Woman claims to be 8-year-old missing since 1985, but DNA says she is not

A police investigation has revealed that the woman claiming to be an 8-year-old Pennsylvania girl who has been missing since 1985 is likely not the missing child, based on DNA analysis.

Forensic fingerprint analysis revealed that the fingerprints of the woman claiming to be Cherrie Mahan, who was last seen on February 22, 1985, did not match those of the missing girl, according to a Pennsylvania State Police press release posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) by department spokeswoman Trooper Bertha Cazy.

Mahan disappeared after getting off the school bus about 100 yards from her home in Cabot, 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Last month, the woman claimed she was the missing girl in a Facebook group called Memories of Cherrie Mahan, a group dedicated to the little girl.

Janice McKinney, Cherrie’s mother, posted in the Facebook group that she had contacted the Pennsylvania State Police and told the Butler Eagle newspaper that she believed the post to be fraudulent.

“I have spoken to the police and they are investigating,” McKinney wrote. “This is very hard for me so please be aware that I see everything.”

Here is the police statement on the investigation.

Mother knows best:Woman claims to be Pennsylvania girl missing since 1985

Pennsylvania State Police investigate woman claiming to be Cherrie Mahan

After receiving a report that a woman in a Facebook group claimed to be Cherrie Mahan, Pennsylvania State Police launched an investigation, the press release said.

Additionally, police said the same woman left a voicemail with the Pennsylvania State Police. On the recording, the woman provided her address and phone number so investigators could reach her. However, when officers called the number and went to the address provided, the woman was not there.

The woman, who claimed to be Cherrie Mahan, has not contacted authorities since her Facebook post or leaving a voicemail message, police said.

Authorities said the caller’s fingerprints were in the database. Upon initial review, investigators found that the caller’s and Cherrie Mahan’s fingerprints did not match.

If the woman decides to speak to authorities, she can contact the Pennsylvania State Police or other local authorities, who will investigate her claim, police said.

Woman claiming to be Cherrie Mahan banned from Facebook group, post deleted

The woman claiming to be Cherrie was banned from the Facebook group and her posts deleted. Group administrator Brock Organ wrote that she had “harassed and bullied” other members and no one in the group – especially McKinney – should be subjected to that.

Remembering Cherrie Mahan | Hi friends, I have been notified that a group member is harassing and bullying | Facebook

“Some people ask, ‘But what if it really was her?'” Organ wrote. “There’s a simple answer to that: If it really was her, she could report to any police department and take a DNA test without contacting people online and making aggressive claims. That’s what any reasonable person would do.”

He asked group members to “please continue to pray for the family.”

Cherrie’s mother addresses allegations made by several women over the years

The woman who claimed to be Cherrie last month is not the first. Three others have claimed to be McKinney’s daughter over the years, KDKA-TV reported.

“People are mean, they’re cruel, but this is really driving me crazy,” McKinney told the Butler Eagle.

When the youngest woman’s claims surfaced, McKinney told the newspaper she knew immediately it wasn’t her girl. “It didn’t look like Cherrie at all,” she said.

She still has hope that one day she will find out what happened to her daughter. She told the newspaper that she hopes that all the investigators who have ever worked on the case will sit down and go over everything again.

“Somewhere, someone missed something and someone knows it,” she said.

She told KDKA-TV: “It’s the not knowing that really sucks the life out of you.”

She continued: “It’s a burden every day and for the last 39 years it has been the hardest time of my life.”

Anyone with information about Cherri’s case can call police at 724-284-8100, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at missingkids.org or Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477) or p3tips.com.

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