The Springfield Three: Was Graduation Night a Clue to Their Disappearance?

On Sunday, June 7th, 1992, three women—Sherrill Levitt, Suzanne "Suzie" Streeter, and Stacy McCall—vanished from a home in Springfield, Missouri, leaving behind one of America’s most enduring mysteries. Known as "The Springfield Three," their disappearance came just hours after Suzie and Stacy celebrated their high school graduation, a detail that has sparked speculation about whether the timing held deeper significance. The table below outlines their key details:

Name	Age	Gender	Occupation/Status	Last Seen Location	Last Seen Date/Time
Sherrill Levitt NamUS #MP345	47	Female	Hairdresser	Sherrill Levitt’s home at 1717 East Delmar Street, Springfield, MO	Early hours of Sunday, June 7th, 1992
Suzanne "Suzie" Streeter (Sherrill’s daughter) NamUS #MP3233	19	Female	Recent high school graduate, worked at a cinema	Sherrill Levitt’s home at 1717 East Delmar Street, Springfield, MO	Early hours of Sunday, June 7th, 1992
Stacy McCall NamUS #MP350	18	Female	Recent high school graduate	Sherrill Levitt’s home at 1717 East Delmar Street, Springfield, MO	Early hours of Sunday, June 7th, 1992

This article delves into the case, exploring the events of that night and speculating on whether graduation night was more than a coincidence, a theory I propose that aligns with discussions in true crime communities.

A Night of Joy Cut Short

Graduation Festivities

Saturday, June 6th, 1992, marked a milestone for Suzie Streeter, 19, Sherrill Levitt’s daughter, and Stacy McCall, 18, who had both graduated from Kickapoo High School that day. The evening was filled with celebration as the two friends joined classmates at graduation parties. Sherrill, 47, a local hairdresser, stayed home, likely proud of her daughter Suzie’s achievement.

The Disappearance

By 2:00–3:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 7th, 1992, Suzie and Stacy arrived at Sherrill’s home at 1717 East Delmar Street after plans to stay elsewhere fell through. Sherrill’s last known contact was a phone call with a friend around 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 6th, 1992. By morning, all three women were gone, their purses, keys, and belongings left untouched in a house showing no signs of a struggle.

The Investigation: A Trail Gone Cold

An Eerie Crime Scene

When friends alerted police later on Sunday, June 7th, 1992, investigators found a clean scene. No forced entry, no blood, no fingerprints—just a broken porch light globe, later deemed unrelated. The family dog was agitated but unharmed, suggesting a swift, controlled abduction. Despite extensive searches and hundreds of tips, no physical evidence has ever conclusively pointed to a suspect.

Theories Without Answers

The case has spawned countless theories: a random predator, a local criminal element, or even a connection to Suzie’s past testimony in a vandalism case. A reported sighting of a green van near the house fueled speculation, but like other leads, it led nowhere. Decades later, the case remains unsolved, with no arrests or solid breakthroughs.

Could Graduation Night Hold the Key?

A Speculative Motive

One intriguing speculation, which I propose, is that the timing of the disappearance—on the night of Suzie and Stacy’s graduation on Saturday, June 6th, 1992—was not just a coincidence. Some true crime enthusiasts on forums like Reddit’s r/UnresolvedMysteries and Websleuths have similarly suggested that graduation, a symbol of triumph and transition, could have triggered a perpetrator with a personal grudge.

Along these lines, to disappear on graduation night might be poetic for someone looking to commit a crime at a perfect time. This theory posits that someone, perhaps feeling sidelined, saw the night as a chance to target the young women at a peak moment of joy. This idea, while unproven, resonates with those who believe the crime was emotionally driven.

The Symbolic Weight of the Night of June 6th-June 7th

High school graduations are laden with meaning. Sociologically, the night, in North American society, could be viewed as a rite of passage: closure of youth, celebration of accomplishment, and the start of adulthood. With a High School diploma in hand, someone can attempt to move on to bigger and better things.

In contrast, for someone harboring resentment, possibly from shared school years, this night could have represented everything they felt denied: acceptance, success, or belonging. For some people, the high school years are socially brutal. From this perspective, the disappearance of The Springfield Three, if it's correct to be understood as an act of some kind of revenge, might connect in some thematic ways to the high school shootings that plagued American society in the years that followed, starting with Columbine about seven years later. These crimes were often committed by high school students among the social outcasts in their schools.

