Sunday, March 10, 2013
Family received threatening phone calls after she went missing.
Amy L. Pugner chatted on the phone with her sister as she was painting her new apartment in Washington, Pa., where she had recently moved, on June 8, 2010. That was the last time Amy's sister spoke with her. Amy, a Latrobe native, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had a history of drug abuse. Her family considered the move a good thing—something that seemed to indicate that Amy, was getting her life together, leaving her demons behind and heading in the right direction. No one is sure when Amy was last seen, but likely it was June 9 or 10, 2010. Her family became alarmed when, a few days after that last phone call, a man used Amy's cell phone to make several threatening phone calls to them. He demanded money from them and told them…
Saturday, February 16, 2013
She was last seen or heard from in June 2011, just after she moved back to Pittsburgh from Florida.
Amanda Marie Koller had moved back to the Pittsburgh area from Orlando, FL in May 2011. The 23-year-old did not establish or maintain a permanent address in the few short weeks after her return, according to her mother. On Sunday, June 12, 2011, she was stopped by Pittsburgh police and cited for operating a vehicle without a valid inspection and also without an emissions inspection. Her car, a purple 2005 Scion TC has a Pennsylvania license plate and also one from Florida, both of which expired in 2011. The license numbers are Pennsylvania GLH 0116 and Florida ANA 4580, according to the Pennsylvania Missing Persons website. She has not been seen nor heard from since. Amanda is described as 5-feet to 5-foot 5, about 100 to 150 pounds with …
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The 16-year-old has been missing since Oct. 23, 2012.
Courtney Baltimore, 16, has been missing from her home in Pittsburgh since Oct. 23, 2012. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, she might have traveled to Hazelwood or Philadelphia. She is described as 6 feet tall, 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She has a heart tattooed on her right hand. Anyone with information should contact the Pittsburgh Police Department at 412-255-2937 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678). For more information about this and other missing person cases, visit Pennsylvania Missing Persons, NamUs or the Doe Network.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
She took only her ID and Social Security cards when she left her Hazelwood home.
When Lonnett Myer Jackson left her home in the 5100 block of Chaplain Way in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood sometime after 11 a.m. on April 11, 2006, she left behind her cell phone, keys and money. Relatives think she took her identification and Social Security cards, though. But she has not been seen or heard from since that day. At the time of her disappearance, Lonnett was 46 years old, 192 pounds and between 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-6. She had graying black hair and brown eyes, a surgical scare on the right side of her head near the hairline, a scar from a Cesarean section and pierced ears. She was dressed in a white undershirt, black sleeveless hooded jacket, dark blue warmup pants and white athletic shoes. She was also known by her …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The Etna woman was last seen in Wilkins Township.
Last year, just about a week before Christmas, Joann Angel of Etna visited a relative's home in Wilkins Township. That day—Saturday, Dec. 17—was the last time anyone heard from her. She might have been spotted a few days later, on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at a gas station on Route 30 in the North Versailles/North Huntingdon area. She was last seen driving a dark-blue 2006 Chrysler Sebring with a black convertible top with the PA license number HMW-8034. In February, her family offered a $1,000 reward for information on her whereabouts, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Angel is described as 52 years old; 5 feet, three inches tall; 115 pounds, with a thin build. She has blonde hair and brown eyes. She suffers from seizures and might not …
Saturday, September 15, 2012
This Blair County girl disappeared as she walked to school in 1965.
Author's note: Patch's Unsolved Cases generally features cases from southwestern Pennsylvania. On a trip this summer, I passed right by the small town of Tyrone, just north of Altoona. Tyrone, to me, has always meant Kathy Shea. Her face, which appeared in newspapers and on TV at the time of her 1965 disappearance, has haunted me since I was a child because she was just a few years younger than me. As I looked over at Tyrone from the new highway, I knew I had to share her story. It's a tale that's happened too many times—a young girl on her way to or from school vanishes into thin air. And that is the story of Kathleen Ann Shea of Tyrone, PA, who was 6 years old when she disappeared on March 18, 1965. She was last seen traveling north …
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Seneca Valley teacher was found shot to death in his home along Perry Highway in Lancaster Township on Nov. 24, 2010.
Steven Russo, 48, was a popular statistics and calculus teacher at Seneca Valley High School in Jackson Township, Butler County. Students liked his style, including that he used March Madness brackets to teach the statistical probability of winning. His students had even created a page called "I Love Mr. Russo and His Russo-isms" on Facebook. That Facebook page turned into a place where students poured out their sympathies and memories after Russo was found shot to death in his home along Perry Highway (Route 19) in Lancaster Township on Nov. 24, 2010. A neighbor told the Post-Gazette that Russo had returned from school for lunch the day before and discovered an intruder in the home. The person just ran out of the house, the neighbor said…
Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Wilkinsburg teen disappeared just two weeks before she turned 18.
Genelle "Princess" Bradford, 17, had a lot to look forward in the spring of 1999. That May, she would turn 18. She was only two months away from her graduation day. And friends told investigators Genelle was looking forward to her prom. The last time her family saw her was the morning of April 27, 1999 as she left her home for Wilkinsburg High School, where she was an honor student. Genelle, who was described as smart, funny, quiet, meek and mild, was raised by her grandparents, Princess and Ira Bradford. Her mother had died of cardiac arrest induced by an asthma attack when Genelle was 5 years old. Her father was not involved in her life. She had never been in any kind of trouble and her friends did not believe she would have run away at …
Saturday, July 14, 2012
The Clairton teenager was reportedly headed to a high school pep rally but she never made it there.
Football has always been a big deal in Clairton. Just last December, the Bears celebrated winning the team's third PIAA championship in a row, continuing a decades-old tradition of being a powerhouse team. As memorable as those games are for some, the one played on Nov. 6, 1981 is remembered by others—but not because of the sport. For them, the disappearance of ninth-grader Toni Lynn McNatt-Chiappetta the night before is what brings that game to mind. A petite 14 year old, Toni left her home on Van Kirk Street, just one block over the Clairton Bears' football stadium on Miller Avenue. Atop her white sweater and jeans, she was wearing a black jacket with orange-trimmed cuffs and waist. "Toni" was in white letters on the front and "Clairton…
Saturday, June 30, 2012
James Kos of Monroeville left his place of employment in April 2000 and has not been heard from since.
Some people literally disappear one day without a trace. James Kos of Monroeville is one of those people. He was 42 years old the day he left work in Monroeville on April 22, 2000. It was the last time he was seen. He is described by police as a white male; 5 feet, 7 inches tall; about 132 pounds; blond hair; hazel eyes; medium complexion; and wearing glasses. Not much else is known. There's been little publicity about his case and even the information on the missing persons websites is limited. Anyone with information is asked to call Monroeville Police Department at 412-576-3387. For more information about this and other missing person cases, visit Pennsylvania Missing Persons, NamUs or the Doe Network.
