Police say they’re closer than ever to solving the mysterious disappearance of Sheila and Katherine Lyon, the young sisters who vanished almost 40 years ago from a suburban Washington, D.C., shopping center.
Lloyd Lee Welch, a 58-year-old convicted sex offender who authorities named as a person of interest last year, has implicated not only himself, but also an uncle and a cousin, according to newly released police documents.
Welch told detectives he saw his uncle sexually assault one of the girls the day after they were kidnapped, according to the documents. The documents also reveal investigators have been searching for the girls’ bodies in rural southwest Virginia, where Welch’s family owns property.
“Lloyd Welch has admitted he left Wheaton Plaza in a vehicle with the Lyon sisters on the day they disappeared,” police say in the documents.
Sheila Lyon, 12, and her 10-year-old sister, Katherine, were last seen inside Wheaton Plaza, a popular shopping center in the Maryland suburbs, on March 25, 1975. The girls were on spring break from school and reportedly went to look at Easter exhibits. They had about $4 between them. They had been told by their parents, prominent radio disc jockey John Lyon and his wife Mary, to return home by 4 p.m., according to a March 25, 1980, article in The Washington Post.
Around 2 p.m. that day, the girls were spotted by witnesses at a pizza shop. What happened after that has remained a painful mystery.
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“We are unable to provide additional information or comment on the content of the recently unsealed search warrants as this is still an ongoing and active investigation,” said in a Friday press release.
The commonwealth attorney in Bedford County, Randy Krantz, told TV station WDBJ on Monday that he is confident authorities are close to solving the case.
“We believe the investigation has significantly progressed since we started,” Krantz said. “Our commitment to solving this case is stronger than ever.”
Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips may also be submitted online at Tips.fbi.gov.
Lloyd Lee Welch Timeline
