Cheresa Lordi was 19 when she vanished from her Kansas City, Missouri, apartment area in the winter of 1997. The last confirmed sighting was on the evening of February 14, when a brother-in-law gave her a ride to her home near 11th and Benton Streets. When her apartment was later checked, her purse, clothing and other personal effects remained behind.

Cheresa had brown, wavy hair and eyes described as hazel or blue. She had tattoos: a dot on her wrist and a rose and a marijuana leaf on her leg. She lived with epilepsy and received monthly disability checks that were not picked up from her mother’s home in March and April after she disappeared. She was known to spend time around Independence Avenue and Northeast Kansas City and associated with people involved in sex work, though she had no criminal record for such offenses.

The Kansas City Police Department investigated and suspected foul play. Investigators and family have noted possible connections to other area cases from 1996–1997, including the disappearances of Jamie Pankey and Connie Williams and several bodies found in the Missouri River. Does anyone who knew Cheresa or who was in those neighborhoods in early 1997 have information that could help clarify what happened?