Debra Jean and Frances Annette Cole: 1981 and 1983, Lebanon, Indiana
Debra Jean Cole was born to Susan and Jerry Cole March 29th, 1969.
When 12 year old Debra Jean Cole disappeared from her Lebanon, Indiana home in 1981 she took nothing with her. She was last seen around 11a.m. with her Mom’s boyfriend, Omer Raymond “Steve” Beebout.
Police considered her a runaway. Her family insisted that she would not leave without taking clothes, money, and toiletries. She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. She was only 12. She wouldn’t run away. Since her disappearance on August 29th, 1981; there were no calls, no letters and no sightings of Debra Jean Cole.
Her mother, Susan Cole, coped the best she could with this terrible situation. But, she had to work. She had to support herself and her children. Her husband, Jerry, had died in an Arizona auto accident in 1969. He had been a truck driver.
Susan Cole’s boyfriend, Omer “Steve” Beebout, helped her by watching her other children while she worked. He had moved to Lebanon from Monticello, Indiana in 1979. The family got by, despite their overwhelming grief and trauma.
Lebanon, Indiana is about a 30 minute drive north of Indianapolis. It’s a small town surrounded by fields and farms.
Frances Annette Cole was Debra Jean’s older sister. She was born on January 14th, 1967.
On Tuesday, October 4th, 1983, she also disappeared. Her mother reported her missing on October 5th after calling everyone she knew and searching on her own. But, 16 year old Frances would not remain missing for long. Her body was found in a ditch on Old Highway 52 just North of Sugar Creek, about 7 miles north of Lebanon on October 11th, 1983. She had been sexually assaulted and shot in the back and neck with a shotgun at very close range.
That’s very close to Thorntown, Indiana.
Susan Cole’s boyfriend, Omer Beebout, passed away from a heart attack in 1989. According to his death certificate he was sleeping on a sofa in a downstairs room of 608 W. Main Street in Lebanon, Indiana. He was 49 years old.
In 1999, investigators would test Frances Annette Cole’s rape kit. Her rapist and murderer would turn out to be none other than Omer “Steve” Beebout. He had long been a suspect but the technology to separate the intermingled DNA of the suspect and the victim did not exist until 1999. Thank goodness investigators did not give up.
Was Omer also responsible for the disappearance of 12 year old Debra Jean Cole? It appears he may have been. Debra Jean Cole remains missing to this day.
I would look in the wooded areas along Old Highway 52 North of Lebanon on the way to Thorntown.
I think investigators should also consider Omer “Steve” Beebout in the 1986 disappearance of 6 year old Shannon Sherrill of Thorntown, Indiana. She disappeared on Sunday October 5th, 1986 from her neighborhood. She and other children who lived in the trailer park had all been playing outside when Shannon seemingly vanished. Shannon is still missing.
Omer Raymond “Steve” Beebout grew up in Pekin, Illinois. Pekin is south of Peoria on the banks of the Illinois River.
What did Omer “Steve” Beebout do for a living? Before 1979, when he lived in Monticello, he worked for Bassett Rotary Tool and for True Flight Arrow. Where did he work in Lebanon? Did he have friends? Did he hunt or fish? Where did he go on his time off? He may have disposed of or buried Debra Jean Cole and possibly also Shannon Sherrill there.
When he died in 1989, his obituary did not mention Susan Cole or any of her children. That indicates to me that the two were not together when he died.
Frances Annette Cole is buried at Lincoln Memory Gardens in Whitestown, Indiana. That’s near Lebanon, Indiana.
If you hike, swim, look for mushrooms or cool rocks, hunt or fish around the Lebanon or Thorntown area keep your eyes open for signs of Debra Jean Cole and Shannon Sherrill.
Rest in Peace Frances Annette Cole
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