Barbara Ann Barnes was 13 when she left for school on the morning of December 7, 1995, in Steubenville, Ohio. She was last seen by a classmate on Brady Avenue at about 7:35 AM. When she did not return home that afternoon, her mother reported her missing and a search began.

On February 22, 1996, surveyors found Barbara’s partially frozen body in a shallow grave along a dry creek bed near Clinton, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles from where she was last seen. An autopsy determined she had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and the missing person case became a homicide investigation.

Investigators from local agencies and the FBI followed numerous leads. Suspicion focused at times on family members, including her uncle Louis Boyce, who reportedly failed a polygraph test but was never charged. Another person of interest was Richard Kolling, an ex-convict who lived near the family; allegations tied him to Barbara’s younger sister and suggested he may have silenced Barbara. A reward of $90,000 was offered, but no arrest has been announced and the case remains unresolved.

If anyone knew Barbara, saw her on Brady Avenue that morning, or has information about the area near Clinton where her body was found, please come forward.