On April 17, 1979, Cheryl Ann Scherer started her 6 a.m. shift at Rhodes Pump-Ur-Own Station in Scott City, Missouri. She called her mom around 11:20 a.m. to chat with her about dinner and sewing that evening. Cheryl disappeared between 1140 and 1150 AM.
From the Standard Democratic Party, April 14, 2023: “At about 11:40 a.m., Scherer's cousin, a school bus driver, drove past the station and thought he saw someone in the car, but could not tell if it was Scherer.
Five minutes later another station employee arrived for duty and found the station empty. Both the cousin and the employee have since passed away..”
At the crime scene, authorities found Cheryl's car and personal property. Money was stolen from the cash register at the pump. There are no other witnesses who can tell us what happened. Cheryl was alone at the gas station and the IGA store next to the station was closed due to her family's circumstances.
Nevertheless, the hope that we might one day find the answer has not been given up. The Scott City Historical Museum, located at 1554 Main Street in Scott City, Missouri, wants to ensure Cheryl is not forgotten, to remind the public that her case remains unsolved and that it is time for someone to tell the truth. I'm doing my best.
They created an exhibit featuring artifacts from Cheryl's life, memorabilia, period photos, embroidered jeans, high school yearbooks, report cards, coloring books, sneakers and more.
Cheryl's parents both passed away without any knowledge of what happened to their daughter. Before passing, both men provided DNA to be entered into the FBI's Consolidated DNA Index System (CODIS). Cheryl's siblings remain determined to find the truth. The exhibit will remain on display for as long as the family wishes to remain in the public eye.
You can see age-progressed photos in this post. Cheryl is white and has red hair and blue eyes. However, as she ages, her hair may naturally change and become more auburn. If alive, Cheryl would currently be 64 years old.
The Standard Democratic Party also said: “An investigation was held in connection with Scherer's disappearance, along with serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole, Toole's nephew. Lucas and Toole claimed to have been in Scott City that day. Then-Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell even traveled to Texas and interviewed Lucas in the early 1980s. After being shown his photo, Lucas denied he remembered Scherer. However, according to the 'Lucas Report', Thule, Lucas, and their nephews were not even in the area that day. they were in florida.”
Contact information:
Anyone with information regarding Cheryl's case is asked to contact the Scott County Sheriff's Office at 573-471-3530.
memo: NamUs and the Missouri State Highway Patrol use middle names. Anne. Other websites use Anne. I mainly follow NamUs.
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Our “Case of the Month” series highlights older, unsolved cases. This post is not an in-depth analysis and of course more information can be found online and in newspaper archives.
We need to get these incidents back into the mainstream media, get people talking again, and above all, make sure the victims aren't forgotten. Just because a case isn't solved doesn't mean we can forget about it.
Advances in modern forensics have given us the opportunity to find clues that were previously hidden. Now let's review all these old examples again.
Please share this post on your social media platforms. By sharing these posts online, your stories reach new networks, new connections, and trending news feeds. One day, these updates may show up in the right people's news feeds. That person may be someone who can help move the case forward and that is my goal.
Until I find you, Cheryl Ann Scherer.