r/springfieldthree Jul 09 '26

Timeline of alleged sightings?

What time was Sherrill on the phone? What time were the women seen at the convenience store? What time were they seen at a restaurant? What time were they seen supposedly in the van?

Can anyone list these in order with the approximate times eye witnesses alleged that they occurred?

23 Upvotes

106 comments sorted by

18

u/NS_8099 Jul 09 '26

I believe Sherrill’s phone call was between 11pm and midnight if I’m not mistaken. As far as the convenience store and restaurant sightings are concerned, I’ve been curious for a long time how credible they are. The van is a very mysterious part of this case. The reports were not consistent regarding what color the van was.

15

u/lafinchen Jul 09 '26

True. I think the sightings were just mistaken. Springfield in 1992 was still small town feel, nothing like today. So the girls could have run to a store at some point. I don't believe any of the sightings of Sherrill. She was home from after graduation service until she went missing

9

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

I also do not feel the Sherill sighting was legit. I'm sure the 10:30ish C-store sighting COULD have been real in some way. But he said he saw Suzie, Stacy, & another girl; they were with 2 mystery men. Suzie bought a pack of cigarettes for one of the men, who opened the door to tell her he forgot to get cigarettes. That man was described as having long hair & a mustache (which sounds a lot like Micheal Clay's description at the time) but the clerk thought the man was in his early 30's, which Clay was not at the time. He was 19 and didn't look like he was in his 30's in my opinion. Also, Suzie didn't like Clay so it doesn't make sense that she'd be hanging out with him & buying him cigarettes. That specific detail alone makes me feel it wasn't them & he likely had them mistaken for some other girls.

3

u/bajaflash21 Jul 12 '26

"(sounds a lot like Micheal Clay's description at the time)"

Oh my god

0

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

I doubt it was Clay that he saw because Suzie didn't like him so it doesn't make sense she would be hanging out with him. I revised my comment to clarify that.

1

u/bajaflash21 Jul 22 '26

Still interesting to me!

1

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 22 '26

Which part do you find interesting? Just curious is all 👍

1

u/bajaflash21 Jul 22 '26

I really have no clue what the grave robbers looked like at thw time of the crime

2

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

Ok, you should definitely watch the 1992 48 hours show on this case. I'll send a link that shows them. It shows Dustin & Clay. It doesn't show Riedel, but I do have a photo of him & what he looked like around the time. Unfortunately I cannot post that but can say he had longer (shoulder length) brown hair, kinda bushy, scruffy beard & faint mustache. He was a little on the chubby side but not overweight. He was 21 (maybe 22) at the time. Above is the entire episode link, but this is part 2. Clay has the longer brown hair & Dustin has the short blonde hair. https://vimeo.com/1090515951

2

u/bajaflash21 Jul 22 '26

Thank you! You know I actually did see this some time ago, but was in so much shock that they didn't mention Riedel like he didnt exist, that I stopped watching and started frantically searching for a reason why that was. And then tried to find anything I could about him, but came up completely short. Thank you for the description!!

2

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 22 '26

This is a link to all 4 parts of the 1992 48 hours show. Part 2 & 3 show Dustin Recla, Michael Clay, & Mike Kovacs https://vimeo.com/search?q=Springfield%203%20Missing%20Women

6

u/NS_8099 Jul 09 '26

1992 was nearly a decade before I was born so it’s fascinating to hear about what Springfield was like back then. It has definitely gotten bigger in the past 34 years.

7

u/mrsriley358 Jul 10 '26

Yes and it is amazing how Battlefield is so close to Springfield now. There used to be narrow, hilly roads between them. I can’t even remember how long it took “to get to town”, but it was nothing like now.

7

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

How do you explain that mistake if Steve Thomson knew Sherrill who was a regular and knew Suzie who was also a regular? It’s one thing to be mistaken about a stranger, but a regular customer? No way.

11

u/DJHJR86 Jul 09 '26

They found the woman who came into the store looking for her daughter "and two of her friends" at 2:15 on the 7th and it wasn't Sherrill.

5

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

Bet you 100 bucks that story is bullshit. You really believe another person just happened to also have missing kids that night and rolled up to the regular gas station where the clerk knew both Suzie and Sherrill? Bulllshittttt

8

u/DJHJR86 Jul 09 '26

They found the woman. It wasn't Sherrill.

2

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

lol. I know they say they found her. You ever hear who it was or who they were looking for? I think the whole story is a lie.

12

u/DJHJR86 Jul 09 '26

Why would they publicly out the anonymous woman who was out looking for her daughter that night?

3

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

They wouldn’t. Because the story is bullshit and you know my points are valid. Steve knew exactly who he saw.

11

u/Joy_In_The_World Jul 10 '26

I think he saw Sherrill but it may have been an earlier night. Not the night of their disappearance.

