Bradford Bishop and Trenny Gibson: Both Associated with Smoky Mountains National Park in 1976

By: Shane Lambert

Original time of writing: November 27th, 2024
Minor update: January 22nd, 2025

I was reading about Bradford Bishop tonight, a man who spent much time on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list. He is no longer on this list but that does not mean he was apprehended. He may remain at large at the time of writing but he would be at a very advanced age at this point if he was still alive. FBI images of Bishop are below, taken from their official website.

In this article, I will associate Bradford Bishop's known timeline with another unsolved mystery, Trenny Gibson's disappearance. Trenny is a missing person who disappeared as a teenager back in 1976. Her last-known location was not too far from Bradford Bishop's last-known location. There is a time gap to be aware of but I think the two cases should be thought of together.

Bishop allegedly killed five family members on March 1st, 1976. Even though his alleged crimes are almost fifty years old, he does still make the news occasionally. For instance, People.com published a piece on him as recently as December 2024 (Author: Christine Pelisek). A woman, who knew she was adopted, found out that she was Bishop's child.

After Bishop allegedly killed his five family members, his vehicle was found abandoned in Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee on March 18th, 1976. According to an episode of The Infographics Show (cited at the end), Bishop left dog biscuits in the car, a shotgun, an ax, a bloody blanket, and a shaving kit with his medication.

Bishop was considered an avid outdoorsman and both a camping and hiking enthusiast. Perhaps in agreement with this, his car was found in the park at an abandoned campground seventeen days after allegedly killing his family members. 

In my opinion, that his vehicle was found at an abandoned campground suggests that Bishop's short-term plans to elude authorities involved hiding in remote wilderness locations. That opinion has shaped a lot of what I write below. 

Trenny Gibson: Missing From Smoky Mountains National Park Since October 1976

While reading about Bishop, I wondered for a moment why I had a familiarity with Smoky Mountains National Park. I have never been there. Then I recalled that this was the park that Trenny Gibson had gone missing from. 

I wrote about her five years ago after reading about her case at a time when I was focusing on missing people and hiking trails. Gibson went missing on October 8th, 1976 while on a school field trip that involved hiking in Smoking Mountains National Park. As of the time of writing (November 27th, 2024), she is still missing.

Trenny also makes the news occasionally. WATE.com profiled her case in October 2024 (Hope McAlee).

There were just under seven months between March 18th, 1976 (the day Bishop's car was found), and October 8th, 1976 (the date Trenny went missing). That's a huge gap of time to associate the two respective events, the discovery of Bishop's station wagon and the date of Gibson's disappearance. 

However, Bishop was an avid hiker, camper, and outdoorsman. 

Furthermore, presuming that he killed his five family members (as commonly assumed), he would have had a massive motive to hide from the law -- permanently. It is thought that Bishop blended in with the hikers in the area in the immediate aftermath of abandoning his vehicle.

For almost certain, Bishop would want to move away from his vehicle, knowing it would be a lead for the authorities as they searched for him. One has to wonder if he used whatever resources he had to set up a long-term camp in the national park in March 1976. However, a credible sighting of the wanted man was not made until some time later.

Bishop Seen in Sweden

The first credible sighting of Bradford Bishop after the deaths of his family members happened in July 1978, when someone who knew him claimed she saw him in Stockholm, Sweden. Admittedly, there is a big gap between the date of his station wagon's discovery in March 1976 and July 1978. But he could have stayed in the park for several months as there is no proof that he was anywhere else until more than two years later.

Could Bradford Bishop have kidnapped Trenny Gibson? The connection between Gibson and Bishop might be called tenuous. Certain things line up but not like a line of dominoes.

The scenario that I would like to suggest starts with Bishop preparing for a life on the lam after March 1st, 1976. This much is assumed about him by those who have written about his case.

We know that he ditched his car near Elkmont in March 1976. Then it's thought that he blended in with the hikers as he moved away from the station wagon. At this point, he would have little choice but to use his avid outdoorsman skills to hide in the park from authorities. This was not someone who could simply re-enter his life: in fact, if the allegations against him are true the statutes on the crimes will never expire.

Trenny Gibson: Missing While Hiking Separate From Her Classmates

When Trenny Gibson went missing, she was on a school excursion but she was hiking separately from her classmates. That she may have fallen on a difficult section of the trail has been suggested. It's a scenario that can't be discounted, even though she was never found despite a serious search. But many thought that she may have been lured and abducted. Some sources say that her scent was tracked to a roadside location, where it disappeared.

If Bradford Bishop was still in the park, he clearly had the nerve to commit an abduction. Furthermore, that he may still have been in the park cannot just be brushed aside. His car was found there and his alleged crimes were so major that he could likely never be free again if found, giving him a motive to hide out long term. Also, he had the outdoor skills and intelligence to survive as a camper long term.

What I think can be stated for certain is that he might have been in the area of Trenny Gibson on the day she disappeared. Also, Bishop, if the allegations against him are true, was capable of felonious acts.

