Trisha Meredith

On his twelfth birthday, Brandon Meredith buried his older sister. The event would forever set the tone of his birthdays.  The loss of his sister forever changed Brandon's family.

A year later, Brandon lost his mother. His mother died due to a heart attack. Brandon claimed that it was caused by a broken heart. Their mother was unable to heal after the loss of her daughter.

April 7, 1989 was beautiful day in Indianapolis, Indiana. So nice that a group of people were playing golf on the west side of the city, not far from the Springhill Apartments. Sadly, the peaceful day would not stay that way.

Trisha Meredith was 19. Two weeks prior, she had moved into her first apartment with her boyfriend. She was looked up to by her siblings and other young girls in her neighborhood. Everyone who attended Ben Davis High School with Trisha only had good things to say about her.

At about 6 pm that night, Trisha and her boyfriend left their apartment and walked to the shared laundry facility at the apartment complex. The laundry facility is building one of the complex and has large bay windows, leaving the facility open to the view of the public. Trisha and her boyfriend placed their laundry into a washer.

While waiting on the laundry in the washer, which would take approximately 20 to 25 minutes, Trisha had her boyfriend return to the apartment to complete part of his "honey do list." While he was at the apartment, a relative called and he spoke the relative for about 30 to 45 minutes. Once he was off the phone, he decided to return to the laundry room. It appears as though it was so that Trisha would not have to carry the laundry back to the apartment alone.

Trisha's boyfriend immediately knew something horrible had occurred when he entered the laundry room. The linoleum floor was covered in blood. All of the blood led to a small utility closet, when he opened it, he found Trisha's body inside.

Bill Reardon was one of the first detectives on the scene and assigned to the case. Reardon noted that it appeared that Trisha had attempted to get away from her attacker by squeezing behind washing machines. The scene was heartbreaking.

Upon medical examination, it was determined that Trisha's murder was excessive. She had been stabbed approximately 24 times and her throat had been slit. She had not been sexually assaulted, but the manner in which her clothing was found suggests that it was the original intention of her attacker.

Bill Reardon has had two key suspects over the years. Originally, the boyfriend was a suspect, but he was quickly cleared leaving two suspects. Both suspects were men that lived in the apartment complex. One man was outside working on his vehicle. The other was seen on his balcony over looking the scene watching the investigation unfold. Both suspects have given statements putting themselves in laundry near the time of Trisha's murder, but neither has confessed.

With both of these suspects living in the complex, it would easily explain away any physical evidence attached to them being found in the laundry room. While DNA was not readily tested in 1989, investigators did follow up on it prior to 2012. With over 100 pieces of evidence, hope that the case would be solved was strong. Sadly, nothing came of it.

Despite this, Brandon Meredith vowed that he would not stop hunting for his sisters killer until he died. Bill Reardon, who is now the police chief at the Indianapolis International airport, also stated that he would never let the case go. In fact, he still keeps her file on his desk. Reardon covered more than 100 homicides in his years, but none stuck with him the way Trisha's did.

In 2012, Brandon Meredith passed away. Reports I read, stated that he died due to a heart attack and was found in his sisters home. With Brandon's passing it seems as though, Trisha's case has been forgotten by all, but Bill Reardon.

Reardon believes that someone knows something. In the words of Brandon Meredith, "you don't commit these types of crimes and never talk about it again...brag about it." Over the years people confide in others and relationships change. Hopefully someone the killer confided in, no longer is close to the monster and will turn him in.

Anyone with Information is asked to contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at (317) 327-3811. You can also contact crime stoppers at (317) 262-8477.

______________Sources____________________________________
"Brandon Meredith." Youtube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz9BbUrpnfcPaQ4hGQN-4Qw

"Brutal Murder of City Woman Subject of Crime Stoppers." Indianapolis Recorder. August 1986. http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/cdm/ref/collection/IRecorder/id/48696

"Cold Case: Westside Homicide remains unsolved 25 years later." Courtney Essett. The Flyer Group. http://www.flyergroup.com/news/local_news/cold-case-westside-homicide-remains-unsolved-years-later/article_4d4875b6-cc73-54e8-bf44-07f9ead1908f.html

"Detective Still Investigating 1989 Murder of Indy Teen." Russ McQuaid. Fox 59 News. http://fox59.com/2016/07/13/detective-still-investigating-1986-murder-of-indy-teen/

"Trisha Key Meredith was stabbed more than 20 times." Diana Penner. The Indianapolis Star. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/107933714/

A House Fire

On October 31, 2008, family and friends gathered at an Indianapolis funeral home to bury a loved one, who at only 30 years old was gone too soon. Angela Fulcher left behind her parents and a daughter. She was permanently taken from her family on October 10, 2008.

