Cherrie Ann Mahan:1985, Butler County, Pennsylvania

   

   Cherrie Ann Mahan was born on August 14th, 1976 to 16 year old Janice Mahan. Janice had tragically been raped at age 15. Janice probably could have given Cherrie Ann to an adoptive family but her love for her daughter was so strong. She said that they grew up together.

   Janice later married LeRoy McKinney, a Vietnam Veteran, who was happy to have a stepdaughter like Cherrie. The family moved to Cornplanter Road in Butler County, north of Pittsburgh.

  Cherrie Mahan was 8 years old in 1985. She might have been reading a chapter book on the bus or practicing multiplication tables. She might have been working on her spelling homework. It was a Friday so maybe she did all her homework on the bus so she wouldn’t have to worry about it over the weekend. 

  She was just getting off the bus like any normal day on February 22nd, 1985. She and a group of neighbor children got off at the same stop on Cornplanter Road. That day was a little bit different though because it was to be Cherrie’s first day walking up the driveway alone. Normally her Mom drove the car down to get her. The weather was good even though it was cold. Cherrie and her Mom had planned in advance that Cherrie would walk up their driveway all by herself that day. 

  This part of Pennsylvania is very rural with winding roads. It’s very wooded. This road isn’t the kind of place that out of town people would be traveling on to make their way through the area. 

  Two cars were following the bus that day. One was a van described as blue/green with a snowy mountain scene and a skier wearing red and yellow painted on it. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s a van with a big mural on it was a fairly common sight. 

  The other car was a small blue sedan. 

  The mother of the other children at the bus stop saw Cherrie walk past the bluish green van and start up the driveway. That mother was in her car picking the kids up as usual. 

   No one saw the moment that Cherrie was abducted. Her stepfather heard the bus and started to walk down the 150 yard driveway to meet Cherrie. Janice told him to let her walk alone since it was such a nice day. After a few more minutes when Cherrie didn’t walk in the door they began looking for her. 

  

   She wasn’t on the driveway or near the house. Cherrie wasn’t down by the road. They saw tire tracks about 50 yards from their home in the driveway. 

 

   Police and volunteers searched the area. A large reward was collected and offered for Cherrie’s safe return. Fliers were printed and distributed throughout Pennsylvania and eventually throughout the United States. 

   Searches for the van and the small blue sedan proved fruitless. 

   Cherrie has been missing ever since February 22nd 1985. 

    In 1998, Janice (Mahan) McKinney went through the legal process of declaring Cherrie Mahan dead. 

   In 2018, Janice received a letter that graphically detailed Cherrie’s murder and where her remains could be found. Janice (Mahan) McKinney turned the letter over to police.

   Recently, in October of 2025, digging and searching was conducted on land where a suspect had lived near Cherrie’s home. No announcement about what that search might have uncovered has been made. 

   It is thought that Cherrie knew her abductor. Her parents heard no screams or sounds of a struggle. Perhaps that person pulled up the drive and told Cherrie to hop in because her parents asked them to pick her up for some reason. 

   None of Cherrie’s family members are considered suspects in her disappearance. Rumors and speculation over the years just added to the heartache that her family has endured. 

   If you have information about the disappearance of Cherrie Ann Mahan please call the Pennsylvania State Police at (724) 284-8100.