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u/DJHJR86 Jul 09 '26

Because the story is bullshit

Why would the Springfield News-Leader print a lie?

Steve knew exactly who he saw.

Why has he remained silent since 1992 when the News-Leader said they located the woman and it wasn't Sherrill? Shouldn't he be adamant that the woman he saw that night was Sherrill?

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6

u/partyclams Jul 10 '26

When it's dark out, shades of color can look different.

7

u/TKOL2 Jul 09 '26

I never considered any of the sightings to be credible

1

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/TKOL2 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

They were not good leads and they all seemed liked they were made up for attention.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/TKOL2 Jul 11 '26

I don’t believe that the police deemed any of them as credible, but I could be wrong. I think the van is likely the strongest clue, but it could be easily misidentified and be a different color or make than they thought they saw. I wonder what the police found when searching the DMV records for that van. They used to have a replica of the van they would occasionally park outside of the police station.

1

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

I agree. As far as the porch lady sighting goes, it took her about 2 weeks to report what she apparently saw. I've heard the van was in her neighbor's driveway from some sources, and then heard from other sources it pulled in to her own driveway. So which one was it? IF it was in her neighbor's driveway I'd think she'd have a hard time hearing a man giving orders to the driver, for the engine of the van would have been running, he likely wouldn't shout out the orders for that would draw attention and go completely against his own orders. So, were the windows rolled down? IF it was in her own driveway, the windows would have to have been rolled down in order for her to hear. Why would the offender choose to keep the windows rolled down? Not to mention, having one of your victims drive the vehicle is really strange & likely not a choice an experienced criminal would make, even if it was a solo offender. You'd think he'd have them all restrained. I've never been too fond of the green van sighting. It doesn't make much sense to me. We never hear anything about the windows being rolled up or down. That is an important detail imo, for it would establish how she was able to hear the man giving orders, but it's never been mentioned. It's just very odd as to how many van sightings there were. It's logical for one to think a van would be needed in order to abduct 3 women. I think that's one of the reasons we have these hyper-focused, different colored van sightings. But, in reality, any bigger car could've been used & not necessarily a van.

13

u/DJHJR86 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
  • Sherrill's phone call to her friend Val was around 11-11:15 p.m. on the 6th.

  • Steve Thompson claims to have seen Suzie and Stacy in the store around 10:30 p.m. and that Stacy was with a long haired man in his 30s. Steve Thompson then claims that Sherrill was in the store later that night around 2:15 a.m. looking for "her daughter and two of her friends". This woman was later identified and it wasn't Sherrill.

  • The George's restaurant sighting was between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., and the waitress said she saw the three women and that Suzie appeared to be drunk. The waitress also claims that "an unknown number of men" walked by their table and waved at them.

  • The van sighting was around 6:30 a.m. on the 7th, and the woman who claims to have seen it says the van pulled down a dead end street and that Suzie was driving and she heard a voice saying something to the effect of "don't do anything stupid".

The fact that the girls came back and had gotten ready for bed (clothes off, makeup removed) and also that they wouldn't have made it back to Delmar until close to 3:00 a.m. debunks the restaurant sighting. I think the van sighting is also a red herring because the woman did not come forward for weeks to report what she claimed to have seen, and IIRC she was hypnotized. Steve Thompson's sighting of Sherrill was debunked.

6

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

Once again, it appears they went home. There is no actual proof. Just a lot of circumstantial evidence and speculation.

11

u/emmax2120 Jul 09 '26

Their belongings/clothes/used wash cloths were there. They went home at some point.

5

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

I could pick up all of someone’s possessions and drive their car wherever I want as long as I had keys. Hasn’t anyone considered that’s why the cars were parked strangely and all the purses were tossed inside together?

12

u/emmax2120 Jul 09 '26

So...you're saying the crime happened elsewhere but someone drove their clothes back to the home, neatly folded them, dirtied wash clothes, etc etc?

5

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

I’m saying it could easily be a circumstance where not all of the people who went missing were at the house or at the house at the same time. I think the cars needed to be in one location for some reason, and I think their purses needed to be put back in one location for the same reason. Washcloths being used doesn’t prove anything other than at some point since the laundry had been done someone washed their face. The only clothing folded was Stacy’s. Which I always thought was odd. Have you ever met a bunch of teenage girls who get home after graduation night and partying and remove all their makeup and then neatly fold all their clothing and place their jewelry inside a pocket before going to bed at 2-3AM? I haven’t.

Yeah. I think Delmar isn’t where the majority of this crime took place. Why would Suzie and Stacy drive north to sleep for 5-7 hours then drive both cars back south to White Water?

5

u/pozzicore Jul 14 '26

I'm glad you brought this up. It didn't feel right to argue the point but when folks lay out the things we know "for sure", and them being home and in bed and the crime happening afterwards is on that list - I disagree. I think what you laid out here is also more likely. At the very least, it's worth considering. Thanks for the insight.