On the other hand, one could argue that it would actually be stupid for Bishop to abduct Gibson. The ensuing search for her might simply reveal his own hiding spot. I think this is a counterpoint that needs to be addressed. 

In my opinion, if Bishop has anything to do with Gibson's disappearance, then it might just be from an accidental encounter. Trenny Gibson, for part of the school trip, had hiked alongside her classmates. My thoughts on her disappearance have always been that she chose to hike alone for a short time for one unflattering reason: she was planning to urinate off of the trail and didn't want any of her classmates around. Maybe, like the rest of us, she was a critic of outhouses.

When someone urinates near a hiking trail, I think they usually choose to go 10 to 20 yards away from the trail for privacy's sake. There's not much need to go much further. In the past, I've thought that Trenny simply picked an unlucky spot to do this with some kind of transient lurking not too far off of the trail. 

In this scenario, I wonder if that hypothetical transient was none other than Bradford Bishop. He's on the lam, he can't rejoin society, and his car was found in the park earlier in the year. If Trenny Gibson found his hiding spot while venturing 20 yards off the trail, then his motive for disappearing her is immense. Also, he would realize it's time to move on with search parties coming to look for her.

It is not that hard to explain why such search parties would not find his camp. I've worked on enough missing person cases to know that phrases like "we left no stone unturned" or "we scoured the area" are often fluff. You have to add the phrase "within budget" to each statement to form something true.

The Infographics Show and Bradford Bishop

Bradford Bishop's fight from justice was covered in an episode of The Infographics Show. In the episode, they include what was found in the car.

Coyote Creek Jane Doe - #UP125213 (San Jose, California Jane Doe Found October 27th, 1985)

By: Shane Lambert

UP125213 is a Jane Doe that was found on October 27th, 1985 at 1 PM. She was only recently entered into NamUs (July 3rd, 2024).

The Jane Doe is a white female adult in the pre-30s category. She was believed to be about 5'2" and 135 pounds by post-mortem measurements. She had black hair and is described as an unidentified female who was found in a wooded area.

Clothing: white tank top, small bra size, Blue501's Levis brand blue jeans, backless sandals with clear plastic-webbed material over instep, cork-heel insert, and rubber-ribbed soles; fingernails and toenails that were pink or fuschia.

Location: The Google Maps coordinates that open when you follow the NamUs location are 37°20'19.5"N 121°53'06.9"W. However, she was discovered in a wooded area and that location looks urbanized. I did find some journalism on what I believe to be this Jane Doe. She was found "in the Coyote Creek area," at least that's what a blurb in the October 28th, 1985 edition of The San Francisco Examiner states of the discovery of a "badly decomposed body." The blurb says that the body was found near "Teurs Road" and Loupe Avenue. Teurs Road is probably "Tuers Road." I think 37.30182080459984, -121.82666137092619 are better coordinates. 

Who Found the Body: Children playing in the area. 

There did not seem to be a lot of follow-up journalism on this case with the database I use. NamUs has an article posted to the profile which states that this Jane Doe had been strangled.

Madera County Jane Doe - #UP125443 Was Found September 24th, 1989

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: July 18th, 2024

Introduction to Madera County Jane Doe Case #UP125443

#UP125443 is a Jane Doe who was added to the NamUs system in July 2024. There is a big gap between the entry date and the date that this person was discovered. I did find some journalism coverage on the discovery of the body dating back to September 1989.

Jane Doe. Madera County Jane Doe.

Physical Description of the Jane Doe

There were not a lot of details available in the NamUs report. But this person was determined to be a female of an uncertain race. She was placed in the Adult Pre-40 category with journalism suggesting an age in her 20s.

She had a weight of 130 to 135 pounds and she was between 4'8" and 5'2". Using the upper estimates, she would be upper normal on a lot of BMI scales. She may have appeared slightly chubby in life if she was 5'2" and 135 pounds.

She had black hair that was called shoulder-length in journalism. NamUs says she had a condition called "Enamel hypoplasia," which is when enamel does not develop properly.

Location Where the Body Was Found

Location of her body: About 10 miles southwest of Madera in a vineyard. Avenue 6 and Road 23, about 50 feet from the paved road. 36.83692288193394, -120.12828210216904 are the approximate Google Maps coordinates. There are still a lot of vineyards in the area in modern times.

Discovery of the Remains

Who found the body: A crew of grape pickers.

Estimated Time of Death

Time of death: There is no post-mortal interval provided at NamUs but the journalism in September 1989 suggested that she had been at the location where she was found for 2-3 weeks. I felt like this information had to be taken lightly.

Clothing and Personal Items

Clothing: At the original time of writing, NamUs did not have any clothing entered. According to journalism, she was wearing a multibanded silver-colored ring with a cluster of silver-colored balls. The ring described in the clothing sounds like what one would call a cocktail ring.

Media Coverage of the Case

Her Jane Doe report appeared in The Fresno Bee on September 28th, 1989, which was four days after she was found. As described from that source, it appeared to be a body dump.