In the early morning hours of October 10th, firefighters responded to a house fire on the East side of Indianapolis. The house was believed to be empty, until neighbors informed responders that an individual might be inside. It was then that the firefighters found the body of an approximately six-months pregnant woman.

Police believed early into the investigation that Angela, who had yet to be identified, was the victim of homicide. When K-9's were brought into the house it was indicated that a accelerant had been used.

It would be almost two weeks after the fire before investigators would announce that the remains had been identified as those of Angela Fulcher. DNA test were conducted to see if Angela was the victim after family came forward. Family members contacted police after they had lost contact with Angela and seeing news coverage of the finding of the remains.

It was later determined that Angela Fulcher had been strangled prior to the home being set on fire. The fire was more than likely a means of covering up the murder.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Indianapolis Metro-Police Department. You can reach them at (317) 327-3375.

_____________Sources______________________________________________________

"Angela Fulcher." Obituary. The Indianapolis Star. October 29, 2008.

"Angela Fulcher." Indiana Cold Cases & Missing Persons. RTV 6 The Indy Channel.

"Body of Pregnant Woman Found in Burned House." October 10, 2008. The Indy Channel RTV6.

"Pregnant Woman Identified as Fire Victim." October 24, 2008. WTHR 13.

Nancy Lyons

On June 17, 2002, Beverly Tallent-Lyons got a call she would never forget. She was at her home in Louisville, Kentucky when she received a call that her younger sister, Nancy Lyons who was 46 at the time, missing. Her younger sister's car had been found on a rural road in Indiana. 

The car had been found at the corner of County Road 700 west and County road 500 north in Rush County. Idling in park, the car had been abandoned. One tire on the vehicle was flat and the car was unlocked. Nothing in the vehicle looked to be disturbed.

Nancy's purse, ID, and cellphone were present. Along with her personal affects, the recent purchases she had made from Wal-Mart were still in the car. Nancy was the only thing missing.

The family, community, and police began searching for Nancy immediately. Within the first two weeks, no progress was made. Cadaver dogs were brought in to the area where the vehicle had bee located, but they were unable to locate any traces of Nancy.

It would be October of 2002 before the family would hear anything about where Nancy might be. On October 2 in Bartholomew County, a farmer reported to police that he had found skeleton remains in his soybean field. The field was approximately 30 miles from where her car had been located months earlier.

These remains would later be identified as those of Nancy Lyons. Upon further examination of the remains, it was apparent that she had succumbed to blunt force trauma to the skull. It was not apparent as to whether or not sexual assault had occurred. This might have been due to the advanced stages of decomposition of the remains.

Beverly began to feel that the investigation had been hindered. She made it known that believed that mistakes early in the investigation led to the case not being solved in a more timely manner. In order to draw attention to her cause she launched a letter writing campaign. Over 500 letters were written according to my research. The letters were sent to politicians and people of power all over the United States. One of these letters even was sent to Canadian authorities. 

 Beverly won the time of the State Police in late 2006 or early 2007. State Police turned over evidence to the FBI's crime lab for investigation. They had hoped that by getting assistance with the case, the case would be solved. Upon the return of the results, Beverly was scheduled to meet with investigators and the prosecutor, nothing came from this meeting. 

No person of interest has been publicly named in the case and the case is still considered active by State Police. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Indiana State Police. They can be contacted at 1-812-689-5000 or 1-765-778-2121. 

