Cheryl Anne Scherer

On a spring morning in Scott City, Missouri, 19-year-old Cheryl Anne Scherer, a white female, was working her shift at the Rhodes Pump-Ur-Own gas station, a job she held to pay for her college tuition. The date was April 17, 1979, and the day seemed to be unfolding like any other. Around 11:20 a.m., she made a routine call to her mother, chatting about plans for dinner and sewing that evening. Her mother later recalled that Cheryl was in good spirits. However, in a brief window of time between 11:40 and 11:50 a.m., Cheryl vanished without a trace. A coworker arriving for the next shift found the gas station unattended.

Investigators arrived to a puzzling scene. Cheryl's car was still in the parking lot, with her keys inside. Her purse and checkbook were also left behind. The only thing that seemed out of place was approximately $480 missing from the cash register, leading authorities to initially believe she was the victim of a robbery-abduction. The investigation was hampered by a lack of witnesses. The adjacent IGA grocery store, usually bustling with people, was closed that day, leaving a void of potential observers. Despite extensive air and ground searches, no sign of Cheryl was ever found.

Several years later, in 1984, a new lead emerged when infamous serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole claimed responsibility for abducting and killing a young woman in the area around the time Cheryl disappeared. Investigators traveled to Texas to interview Lucas. While he recounted details of a similar crime, he did not recognize Cheryl's photograph. It was later established that both Lucas and Toole were in Scott City on the day of her disappearance, accompanied by Toole's niece and nephew. However, there was never enough evidence to press charges against them in connection with Cheryl's case, and their confessions were often proven to be unreliable. Further reports even suggested that the duo was actually in Florida when Cheryl went missing.

Another theory explored by law enforcement was the possibility that Cheryl fell victim to a different serial killer, one who specifically targeted women with red hair, as several victims matching this description were found along major highways in neighboring states during that era. Timothy Krajcir, another serial killer who operated in the region, was also questioned but denied any involvement in her case. Decades have passed, but the disappearance of Cheryl Anne Scherer remains an unsolved mystery, a haunting story of a young woman who vanished from her post on an ordinary day, leaving behind a community still searching for answers.