On February 18, 1981, 5-year-old Neely Shane Smith was abducted while playing near her Charlotte, North Carolina, home. Witnesses said a man with gray hair forced her into his van. After an extensive search, Neely’s remains were found on April 11, 1981, in a remote area near the Mecklenburg-Union County line. She had been raped and strangled, a crime that devastated the local community.

Fred Coffey, convicted in another child murder in Charlotte, has long been considered a suspect in Neely’s case, but investigators have not found physical evidence linking him directly to this crime. Coffey is serving a life sentence and remains a central figure in the investigation as detectives continue to pursue new leads and DNA testing in the cold case.

If anyone remembers Neely, the man with gray hair, or seeing a van in the area in February 1981, please come forward with information.