Cherrie Mahan

A private investigator captivated by the disappearance of Winfield Township’s Cherrie Mahan 40 years ago plans to offer a $100,000 reward for information leading to answers for her family in a news conference Tuesday, May 6.

Iowa-based private investigator Steve Ridge said he has received about a dozen tips in the last 48 hours related to the then 8-year-old’s disappearance, which pinged his radar in June when a woman came forward claiming to be the missing girl. He said he visited the site of her disappearance on Cornplanter Road over the weekend.

“I think that I will be unearthing some new information,” Ridge said.

The news conference scheduled for noon at Bonniebrook Club House & Golf Course, 104 Serene Lane, will be for Ridge to introduce himself and answer questions so people know the monetary offer is sincere, he said. He’s hoping to unearth information that will lead to the location or identity of Cherrie Mahan’s remains.

The 8-year-old child went missing Feb. 22, 1985, when she got off the school bus at Cornplanter Road, information which was confirmed by the bus driver and students who were on the bus at the time. There were reports that Cherrie was taken into a van painted with a decal of a skier on a mountain.

“At this point, I think anything is worth trying,” said Bailey Gizienski, a member of the group Cherrie’s Angels. “We have nothing to lose at this point after 40 years.”

Cherrie’s Angels, which operates the Facebook page Find Cherrie Mahan, is helping her mother, Janice McKinney, find clues to resolve her daughter’s disappearance. The group has been searching for cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search an area its members say they believe Mahan’s remains may be found.

Gizienski said the group has received many tips since the 40th anniversary vigil remembering her disappearance.

The reward money provides a clear incentive, but Ridge said 90% of tips come from people whose attention was drawn by the amount, not necessarily people expecting to receive it.

“I only do pro bono,” Ridge said. “I will not take money for a case because it’s my way of giving back.”

Although Ridge does not have access to state police case files as an unlicensed investigator in the state, Ridge said it wouldn’t be an issue for his “zero-base” approach.

Ridge prefers to build his own set of information and see where he can connect different details and people he has interviewed. He said he has spoken with about 50 people regarding the case in the roughly 10 weeks he has worked on it.

“People want to talk, but they’re very judicious about who they’re willing to talk to,” Ridge said.

He said one of his biggest investigative strengths is getting people to talk to him. He has confidence in the state police’s investigation but said he has seen where talking to a private investigator can be less intimidating than talking to police. The reward and the chance to speak with a private investigator often encourage people to come to him with information, Ridge said.

“I think that all of these cold cases of missing persons have a common bond in the way they leave family and friends basically at sea for many years,” he said.

The case will be the third he has investigated and offered a reward from his personal savings. Formerly in broadcast journalism, he previously investigated the disappearances of Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit and Kansas resident Angela Green.

Huisentruit, of Mason City, Iowa, disappeared about 30 years ago outside her apartment around 4 a.m., Ridge said. He said a person of interest in the case died in December, and Ridge flew to Phoenix to interview multiple times and has the only recorded interview with that person.

Green who was last seen by her daughter in June 2019 and a missing persons report was filed with the Prairie Village Police Department in February 2020.

“My goal is to add value to the investigation,” Ridge said.