Susan Reddick:1977, Toledo, Illinois

 



  Susan Reddick was born on March 16th, 1958.  She went to Charleston High School, in Charleston, Illinois. 


  On Saturday April 23rd, 1977, Susan was in Charleston, Illinois at a teen and young adult nightclub enjoying her evening. 


   Later on in the 1980’s some of my friends would venture over to Charleston to go to the nightclubs there. They allowed under 21 people in but made them wear a wristband to keep them from drinking. They had a big dancefloor and it was a big draw for people from Terre Haute and lots of places in Indiana.


  Susan Reddick did not make it home that night. Her friends and family might not have even noticed that she was missing yet. She was found the very next morning. 


   19 year old Susan Reddick was found in Toledo, Illinois by mushroom hunters on Sunday April 24th, 1977. Susan was lying facedown in “the Fulfer Branch of Muddy Creek” about five miles north of Toledo. Another article says 6 miles northwest of Toledo. I think she was possibly sexually assaulted, beaten to death and thrown from the bridge. 


  Articles about her death report that she had sustained severe head injuries. 


   I originally was mistaken about the details of her case. I saw Toledo and immediately assumed it was Toledo, Ohio. But Susan was found close to Charleston, just north of Toledo, Illinois. 


   Toledo, Illinois is a tiny town south of Charleston, Illinois. It is the county seat of Cumberland County. The land around is flat and the roads are laid out along that grid that is so familiar to rural midwesterners. 


  Who took Susan Reddick to that bridge north of Toledo? Was a rape kit collected? Were her fingernails clipped and saved? DNA from her killer could still be under her nails or on the clippings. 


  Was she dating anyone? Was someone jealous? Had she recently broken up with someone? 


  It seems to me that her killer was a local man. There is a college in Charleston but the general student population is made up of people from Illinois. 


  Charleston did draw young people from other surrounding states, mostly Indiana, because they had nightclubs where people under 21 could go. That was the reason my friends ventured over there. 


   Sometimes over the years people change. Sometimes they know things and need to tell someone finally. Maybe they kept something quiet for a friend. Maybe they don’t feel the need for blind loyalty anymore. Hopefully someone will come forward with information about Susan Reddick. 

    

    Susan Reddick should still be here.  She was only 19.  She had so much living left to do.  Susan is buried at Fairview Cemetery in a town called Kansas, Illinois.


     Rest In Peace, Susan 


  If you have a tip about the murder of Susan Reddick please call the Toledo, Illinois, Police Department at 217-849-2571 or the Cumberland County Sheriff (217) 849-2571. 


  




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