Deborah Dubs - Missing Since July 1984 from San Francisco

Missing Person: Deborah Dubs

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Deborah Dubs was last seen on July 25th, 1984 in San Francisco, CA. Also missing is her husband, Harvey, 30, and their 16-month-old son, Sean. Based on the evidence, I think a reasonable guess as to what happened to them can be made.

Last contact: July 25th, 1984 (Wednesday)

Last seen: Their Mission District home (100 block of Yukon Street); Upper Market area, just off of  Market Steeet.

Age when Deborah Dubs disappeared: 33

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64, which is 5'4"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 107

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Tracheotomy scar

Clothing and Accessories: Leather purse, white blouse with horizontal stripes, dark slacks, sandals, and loafers

Maiden name: Deborah Ann Nourse

Vehicle:1980 Volkswagen Rabbit. Tan/Beige, Four door. Plate: 3A06195 (CA), which was found near the San Francisco Airport on August 1st in the airport's long-term parking lot with the doors unlocked.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/10208?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Deborah Dubs disappeared in late July 1984. The last time she was seen was on July 25th of that year. Her disappearance happened at the same time as her husband Harvey and their 15-to-16-month-old son, Sean Christopher Dubs.

The first instance of journalism I found about this case appeared on July 31st, 1984 in the Oakland Tribune. Here are the pointers of the early journalism:

• Deborah's father, James Nourse, received a phone call from an unidentified man saying that the couple was going to Washington State for a few weeks;
• Neighbors reported seeing people going in and out of their apartment;
• Someone drove off with their car;
• Harvey's employer also received a phone call saying that he was going to Washington; the man who phoned called himself "Jim Bright";
• On July 26th, there was a commotion outside of the apartment and an Asian man was spotted carrying duffel bags down the street; this Asian man was probably serial killer Charles Ng, although this was not known at the time;
• The then-unknown Asian man is the one who drove away in the Dubs' Volkswagen but this was called unverified in another article in early journalism;
• Three days after their disappearance reportedly someone tried to break into the apartment;
• A man came out and entered a Dodge Dart where two other men were waiting.

In the early journalism, it was also mentioned that Harvey Dubs did video work as a side job. Something to do with this was thought to be a possible reason for his disappearance and his family's. It''s possible that a classified advertisement led the wrong kind of people to the Dubs family. 

Has Deborah Dubs been found?

Although the car was found at the airport, the police had no evidence that the couple had taken a flight. But Deborah's credit card was used twice in the days after her disappearance. On both days, it was credit card fraud. This was reported on August 17th, 1984. The first instance of credit card fraud was on July 26th while the second was the next night. Both involved petty restaurant food purchases.

August 17th, 1984. San Francisco Examiner.

August 18th, 1984. San Francisco Examiner.

August 18th, 1984. San Francisco Examiner.

The journalism died down after the restaurant credit card transactions. However, it heated back up in June 1985. Someone named Paul Cosner went missing and it was thought that his case might be related to the missing Dubs' family. Cosner is still missing as of the time of this blog post. Cosner and Harvey Dubs had both placed classified ads in the time frame leading up to their disappearances. Cosner was selling a car while Dubs was offering video services.

In journalism from June 1985, the composite sketch of the Asian man above from the restaurant credit card fraud is thought to be the same Asian man who carted things out of the Dubs' apartment. The names Leonard Lake and Charles Ng soon emerged in journalism about the disappearance of Deborah Dubs and her family.

The evidence, in this case, suggested that Deborah Dubs was in the custody of serial killers Charles Chitat Ng and Leonard Lake. The former was convicted of her murder while the latter committed suicide. According to Ng's Wikipedia page, Deborah Dubs was seen on a videotape of Ng's being assaulted so severely that she could not have survived. Her remains might be among those found in a makeshift grave involving burned human ashes and bone fragments. Her fate is largely known and if she was in the makeshift grave, then it's possible that all work on finding her will be futile. Charles Ng, at the time of writing, was imprisoned and on death row in California.

Lorree Lee Dennis -- Missing Since July 1984

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Lorree was last seen in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 22nd, 1984. She was a passenger in a maroon 1970 Ford station wagon. There was a storm and the driver tried to cross high water near the corner of East Washington Avenue and Lamb Boulevard when their vehicle flipped over and was swept away. In journalism, this water was called "6-foot wall of water."

The driver was Stephen Jack House (which might be spelled Steven in media). He was located dead but Lorree Dennis has never been located. Journalism covering the event suggests that there was another person in the vehicle as well, however, this was later debunked. Steven Jack House and Lorree Lee Dennis were the only occupants of the vehicle.

Missing Person: Lorree Lee Dennis

Last contact: July 22nd, 1984 (Sunday)

Age when Lorree Lee Dennis disappeared: 19

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64, which is 5'4"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 95- 100

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Red/Auburn

Eye Color: Brown

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Scar on knee. Freckles. However, after all this time her remains would only be skeletal.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/13546?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

The case of Lorree Lee Dennis is one of those cases where there might not be a lot of mystery surrounding what happened to her. She went missing when the car that she was a passenger in got swept away in a surge of aggressive water, as suggested by the NamUs circumstances. The driver died and the car was located but Lorree Lee Dennis was not. That actually struck me as really odd at first.