Accordingly, Suzie and Stacy, as recent graduates, might have been symbolic targets for a vindictive person, their abduction a way to disrupt a time that would otherwise be happy for them. This speculation aligns with discussions in true crime podcasts like The Vanished, where listeners have raised ideas about the date’s significance, though no evidence confirms it.

Sherrill’s Role in the Theory

If Suzie and Stacy were the primary targets, Sherrill’s disappearance complicates the narrative. One possibility, discussed in online forums, is that she was an unintended victim—collateral damage as a witness in her own home. The undisturbed scene suggests the perpetrator acted quickly, possibly knowing the house’s layout, which could point to someone familiar with the victims. This idea remains speculative, as no suspect has been linked to such a motive.

Echoes in the True Crime Community

Shared Speculation

The notion that graduation night was significant is a topic in true crime circles, and I’m adding my own perspective to this discussion. On platforms like Reddit and Websleuths, enthusiasts often explore whether the crime felt personal, possibly tied to high school dynamics. I believe it’s important to clarify that the idea of graduation night as a deliberate choice is my own conjecture, though it echoes broader conversations about emotional motives in the case. While these discussions lack hard proof, they highlight a belief among some that the date wasn’t random.

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Austin Jay Smith -- Missing From California Since March 1993

Details from NamUs**: 

Mr. Smith was last seen by his mother when he left home after having received a telephone call.

Missing Person: Austin Jay Smith
Last-contact date: March 23rd, 1993 in the evening
The area where the MP was last seen: El Monte, California with an indication that his former boss saw him at Rosemead High School in the auditorium
Link to government source: NamUs MP 

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 23 years old
Birthdate: August 13th, 1969
Hair: Brown, shorter than collar-length
Eyes: Blue
Scar: None listed
Height/weight: 5'6" and 140 pounds
BMI*: Austin Jay Smith was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Austin Jay Smith did not have any tattoos associated with his profiles. If you know that the missing person did have tattoos, then please post a remark at the end of this blog post on the matter.

Austin Jay Smith ("Jay") was last heard from on March 23rd, 1993 when he was 23 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 28 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

I didn't find anything in the Newspaper.com archives for this missing person, however, his case made web-based news in March 2021 (CBS Los Angeles). Austin was an aspiring accountant, he still lived with his mother at the time of his disappearance, it was this residence that he left before never being seen since, and he had a business meeting. Originally investigated as a missing person case, this one was changed to a homicide investigation sometime between 1993 and 2013.

The CBS Los Angeles article indicates that there is a suspect in the case. The individual that Jay was going to a meeting with was a former employer and someone that Jay had blown a whistle on. The meat of this was that Jay had written a letter stating that the unnamed individual had rented out equipment and space that he did not own. The CBS Los Angeles article is definitely recommended reading for those interested in this case.

When it comes to finding Jay, the several items he was thought to have in his possession should be noted. These items can be cross-referenced against John Does. Note a keyring with several keys, a brown leather wallet with photos, ID, bank cards, a gray/yellow plaid shirt, a white muscle undershirt, gray dress pants,  and gray dress shoes.

Furthermore, there was an indication that Jay might have been put in a barrel in the CBSLA article so human remains found in a barrel are important to note as well. A barrel was missing from the auditorium that Jay was known to have gone to. If you come across a news article or John Doe that was found in a barrel then think of cross-referencing the details of that case with this one. 

The individual that is considered a suspect, in this case, was reportedly gone for two weeks. That could create a large search area, even national, in fact. Police believe that Austin was murdered the same day he disappeared.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Author: Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Non-opinionated information at this site generally comes from government sources or police reports. Other sources may be used.

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Bethany Anne Sinclair -- Missing Since February 2001

Details from NamUs**: 

Bethany and her mother, Tina M. Sinclair, have not been seen since February 3, 2001. Bethany has a U-shaped scar on her head and may be wearing a crucifix pendant around her neck. She may also wear glasses. Tina has a tattoo on her ankle.

Missing Person: Bethany Anne Sinclair
Also known as: Beth, Bethany Deuso
Last-contact date: February 3rd, 2001
The area where the MP was last seen: West Chesterfield, New Hampshire

Link to government source: NamUs #MP2361

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 15 years old
Birthdate: between February 4th, 1985 and February 3rd, 1986

• When the birthdate isn't known, I calculate a range using the age at the date of the missing person's disappearance.

