State police doubt claim that woman is Cherrie Mahan, missing since 1985

Pennsylvania State Police say a woman claiming to be Cherrie Mahan likely is not.

Police say a woman recently posted to a social media site and left a phone message with Butler state police claiming to be Mahan, who disappeared from a rural school bus stop almost 40 years ago.

“The female has not contacted Pennsylvania State Police or any other law enforcement agency that we are aware of since her original post and voicemail,” read a statement by Trooper Bertha Cazy of the Butler state police station that was posted Thursday to the social media site X.

“Pennsylvania State Police were able to obtain fingerprints for the name left by the female caller. An initial review of these fingerprints indicate that she is not Cherrie Mahan.”

The statement said police would continue to investigate if the woman makes contact with authorities again.

It is at least the fourth time since Mahan’s disappearance that someone has come forward claiming to be her.

Mahan was last seen getting off her school bus on Cornplanter Road in Winfield, Butler County, in February 1985, when she was 8 years old. She would be 46 now.

Police say a bright blue dodge van with a mural of a mountain and skier may have been involved in her disappearance. The van has not been found.

There remains a $5,000 reward for anyone who has information that can lead to an arrest, solving the case or finding Mahan.