A woman has come forward to claim she is the eight-year-old Pennsylvania girl who disappeared from a bus stop in 1985.
Cherrie Mahan was last seen in Winfield Township, Butler County, nearly four decades ago, on Feb. 22, after getting off a school bus about 100 yards from her home in Cabot.
The anonymous woman claimed to be the missing girl, currently 47 years old, in a May 23 post on the ‘Memories of Cherrie Mahan’ Facebook group. She did not provide a photo publicly, so it was unclear what she looks like.
Cherrie’s mother, Janice McKinney, was not convinced the woman was her long-lost daughter.
‘I really think she mentally thought it was Cherrie. She looked nothing like Cherrie,” McKinney told the Butler Eagle.
A Pennsylvania State Police spokeswoman told DailyMail.com: “We are investigating this woman’s claim to be Cherrie Mahan.”
Cherrie Mahan was last seen in Winfield Township, Butler County, on February 22, 1985, after getting off a school bus about 100 yards from her home in Cabot.
The anonymous woman posted about being the missing girl, who would currently be 47 years old, in a Facebook group on May 23 (pictured: an age progression photo of what Cherrie would look like now).
‘We are working with an out-of-state agency to positively identify the woman. They have not contacted her based on the contact information she provided. The out-of-state agency is trying to locate her.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenA blue 1976 Dodge pickup truck with a mural of a mountain and a skier “may be involved” in Cherrie’s disappearance.
The agency said she had pierced ears and was last seen wearing a blue denim skirt, a gray coat, blue legwarmers and beige boots.
The post the anonymous woman made on Facebook was deleted as the page’s administrator, Brock Organ, said the woman had been “harassing and intimidating” other members.
“Few are in a position to evaluate the claim and, unfortunately, some people online are unstable and divisive,” Organ said.
‘So, we have removed the member and I apologize for the spam content. Group members, especially our dear member Janice, should not be exposed to that type of content.’
Cherrie’s mother commented on Organ’s post and said she has been in contact with police.
Cherrie’s mother, Janice McKinney (center), said she is not convinced the woman is her long-lost daughter.
‘I really think she mentally thought it was Cherrie. “She looked nothing like Cherrie,” McKinney said. (pictured: an undated photo of Cherrie and her mother)
“I talked to the police, they are investigating, this is very hard for me, please know I see everything,” McKinney posted.
The heartbroken mother said this is not the first time someone has claimed to be her now-adult daughter, as many clues have come in over the years.
McKinney explained that many reach out to her around the anniversary of Cherrie’s disappearance and around August, the missing girl’s birthday month.
«In February and August I expect madness. This just hit me differently,” McKinney told the Butler Eagle.
‘I didn’t even see it. Someone called me and told me.
She explained that every day is already difficult without her daughter, but when unjustified claims begin to arise, she feels more pain.
“If you wanted your 15 minutes of fame, you’ve already wasted it,” he said.
‘People are bad, they are cruel, but this affects me a lot. It will be 40 years since Cherrie disappeared.
She said what keeps her sane is knowing that whether her daughter is alive or dead, she is being taken care of.
On May 30, Cherrie’s mother posted a photo of her as a baby and said, “If only you knew the pain of the heart.”
“I always felt like she was fine. If she was dead, she is in heaven with my parents and my brothers,’ the mother said.
‘If she’s alive, someone was taking care of her. I don’t know why I feel this way.’
She previously said KDKA News who remembers waiting with her husband Leroy for Cherrie to run down the family’s driveway after getting off the school bus that day.
‘Leroy says, “Do you want me to come down and pick her up?” and I told her no, it’s a beautiful day, she’ll come running up the hill because she wants to go. But that never happened,” McKinney said.
Still, McKinney hasn’t found the closure she needs nearly four decades after seeing her beloved son.
“There’s something someone overlooked somewhere and someone knows,” he said.
McKinney frequently posts photos of her daughter on her Facebook and on May 30 shared a photo of her as a baby and said, “If only you knew the pain of the heart.”
Members of the social media group quickly comforted McKinney and called the woman who said she was the girl.
“I wish everyone could see how many people over the years have been in Janice’s inbox claiming to be Cherrie,” one said.
“It’s heartbreaking that people have the audacity to continue doing this to this poor woman,” they added.
Another wrote: ‘I have been praying for this family since they went missing. I always look for the blue van with the winter ski mural when I travel.’
“I was 11 when he disappeared and I still remember it like it was yesterday,” said another.