But Lorree Lee Dennis was diminutive at 5'4" and just 100 pounds for an upper body weight. Her light body cause probably contributed to her being taken further away in the surge of water than the driver.

Has Lorree Lee Dennis been found?

At first, this was an accident that was hard to picture in my mind. The intersection that she went missing in is urban on contemporary maps and it was in Las Vegas. There are no rivers or streams near this intersection in the desert. But after researching that summer in Nevada, there was a series of floods in the state. She must have been out during one of these floods.

That said, if she disappeared in a vehicle accident involving a surge of stormwater in Las Vegas, then I don't know why the authorities would compare her to Jane Does in Virginia and Tennesssee, which they did according to the comparisons chart at NamUs.

I think with this missing person case, we should not be too fanciful. In my opinion, this individual was likely swept into irrigation, which could be defined as man-made waterways. On contemporary maps of the area, there is a man-made canal called the Las Vegas Wash. I think this wash might have existed in 1984 as a wash in the area is referenced in some journalism about this event. She could have ended up in Lake Mead according to one authority that commented on this case. Lake Mead is in both Nevada and Arizona.

The Idaho Statesman. July 24th, 1984.

I found a divorce record for this individual from just days prior to her disappearance. However, I think that is just a red herring. Jane Does found in the area around the Las Vegas Wash or Lake Mead are in play for this missing person in my opinion. Her small body could have been carried a very long way, I think.

Attempt to match: https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/9858?nav

If you are searching for original newspaper at about the time of Lorree Dennis' disappearance, then search for the driver, spelled "Steven Jack House."

NamUs #UP1234 (Attempt to Match) -- Unidentified Remains from December 15th, 1985

By: Shane Lambert

Unidentified Person: NamUs #UP1234

NamUs #UP1234 is a Jane Doe that hitchhikers discovered on December 15th, 1985. The journalism near the time of the discovery associated her with a series of bodies that were discovered in the area. She was the 5th body discovered in the area in 1985.

According to NamUs, these were "Human remains...found in an isolated wooded area northeast of the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Palm Bay Rd in West Melbourne, FL." Other sources also state that the remains were found near Dairy Road. NamUs, at the time of writing, lists the human remains as those of a male, however, I would suggest that the composite sketch depicts a female. Furthermore, the newspaper articles I reviewed considered the individual to be a Jane Doe instead of a John Doe.

Newspaper coverage at about the time of the discovery

One reference that I believe pertains to this Doe is from the December 30th, 1985 edition of Florida Today. That journalism by Michael Lafferty claims that this Jane Doe was part of five women who were discovered deceased under the headline "Authorities keep mum on murders."  The excerpt below matches the location of where the body was found in NamUs. Also, it matches the time frame as two weeks before December 30th would have been December 16th, which is just one day off of the December 15th discovery,

December 30th, 1985. Florida Today.

December 16th, 1985. The Orlando Sentinel.

NamUs lists this person as having died at about the time of the discovery (0 months for PMI). The age range given is 36-45 years old. Her height is estimated to be 5'6" and no weight estimate is given.

One matter that did not make sense with NamUs is that the person's remains were listed as "near skeletal." I would think that would mean that she had been dead for at least a few months and the 0 months for PMI that NamUs lists therefore is not correct. It's clear that this profile is not accurate, given that the sex is wrong as per several other sources.

Dark blue pants with purple buttons and an elastic waistband were discovered near the body. Also, there was a floral print short sleeve blouse and underwear of color unknown.

The designation of the Doe as a male appears to be a mistake. Anyone looking at this case should cross-reference with missing women.

I think any amateurs cross-referencing this to women who are missing in the area should broaden all the criteria. 

Attempts to Match

Patti Lou Volansky, pictured below, went missing on March 15th, 1985. For time and space gaps, that's nine months prior and 40 miles to the north. However, the clothing she was thought to have does not match the Jane Doe.

Tammy Lepert, pictured below beside the Jane Doe, is a closer facial match to the composite sketch of the Jane Doe. She went missing in July of 1983. For a time gap, that's almost 2.5 years between her "last seen" date and the discovery of the Jane Doe's skeletal remains. She went missing in Cocoa Beach, Florida, which is just 27 miles from where the Jane Doe was discovered.

The gap of time is not necessarily a reason to rule this out as a match because the remains were skeletal. That could be anywhere upward of three months. I would say that as far as composite sketches go, she is a very reasonable hit. The parting hair as depicted by the forensic artist is a match.

The height between the two is off by about two inches. However, investigators have trouble getting someone's exact height from skeletal remains.The clothing between the two does not match (pants vs skirt). However, Tammy had a floral design on her shirt and the Jane Doe did as well. There would be a large age gap between the two as the Jane Doe, at the younger side, was thought to be 36 while Leppert was 18 when she went missing.

Prognosis: it's doubtful that either of these two missing persons match.

