Pennsylvania State Police have released an update on the identity of a woman who they claim to be Cherry Mahan, a missing person who vanished from a school bus stop in 1985 at the age of 8.
The woman, whose identity has not been released, claimed to be Cherry both in a post on the Facebook group and in a voicemail left for state police last month.
But the post was quickly removed by the group’s administrators, and investigators were unable to contact a phone number or address listed in the answering machine, state police said.
With no way to reach her, officers took an alternative route.
State police obtained fingerprints of the name left by the caller and matched them to Cherry’s, but there was no match.
“Initial fingerprint testing indicates she is not Cherry Mahan,” police said in an update.
“At this point in the investigation, law enforcement has not had direct contact with the women. [sic] “The caller claimed to be Shelley Mahan. If the caller attempts to contact Pennsylvania State Police or any other law enforcement agency, her claims will be investigated.”
The real Cherry was last seen on February 22, 1985, being dropped off a school bus near her Windfield Township home.
She couldn’t get through the front door.
Nearly 40 years after her disappearance, four women have come forward to claim they are Shelley, including the latest.
A $5,000 reward is still being offered to anyone who provides information leading to the discovery or arrest of Cherry, now 46.
Cherry’s mother, Janice McKinney, said from the start she didn’t believe the woman was her daughter.
“I truly believe that in her mind she thought she was Cherry,” McKinney says. He told the Butler Eagle“It didn’t look like Cherry at all.”
She said the woman’s allegations came as a surprise because she expected such claims would typically come around the anniversary of Cherry’s disappearance or her birthday in August.
“We expected February and August to be tough. This time it hit us differently,” she told the local paper.
“If you were hoping for your 15 minutes of fame, you’ve missed it,” she said. “People are mean and cruel, but this has really affected me badly. It’s been 40 years since Cherry went missing.”
Cherry’s case remains active, and the only lead investigators have is a blue 1976 Dodge van painted with a mountain mural that was seen in the area when the girl disappeared.