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: Bethany has a U-shaped scar on her head
Height/weight: 5-foot-2 and 120 pounds
BMI*: Bethany Anne Sinclair was in the normal range for BMI.

• BMI is body mass index. It relates to an individual's height and weight. I include it believing it can help picture what a missing person looked like or it may help another writer in describing one.

Bethany Anne Sinclair has not been seen since February 3rd, 2001 when she was 15 years old.
She has now been missing for 20 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

Bethany Anne Sinclair went missing at the same time as her mother, Tina Marie Sinclair. These two people were considered likely to be dead shortly after their disappearances. That much was stated explicitly in some media sources, like The Brattleboro Reformer out of Vermont.

Wed, Feb 4, 2004 – 9 · The Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, Vermont) · Newspapers.com

There was a report of a strange phone call in this case. A female phoned Bethany's high school and claimed that she was sick but the call was not traceable, nor did the caller leave a name.

Fri, Feb 16, 2001 – 8 · The Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, Vermont) · Newspapers.com

Bethany went missing as an adolescent and that's important if there are ever dental comparisons done between her and a Jane Doe. People in puberty have teeth that go through changes and perfect matches might not happen for all teeth.

This is also an individual that has now been missing for several years. One has to be careful when considering distinctive physical traits as some of these might change over the years. If she died shortly after her disappearance, then the U-shaped scar that she had on her head would not likely be an identifier. However, a Jane Doe that is found that is associated with a crucifix pendant would be a candidate for comparison. Bethany's disappearance has also been mentioned in conjunction with the Connecticut River.

If you are interested in reading some of the details surrounding the investigation of this case, then I recommend the following: NCMissingPersons. If you know where this person might be or have any information on this case, then please contact the authorities. In Canada, look for Canada's Missing website with the Federal government. In the USA, you can look for the NamUs profile. Conversely, you can post a remark to this article.

Author: Shane Lambert

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of February 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Information posted is thought to be correct as of the time posting.

Mekayla Bali -- Teenager Missing from Yorkton, Saskatchewan Since 2016

Mekayla Bali Missing Person Case: Overview

Missing person: Mekayla Bali

Last-contact date: April 12th, 2016 (Tuesday) at 1:45pm
Disappeared from: Yorkton, Saskatchewan at the STC Bus Depot

Link to Government Source: Canada's Missing 2016018567

Official Description of Mekayla Bali’s Disappearance

Canada's Missing Description: Mekayla was last seen at the STC Bus Depot in Yorkton at 1:45 p.m. on April 12th, 2016. She went to school in the morning but left shortly after arriving. She went to several businesses in Yorkton throughout the morning, then returned to school around noon. She bought lunch at the restaurant in the bus depot but did not get on a bus that day. Mekayla left the bus depot in the early afternoon and hasn't been seen since.

Physical Description and Clothing Details

Ethnicity/Race: White
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 16 years old
Hair: Blonde, shoulder lengthed
Eye color: Blue
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'2" and 126 pounds
Clothing: Black/grey leggings, infinity scarf, turquoise blouse, maroon boots, and maroon coat

Timeline of Mekayla Bali’s Last Known Movements

Mekayla Bali was a high school student when she went missing from a small city in Saskatchewan known as Yorkton. This is an individual who had a well-documented timeline on the date of her disappearance. That's partly due to messages she sent before disappearing but it's also due to the surveillance footage that was available at the various venues that she visited the last day that she was seen.

Websleuths or amateur investigators who are thinking of doing some research on this case might benefit from watching the following Youtube video. It contained some useful information and video pertaining to her timeline. If you want to watch her timeline, then go to the 7:05 mark of the video.

Key Observations: Behavior at Tim Horton's

The part of the case that intrigued me the most was her behavior in the Tim Horton's restaurant. At one point, she leaves the restaurant, re-enters, and then exits out the opposite door. To me, this looked like the actions of someone who was having trouble coordinating a pick-up, maybe for a shared ride and possibly with a stranger or someone she knew. The way she exits the Tim Hortons, re-enters, and then chooses the other exit might seem strange but the action is consistent with someone who isn't sure which door her ride is going to pick her up at. Perhaps, she never did actually find that ride.

