Sandra Lindsay was 24 when she disappeared from Philadelphia in early December 1986. Her disappearance later proved to be part of a larger and horrific crime: Lindsay was one of six women held captive in a pit dug in the basement of a North Philadelphia house run by a man identified as Gary Heidnik.

Survivors described brutal conditions: the women were often chained and half-naked in a water-filled pit, subjected to starvation, beatings, electrocution and other abuse. In early February 1987 Sandra Lindsay’s health collapsed; she was reportedly handcuffed to a ceiling beam, fed only bread and water, then kicked into the pit, where she died from a combination of starvation, torture and an untreated fever. Investigators later found evidence that parts of her body had been dismembered, with some remains cooked and others stored in a freezer, and survivors testified that her remains were mixed with dog food and forced on the other captives.

Gary Heidnik, 43 at arrest, was charged with multiple crimes including the murders of Sandra Lindsay and Deborah Dudley; an alleged accomplice, Cyril Brown, described as Lindsay’s boyfriend, was also arrested and charged in connection with her death. Does anyone have memories or information about Sandra Lindsay from Philadelphia in 1986–87?