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The Disappearance of Cheryl Kenney
● Case Stalled
Adult Female
Missouri
Cheryl Ann Kenney | Missing Since 1991
| Full Name | Cheryl Ann Kenney |
| Born | July 8, 1960 |
| Age | 30 |
| Height | 5'6"–5'7" |
| Weight | 117–120 lbs |
| Eyes | Green |
| Hair | Light brown, bleach blonde tips |
| Glasses | Tan frames |
| Last Wearing | Blue sweatshirt, blue jeans, blue jean jacket, white tennis shoes |
| Distinguishing | Mole removal scars on chest and upper arm, scar on wrist, unique tooth pattern |
About Cheryl
Cheryl Ann Kenney
Cheryl Ann Kenney was 30 years old and a native of Nevada, Missouri. She was married to Walter James Kenney and was a mother of two children. At the time of her disappearance she was living near Walker, Missouri, and working as a clerk at the Quality Convenience Store on Business 71 Highway in Vernon County.
Cheryl was described by those who knew her as a hard-working, honest person who was deeply connected to her family. Her father was ill at the time of her disappearance, and her mother had recently died. She had approximately $6 in her possession when she vanished, and no clothing, luggage, or other belongings had been removed from her home. Investigators noted it would have been entirely out of character for her to leave her husband, her two children, and her ailing father without a word.
Her son Darnell was 10 years old when she disappeared. In the years since, he has spent considerable time working to keep her case in the public eye, organizing a rally on the 20th anniversary of her disappearance and maintaining regular contact with investigators.
01
Background
What We Know
On the evening of February 27, 1991, Cheryl Kenney was working an evening shift at the Quality Convenience Store on Business 71 Highway in Nevada, Missouri. Because it had been a slow night, she and the store's maintenance man, Lowell Hulse Jr., decided to close early. Lowell later recalled that an unrecognized male customer had come in before they closed. Lowell packed up his truck and left. Cheryl clocked out at 10:00 p.m. and set the store alarm at 10:17 p.m.
Cheryl never arrived home. Her white Chevrolet was found in the store's parking lot approximately 50 feet from the entrance, appearing undisturbed. Her husband Walter became concerned and drove to the store on his motorcycle, finding the building closed, the lights out, and Cheryl's car parked where she had left it. He checked with a nearby family member and continued looking before contacting the Nevada Police Department when she had not returned by 2:00 a.m.
When police arrived they initially found no signs of foul play and considered the possibility Cheryl had left of her own accord. A search conducted the following day produced nothing. Several days later, after a newspaper article about her disappearance was published, two witnesses came forward and told police they had heard a woman scream around the time Cheryl would have been leaving the store and walking to her car. Because of the amount of time that had passed, the witnesses' accounts could not be fully corroborated. No physical evidence was recovered at the scene.
Case Timeline
How It Unfolded
February 27, 1991 — 10:17 p.m.
Last Confirmed Activity — Store Alarm Set
Cheryl clocks out at 10:00 p.m. and sets the store alarm at 10:17 p.m. Maintenance man Lowell Hulse Jr. has already left. An unidentified male customer had been in the store shortly before closing. Cheryl's white Chevrolet is parked approximately 50 feet from the entrance. She is never seen again.
February 28, 1991 — Early Morning
Reported Missing — Car Found Undisturbed
Walter Kenney contacts the Nevada Police Department at approximately 2:00 a.m. after Cheryl fails to arrive home. Officers find her car in the parking lot and note no signs of foul play. Police initially consider the possibility she may have left voluntarily, given she had recently lost her mother and was upset. A search is conducted later that day with no results.
Early March 1991
Two Witnesses Come Forward
After a newspaper article is published about Cheryl's disappearance, two witnesses contact police to report hearing a woman scream near the store at approximately the time Cheryl would have been walking to her car. The delay in coming forward limits investigators' ability to fully evaluate the accounts.
January 31, 2011
Cold Case Investigation Reopened
Nevada Police Chief Graham Burnley announces a formal cold case investigation led by Sgt. Jeff Baker, in cooperation with the Vernon County Sheriff's Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the FBI. Following the announcement, a surge of public tips comes in before tapering off. Investigators re-interview prior witnesses and conduct new interviews. Approximately 25 leads are personally followed by Baker.
2011 — Present
Case Remains Open — No Answers
The Nevada Police Department continues to treat Cheryl's case as open and active. Thousands of hours of investigative work have been spent on the case over more than 30 years, including hundreds of interviews. No suspect has been identified and no physical evidence of her fate has been recovered. Nevada Police have consistently stated they believe someone in the community knows what happened and has not come forward.
02
Investigation
The Investigation
The investigation into Cheryl's disappearance has spanned more than three decades and involved the Nevada Police Department, the Vernon County Sheriff's Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the FBI. Despite thousands of hours of investigative work and hundreds of interviews, no suspect has been identified and no physical evidence directly connecting anyone to Cheryl's disappearance has been recovered.
The circumstances at the scene were sparse. Her car was undisturbed. The store had been properly closed and alarmed. There was no sign of a struggle. The only physical lead that emerged in the early days was the account of two witnesses who reported hearing screams near the time she would have walked to her car, but those witnesses came forward days after the event, limiting their evidentiary value. An unidentified male customer who had been in the store shortly before closing was never identified.
Investigators have considered whether Cheryl's disappearance may be connected to other cases in the region. On January 19, 1991, approximately five weeks before Cheryl vanished, Trudy Darby went missing after finishing a shift at a convenience store in Macks Creek, Missouri. Her body was found the following day. Jesse Rush and Marvin Chaney, half-brothers, were convicted of her murder. On April 4, 1991, six weeks after Cheryl's disappearance, Angela Hammond was abducted from a payphone in a parking lot in Clinton, Missouri and has never been found. Investigators have not established an evidentiary link between any of these cases.
Nevada Police have been consistent in saying they believe someone with knowledge of what happened to Cheryl has not yet come forward. The case remains open.
Quality Convenience Store, Business 71 Highway, Nevada, Missouri — Source: Cheryl Ann Kenney website
03
Help Find
If You Have Information
Cheryl Kenney has been missing for more than 30 years. The Nevada Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol continue to investigate and believe someone in the community has information that has not yet been shared. No piece of information is too small. Anyone who was in the area of Business 71 Highway in Nevada, Missouri on the night of February 27, 1991, or who has any knowledge of what happened to Cheryl, is urged to come forward.
Nevada Police Department
(417) 448-2710
Nevada, Missouri — Cold Case Unit
In Memoriam
She Is Not Forgotten
Cheryl Kenney set the store alarm at 10:17 p.m. and walked toward her car. That is the last confirmed fact. Everything after is silence.
She left behind two children, a husband, and a father who was ill and needed her. Her son Darnell was ten years old. He spent years driving back to Nevada, holding rallies, talking to investigators, and telling anyone who would listen that his mother did not leave willingly. He believed the answer was somewhere close to home. He was probably right.
More than 30 years have passed. The Nevada Police Department has never closed the case. They have consistently said they believe someone knows something. Cheryl's family has never stopped asking. She is not forgotten.
"I really want to have some sort of information. If we can have the community help us with this, it's so important for us to get some input from someone who knows something about the case."
Nevada Police Chief Graham Burnley — 2016
Sources
Nevada Daily Mail (multiple reports, 2010–2016) | Ozarks First | The Charley Project | NamUs #MP4000 | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Missouri State Highway Patrol | Cheryl Ann Kenney website
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