Melanie Melanson

Last updated
Melanie Melanson
MelanieMelanson.jpg
Born
Melanie Jo Melanson

(1974-11-01)November 1, 1974
DisappearedOctober 27, 1989 (aged 14)
Some woods off of Montvale Avenue, near the Stoneham/Woburn line
Status Missing for 34 years, 7 months and 21 days
Nationality American
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Parents
  • John Melanson (father)
  • Irene Melanson (mother)

Melanie Jo Melanson (born November 1, 1974) [1] is a missing teenager from Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. She vanished while at a party on October 27, 1989; at first, investigators believed she fled to Florida. [2] However, subsequent investigations by both authorities and a private investigator have turned up no leads. [3]

Contents

Disappearance

Age progressed photo of Melanie to 36 years old (2010) MelanieMelansonAge36.jpg
Age progressed photo of Melanie to 36 years old (2010)

Melanson was a freshman in high school, and looking forward to a change of schools. [4] At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her grandmother yet maintained contact with her parents. She was asked to attend a party on the evening of October 27, 1989. [1]

On the day of her disappearance, Melanson and a friend left school early and decided to go home. That night, she told her grandmother she was going to have a sleepover at a friend's house (the friend was also her next-door neighbor). Melanson used the story to cover her attendance at the party. [5] The party was held in a patch of woods near an industrial park; Melanson was the youngest guest there. She went with a group of five male friends. The party did not end until early the next morning; no one who knew Melanson saw or heard her returning from the party.

During the afternoon of October 28, after Melanie's family discovered she had been at the party, they frantically called almost every attendee they could reach. They learned nothing of Melanson's whereabouts. Finally, they reported her missing.

The police determined that she was last seen with two boys she had known. [2] They gave conflicting stories of what might have happened to her. [6] Police said each boy claimed the other was the last one who had been with Melanson. One of the boys also said he had seen her at the very head of a trail in the early morning hours of October 28.

Investigation

The Woburn Police Department originally thought that Melanson had run off to Florida, as she had run away before. [2] They organized a massive search to find the teenager, using everything from cadaver dogs to helicopters, and there were substantial digs as well. [7] [8] None of the searches were successful, and no clues to Melanson's disappearance were found. There have been no arrests in the case. [9] In August 1992, an anonymous caller suggested police should search a pond near the party site; although police followed up, nothing was found. [1]

Aftermath

In the spring of 2009, authorities announced a renewed push on the case and offered a $5,000 reward for information to solve it. [7] In 2012, a doctor hired in the case has used a new science method called Decomposition Odor Analysis (DOA) to help find Melanie. [10]

Police now believe Melanson was a victim of foul play. [11] [12] [13] Her grandmother and parents are now deceased. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Kristin Smart</span> 1996 murder in California, United States

Kristin Denise Smart was a 19-year-old American woman murdered by Paul Flores at the end of her first year on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Doe Network</span> U.S. nonprofit organization

The Doe Network is a non-profit organization of volunteers who work with law enforcement to connect missing persons cases with John/Jane Doe cases. They maintain a website about cold cases and unidentified persons, and work to match these with missing persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Andy Puglisi</span> 1976 missing child case

The disappearance of Angelo "Andy" Puglisi is an unsolved case of a 10-year-old American boy who went missing on August 22, 1976, from the Higgins Memorial pool across the street from his apartment in the Stadium Housing Projects, Lawrence, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammy Lynn Leppert</span> American missing teen model and actress

Tammy Lynn Leppert was an American actress, model and beauty queen who went missing under mysterious circumstances at the age of 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilgo Beach serial killings</span> American serial killer case

The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of murders spanning from the early 1990s until 2011. Many of the victims' remains were found over a period of months in 2010 and 2011 during a police search of the area along Ocean Parkway, near the remote beach towns of Gilgo and Oak Beach in Suffolk County, New York. The search was prompted by the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, who, like many of the known victims, was a sex worker who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer, or the Craigslist Ripper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Sherri Jarvis</span> American ex-unidentified 1980 murder victim

Sherri Ann Jarvis was an American murder victim from Forest Lake, Minnesota whose body was discovered in Huntsville, Texas on November 1, 1980. Her body was discovered within hours of her sexual assault and murder, and remained unidentified for 41 years before investigators announced her identification via forensic genealogy in November 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Brenda Gerow</span> American ex-unidentified 1981 murder victim

Brenda Marie Gerow, previously known as Pima County Jane Doe, was a formerly unidentified American murder victim whose body was found on April 8, 1981. In late 2014, a photograph of a facial reconstruction of the victim was made public that led to Gerow's identification the next year. She had been buried under a headstone with the placeholder name of "Jane Doe" with the phrase "UNK – 1981". Gerow's body remained unidentified for 34 years until it was announced that her remains had positively been identified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Deanna Criswell</span> American ex-unidentified 1987 murder victim

Deanna Lee Criswell was an American girl from Washington state who was murdered by firearm at age 16 and remained unidentified for 27 years. Criswell's body was found on November 25, 1987, in Marana, Arizona, near Tucson. The Marana Police Department announced her identification on February 11, 2015, aided by the sophisticated technology of forensic facial reconstruction and DNA analysis, and by websites set up by amateurs to help identify missing and unidentified persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Carol Cole</span> Formerly unidentified 1981 murder victim

