Vickie Lynn Harrell

Vickie Lynn Harrell was from Linton, Indiana. She was 25 years old and lived in Bloomington. Working as a clerk at k-mart in 1972, she was recently divorced. Some reports mentioned that she was a mother, while others leave no mention of her personal life.

Vickie Lynn Harrell was reported missing after not returning home on August 12, 1972. Her roommate reported her missing. It seems as though, in typical seventies fashion, the police immediately wrote the woman off as a run away or that she left on her own accord. From newspaper articles at the time, or really the lack thereof, there was no search for the missing woman. The only one searching was her poor roommate.

The day before what would have been her 26th birthday, Vickie was found by a member of the Owen County Highway Department. Her naked body was discovered at 1:30 on August 14, 1972. Her clothing or any of her belongings were not found with the body. Her car was found at a shopping center.

The body was three miles from Spencer. It was apparent from the area that the body had been dumped in the water filled ditch and that the murder had not been committed in this area. Upon examination of the body, it was determined that she had been raped and strangled. Initials had also been carved into Vickie's torso.

As quickly as Vickie's story became news, it quickly faded from the papers. Owen County had a lot happen that year. The investigation was put on the back burner because the jail caught fire, there was a jail break, and a suicide occurred at the jail. According to the "lead investigator" the Sheriff's department was under staffed.

Yet, three other agencies were also investigating the case and made no progress. Part of this is because Vickie was painted to be an unwed mother who was a known drinker and the public had no sympathy. Out of the four agencies, the Owen County Sheriff's Department, Bloomington Police, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and the State Police, one of them believed that Vickie's killer was already confined to a mental facility and was untouchable as of 1974.

When Lt. Ralph Shumaker, of the Indiana State Police, took over the case he was working on a theory. The transient theory was a favorite. It was believed that Vickie might have fallen victim to a serial killer. Similar murders allegedly occurred in Pennsylvania and Maryland between 1969-1971, I was unable to find these when going through newspaper archives. The murders had the same method of killing and the victims were all taken from college towns. The bodies all had initials carved into them, but they were different letters.

With so much time gone, it is hard to believe and maintain hope that Vickie's case will ever be solved. In hopes that someone knows somethings and is ready to talk, I ask that anyone with information on Vickie's case to call the Indiana State Police.

_____________Sources_________________
"Columnist Calls for Jury Probe." The Terre Haute Tribune. January 1974.

"Initials Carved in Woman's Body." Journal and Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. August 1972.

"ISP Detective Asks Public to Help Solve Case." Stevens, Howard. The Terre Haute Tribune. October 1972.

"Murder Victim Also Raped." Anderson Herald. Anderson, Indiana. August 1972.

"Nude, Mutilated Body of Missing Woman is Found." The Indianapolis Star. August 1972.

"Slain Woman Formerly Lived Here." Linton Daily Citizen. Linton, Indiana. August 1972.

"Young Clerk's Death Still Haunts Lawmen." The Indianapolis News. September 1973

A Sickening Suspect

A girl, 18, made some mistakes. She got wrapped up in the wrong crowd. Court documents in a former boyfriend's case implicated her in a robbery. Later, she was charged and convicted in a case related to car theft.

In order to turn her life around, she would have to make some big changes. Amanda Vanscyoc was this girl. She signed up to be a narcotics informant for the police. She got a job at Schnuck's, according to her stepfather. Her mother said that she was really trying.

On November 9, 2001, Amanda's mother, Linda Warner, said that she was leaving for work and decided to make sure that Amanda was up and moving. That day Amanda was expected to appear for her second interview at the local Walmart. This is the last time that Amanda was seen alive. 

A few hours after Linda had left for work, she decided to call home to make sure that Amanda had left for her interview. There was no answer, so she assumed her daughter had made the interview. This unanswered phone call raises some questions, which I will address later.

That evening, Amanda never came home. Linda Warner confessed her fears to her husband, John Warner, who was Amanda's stepfather. They decided to not report her disappearance to police because her not returning home would be a violation of her probation.

On November 13, 2001, earlier in the day police were called to an area located near the Ohio River. The area was known for drug activity. The officers that arrived completed their activities in the area and nothing looked suspicious. The location in question is located somewhere in the highlighted area. 

Later that same day, police receive a phone call of a body found by deer hunters in the same area. Officers returned to the location and the body of a Caucasian female was found covered with a rug. The body was confirmed to be that of Amanda Lee Vanscyoc. She was nude. Her clothing and her purse would later be found at home, where she lived with her mother and stepfather. The area in which her body was found would later be called "the rat's nest" due to Amanda's status as an informant.

Investigation revealed at the body had been moved to the location where it had been found and that she had been dead for at least three days before she was found.

Upon examination, investigators found DNA on her remains. The DNA was semen, which would later be confirmed to be that of John Warner, Amanda's stepfather. In order for the DNA to be found in the way that it had been meant that it had come into contact with Amanda's body shortly before her death and had not been wiped off.

Amanda's stepfather initially denied having any knowledge of how the DNA ended up on Amanda's remains. His wife, Amanda's own mother, continued to stand by him. Later, he admitted to having a sexual relationship with the stepdaughter.

When asked about it, Linda Warner said "I have no question that that is a possibility, but why does that make him a killer?" This is odd to me considering that both of Amanda's parents claim that they were told by police that the stepfather failed a polygraph that was taken in regards to Amanda's murder. Linda Warner's support of her husband under such circumstances seems questionable to me.

Brad Vanscyoc, Amanda's father, believes that the stepfather was guilty of the murder. He and Linda Warner fight like cats and dogs about the murder of their daughter and death threats have been made multiple times during these arguments.

While investigating, police quickly began to look at the stepfather as a suspect. H e would later die in a car accident, but the mother would take his side over and over again. On the day of the murder, he allegedly had been home all day with no witnesses. If he had been home, why hadn't he answered the phone when Linda Warner had called after being at work for a few hours?

Investigators don't believe that Amanda's status as an informant had anything to do with her death for two reasons. Firstly, she openly told people she was an informant and as a result nobody would talk to her. Secondly, Amanda never gave the police any information. She really didn't have any information that anyone else didn't already have.

In 2002, Warrick County Sheriff Bruce Hargrave requested the federal satellite footage of the region from November 9, 2001. He was hoping that the imagery would be able to see whether or not the suspect's vehicle had left his home on the day in question. The home in question is approximately 75 miles from a military base, so it is more likely that something might have been caught. A satellite expert said that it was far fetched. Hargrave said that he didn't believe he would actually get the images that he requested, but he didn't want to leave any possibility unchecked.

No new information has been made available in this case. Anyone with any information that can account for the days between Amanda's remains being found and her disappearance, is asked to use the following information to contact police.

Indiana State Police
District Investigative Commander
19411 Highway 41 North
Evansville, IN 47725
1-812-867-2079 or 1-800-852-3970

________________________Source_______________________

"Murdered Teen had Agreed to Work as a Police Informant." Associated Press. November 16, 2001. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/148659887/

"The Future of Satellites and Forensics." Amanda Onion. ABC News. February 26, 2002. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98076&page=1

"Unsolved Murder: Amanda Vanscyoc." 14 News WFIE. http://www.14news.com/story/8256644/unsolved-murder-amanda-vanscyoc

"Warrick Officials Say Slain Teen Had Signed On as a Drug Informant." Evansville Courier. November 16, 2001. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1923/a07.html?7861

"5 Evansville Area Cold Cases You Could Help to Solve." Ryan O'Bryan. 106.1 KISS FM. 2017. http://1061evansville.com/5-evansville-area-cold-cases-you-could-help-solve/

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