________________Sources___________________________

"6 Years Later, Family Hopes Woman's Killer Will be Caught." RTV 6. June 12, 2008. https://www.theindychannel.com/news/6-years-later-family-hopes-woman-s-killer-will-be-caught

"Cold Cases: Lyons Homicide not only unsolved investigation." Caitlin VanOverberghe. Daily Reporter. June 27, 2017. http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/2017/06/28/cold_cases/

"Family Hopes for Break in Case." Jeff Eakins. The Banner. June 27, 2007. http://thebanneronline.com/archive_news/2007/06/27/family-hopes-for-break.htm

"Family Marks Anniversary of Unsolved Slaying." Caitlin Overberghe. Greenfield Daily Reporter. June 27, 2017. http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/2017/06/28/still_searching-2/

"Nancy Lyons." Indiana State Police Database. http://www.in.gov/isp/2620.htm

"The Nancy Lyons Project." Frank Denzler. Rushville Republican. June 13, 2012. http://www.rushvillerepublican.com/news/local_news/the-nancy-lyons-project/article_a467cef1-c4f5-54ef-a540-d4548afa4992.html

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

Daniel Reaves, 4 a.m. Hike

On May 3, 2008, Daniel and his girlfriend Sara were having a quiet night in. After seven years together, they were enjoying a date night watching a movie at Sara's house in Madison, Indiana. Sara dosed off at approximately midnight (May 4).

Daniel had been wearing either a light blue or white t-shirt, long tan shorts, and brown suede tennis shoes. He might have been wearing a black, leather-like jacket.

Sara awoke around 4 am on May 4. She had received a text from Daniel saying that he loved her.
Within five minutes of receiving his text, she tried to call him back, but he did not answer. This was the last contact anyone had with Daniel.

A week later, Daniel's 1999 Gold Chrysler Sebring Convertible was found on Green Hill Drive. Greenhill Drive is located near Clifty Falls State Park. The park is a great place for hiking and many students from the local college hike the area during the early fall and spring months.

Daniel was raised in the area and was believed to know the area well. So he was known to have hiked the area in the past. Why would Daniel go hiking at 4 in the morning? It would have been about 42 degrees at this time in the morning and hiking in shorts would be uncomfortable.

The car was not locked when the car was found. Daniel's wallet, credit cards and Identification were found in the vehicle. Meanwhile, his keys and cellphone were not found in the vehicle. Daniel's parents said that it was out of character for Daniel to leave his car unlocked. Daniel would even lock his car even if it was parked in the driveway of their home.

The car was gone through by Indiana State Police crime scene investigators, but no evidence was found in the car that could lead to figuring out what happened to Daniel Reaves.

A search of Clifty Falls State Park was conducted on May 10 of 2008. The park is filled with caves, railroad tunnels, and waterfalls that make the area treacherous. The park covers approximately two square miles.

Authorities found nothing in the park that was tied to Daniel Reaves. They believe that someone knows what happened to Daniel Reaves. Anyone with information is asked to contact one of the following:

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department

812-265-2648

Indiana State Police

812-689-5000

__________________Sources___________________________

"Daniel Reaves: No Clues in Disappearance." Courier Staff Reporter. May 3, 2012. Madison Courier. https://madisoncourier.com/Content/News/News/Article/Daniel-Reaves-No-clues-into-disappearance/178/961/69420

"Daniel Reaves." Indiana State Police. http://www.in.gov/isp/2882.htm

Daniel Reaves. The Charley Project. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/reaves_daniel.html

"Family Still Hopeful 4 Years After Disappearance." RTV6 The Indy Channel. April 30, 2012. http://www.theindychannel.com/news/family-still-hopeful-4-years-after-disappearance

"S. Indiana Man Missing for Nearly 3 Weeks." Radio. WDRB. http://www.wdrb.com/story/8362484/s-indiana-man-missing-for-nearly-3-weeks?clienttype=printable

Weather. https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/madison/indiana/united-states/usin0386/2008/5

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

April Marie Tinsley

When I first found out I was pregnant with my oldest child, I immediately wanted a girl. I knew her name from the moment those two lines appeared to me. Her middle name was going to be Marie. Maybe that was part of the reason this case hit me so hard, or maybe it was because this case is every parent’s worst nightmare.