Ramona Lynn Fey (Attempt to Match) - Missing Since 1995 After Self-Harm

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Ramona Lynn Fey left her sister's residence in Spanaway, WA after she, Ramona, cut her own throat. She was later involved in a single-vehicle car accident at Mount Rainier National Park and had to be towed from a ditch. Her car was later found in Mount Rainier National Park with the door open and the engine running. Witnesses saw her on a trail in the park. An extensive search failed to locate the MP. She may have had brown-wire-rimmed glasses.

Missing Person: Ramona Lynn Fey

Last contact: July 17th, 1995 (Tuesday)

Age when Ramona Lynn Fey disappeared: 39

Sex: Female

Height in Inches: 64-65, which is 5'4" to 5'5"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 115

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Brown but graying

Eye Color: Brown

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Scar on the leg. Had cut her own throat.

Birthdate: probably November 30th, 1955.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/14348?nav

Ancestry Webpage: Ramona Lynn Fey

Vehicle Information: 1984 Jeep Cherokee. Wagon style. Tan color. 379DCY plates.

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Ramona Lynn Fey has not been seen since July 17th, 1995. Her vehicle was found in Mount Rainier National Park, making her a case of "Car found person missing," which is a popular tag on this blog. 

This missing person case is not as clouded in mystery as some other ones. In my opinion, suicide is the most likely reason for her disappearance. However, the whereabouts of her remains is the question at hand.

The journalism on this missing person, by my research, started on July 19th, 1995. A short blurb appeared in The News Tribune out of Tacoma, Washington. She had left her car running in the park's parking lot, which shows some indifference to the vehicle. That may have been a call for help.

This individual was depressed and had a doctor for the matter. A blurb written a day after the one below stated that she had stopped taking her medication. The family described the woman as mentally ill and possibly suicidal.

Has Ramona Lynn Fey been found?

There is a chance that body parts of hers were found on September 13th, 2013. Some human remains were found on that day that have not yet been linked to an individual yet.

The NamUs Unidentified Person is #12200. The authorities are uncertain of the sex or other details of these body parts. However, I will point out that the coordinates given for where Ramona Lynn Fey was last seen and the coordinates of the body parts that were found are extremely close to one another when I pull them up on Google Maps. I'm not sure if this has to do with just a kind of "default" coordinates for the area or not.

The missing person has a webpage at Ancestry. There is a separate picture there of her which I decided to publish here. It may show the glasses that are associated with her case. Also, there appears to be a mole on her chin/cheek. Her date of disappearance is listed as her date of death at Ancestry, suggesting that her family members are satisfied to some extent that she died at the time of her disappearance.

Leichia Reilly - Missing Since 1985 from Seneca, New York

Missing Person: Leichia Reilly

Middle initial: M.

Last contact: January 31st, 1985 (Thursday) at about 3 AM

Last seen: Witnesses, including an NFL player, reported seeing her leave the Pierce Arrow Restaurant with Daniel D. Rose. I think the address of the Pierce Arrow Restaurant was 3036 West Seneca Street as they used that address in their classifieds.

Age when Leichia Reilly disappeared: 21

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 65, which is 5'5"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 125, range given of 120 to 125 pounds

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Family: Patrick F. Reilly (father), Suzanne M, Sharrow (mother)

Missing Person's Birthday: October 5th, 1963; she has a landing page at Ancestry.

Scar or distinctive characteristic: She had a large scar on her knee. She had moles on her chest/breast, back, and arms. She had freckles on her face, pierced ears, and a cleft chin.

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Leichia was last seen about 3AM on 1/31/1985 leaving the Pierce Arrow Restaurant/nightclub at Seneca Street & Center Road in West Seneca, NY. She may have been in the company of a white male driving a blue Chevrolet Camero. Lechia was last seen wearing a black waist-length coat with red trim, a sleeveless charcoal-colored cotton jumpsuit with an elastic waist, and a round-neck white sweater with multiple colors including purple and red. She had a red purse with a shoulder strap. Leichia was last seen wearing red perforated shoes with medical heels.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/2885/attachments?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Leichia Reilly was last seen at 3 AM on January 31st, 1985, which was a Thursday morning. She was out at a restaurant/nightclub known as the Pierce Arrow Restaurant. She has not been heard from since.

 

The first instance of journalism I found about her disappearance was in The Buffalo News on February 14th, 1985 under the marginal headline "Trooper Probed."  The trooper is not named in this article nor in the early journalism. However, in a 2020 article on January 24th, he was named as Daniel D. Rose. 

The snipped article below was published on February 14th, 1985. Another appeared on February 15th stating that the trooper had retained a lawyer and that he was being questioned at that time, not as a suspect but as someone who was in the company of Reilly and failed to report his knowledge as to what he knew of her actions at about the time of her disappearance.

After mid-February in 1985, there was a gap in journalism related to this case. However, another article I found appeared in The Buffalo News in July of that year.

An authority on the case is quoted in the article, making statements that would suggest the missing person is dead. Furthermore, 200 police officers were working on the case who failed to produce a lead or any physical evidence as to her fate. The article from July 31st, 1985 also said that the state trooper was no longer on the force for an unrelated matter.

