Nancy Lyons:2002, Carthage, Indiana

   

   Nancy Lyons lived in Carthage, Indiana in 2002. That’s a very small community near Rushville, Indiana. It lies about a 40 minute drive east of Indianapolis. 

  Nancy, 46, lived in an apartment and was friends with many of her neighbors. Her sister, Debora Mitchell, described her as someone who never met a stranger. Nancy was known as someone who went for walks frequently all around town. She must have felt very safe in this community. 

   Carthage is a tiny community. The chances that this is an abduction by an outsider are minuscule. 

   On Monday, June 17th, 2002 Nancy’s red 1993 Nissan was found, seemingly abandoned in Rush County. The rear left side tire was flat, the trunk was open and the car was still running. It was the sidewall of the tire that was punctured. It wasn’t a nail or a screw in the tread of the tire. 

  Nancy had just been to Walmart in Rushville. Her handbag with her medication and purchases were still inside her car. Had someone sabotaged her tire and followed her? Or was the flat tire simply a coincidence? Either way it looks like someone stopped to help with the tire and almost immediately grabbed 46 year old Nancy instead. 

  Nancy’s family was determined to find her. They searched and organized more searches. Her sister Debora and brother-in-law, Rev. Rollin Mitchell, set up a headquarters for the search in their home. They managed to get a team of blood hounds and handlers to come all the way from Maine. 

 Reverend Rollin Mitchell and his wife Debora set up a donation account at a local bank. Kind people who were worried about Nancy donated their hard earned money. It was used for whatever was needed for the searchers. Tanks of gas, food, and even search dogs were some of the expenses. 

 The local paper kept the story in the news just about each week. But no sign of Nancy was found.

  On October 2nd, 2002, Nancy’s remains were found in Bartholomew County. A farmer harvesting soybeans spotted a skull and other bones scattered in his field which was located east of the town of Columbus, Indiana.

  Columbus is an unusual town in Indiana. Cummins Diesel, a major diesel engine manufacturer, is located there. They sponsor a program that pays the architect’s fees for new buildings in town with the end purpose to bring great architecture to the city. Nearly every famous architect of the 20th century has a building there. Want to see a building by I.M. Pei or aero Saarinen AND pick up a gallon of milk from Walmart all in 20 minutes? Columbus is the town for you. Schools, fire stations, churches and other buildings in many unique styles make the town an architectural tourist destination. Students of architecture from many colleges come to tour the town. This sophisticated and urbane looking town is surrounded by farms and fields and forests. 

   Nancy was found east of Columbus off County Road 1000 East between C.R. 200 South and C.R. 300 South. Between those two roads there is one farm. So, it’s an isolated place. Just south of County Road 300 S, there is a small area where the shoulder is wider and you could pull over and even turn a car around. It’s far enough from and nearby farms that, in the dark, no one would notice you. I don’t know if that is near where her body was found but maybe. The other likely spot is a bridge over a small creek further south of the farm. If the water was high and there were a lot of weeds; that is a likely spot. On one side of the bridge there is water or at least enough water that you can see the vegetation around the creek from above on Google Earth. And on the other side the creek seems to be so much smaller that the farmer just plows and plants right over it. Maybe the creek is only seasonal and not filled with water year round? The killer could have stopped on the bridge to throw Nancy over. There were woods nearby but this killer seems to have stayed on the road. 

  Nancy was very religious. She came from a very religious family. Her brother-in-law, Rollin Lee Mitchell was a Reverend. As was his Dad. Reverend Rollin Mitchell preached at tent revivals all over Indiana and sometimes in other states as well. Nancy came from a large family who were also from this same religious tradition. 

  Nancy earned a living as a professional Nanny. She had been unemployed recently due to some medical concerns. Nancy dressed in a very modest way that some might think of as almost Amish. She had never married. 

  Was Nancy targeted because she was a very religious woman? There are men out there who may have assumed that Nancy was a virgin. Perhaps that was a motive here. 

   Nancy was also uncommonly beautiful. She was thin and had the facial features of a model from a magazine. Could someone she knew have developed an obsession with her? To an outsider she might have looked much older than 46. She might even have appeared to be a senior citizen because of her style of dress. But to someone who knew her; she’d have looked younger. 

  This seems like a local killer to me. People who knew Nancy said they doubted that she would have gotten out of her car for a man she didn’t know. She was careful. 

  Blunt force trauma to the head was the cause of death listed on Nancy’s death certificate. That makes me think that this killer abducted, raped and murdered Nancy on an impulse. He didn’t have a weapon with him. (Or, he may have had a gun with him but he didn’t want it connected to this crime.)  He used something heavy and dense; like a tire iron or a hammer. 

   I would look for a local man who has a good reputation. He’s a busy man. He didn’t have time to drive Nancy’s body to Ohio or Illinois or even a major River. He did not take time to bury her body. He only had enough time to pop into Bartholomew County really quickly. He had to get back. He was expected back, in my opinion.

   Searches focused on the area surrounding the site where Nancy’s car was found. Some assumed she had walked away from her car. Others assumed she was taken. 

   But she wasn’t found in Northwest Rush County. She was further south in Bartholomew County. 

   Nancy Lyons deserves to still be here with us. Someone knows what happened. Perhaps they have considered coming forward with information, a hunch or suspicion. Sometimes you can see something or hear something but not understand the significance until much later. 

  

   If you have a tip about the disappearance of Nancy Lyons please call 

Indiana State Police
District Investigative Commander
902 South Adams Street
Versailles, IN 47042
1.812.689.5000 or 1.800.566.6704