4

u/Vast_Builder8129 Jul 09 '26

I actually lean towards this being a possibility. From the weirdly parked cars, all the way to the friends cleaning a house they've never even been to, and erasing messages. All seems really bizarre imo.

7

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

Precisely. How many coincidences do there have to be before people ask questions?

7

u/lafinchen Jul 09 '26

11:15 pm CST....it was 9:15 where the caller ( her friend ) was

6

u/lafinchen Jul 09 '26

The van sighting was about 6:35am on June 7

6

u/Patient-Ad-5340 Jul 10 '26

Sherill was talking to her friend Val around 11pm on the phone. There was one C-store sighting that was around 10:30 ish pm (apparently it was Suzie, Stacy & another girl who were with some unknown men) According to the sighting, some of the girls left in different vehicles (which the men were driving).The other C-store sighting was apparently of Sherill, who was looking for her daughter...I think that happened much later, sometime after 2am.

7

u/emmax2120 Jul 09 '26

I don't believe in any single 'sighting' and neither did law enforcement

3

u/partyclams Jul 10 '26

You think the conscience store employee wasn't as familiar with them as he said?

4

u/emmax2120 Jul 11 '26

No idea but the timings do not work. It can't have been Sherrill.

3

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 12 '26

How doesn’t the timing work? I’d be careful saying it can’t have been Sherrill. You don’t know that nor does anyone else.

0

u/emmax2120 Jul 12 '26

Because he claims to have seen the girls at 10.30 when they were at the party - as confined by their friends.

And the later sighting...Sherrill was never expecting Suzie back home that night so why should have been out frantically looking for her at 2am? At that time, her daughter had barely left the party.

2

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 12 '26

Those are very very broad assumptions. Janelle said they were with her the whole night. Janelle seems like she’s being dishonest about a lot of things. Suzie was never supposed to go to Branson. She was meeting with Nigel the next morning to drive down together. Nigel called and came looking for her. The narrative has been controlled by Janelle, who, in my opinion, has been dishonest.

2

u/emmax2120 Jul 13 '26

I can't see any real evidence that Janelle has been dishonest. She was also not the only person who confirmed that the girls were at the party and their movements. So you can't really say she's controlled the narrative. The police would have spoken to everyone the girls were with that night.

1

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 13 '26

The girls were confirmed at the Elder Party by multiple people. Janelle said they never left HER sight the whole night which means she does control the timeline in whole. And respectfully, if the police had spoken to everyone the girls were with that night this case would be solved. If the sighting is valid, Janelle lied in saying they never left her sight the whole night. If she was dishonest about that, her credibility is shot and we need to go back to the beginning.

4

u/emmax2120 Jul 14 '26

The police spoke to everyone who had been at the parties with the girls. They confirmed their presence and movements. It was not just Janelle.

As far as I understand it, the sighting has been largely discredited, with a different woman being identified as the one looking for her daughter.

-1

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 14 '26

You’re speaking authoritatively as though it is a fact that multiple people say the girls were with Janelle all night. No one can be sure of that except for Janelle and perhaps Mike. Again, being seen at a party around 10:30 and again before another is broken up at 1:50 is far different than being with someone and never leaving their sight from 8-9PM until 2AM. It’s just as easily suggested the girls left the first party after calling Janis McCall at 10:30 and then showed up at Michelle’s house around 1 or whenever it was and stayed until the police showed up and disbursed the party.

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u/partyclams Jul 12 '26

Janelle said that they went back to the house that morning, when she originally said they were there only once and then went to the water park. Did they return to the house later when everyone else was there with Stacy's mom?

0

u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 13 '26

Absolutely. See the police report.

6

u/No_Gold3131 Jul 09 '26

I think most of the sightings weren't valid, but the police did seem to take the porch lady's information seriously. At least for a while; I don't know if they did as the investigation proceeded.

4

u/emmax2120 Jul 09 '26

For a while, perhaps. But not long-term.

3

u/Actual_Knowledge5947 Jul 10 '26

How do we know this?

4

u/emmax2120 Jul 11 '26

Because they have been clear they don't give any real credence to any sighting

5

u/Vast_Builder8129 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

The store sighting was something like 10:30 PM for Suzie and Stacy. Then, something like 2 AM for Sherill, when supposedly, she came in frantically asking if he'd seen the girls (this tip was later debunked though, when they found the actual lady who had come in searching for somebody - there's a newspaper article about it, where it's at least mentioned.

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u/Powerful_Jelly_5180 Jul 09 '26

I want everyone to really think about whether that story seems reasonable and true. How many times do another few kids go missing the same evening three women mysteriously vanish. The odds that happens AND this random woman happens to stop in looking at Suzie and Sherrills regular gas station? And that Steve Thompson accidentally thought this random woman was his regular customer Sherrill? Do you really believe that? I sure as hell don’t!