Like most Good Fridays in Indiana, the Good Friday of 1988, was chilly only in the mid to low forties. The chilly weather never stops the children from going out to play. It is the time of year when the kids have become restless and want to run around outside unhindered by their bulky winter coats.

That year Good Friday fell on April 1. A small eight-year-old girl asked permission from her mother to walk to a friend’s home. This little girl was April Marie Tinsley. April lived on the 300 block of West Williams Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was going to walk to a friend’s house in the 2300 block of Hoagland Avenue. According to sources, she was going to retrieve her umbrella, which had been left there previously. 

An hour after April departed from her home; dinner was ready and April’s mother, Janet, had begun to worry because April had not returned home. Within the hour, a missing person’s report was filed. That evening, more than one hundred people, including police and civilians, mounted a search for April in the area surrounding her home.

While searching the area, police found a witness. The witness stated that April had been pulled into a truck by a man in his 30’s. Some accounts say that the truck was light colored while others say that the witness claimed it was dark. The witness helped the police create a composite sketch of the perpetrator.

Those searching would make no progress. Three days later on April 4, in neighboring DeKalb County, a jogger came across the body of April Tinsley. No attempt at hiding the body was made. Instead, the girl’s clothed body was in the open.

An autopsy would reveal that the small girl had died two days before the jogger discovered her body. The cause of death was suffocation and she had been raped. DNA was found with the body and was ran against all existing databases the police had access to at the time.  It is theorized that since the body had not been discovered earlier, it had to have been placed on the side of the road sometime in the late hours of April 3 or in the early morning hours of April 4.  

The case would grow cold. People began to slip back into daily life, but the case was still alive and well in the minds of the Fort Wayne Detectives. For two years, no progress was made in the case. When they received a call from someone about a graffiti on a barn, they never expected the two would be linked. That was until they saw the message.

A teenager had claimed he had seen a man writing on the barn, which prompted the call to Police. The message was allegedly written in three media: pencil, crayon, and permanent marker. This message appeared shortly after a local paper had run a story on the two-year anniversary of April’s disappearance. The message claimed the writer was responsible for the murder and rape of April. Along with message, the perpetrator left behind his DNA.

The case then went cold again, with no new action for fourteen years. In 2004, notes began to appear in the Fort Wayne area. In total, four notes were found. Two of the notes were found on little girls’ bicycles. Another one was found in the basket of a little girl’s bike. The final note was placed in a mailbox.

The notes that were placed with the bicycles were all discovered by little girls; meanwhile, the note in the mailbox was discovered by a letter carrier before the girl could get the mail. Every note was inside a Ziploc bag and written on yellow legal pad paper. Every note began with the phrase “Hi Honey” and had some version of I have been watching you. One note in particular, stated that if it was not on the local news the writer would blow up the child’s house.

Along with these letters some other things were found. With one of the notes a used condom was found. The DNA taken from the condom matched that found at the barn where the message was written and on April’s body. Polaroid photographs were also found with some of the notes. The photographs depicted a naked white male masturbating. The photos were disturbing.

 

The photo above shows a bedspread from one of the polaroid photographs. Authorities released it in hopes that someone might be able to identify the bedspread. Police went to local hotels and bedding stores in search of the blanket in the photograph. The pattern is similar to those often seen in cheap hotels.

In 2009, five years after the notes were left Fort Wayne police began to work more closely with the FBI. The FBI brought in experts from the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Unit (CARD). This unit is divided into teams that are made up of behavioral analysists, crime against children specialists, coordinators from the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes and persons from the violent criminal apprehension program.

The same year April Tinsley’s case would be featured on America’s Most Wanted, hosted by John Walsh, for the first time. During this time, the FBI released their full profile of the suspect to the public. Authorities set up a hotline that the public could call in order to hear the full description. It was believed the man was probably not a parent. He more than likely befriended people with children and was seen as being good with children. Sometimes, he might be perceived as overly friendly.

Again, the case would grow cold after it received more than 50 tips thanks to America’s Most Wanted. The suspect list for the case was made up of over 600 people. America’s most wanted revisited Fort Wayne and the April Tinsley case in 2012.The FBI also released this map relating to April's case while working with America's Most Wanted. 

