• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Police share update on woman who claims to be missing 8-year-old girl who disappeared 39 years ago

Home> News

Published 08:57 7 Jun 2024 GMT+1

Police share update on woman who claims to be missing 8-year-old girl who disappeared 39 years ago

Police have gave an update on the woman who claims to be the adult Cherrie Mahan, who disappeared when she was 8 years old

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

Police have issued an update in the claim made by a woman who alleged she was now the grown-up Cherrie Mahan.

Mahan, 8, disappeared back on February 22, 1985 when she was dropped off by her school bus at the stop in front of her Pennsylvania home - however, she has not been seen or heard of since.

An investigation was conducted to find the young girl, however, Mahan has not been located.

Investigators do believe that a 1976 Dodge van with a design featuring a skier on a mountain may have something to do with her disappearance, however.

The Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that they have been investigating a woman who'd claimed that she was Cherrie on a post on the Memories of Cherrie Mahan Facebook group last month - which has since been removed by the administrator of the group.

Advert

The woman also left a voicemail with state police last month claiming to be Cherrie and provided the police with a number and address.

However, police have not been able to contact the woman, who has not been publicly identified, via phone or at the address she provided.

Cherrie Mahan was eight years old when she went missing. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
Cherrie Mahan was eight years old when she went missing. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

To get around this, the police obtained fingerprints for the name left by the caller and tested them against Cherrie - which indicated that there was no match.

Advert

“An initial review of these fingerprints indicate that she is not Cherri Mahan,” police said in the update.

“At this point in the investigation, law enforcement has not had in-person contact with the women [sic] claiming to be Cherrie Mahan.

"If the caller decides to make herself available to the Pennsylvania State Police or any other law enforcement agencies, her claim will be investigated.”

Cherrie's mom, Janice McKinney, has already spoken out following the woman's claim that she was her daughter.

Advert

A artificially aged image depicting how Cherrie may look today. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
A artificially aged image depicting how Cherrie may look today. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

Janice told Butler Eagle that she believes the woman 'thought in her mind that she was Cherrie', however, she said that she 'did not look anything like Cherrie at all'.

She added: “If you wanted your 15 minutes of fame, you’ve already blown it.

“People are mean, they are cruel, but this affects me really crazy. It’s gonna be 40 years since Cherrie’s been missing.”

Advert

She also said she has grown used to the ‘craziness’ of people claiming to be her daughter over the years.

Prior to this, three women have claimed to be the missing 8-year-old, with Janice noting there is often a spike around the anniversary of her disappearance.

"This just hit me different. I didn’t even see it. Someone called me and told me about it.” she said.

UNILAD has previously reached out to Pennsylvania State Police Department for comment.

Featured Image Credit: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Topics: News, US News

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 mins ago
15 mins ago
16 mins ago
an hour ago
  • 5 mins ago

    Modern Family star recalls thinking she was 'going to die' after being told she needed a pacemaker at 29 years old

    A Modern Family star revealed how her sister helped discover that she had a health condition

    Film & TV
  • 15 mins ago

    Elon Musk has ominous response to Trump’s deportation threat amid public feud

    President Trump was asked about deporting the South African-born tech mogul yesterday (July 1)

    News
  • 16 mins ago

    Amazon Prime Video drops all six movies of classic movie franchise deemed 'the best ever'

    The first of the films has an impressive 93 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes

    Film & TV
  • an hour ago

    Man, 50, diagnosed with deadly cancer after noticing bizarre symptom from one glass of wine

    Simon Bowler first noticed something was wrong in October 2023

    News
  • Woman who disappeared a year ago shockingly turns up at gas station but is arrested just minutes later
  • Man who heroically saved 9-year-old girl from shark attack arrested by ICE just days later
  • 9-year-old girl has hand bitten almost clean off by shark as she recounts horror of attack
  • Basketball coach found dead as 8-year-old daughter still missing following Christmas Eve tragedy