50 Years Pass Since Disappearance Of 15-Year-Old Christine Meadors

HOMER TOWNSHIP, IL — Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the disappearance of 15-year-old Christine Meadors, of Homer Township, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

The sheriff's office said it plans to highlight various cold case investigations on anniversary dates in hopes of getting new information for investigations.

The unsolved case of Meadors has been reopened and reexamined by detectives with the sheriff's office throughout the years.

On Nov. 5, 1973, Meadors was reported missing after disappearing from her home. In the last 50 years, speculation and rumors have surrounded her disappearance and death, the sheriff's office said.

Meadors was last seen in her bedroom by her mother at 10:15 p.m. on the night of Nov. 4. She was reported missing the morning of Nov. 5, around 5:30 a.m., when her father returned from work.

When he got home, he noticed that a window to the right of the front door was removed, and the window was pushed open, according to the sheriff's office. The front door of the residence was unlocked, which was unusual.

A check of the residence revealed nothing missing except a small amount of money from a purse, the sheriff's office said.

Meadors' parents checked on her, and found her door locked, which was not unusual; however, she didn't answer her parent's calls and knocks, the sheriff's office said. The Meadors made entry into Christine’s bedroom, and she was gone.

Her bedroom window was open, and the screen pushed out. In addition, Meadors' private phone line was later found to be cut.

Meadors had never run away before, and attempts to find her were unsuccessful, the sheriff's office said. Several months passed with no leads about her whereabouts.

On April 16, 1974, Meadors' body was found inside a women's outhouse in Messenger Woods, in Homer Township. She was found wearing the same clothing she had been wearing the night she disappeared. An examination of her showed no evidence of trauma or violence regarding her death, the sheriff's office said.

Police said there were rumors of satanic cults surrounding her disappearance and death, which began to circulate after Meadors' body was found. These rumors hampered the investigation and led detectives down the wrong path initially, police said.

These rumors were ultimately disproven in later investigations by detectives.

Most recently, Detective R.J. Austin and Detective Sergeant Mike Earnest have been reexamining the case. The detectives have conducted almost 50 interviews over the past several years, the sheriff's office said.

These interviews have been conducted both locally and in several other states, police said. Some of the individuals that have been interviewed have never previously spoken to law enforcement regarding this investigation.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office hopes that others may come forward with information that would assist in the investigation. If anyone has any information regarding this case, you can contact Detective Sergeant Mike Earnest at 815-727-8574, extension 4943, or email at mearnest@willcosheriff.org.

If you wish to remain anonymous, we urge you to submit a tip on the Will County Sheriff’s website at www.willcosheriff.org/enforcement/submit-a-crime-tip, or on the Will County Sheriff’s Office App that is available for download on iOS and Android platforms. You can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers by telephone at 800-323-6734, or by computer at www.crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/submit-a-tip/.