When Does Existence End?

On September 5, 1988 at three in the morning, it was about 57 degrees. The quiet early morning hours in Washington, Indiana were interrupted by a house set a blaze. Oak Grove Road runs through the town and into the rural area around the town.

The house that was on fire was rented by 22 year old Steven Hendricks. Steven had moved his girlfriend into the home approximately two weeks prior to the morning in question. His girlfriend was Rebecca Harvey who was 18 at the time. 

Upon responding the fire, authorities found that the house was burning at such a high temperature that it scorched and caused the paint on the vehicles in the driveway to crack and pop. Steven's vehicles were all accounted for in the driveway.

The presence of the vehicles and the lack of anyone being outside the home led authorities to looking for individuals in the home that was on fire. Once the fire was put out, a single set of remains were found inside the home.

The remains that were found on the bed in the bedroom of the home belonged to Rebecca Harvey. Upon further examination it was determined that she had been doused with gas prior to the fire being set and her death. Ultimately, it was determined that Rebecca was killed due to injuries from the fire.

Investigators were able to determine that the fire that had called them to the home in the early morning hours of September 5 of 1988 was arson. The fire was started under the bed where Rebecca's remains were found.

Steven was not found in the home; meanwhile, all of his personal belongings were found in the home. His wallet, boots, and clothing was in the home at the time of the fire. None of Steven's vehicles were missing. He never showed up to collect his last check from the body shop where he worked or to collect his tools.

Police believe that Steven is a victim of foul play. My first instinct with this case is that the Steven should be looked at as a suspect, but the more research I did (with very few resources) I realized that officers must be keeping a crucial piece of information close to the vest when it comes to determining Steven's involvement or lack thereof.

The more puzzling piece of this case is the lack of articles, television news coverage, and family interviews. I found two interview statements total for the case. Both were about Steven Hendricks.

One of the statements was given by Mr. Hendrick's boss. He said that Steven was a hard worker and never caused problems. Steven's cousin years later gave the only other statement I could find. She begged that anyone with information come forward so that the family could find out what had happened with Steven.

None of Rebecca's family gave statements that appeared in newspapers in the time or even years later. In fact, even using the genealogy information I was able to gather, I couldn't find any relatives. I found one woman who might have been her mother, but she passed away in 2001.

It was like these young people popped up for two weeks in 1988 Washington, Indiana and ceased to exist after the last article ran on September 8, 1988. With most stories, you can find stories from friends that the victims knew from high school or even a sibling that misses them dearly. Instead, it is like everyone has forgotten that these young people existed, let alone murdered.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Indiana State Police. You can reach them at (812) 482-1441.

Rebecca has been laid to rest in the Providence Cemetery located in Francisco, Indiana. Rebecca was born in Princeton, Indiana on June 30, 1970. I lived in Princeton for a short period of time in the late 1990's to early 2000's. The local community is small.

___________________Sources______________________________________

"Fire Killed Teen: boyfriend still sought." Evansville Press. September 7, 1988. local.evpl.org/views/viewarticle.asp?ID=583210

"Queen of Clubs." Indiana State Police Card Deck. www.in.gov/idoc/files/2ndEditionCLUBS.pdf

"Steven W. Hendricks." The Charley Project. June 26, 2011. www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hendricks_steven.html

"Steven Hendricks: Missing from Indiana since 1988." Missing Persons of America. February 1, 2014. www.missingpersonsofamerica.com/2014/02/01/steven-hendricks-missing-from-indiana-since-1988/

"Rebecca Harvey." Indiana State Police Cold Case Database. www.in.gov/isp/2610.htm

"Fire Death Being Investigated." The Indianapolis Star. September 8, 1988. Page 22. www.newspaper.com/newspage/05949833/

'3923 DMIN- Steven W. Hendricks." The Doe Network. March 17, 2017. www.doenetwork.org/cases/3923dmin.html

"Washington, Indiana." American Fact Finder. United States Census Bureau. factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productive.xhtml?src=bkmk

"Rebecca Sue "Becky" Harvey." Grave location. www.findagrave.com/memorial/173800994/rebecca-sue-harvey

"Hendricks, Steven 9-4-1988 IN." Porchlight International for the Missing and Unidentified. October 12, 2008. z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/ar/t38422.htm

"Weather History For Washington, IN." The Old Farmer's Almanac. September 5, 1988. www.almanac.com/weather/history/IN/Washington/1988-09-05

Melinda Creech

People don't just disappear. They cannot vanish into thin air. How can no one know when someone was last seen? Most missing person cases have at least a solid last sighting, but not this case. In fact, nothing about this case is solid.

The case of Melinda Creech is that of a 13 year old girl being rebellious. She was trying to grow up too fast. On a September night in 1979, Melinda Creech and male teenager were arrested for trying to steal a motorcycle from a local dealership in Anderson, Indiana.

