leaves their cigarettes behind. Bartt Streeter said himself in the Disappeared episode that his mom was a chain smoker. If she got out of bed to come in the living room to say something, she brought a cigarette with her. She wouldn’t have gone far without them. I think it’s suspicious that the friend didn’t call the police right away. She should have known something was wrong.
I thought the mother’s car was parked in the carport and the two girls cars were parked in the driveway. Was that not the case? And didn’t the mom drive a blue vehicle?
What are you implying? Gerald Carnaham’s gilt? In what way was he connected to the women?
Hi JH – I am not sure where Mark is getting his information from. He mentions that the original tip for the parking garage came from a psychic’s dog. That is incorrect and it’s misleading.
The original tip didn’t come from a psychic’s dog. It came from Stacy McCall. As for “the psychic”, well that would be me. I like word “Medium” better. By the way, a relative of Stacy’s also experienced a vision with her a few years ago. And I was told that it was consistent with what I had experienced.
Regarding the parking garage, there is a You Tube video entitled: “The Springfield Three – Final Resting Place?” The narrative gives the explanation as to how it came to be. It was written by me.
Stacy McCall is the reason why there is a parking garage video. The tip didn’t start with a psychic’s dog, it started with her.
Thanks for clearing that up, Ken. I did think the dog theory sounded pretty strange.
Hi JH – when I experienced my vision with Stacy in 1998, it took me several years to understand it. I had narrowed it down to Cox Hospital South, the area of the Hulston Cancer Center. In 2002 and again in 2004, I wrote the Springfield Police Department stating that based on my vision with Stacy.
In late 2005, a man by the name of Tim Gray read about my vision on a website and offered to help. He claimed that he had a prototype ground penetrating radar device that could help find the women.
In April 2006, Tim Gray went down to Springfield and “discovered” the anomaly at the Hulston Cancer Center parking garage. The police wanted him to bring in his device for analysis and he refused to do so. Two months later, in June 2006, Kathee Baird brought in Rick Norland, who is on the parking garage video, to do a follow up scan. He stated the anomaly is consistent with graves.
I had spoken with Tim Gray several times in 2006 and met him once in July 2006. During my meeting with him, I told him that if the authorities were to find the women at the parking garage, it would make my vision with Stacy authentic. He told me “I don’t believe in ghosts, Ken”. He went to say that he discovered the anomaly several hours after arriving in Springfield in April 2006. He said his device picked up a signal for mercury, which in teeth fillings, which led him to the parking garage. Next, his device picked up a signal for bone, which led him to the area of the anomaly. After that, his device picked up a signal for ovaries, which led him to the exact spot. He went on to say that “he was standing on top of their graves”.
If the women are located at the parking garage, then either Tim Gray has a prototype device the really does work OR he is involved and he already knew where the women were buried AND he knows the authorities have nothing that ties him to the case, allowing him to relive it.
If latter statement is true, the purpose of my vision with Stacy McCall would have been to draw him out of the woodwork to show us the spot, making it authentic.
Hi JH – continuing from my last post.
After I had experienced my vision with Stacy in 1998 and had first written about it, it wasn’t well received.
For a long time, Stacy’s mom didn’t like me. Not one bit.
But then the tide started to turn and in 2012, she invited me to the 20 year remembrance ceremony and I attended. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. As I stood in line waiting to meet her, we both were wearing a green shirt with black pants. When I walked up to her, I said “I got your dress code memo”. We hugged and she thanked me for attending. The meeting was brief, but for me there was an energy transfer. When I experienced my vision with Stacy, we had touched and that energy transferred the moment me and Stacy’s mom hugged.
In January 2015, I was notified that a relative of Stacy’s had experienced a vision with her and I was told it was consistent with what I had experienced. This relative did tell Stacy’s mom about it.
When I read that note, I was screaming for joy. I still am.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and your story, Ken. Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. I’m assuming your vision was about what happened to Stacy? I would love to have some answers to this case. Those poor families.
Hi JH – I believe the purpose of Stacy’s vision was to show us where the women are located. If the women are truly located at the parking garage, we may be looking at proof of life after death.
Hi JH – When I experienced my vision with Stacy in November 1998, the vision itself lasted about a minute. At the beginning of the vision, Stacy was to my right and she was facing away from me and kneeling as if she were in prayer. There was a pile of her hair sitting on her left shoulder and I watched it fall, one strand at a time. Just like one would see on a shampoo commercial. Years later, I would realize that was the key to the vision.
Shortly after I experienced my vision with Stacy, something strange started to happen. For the next year and a half, my television would change channels to a show with a hospital theme on a regular basis. Sometimes it was “MASH” other times it would be “General Hospital”.
I remember one time in 1999, I was doing research on the case and I was printing off an archive article in my bedroom. Right after I had printed it off and read the subject field aloud to myself, my television turned itself on in my living room. That scared the hell out of me and I ran out of my house to visit my neighbors.
I remember another time in early 1999. I had spent so much time researching the case, that I had put off studying for a 3 chapter test in business math for a college course that I was taking. To add to it, I also had 3 chapters worth of homework that was due, that I didn’t even start. I was at the laundry mat around 10 PM the night before class. I opened my book and my brain shut off. I was so tired, I couldn’t concentrate. Then, I heard a woman’s voice as clear a day, right in front of me say: “Don’t worry, you don’t have to do your homework”.
