Montgomery County (MD) police to identify a ‘Person of Interest’ in 39-year-old cold case

[bigworld]

Source: Washington Post

Montgomery County police have identified a “person of interest” in the unsolved, 1975 disappearance of the Lyon sisters, a case etched firmly in the memories of longtime county residents.

Sheila Lyon, 12, and her sister, Katherine, 10, left their home on March 25, 1975, to walk to a nearby shopping center, the Wheaton Plaza, and never returned home.

“It’s the biggest break we’ve had in quite some time” in the case, said Capt. Marcus Jones, commander of Montgomery’s major crimes division.

Officials have scheduled a news conference for 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, and said they will name the man they are investigating and release photographs. They described him as a convicted child sex offender who is currently incarcerated.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/montgomery-county-police-to-identify-a-person-of-interest-in-39-year-old-cold-case/2014/02/10/f0f38ed2-92a6-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html?wprss=rss_crime

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This was a huge case in Washington back in the day. Happy to hear the girls haven't been forgotten.

[Kingofalldems]

1. I think about them sometimes.

Remember it well. Their dad was a d j at WMAL. An incredible tragedy, the mom was interviewed a few years back lamenting the fact she never got to see her daughters get married.

[angstlessk]

2. Please post tomorrow about the news conference..I may be doing other stuff

but if there can be a link...after the fact

[Faygo Kid]

3. I wasn't here then, but there's a memorial to them at the local cemetery.

It must have been a huge, huge story in 1975. Hopefully justice will finally be served.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon_sisters

[packman]

4. God, what a shock

I was living in Maryland near the mall where these two girls were last seen. I hope that this bears out.

[First Speaker]

5. I knew the family...

...not well, but we were acquaintances...my God. What a nightmare it was...and how incredible it would be, if justice could be done. For once, the police deserve credit for not forgetting Sheila and Katherine...

[NastyRiffraff]

6. I remember the story very well

I lived fairly close to Wheaton Plaza and people in the mall were talking about those girls. It was heartbreaking. I hope the man who did this will finally face justice.

[Frances]

7. I have never forgotten the Lyon sisters

My two daughters are just a little younger than the Lyon sisters, and we lived within walking distance of the old Rockville mall. What happened to those girls has stayed with me because I could imagine how devastated I would be if the same thing happened to my girls.
I have always grieved for the whole Lyon family.

[mopinko]

8. i think there are many, many answers in the unprocessed rape kits

sitting around in so many states. both relief and closure for families and victims, and justice for many wrongly accused.
science. more science please.

[bigworld]

9. Here's your update:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/inmate-named-as-person-of-interest-in-1975-missing-sisters-case/2014/02/11/38f4d856-9330-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html?hpid=z3

Authorities have identified a sex offender incarcerated in Delaware as a “person of interest” in the nearly 40-year-old disappearance of two Montgomery County girls, who vanished after leaving home to go to a mall.

Montgomery County police appealed to the public for more information about Lloyd Lee Welch, 57, at an afternoon news conference, saying he was at Wheaton Plaza the day Sheila and Katherine Lyon, 12 and 10, went missing.

Police said Welch, who was 18-years-old at the time, was seen “paying attention” to the sisters. He has been convicted of raping girls in Virginia, South Carolina and Delaware, they said, and worked as a ride operator for a carnival company that travelled around the country.

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A travelling carnie? Wonder if there are any other unsolved cases from that time around the country.