Sheryl Ann Tillinghast was 17 when she vanished from Wassaic, New York, on September 24, 1973. She worked in the laundry room at the Wassaic State School for individuals with developmental disabilities and had been sent there after a reform school she attended burned down. Sheryl was originally from Phelps, New York, stayed in close contact with her siblings and had planned a visit home for her mother’s birthday just before she disappeared.

At the time she left everything behind, including two uncashed paychecks totaling $150 and other personal possessions, which suggests she did not plan to leave voluntarily. She had written to a judge asking that a case worker check on her younger siblings. A co-worker who allegedly assaulted her a month earlier was arraigned, but Sheryl disappeared before the court date. No solid leads have emerged; a missing persons report was not filed until 1998, and her family continues to seek answers. Is there anyone who knew Sheryl or saw her in Wassaic in September 1973 who can help?