The boy was taken to an all male facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana; meanwhile, Melinda was taken to a facility in Anderson. Melinda was taken to the Blake house, which was a branch of the Bronnenberg House.

The Bronnenberg house was the last orphanage in Madison County. The Bronnenberg home was in operation until the 1980's. It was located on Mounds Road just East of Anderson. The building was torn down and a new facility built. The new facility still stands and I pass it every day on my morning commute.

It turns out, at the time of Melinda Creech was taken to the Blake house, my aunt worked at the Bronnenberg. She was able to confirm that the girls home was indeed located on the campus on Mounds Road in Anderson, Indiana.

The Blake house was an all girls juvenile facility. There are conflicts between sources. Some sources say the arrest and booking was on September 4, while others claim that it was the 5.

An old police report stated that when police returned to Blake House to talk to Melinda Creech about the attempted burglary, they were unable to locate her. So at some point in the two month window of dropping her off at the Blake House and returning to question her, Melinda had vanished.

No records are avaliable from the juvenile home or the Bronnenberg Home after 1959. These records have not been released because it is believed that the records being provided would violate the privacy of individuals named in the documents.

Shirley Creech told her other children that Melinda had run away from the Blake House in September of 1979. Later in the 1990's, Shirley would tell her family that a badly decomposed body found on the East Coast was that of Melinda. Melinda's brothers and sister were leery to believe their mother. No service was ever held for the girl.

Shirley, who suffered from Dementia, passed away in 2003. As her remaining children cleaned out their mother's home. They made a horrifying discovery.

In a box, letters were found. Three letters from 1990 were found. These letters were correspondence from a New Jersey Police Department. The letters informed Shirley that Melinda's dental records did not match those of the badly decomposed body that had been found.

Why would a mother lie to her children about their sister being found dead? Was she trying to end their hurting for their sister? Or was her motivation something more sinister? It would later come out that Shirley had been abusive to all of her children. This would bring back questions about what really happened to Melinda.

Along with the letters about the remains not belonging to Melinda, there were letters regarding Melinda's arrest and soon-to-happen court dates. Letters were found that advised Melinda's mother to get an attorney on her daughter's behalf and that she, Shirley, would be responsible for the cost. Another letter stated that Melinda's court date would be on of the following days in April of 1980: the 2nd, 8th, or 9th.

The court would not have issued a letter about an upcoming court date if they were aware the child had runaway or was missing from their custody without good cause. So did Melinda really disappear from government custody or did something else happen?

Darryl Creech, Melinda's older brother, began searching again for his sister when he found the letters in his mother's home in 2003. He began posting online asking for information. Soon after, he was put in touch with the Doe Network.

Working with the network, he looked through thousands of composite photographs and sculptures, never finding a match for his sister. Her dental records were given to the network and no matches were made. When this was done, a member of the network encouraged the family approach Madison County Police about "re-opening" the case.

A missing persons report was never filed on Melinda. Police had to start from scratch in 2004. With no solid facts, they had very little to go on. The police took the dental records and entered them into their databases. They also took DNA from the family members in hope of finding a match, sadly to no avail.

So, what do police have to go on? They know that two months after police dropped Melinda off at the Blake House she was no longer there. They don't know if Shirley signed over her parental rights so that she would not have to deal with a delinquent daughter or a debt to the state. They know that the boy she was arrested with never saw her again.

Melinda's remaining family has relocated to Oklahoma and no longer comments on the case.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Madison County Police Department at (765)646-4017 or (765) 646-4014.

(Photo on the left is an actual photo of Melinda. The photo on the right is an age progression.)

_____________________Sources________________________________________

"Anderson Missing-Teen Case Reopened After New Discovery-Mother lied about Finding Girl's Body." The Associated Press. The Journal Gazette. September 6, 2004. http://www.doenetwork.org/media/news172.html

"Indiana Missing: Girl Disappeared From Anderson Juvenile Detention Center." Kristine Guerra. January 7, 2014. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2014/01/07/indiana-missing-girl-disappeared-from-anderson-juvenile-detention-center/4357865/

Interview: November 6, 2017. Former Bronnenberg Employee.

Melinda's Candle. March 2007. Darryl Creech. http://www.oocities.org/mindyscandle/

"Melinda Creech." Whereaboutsstillunknown. https://whereaboutsstillunknown.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/melinda-creech/

Melinda Creech. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. http://api.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1036765/1

Melinda Karen Creech. The Charley Project. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/creech_melinda.html

The Bronnenberg Children's Home. Digital Archive of the Anderson Public Library. https://digital.library.in.gov/Record/ISL_p1819coll7-178