Springfield Three
Date | June 7, 1992 |
---|---|
Duration | Missing for 31 years, 10 months and 25 days |
Location | 1717 E. Delmar Street Springfield, Missouri, U.S. |
Coordinates | 37°11′41″N 93°15′47″W / 37.19472°N 93.26306°W |
Type | Disappearance |
Missing |
|
Website | Springfield Police Dept. |
The Springfield Three refers to an unsolved missing persons case that began on June 7, 1992, when friends Suzanne "Suzie" Streeter and Stacy McCall, and Streeter's mother, Sherrill Levitt, went missing from Levitt's home in Springfield, Missouri, United States. All of their personal belongings, including cars and purses, were left behind. There were no signs of a struggle except a broken porch light globe; there was also a message on the answering machine that police believe might have provided a clue about the disappearances, but it was inadvertently erased.
In 1997, Robert Craig Cox, a convicted kidnapper and robber, claimed that he knew the women had been murdered and that their bodies would never be recovered. Neither their whereabouts nor their remains have ever been discovered. No investigators in the case believe Cox has any credibility.
Victims
Sherrill Elizabeth Levitt was 47 years old at the time of her disappearance. She was 5 feet 0 inches (1.52 m), 110 pounds (50 kg), with short light blonde hair, brown eyes and pierced ears. She was a cosmetologist at a local salon, and was a single mother reportedly very close to her daughter, Suzanne Elizabeth "Suzie" Streeter. Streeter was 19 years old and 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m), 102 pounds (46 kg), with shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes. Her distinguishable marks included a scar on her upper right forearm, a small mole on the left corner of her mouth, and pierced ears (left ear pierced twice). Stacy Kathleen McCall was 18 years old, was 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m) and 120 pounds (54 kg), with long dark blonde hair and light colored eyes.[1]
Disappearance
Streeter and McCall graduated from
The following day around 9:00 a.m., Kirby and her boyfriend visited the house after Streeter and McCall failed to show up at her home; they had planned to spend the day at a water park, and were supposed to leave from Kirby's residence.[6] Upon arriving, Kirby found the home's front door unlocked and entered, but found no sign of Streeter, McCall, or Levitt; each of the women's cars were parked outside.[6] She also reported to police that the glass lamp shade on the porch light was shattered, though the lightbulb itself was intact.[6] Kirby's boyfriend innocently helped her sweep the broken glass off the porch, which police later determined may have destroyed potential evidence.[6] Inside the house, Kirby found Levitt and Streeter's dog, a Yorkshire Terrier named Cinnamon, who appeared agitated; while inside, Kirby also answered a "strange and disturbing call" from an unidentified male who made "sexual innuendos". She hung up and immediately received another call of a sexual nature, again hanging up the phone.
Several hours later, McCall's mother, Janis, also visited the house as her daughter failed to answer her calls. Inside, she noticed all three women's purses were sitting on the floor of the living room, and also saw her daughter's clothing neatly folded from the night before.[6] Levitt and Streeter's cigarettes were also left inside the house.[6] Janis frantically called police from the home's telephone to report the three women missing; after placing the call, while checking the phone's answering machine, she listened to a "strange message", but it was inadvertently erased from the tape.[6] Police were "very interested" in the call and believed it "may have contained a clue". They also did not believe it was connected to the prank calls Kirby received.[6]
McCall's parents contacted police in reference to their daughter's disappearance from Levitt's home more than sixteen hours after the women were last seen, and other worried friends and family called and visited the house the following day. Police later estimated that the crime scene had been corrupted by ten to twenty people who visited Levitt's house.[5] Upon the officers' arrival, the scene showed no signs of a struggle, except for the shattered porch light.[2][4][5] Police also noted Levitt's bed had been slept in.[7] All personal property was left behind including purses, money, cars, keys, cigarettes, and the family dog.[8]
Later developments
On December 31, 1992, a man called the
Investigators received a tip that the women's bodies were buried in the foundations of the south
Suspects
Dustin Recla was a former boyfriend of Suzie Streeter. He broke into a Springfield mausoleum a few months before the women vanished and stole $30 worth of gold fillings from a skull. Police looked at Recla because Streeter had given investigators a statement about the mausoleum break-in and was rumored to be a probable witness against Recla in court. Recla and his two friends that helped in the mausoleum robbery were known to be together and in the area the night the women went missing.
In 1997, Robert Craig Cox, imprisoned in Texas as a convicted kidnapper and robber, and the suspect in a Florida murder, told journalists that he knew the three women had been murdered and buried and claimed their bodies would never be recovered.[2][12] In 1992, Cox had been living in Springfield and, when interviewed then, had told investigators that he was with his girlfriend at church the morning after the women disappeared, which she corroborated. However, she later recanted her statement and said that Cox had asked her to say that. Cox also stated that he was at the home of his parents the night of the disappearance, and they confirmed that alibi. Authorities were uncertain if Cox was involved in the case or if he was seeking recognition for the alleged murders by issuing false statements.[8] Cox stated to authorities and journalists he would disclose what happened to the three women after his mother died.[13]
In media
The case remains unsolved as of 2023, in spite of upward of 5,000 tips from the public.[2][10] In June 1997, a bench was dedicated to the women inside the Victim's Memorial Garden in Springfield's Phelps Grove Park.[14]
The case has been featured on shows such as
In 2021, journalist Anne Roderique-Jones launched The Springfield Three: A Small-Town Disappearance podcast.[16]
See also
- Fort Worth Missing Trio– Unsolved 1974 disappearance of three girls in Texas
- List of people who disappeared
- Yuba County Five – 1978 deaths and disappearance in California
References
- ^ a b "Three Missing Women". Springfield Police. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Three Missing Women: Ten Years Later – Part 1 of 5". Springfield News-Leader. June 8, 2006. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ "Decades-Old Evidence May be Future of Missing Women Case". Ozarks First. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ a b "Three Missing Women: Ten Years Later – Part 3 of 5". Springfield News-Leader. June 8, 2006. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Suzie Streeter". charleyproject.org. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ^ Disappeared. Season 3. Episode 10. March 7, 2011. Investigation Discovery.
- ^ "Sherrill Levitt". charleyproject.org. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "Stacy McCall". charleyproject.org. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- The Southeast Missourian. Associated Press. September 27, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
- ^ a b c Pokin, Steve (June 6, 2015). "Pokin Around: 3 missing women; here, then suddenly nowhere". Springfield News-Leader. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ Gounley, Thomas (May 30, 2017). "25 years after three Springfield women went missing, the tips still trickle in". Springfield News-Leader. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Keyes, Robert (March 15, 1996). "Suspect drops hints about missing women". Springfield News-Leader. pp. 1A, 13A. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pt. 3: What Happened to the Springfield Three? – Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen". Crime Watch Daily. October 17, 2017. Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- ^ Menner, Lauer Bauer (June 7, 1998). "Missing women's mystery endures". Springfield News-Leader. pp. 1A, 3A. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Springfield Three". Investigation Discovery. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ Cross, Greta (May 22, 2022). "Podcast uncovers new perspectives about Springfield's Three Missing Women, 30 years later". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved September 9, 2023.