Laurie McKissick, 17, was found dead in woods opposite 585 Bronx River Road in Yonkers on June 10, 1999. A dog walker discovered her at about 3:17 p.m.; her shirt and bra were pushed up around her neck and she was not wearing shoes. Laurie had been a runaway from a Bronx group home and was last seen that morning reportedly arguing with a Black male in a red van stopped on the side of the road in the same area where her body was recovered.

Laurie was Black and had a troubled home life; her parents were separated and she had been living in a group home she disliked, though she kept in touch with her mother in Brooklyn. Friends said she had met an older man from Yonkers. In 2012 a connection to the 1998 murder of 14-year-old Marleny Cruz emerged after the arrest of James Martin; Marleny and Laurie had been friends and lived at the same Bronx group home. Yonkers police later named Martin a person of interest and submitted DNA from Laurie’s murder scene for re-testing to compare with his DNA, but results were not released and Laurie’s death remains unsolved.

Does anyone who knew Laurie, saw a red van in that area on June 10, 1999, or has other information about her movements that day have details to share?