July 31st, 1985. The Buffalo News. Gene Warner.

Early in the next year, about a year after she went missing, the police searched for her body at the Chaffee Landfill, which was in the Sardinia area (The Buffalo News/February 5th, 1986/Gene Warner). 

This search was unsuccessful and lasted until late February. An article from March 16th, 1986 stated that the police had a tip that the body had been dumped into a dumpster which, presumably, they must have thought would have gone to the Chaffee Landfill site. This same article says that the state trooper faced an unrelated charge on January 7th, 1986.

Has Leichia Reilly been found?

What stood out with this case is that witnesses said that they saw Reilly leave with Daniel D. Rose. Rose has denied doing this, which brings into question why witnesses would state that he did leave with her. One of the witnesses was a running back for the Buffalo Bills named Robb Riddick.

The Buffalo News. Friday, January 24th, 2020.

Important Addresses for This Case

• Leichia Reilly lived on Leacliff Lane; in modern times that's located just south of Cazenovia Creek and east of Union Road
• The Chaffee Landfill is about a 30-minute drive from West Seneca, using modern routes and locations. According to 1985 journalism, the Landfill was located off Hand Road, which is where the modern landfill still is. This is the landfill that was searched but it was not thought that her body was dumped there. It was thought that her body was put in a dumpster and that the dunpster's contents were destined for the Chaffee Landfill.
• The West Seneca Pierce Arrow Restaurant was at 3036 West Seneca Street. That's a 2.6 mile drive according to modern Google Maps.
• Rose's apartment was in Lackawanna

Daniel D. Rose's Timeline

• Witnesses place him leaving the Pierce Arrow Restaurant at 3 AM with Leichia Reilly
• He returns to the restaurant at 3:55 AM
• Leaves the restaurant with a friend a short time later, at about 4 AM
• The distance from the restaurant to Lackawanna would be a short drive
• The friend says shortly after they arrived at Rose's apartment, he, Rose, went out again
• Rose was in the apartment at 10 AM but the friend was sleeping in previous hours.
• Unaccounted time: 55 minutes between 3 AM and 3:55 AM and the time between about 4:30 AM and 10 AM.
• There was a trooper named Daniel D. Rose who was part of a 1982 trial involving a nightclub drama as well. I wondered if they were the same individuals.

Recent News Regarding Leichia Reilly's Missing Person's Case

Leichia Reilly's missing person case did make news in 2025. WGRZ reviewed the case in a January 31st, 2025 article, one that marked the 40th anniversary of her disappearance. However, the article didn't have any new details.

Tavia Elizabeth Bailey - Missing Since 1985

Missing Person: Tavia Elizabeth Bailey

Last contact: Inconsistent sources. NamUs says December 31st, 1985 (New Year's Eve 1985) which seemed the most credible. Other dates mentioned were January 23rd, 1986 or even January 24th, 1986. However, I think anyone working on this case should go with the NamUs date of December 31st, 1986.

Pensacola News Journal. December 31st, 2010. Kris Wernowsky.

Last seen: In Pensacola, Florida near Warrington Village. On modern maps, there is a place called Warrington Village Apartments. I wondered if that was where she disappeared from. According to an article from 1981, Warrington Village was near Navy Boulevard. It was a 200-unit complex that offered subsidized rental rates.

Pensacola News Journal. March 17th, 1981. Charlotte Wittwer.

Age when Tavia Bailey disappeared: 15

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 63

Weight in pounds (lbs): 115

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Blond/Strawberry

Eye Color: Brown

Born: August 3rd, 1970

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Tavia has a scar on her upper lip. Her ears are pierced several times. These are characteristics that can be cross-referenced to any Jane Does from the area.

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Tavia was last seen on December 31st, 1985. According to reporting, she never came home from a New Year's Eve party on that night.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/5815?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Tavia Elizabeth Bailey was last seen in Pensacola, Florida. Her disappearance date is December 31st, 1985, which was New Year's Eve. However, some reporters mentioned a date of January 23rd, 1986.

The first instance of newspaper coverage that I found regarding her case was a short profile of her on October 25th, 1986 in Florida Today newspaper. It was in the classified advertisement section of the newspaper. The advertisement is snipped below. You can note the different last-seen dates, however, I think December 31st, 1985 should be assumed. Readers or anyone working on this case should note that the profile called her appearance an "abduction."

Her case was also mentioned in the Pensacola News Journal on March 20th, 1989. This article looks at several cases and not just Tavia's. In the newspaper article, she is a called a "chronic runaway," having ran away for the first time when she was 12 years old. She had a history of contacting her family even when she ran away. I also found journalism that described her as a victim of sexual abuse as an eight-year-old. She was in therapy at times, she used drugs, and was in and out of group homes.

Pensacola News Journal. March 20th, 1989.

Has Tavia Elizabeth Bailey been found?

This piece of journalism said that they had no evidence in the missing persons case. I did wonder why she was called abducted in the classified ad from 1986. That designation would suggest that someone knew something. However, my guess was that this was an assumption.

