Exactly 41 years have passed since 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan vanished after getting off a school bus in rural Butler County. Now, her case is back in the spotlight, following an 11 Investigates exclusive report.
>>> 11 Investigates: Could letters from prison help crack the Cherrie Mahan cold case? <<<
Family and friends held a news conference on Sunday to discuss recent developments in the case.
As Channel 11 told you first on Friday, Cherrie’s mother says she’s been in contact with an inmate, who’s in prison for an unrelated crime.
The family believes that the inmate holds the key to solving the case.
Family members say he was named in dozens of tips and wants to speak, but not until he’s out of prison, and only under certain conditions.
“He’s hiding from himself, and if he had nothing to do with it, there’s no reason why he couldn’t have talked to me. And we have been going back and forth with that since July,” Cherrie’s mother, Janice McKinney, said on Sunday.
Chief Investigator Rick Earlier reported Friday that the inmate also sent letters to 11 Investigates in August and October, denying involvement in Cherrie’s disappearance but suggesting he has more information.
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