Carol Ann Cole was a 17-year-old American homicide victim whose body was discovered in early 1981 in Bellevue, Bossier Parish, Louisiana. The victim remained unidentified until 2015, when DNA tests confirmed her identity. Cole, native to Kalamazoo, Michigan, had been missing from San Antonio, Texas since 1980. Cole's killing remains unsolved, although the investigation is continuing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Gordon</span> Missing Australian girls since 1973

Joanne Ratcliffe and Kirste Jane Gordon were two Australian girls who went missing while attending an Australian rules football match at the Adelaide Oval on 25 August 1973. Their disappearance, and presumed abduction and murder, became one of South Australia's most infamous crimes. The presumed murders are thought by South Australia Police and the media to be related to the disappearance of the Beaumont children in 1966. The case is sometimes referred to as the Adelaide Oval abductions.

Patricia Spencer and Pamela Hobley were two American teenagers who went missing on Halloween, Friday, October 31, 1969, in Oscoda, Iosco County, Michigan after presumably committing truancy together, as they had both been seen walking in each other's company shortly before. The pair were aged 16 and 15, respectively, and "were not considered friends" at the time they disappeared. Their bodies were never recovered, yet it is believed by authorities that both of their lives had ended with homicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Margaret Fetterolf</span> Formerly unidentified 1976 murder victim

Margaret Fetterolf was an American murder victim from Alexandria, Virginia, who was discovered on September 12, 1976, in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, Maryland. For 45 years, her body remained unidentified before being identified in September 2021 through DNA testing by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Bode Technology, and Othram. Prior to her identification, she was known as "Woodlawn Jane Doe", in reference to the area of the county in which her body was found. The murderer, or murderers, have never been apprehended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Cynthia Gastelle</span> Formerly unidentified American murder victim

Cynthia "Cindy" Gastelle was a formerly unidentified American murder victim who disappeared on April 3, 1980. Her body was found two years later, but remained unidentified for 30 years before the matching of mitochondrial DNA entered into the national DNA database provided her identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Sheila Fox</span> 1944 missing child case in England

Sheila Fox was an English girl whose disappearance at the age of six from Farnworth, Lancashire, England has been called one of World War II England's most "baffling" mysteries. The press dubbed Fox "The Girl in the Green Mac".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Tiffany Sessions</span> Unsolved 1989 disappearance of 20-year-old from Florida

Tiffany Louise Sessions is a missing woman from Tampa, Florida, who was last seen on February 9, 1989. Her family nickname was "Tiffy". She was attending the University of Florida in Gainesville and was majoring in business.

Adrien McNaughton was a five-year-old Canadian boy who went missing on June 12, 1972.

Susan Renee Smalley and Stacie Elisabeth Madison were two young women from Carrollton, Texas, United States who disappeared on the morning of March 20, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Paige Renkoski</span> Disappeared woman from Michigan

Paige Marie Renkoski was a substitute schoolteacher from Okemos, Michigan who disappeared on May 24, 1990. She was last seen talking to two men on the shoulder of Interstate 96 near Fowlerville, Michigan. Her disappearance is one of Michigan's longest running cold cases. Her vehicle was reported abandoned on I-96, and though the responding officer discovered her car was still running and both her purse and shoes were in the vehicle, the police did not process this as suspicious, but merely had the vehicle towed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Cleashindra Hall</span> Young woman missing in Arkansas since 1994

Cleashindra Denise Hall is an American woman who has been missing since May 9, 1994. Hall was also known as Clea.

Tammy Lynn Lamondin-Gagnon was an Ojibwe woman who disappeared in Newmarket, Ontario in 1999. As of 2022, Lamondin-Gagnon's whereabouts and the circumstances of her disappearance remain unknown.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Good, Meaghan Elizabeth. "The Charley Project: Melanie Jo Melanson". www.charleyproject.org. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  2. 1 2 3 BLAIS, PATRICK. "Authorities not giving up search for Melanie Melanson". Homenewshere.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  3. "COLD CASE SPOTLIGHT: Melanie Melanson - NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. "The Doe Network: Case File 1405DFMA". www.doenetwork.org. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  5. "Cops Renew Push to Find Missing Girl". ABC News. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  6. Facts, Unbelievable. "10 Intriguing Disappearance Cases that Remained Unsolved". www.unbelievable-facts.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  7. 1 2 "Soil Samples, Cadaver Dogs Help Revive Case Of Teen Missing 23 Years". HuffPost Canada. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  8. "One of Melanie Melanson's Family Members Reportedly Present at Woburn Search". Woburn, MA Patch. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  9. CBS Boston (2015-10-28), Family Seeks Answers 26 Years After Woburn Teen's Disappearance, YouTube video , retrieved 2016-11-19
  10. michele mcphee (2012-06-27), Melanie Melanson Body Search Continues , retrieved 2016-11-19
  11. "Cops Still Seek Leads In Cold Case Of Teen Who Vanished From A Party 26 Years Ago - CrimeFeed". CrimeFeed. 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  12. "The Doe Network: Case File 1405DFMA". www.doenetwork.org. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  13. "Over 25 Years Later, Case for Missing Woburn Teen Reopened". Woburn, MA Patch. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  14. "New Search in 1989 Massachusetts Cold Case". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-01-22.