This was a case where there were contradictions on the date that the person went missing. Some of the journalism said that she went missing on January 23rd or 24th in 1986. Meanwhile, NamUs has a date of December 31st, 1985. Tavia was mentioned on September 9th, 2014 in the Pensacola News Journal. Kevin Robinson stated that she "never came home from a New Year's Eve party in 1985."

Tavia Elizabeth Bailey -- Missing After a Party

What stands out with this case is that she attended a party and has not been seen since. I think New Year's Eve is one of the biggest party nights of the year. These parties that teenagers attend could have lurkers and stalkers. That is the assumption that I brought to this missing person's case when I saw that she disappeared after a party on New Year's Eve.

    

A woman going missing after attending a party is somewhat reoccurring among the cases that I have profiled. Melanie Jo Melanson went missing after attending a party. Alexis Scott attended a house party and has not been seen since.

In the case of Tavia Elizabeth Bailey, I think that her habit of running away should be downplayed as the reason for her disappearance because she attended a party before disappearing. I would presume that the following risk factors were instead in play:

• She was in an environment where there were presumably drugs and alcohol;
• She was in an environment where there were presumably young men or even older ones looking for sex;
• She was out in public presumably late as most the focus of a New Year's Eve party is the midnight hour;
• If she attempted to go home after the party, then she would be vulnerable during her late-night walking route, especially if anyone at the party stalked her. By modern maps, the walk would be over two hours so it would have taken some time even if she used public transit (Bailey lived on Sunbury Drive near Crescent Lake). Furthermore, she went missing from Warrington Village, which was subsidized housing. That implies a very dodgy area, in my opinion.

I think anyone looking at this case could look at a Jane Doe with a scar on her upper lip and ear piercings. Also, anyone who was known to attend the party could be re-examined after all of these years to see if any kind of criminal record developed.

Rogest Cain - Missing Since 1986 (was featured on Unsolved Mysteries)

Missing Person's Name: Rogest Cain

Last contact: February 18th, 1986, according to NamUs, Unsolved Mysteries episode says February 19th, 1986

Age when he disappeared: 61

Birthday: October 12th, 1924; Cenotaph says October 12th, 1923.

Sex: Male

Height in inches: 67

Weight in pounds (lbs): 165

Ethnicity: Black

Hair color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Scars on right forearm, left breast, right knee, left thigh, and his left shoulder (deltoid).

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Cain was last seen at his home in Los Angeles on February 18th, 1986. However, others have claimed to have seen this after this time. I recommend DoeNetwork's circumstances for reading on this missing person.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/51159/details?nav and also at https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/rogest-cain

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

The missing person case of Rogest Cain does not have a lot of information available at NamUs. However, his case did appear in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries in Season 1, Episode 13. As told from that source, Cain indicated that he was going to a local hardware store but has not necessarily been seen since. His vehicle was found with some "important papers," his glasses, and his false teeth about a month later.

In the episode, amnesia is suggested as the reason for his disappearance. After the episode, a tip came in from Topeka, Kansas. The called believed that Cain was using the name Elmer Jackson in that city.  

Has Rogest Cain been found?

Rogest Cain still has a missing person profile online at NamUs. The profile was created on July 14th, 2018. He also has a profile with the state of California.

Some sources say that he was declared legally dead in 1995. At the time of writing, he would be 100 years old which puts him in the "less than 1% chance of being alive" category even if he was in good health at the time of his 1986 disappearance.

His cenotaph, which is pictured online at findagrave, gives a date of death of February 19th, 1993. A cenotaph is used in a graveyard when the remains are not present so he has not yet been found. I agree with the statements at DoeNetwork that suggest that this individual may have been admitted into a hospital as a John Doe as there are stroke and/or mental health possibilities with this MP at about the time of his disappearance.

Lee Selwyn Murder - What Happened After the Unsolved Mysteries Episode?

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: July 15th, 2024

Episode 13 of Season 1 of the hit TV show Unsolved Mysteries from the 1980s and 1990s featured a lead story about the murder of Lee Selwyn, a man who was a disc jockey in the LA area. The show originally aired on January 15th, 1989 with Robert Stack as the host.

As depicted in the episode, Selwyn was out riding his motorcycle as part of a quartet of friends. One of the friends confronted a dangerous driver in a truck and an altercation ensued. When one of Selwyn's friends damaged the driver's truck, he, the driver, responded by attempting to run down the motorcyclists. The driver ran Selwyn off the road at high speed, leading to his loss of life when he hit a phone pole. If you are wondering what happened after the 1989 episode that featured this murder, then this article is for you.

Lee Selwyn's photo from his Findagrave memorial page.

Update in 1993: Prisoner Named as a Suspect

Selwyn was 26 years old when the murder took place on October 8th, 1988. There was an update in 1993. An inmate in the Georgia prison system was identified as a suspect in the murder. His name was Franklin Legrand (or LeGrand) Perkins, a man who was 36 years old in 1993. The clipped article below comes from the LA Times on July 30th, 1993.