I wondered if she was using ridesharing apps or shared-ride classifieds like what you find at Kijiji, Craigslist, or on social media. It would be interesting if any ridesharing apps that were operating at the time had a record of drivers who were planning to pass through Yorkton on the day that Mekayla disappeared. Perhaps her driver wasn't reliable and that's what caused her to explore bus travel instead.

Did Mekayla Bali Consider Hitchhiking?

It's also interesting that she went to the bus depot but did not purchase a ticket. This is clearly someone who was dabbling with the idea of intercity travel on the day of her disappearance. That dabbling does invoke one phrase that's common to both intercity transportation and missing people: hitchhiking.

It's not quite fair to say that she was last seen hitchhiking but if the Tim Horton's scene was a failed pick-up location for a shared ride and if she didn't like the prices of the bus tickets then she might have turned to the cheapest form of travel there is: thumbing a ride.

Reliance on hitchhiking is a well-known risk factor when it comes to missing people. This possibility cannot be discounted, especially as she has now been missing for almost nine years as of early 2025. It would be very difficult for someone her age not to register on social media or touch base with someone who could help her for such a lengthy period.

Comparing Mekayla Bali to Beverly Sharpman

Similar Case: Beverly Sharpman

Mekayla Bali's case did remind me of the case of Beverly Sharpman in some ways. Sharpman went missing at the age of 17 in Philadelphia in the late 1940s. She attended high school the day she disappeared before leaving at a train/bus station. There certainly are many differences between the cases but the age, attending high school, and demographics are similar. Similar cases are always good food for thought.

With Sharpman, it's thought that she may have been pregnant and may not have wanted to reveal this to her mother or family. There were also themes of an inappropriate marriage or inappropriate relationship surrounding her case. However, Sharpman was using train services for traveling and she sent a message that hinted at some of her plans. That has created some conjecture that she survived her disappearance event while Bali's case seems a bit more futile in that regard and more mysterious. Nonetheless, I think some of the themes between the two cases could be compared.

Mekayla Bali Case Update: Nine-Year Vigil Sparks Renewed Hope

Mekayla Bali Case Update: Seven-Year Vigil Sparks Renewed Hope

• Vigil Date: Held on April 12, 2023, in Yorkton, SK, marking seven years since Mekayla Bali vanished on April 12, 2016.
• Last Sighting: Mekayla, 16, was last seen at the Yorkton bus depot, 1:00-1:45 p.m., on security footage.
• Family’s View: Paula Bali, her mother, finds the lack of leads “baffling” despite extensive efforts.
• RCMP Action: Released an age-progressed image in 2023 to show Mekayla at 23, seeking new tips.

Source: Regina Leader Post, April 11th, 2023/Larissa Kurz

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

I am not a Private Investigator, however, I am currently studying to be one as of February 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL 

Thomas McMonigle, likely serial killer, and Thora Chamberlain (NamUs MP 36923)

Thora Chamberlain's NamUs profile was added in 2017 despite the fact that she went missing in November of 1945 when she was 14 years old (she's referred to as 15 years old in some articles I read, perhaps because she was close to her birthday).  According to NamUs's last accounting of her she "was seen getting into a stranger's vehicle outside her high school in Campbell and has not been seen since." That account doesn't really jive with the media coverage of the day. If we accept the conviction and confession of a murderer and another witness who claimed to see Chamberlain then she was certainly spotted after she got into the car.

Oakland Tribune - December 16 1945

In this case, the websleuths and mystery enthusiasts won't find anything too interesting to work on with Chamberlain's case. Her killer confessed and he spent time in prison. His name was Thomas Henry McMonigle (right) although Wikipedia's page for Thora Chamberlain appears to have his name wrong (they mention one "McGonigle"). McMonigle claimed that he abducted Chamberlain, shot her, and threw her over a cliff called Devil's Slide (see photo below) into waters that were described as tumultuous. According to one writer of the day "the undertow and swell is such that it is possible the body might have been torn to pieces within several days" (Oakland Tribune - Dec 16 1945). NamUs says that the girl's DNA is available, but the chances of finding something to compare too has to be considered at the utmost edge of the possible.

Devil's Slide as photographed in modern times
(Creative Commons/Lawrence Lansing).

How they got her DNA is a bit of a mystery since they weren't aware of the scientific advancement in 1945 and wouldn't be for a few more decades. But they did find her socks, which were of her school colors as she was abducted heading to a football game, near the spot that McMonigle said he killed her and they linked those socks to her. It could be that they were able to find some DNA from that clothing as evidence in crimes isn't simply discarded due to the passage of time. McMonigle was considered a suspect because of prior suspicion in a crime involving a similarly-aged female youth.

