Cherrie Mahan: Still Missing After 36 Years
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. You hear the brakes of a school bus squeak as it pulls up to your child’s bus stop. A moment later, it pulls away. Your kiddo should be appearing in the driveway any second…but minutes pass and there’s no sign of your child. The bus stop is only 100 yards away, after all.
There is no reason to panic, not just yet. She’s probably talking with her friends. So you put on your coat and shoes and walk to the bus stop, but no one is there — not your child, not anyone else’s, either.
Instantly, you know something is wrong. How does a child vanish from 100 yards away in less than five minutes? As quickly as that school bus pulled away, an average day has turned into a nightmare.
That’s what happened to the family of 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan in 1985. For more than 36 years, her grieving family has wondered what happened to her.
Gone in a Flash
It was late in the day on February 22, 1985. [1] Just after four p.m., the sun was already beginning to sink into the night sky, and Cherrie Mahan, along with three other students, happily hopped down the steps of their school bus, looking forward to dinner and playtime.
Cherrie left her house that morning prepared for a frigid day. Clad in a white leotard, a grey…