This led to the conviction of Perkins according to a December 11th, 1994 article in the LA Times.

Selwyn's memorial page at Findagrave contains the following statements: "In March of 1993, Lee's case was re-aired; as a result, an anonymous tipster contacted the telecenter. She identified Lee's killer as Franklin Legrand Perkins. The tipster had remembered a story her ex-boyfriend had told her of Perkins boasting about how he killed a biker in Los Angeles. Lee's friends were shown a photo line-up and identified Perkins as the assailant. He was arrested in Moultrie, Georgia on July 30, just a few days before he was scheduled to be paroled from prison. At the time, he was serving a five-year sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon. He was returned to Los Angeles to face charges. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison."

The newspaper clipping says he was convicted of second-degree murder. Second-degree murder is the kind that comes without planning and would seem to fit the situation as depicted in the episode.

Phyllis Maue: Missing Since 1982 - Unsolved Disappearance Case

Missing Person's Name: Phyllis Maue

Middle initial: A.

Last contact: June 25th, 1982 (Friday); reportedly at about 2 PM

Age when she disappeared: 29

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 64 which is 5'4"

Weight in pounds (lbs): 120

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Red/Auburn, long and shoulder-length

Eye Color: Brown, and can be wearing glasses

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Caesarian scar on abdomen

Family: Gregory Paul (son), Greg Maue (husband)

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased or details added): Phyllis Maue was last seen getting into a light brown Chevrolet Van, one block from her residence. She had a possible destination of New York. She was last seen wearing a red pullover shirt, blue jeans, and gym shoes. These could be cross-referenced to Jane Does on NamUs.

Link to government source: https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/115557?nav

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

The Day Phyllis Maue Vanished

Phyllis Maue was last seen on June 25th, 1982, which was a Friday.

According to NamUs, she was last seen entering a Chevrolet Van and may have been heading to New York. However, most of the focus on this individual had to do with more local areas where she was last seen. I think searching in New York will likely prove fruitless.

xAI's Grok generated these images when asked to generate an image of a typical Chevrolet Van from the 1977 to 1982 period.

This is a case where I was able to find some journalism on the missing person. Her last known location was in Norwood, Ohio, a suburb or small city to the northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio. A friend last saw her at 2 PM on June 25th, 1982.

The first article on her disappearance that I was able to find appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer on Wednesday, March 23rd, 1983, titled "Police Ask Help in Finding Woman Missing Since June."

From this article we learn she was married to Greg Maue, she had a ten-year-old son, and that there was a letter from Cincinnati about this case. This letter, which was postmarked to that city, claimed that she was heading to New York City -- which was probably not true, in my opinion.

There were some marital problems in her life as the article above mentions a possible divorce. Another thing that stood out with this case is the letter. What does it mean when someone sends a letter saying that she is going to a far-away city but then is never heard from again?

Before speculating on that, let's stick to known facts. There was a classified advertisement for this missing person that appeared in 2006.

This advertisement claims that she was last in the presence of Samual Ray Phillips (July 1st, 2006; Cincinnati Enquirer), who died in 2004 in a car accident. I think the proper spelling of this person's name was Samuel Ray Phillips, with the "e" in his first name instead of an "a." 

I found a gravemarker on Findagravel.com for a Fairfield man of this name who died in 2004.

By my research, Samual is spelled wrong in this classified ad. Should be Samuel.

Samuel Ray Phillips

Born: November 7th, 1928

Death: January 24th, 2004

Gravemarker suggests a marriage to "Rose M." born in 1934 (possible Rosemary Brown).

Ancestry: This individual is on Ancestry

There was a second piece of journalism on Phyllis Maue in February 2006. Deborah Dixon of The Journal News headlined "Police say missing woman may be tied to Fairfield man." In this article, Ray Phillips is mentioned. It is also stated that police were planning some digs to search for her body. Other important details from this piece of journalism:

• Phyllis left an uncashed paycheque behind. Uncashed assets appear in quite a few missing persons cases. I think it suggests that the person, when last seen, did not plan to disappear voluntarily. If the MP did plan to disappear voluntarily, most would take their negotiables with them.
• Her husband received a nude photo of her in the mail that suggested an extramarital affair with Ray Phillips;
• Reportedly, Maue was going to end the affair on June 25th, 1982.

One interesting fact is that a handwriting expert looked at the letter from Phyllis Maue. He concluded that she did write the letter. However, the handwriting expert also stated that the letter writer was under stress as she wrote.

You have to wonder if an expert of this sort could discern a trembling hand from handwriting. Also, someone under duress might pause while writing -- and this could leave an ink blob. I think her handwriting would have to be compared to normal script. But, for sure, this is not an exact science but rather food for critical thought.

Has Phyllis Maue Been Found?

In my opinion, the totality of the scene suggests that a murder took place. The letter was used as a diversion. I think someone forced her to write it, believing that ostensibly placing her in New York City would explain what was going to be a prolonged...or permanent...absence.

This would help create a diversion and a length of time for the disappearance to be considered voluntary. The more time that passes, the more difficult it is for the authorities to solve the case.