Besides McMonigle seeing Chamberlain, there's also the sighting of Mrs. Ella Beaudoux. She says she witnessed a girl in the back seat of a car near the scene and the time of the abduction "clawing at the window" at the back of the car as it sped away. Mrs. Ella Beaudoux was a Physician & Surgeon at the time of a 1921 passport application. In my opinion, such professionals are good witnesses when it comes to events that they have no personal connection to because they are not frivolous in what they say as they are well-schooled in the importance of facts in matters such as these.

At this point, we should look back at what NamUs said because I don't agree with the last-seen statement with that source which says that Chamberlain was last seen entering a stranger's car. Chamberlain was seen in the car after she got into it, the stranger they mention isn't an unnamed person by any stretch because McMonigle was proven to have killed her in court. The way NamUs makes it sound is like there's a mystery here.

But Chamberlain's fate isn't too mysterious and it is very possible that there's no further justice on the matter of her disappearance and death to be had. I would say that websleuths out there should not be working on Thora Chamberlain's case. Her body might be lost to the ocean and the creatures within it for seven decades now, making the situation of recovery entirely futile -- and pointless given that justice was actually served on her killer.

However, where websleuths should focus is on her abductor: Thomas Henry McMonigle is a probable serial killer in my view. Other girls identified him as trying to lure them into their vehicles. Working on his life history may yield a Ted Bundy-like history in my opinion. I noted some similarities for sure between the two:

1. Luring victims into vehicles.
2. Preying on women.
3. Theft as a pettier crime.
4. McMonigle defended himself at a trial as Bundy did.
5. McMonigle had scores of women attesting to his character despite the evidence against him. Bundy also received a lot of support from adoring women while in prison.
6. McMonigle had a problematic upbringing.
7. Those that knew both were shocked to find out that each was capable of murder.
8. Both were considered good looking and intelligent.
9. Both were chronic liars.

McMonigle is someone whose life should be placed under a microscope. To start that, here are some details I uncovered:

• Born: May 28th, 1914 in Covell, McLean County, Illinois, USA
• Dead: Feb. 20, 1948 in Marin County, California, USA
• He was in prison when he was 17 (sometime around May of 1931) according to one news source.
• Occupations included bus driver, truck driver, and a guard at something called "Mills field" (The Times, San Mateo, California, December 17 1945)
• Owned a 1933 Plymouth Sedan
• Attempted to gain employment as the captain of ambulance drivers, was refused
• Once remarked to have killed 11 people (source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, Aug 18 1957/writer: Don Becker)
• Received death penalty for murdering Chamberlain despite the fact that her body was never found (considered strange in the press of the time)
• In his teens (ie. March 28th, 1927 to March 28th, 1934) he was arrested for vagrancy, assault, and attempt to rape (source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, Aug 18 1957). He served an eight-year and three-month prison sentence at one point
• His 4th arrest was for fighting a bus driver
• His 5th arrest was for attacking a young girl, but the family didn't press charges. It's this arrest that made him a suspect in the Chamberlain disappearance.
• He fled to Illinois sometime after the abduction of Chamberlain (ie. November 2, 1945)
• He was also the suspect in the murder of what was called a "San Francisco negress" (a black woman)
• I found no evidence of him serving in WWII.
• He can be placed near East Alton/Edwardsville, Illinois on June 5th, 1934 when he would have been about 21 (The Edwardsville Intelligencer/page 2).

• McMonigle appears to have participated in and lost a boxing match on Monday, March 23rd, 1931 (at the age of 16). The Alton Evening Telegraph in Illinois notes what seems to be his participation in bouts involving "Club and Unemployed Men." Alton is the area that McMonigle is associated with at that time in his life. The date of the fight would mean that McMonigle was not in custody at the time. Furthermore, the news article notes a body weight of 150 pounds at the age of 16.

• He can be placed in Alton still, or again, around Monday, November 19th, 1931 (Alton Evening Telegraph, Page Two). 

• His father Stephen's address is mentioned as 316 Goulding Avenue in East Alton in a February 17th, 1941 in the Alton Evening Telegraph announcing the wedding of his daughter Alma
• Brother Roy McMonigle was a criminal too (Alton Evening Telegraph/August 12th 1933)