I closed my textbook, finished my laundry and went home to go to bed. The next day, I walked into class and my teacher said, the 3 chapter test was cancelled and will be rescheduled for the following week. At the end of class, he said that we didn’t have to turn in our homework. I turned to a classmate and said: “This woman’s voice told me that I didn’t have to do it”.
To this day, I have always believed it was Stacy McCall.
In June 2000, my phone dialed 911 by itself on three occasions over a two day period. At the time, my phone was a landline and I had AOL dial up. The police came to my house on three separate occasions on calls that I never made. That really hit me hard and it really made me think because the it had a “hospital theme” to it.
In August of 2000, I was going back over my vision with Stacy and I realized something. At the beginning of the vision, Stacy was to my right and I could see her from behind. This gave the first part of the message: “Right Behind”. After that, I was able to put together “Right Behind Cox Hospital South”. After I realized this, the paranormal activity stopped.
In April 2002, I thought about Stacy’s hair on her left shoulder and realized the word “Left” was very important. I looked at a map of “Cox Hospital South” and realized there were 2 buildings right behind it. One to right and one to the left. The one to the left is the Hulston Cancer Center. Once I realized this, I wrote the Springfield Police Department stating that I believed the three women were located there based on my vision with Stacy McCall.
In 2005, my vision was posted on a website and Tim Gray read it. From there, Tim Gray “discovered” the anomaly at the Hulston Cancer Center parking garage in April 2006.
For me, it’s more than just one vision with Stacy McCall in 1998. It’s been a journey of a lifetime and I trust her with my life.
Wow, Ken. That’s quite the story. Thanks for sharing it. Do you have any insight into why the police refuse to search the hospital parking garage?
Hi JH – I think the reason why police haven’t dug is simple. If they were to find something, there is nobody to arrest. I am not involved. I have only been to Springfield once and that was for the 20 year remembrance ceremony. If they have nothing that ties Tim Gray to the anomaly at the parking garage, that would explain why they haven’t dug.
I dont believe in coincidence. There is no way that those women went missing in the early morning hours and a strange phone call from a man making sexually lewd comment comes in the very same morning. I believe it was Cox, I believe he was watching the house and it seems to me he possibly may have had a obsession with either Suzie or her mother. I am not sure which (or both). However I believe Stacy was just a unexpected “surprise” when he went to the house to do whatever it was he had planned. Back to the phone call, obviously he had the phone number to that home. I believe that its quite possible that Suzie and/or her mother had received what they would have believed were just “crank” calls of the same sort that the friend received leading up to their disappearance. They probably thought it was Suzies ex boyfriend or some high school kids messing around and thought nothing more of it… not enough to mention or call police about. However I believe he stalked them, crank called them to hear their voices etc. before he committed this crime. The call in the morning after their disappearance had to be him calling the home to see if anyone had discovered them missing yet. Who knows how many times the phone rang before the friend arrived. Since Cox was living with his parents, I wonder if their phone records were subpoenaed and checked by investigators to see if the home of Suzie and Sherrill had ever been called from that home. So many questions that need answers. Too many. The episode I just watched left more questions than answers. Perhaps Cox was watching Sherrill that night as she was home alone, perhaps he was stalking her and Suzie and Stacy arrived making it too tempting for him to not act that night. I dont know. I just know I believe that man Cox did it. I believe the lewd phone call are a HUGE part of finding the answers to this case, and I believe it is very possible they are buried there under that concrete. I dont understand why the interrogation of Cox would stop? Interrogate him.. for hours, starve him, sleep deprivation I dont care whatever it take to get answers. These families deserve answers and I believe that man has them!! The investigators need to do their jobs!!
I have never believed that Cox did it, but now I am not so sure…what you said is quite convincing!
I posted this question a couple of years ago on a different site. My question is, was the witness that saw the van that they believe Suzy Streeter was driving, and heard a mans voice say “don’t do anything stupid, back out and get us out of here”, ever brought to to the SPD to let the witness hear the voices of ALL possible suspects in the case, to see if any of there voices were recognized??? Only makes since……
As far as I know, the SPD has never released all the details of their investigation, so I’m not sure. If they’d be willing, I’d love to interview the investigators assigned to this case.
any new developments on this case? I do hope the families get their closure., is Cox still the primary suspect?
Hi JH. I hate to say only Occams Razor or flow chart things, but I cannot help these following thoughts as a long toothed follower of all true crime flavors.
One. Some of the proximitous serial killer theories are compelling. I certainly like the Mark Twain forest thought! Serial killers tend to like attention and be convincing liars.
Two. Victims know their killers and collateral damage can happen. This seems to me a crime of (some sort of) passion, but not out of control. Victims were sleepy ( or asleep) and easily overpowered without knives or other blood loss. Two males minimum, and others know of it, although maybe a combo of fear and denial. Likely intoxicated at time of crime. Shady life regulars, no doubt.
3. Broken globe accidental drop in fumbled attempt to unscrew and douse porch light.
4. Look at who DID know the teen girls were at “home”. Who were their enemies. Who were their brand new, that night, enemies.
5. The friend(s) behavior the next morn is so fricking suspicious! Without proof, for sure doubt any weird calls came in. That is called “invent a bad guy” 101. Childish ploy.
6. Other than the outlying unknown perps, who had sexual or revenge/anger motive to harm or kill.
7. Bodies are in an easiest dump in Missouri Spring/Summer woods likely never to be found unless directly stepped on.