When covering the case this time, America’s Most Wanted were told of a piece of information the police had never released to the public. When April’s body was found a crude sex toy was found near the body. The object had been wrapped in a sears bag and had DNA on it. This information led to new outrage among the community over the case, but sadly leading nowhere.

New hope would spring up in 2015. A company called Parabon offered its services to the Fort Wayne Police Department. The department jumped at the offer. Parabon has a tool that they call Snapshot.

Snapshot uses the genetic traits that are found in DNA to produce the physical characteristics of an individual. From just nanograms of DNA, they are able to tell eye, hair, and skin color. The limitation is that they are unable to tell the height, weight, or age of the individual whose DNA has been tested. 

 In 2016, Parabon partnered with the Fort Wayne Police released this DNA composite sketch. From the DNA, they knew the suspect had brown or black hair, hazel or green eyes, and a bone structure similar to the one in the sketch above. A forensic artist took the information from the computer program and produced this sketch. The sketch on the left would have been the suspect at the time of April’s abduction going off the age the witness gave to police. The face on the right is supposed to show the age progression of the suspect on the left.

This technology led to the arrest and conviction in a double-murder out of North Carolina in 2017. The suspect had previously been cleared and taken off the list of suspects until the parabon sketch was produced in that case.

The Snapshot sketch provided by Parabon allowed the Fort Wayne authorities to narrow the suspect list. It went from having 600 suspects to having between 120 and 150 persons of interest.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the authorities. You can contact the Fort Wayne Police Department with information regarding the April Tinsley case at (260) 427-1222.

As a way to honor April’s memory, in 2012, her neighborhood constructed a memorial garden for her. Her mother receives comfort knowing that April’s little brother shares many of the same mannerisms that her daughter possessed. Even almost 30 years later, a community and family deserves answers.

____________________Sources________________________________________

WANE TV NEWS Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57R9Y57yu8M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIww37p5aRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSf1moc92nc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm4Fpu2fpoQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dcjtt2B54Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiT83ed3aTk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfF2L8ITc-M

Podcast:

True Crime Garage. Episode 7. “April Tinsley.” Available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.

True Crime Guy. “A Monster in Fort Wayne; The Murder of April Marie Tinsley.” http://truecrimeguy.com/april-marie-tinsley/

Articles:

“April Tinsley Kidnapping and Murder Still Baffles Police.” Traciy Reyes. The Inquistr. July 5, 2015. https://www.inquisitr.com/2227504/april-tinsley-disappearance-and-murder-still-baffles-police/

“Cold Case Heats Up: Help Solve 1988 Murder, Part 1.” The FBI. April 3, 2009. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/april/tinsley_040309

“Help Us Solve These Crimes: April Tinsley.” The Fort Wayne Police Department. July 5, 2016. http://www.fwpd.org/help_us_solve/april-tinsley-investigation/

“Hitting the Airwaves, Help Solve Cold Case, Part 2.” The FBI. April 14, 2009. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/april/amw_041409-part-2

“In Search of a Killer. Help Solve Cold Case, Part 3.” The FBI. May 19, 2009. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/may/april-tinsley-murder-pt.-3

“New Forensic DNA Analysis Produces Image of Cold-Case Killer at Large.” Andrea Isom. Crime Watch Daily. June 2, 2016. October 16, 2017. https://crimewatchdaily.com/2016/05/02/young-girl-murdered-police-receive-series-of-disturbing-taunts/

“Parabon’s DNA Phenotyping had Crucial Role in North Carolina Double-Murder Arrest, Conviction.” Seth Augenstein. Forensic Magazine. January 5, 2017. October 20, 2017. https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/01/parabons-dna-phenotyping-had-crucial-role-north-carolina-double-murder-arrest-conviction

“Police Release Updated Rendering of Suspected Tinsley Killer.” WANE Staff Reporters. May 3, 2016. http://wane.com/2016/05/03/police-release-updated-rendering-of-suspected-tinsley-killer/

” Putting a Face to DNA: How New Tech Gives Hope in Cold Cases.” Kate Snow. NBC NEWS. June 30, 2015. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dna-mugshot-how-new-tech-gives-hope-cold-cases-n384771