Account
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 26, 2020
Jacqueline
Simpson
86
44
65 inches
67 inches
135 lbs
140 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
In the small town of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, the night of February 28, 1982, marked the beginning of a lasting sorrow for the family of Jacqueline Simpson. A 44-year-old mother of seven, known affectionately as Jackie, was working her shift as a barmaid at the Magic Lamp Bar and Grill. She was last seen just after midnight at the bar with its owner, Gary Kunish, with whom she had been involved in an intermittent romantic relationship. Concern mounted when she failed to return to her daughter's apartment after her shift. This absence was entirely out of character for the dedicated mother, sparking immediate alarm among her loved ones. The days that followed her disappearance were filled with a desperate search and a growing sense of dread. The investigation into Jacqueline's disappearance quickly focused on the last person she was seen with, Gary Kunish. The situation between them had reportedly been tense; Jacqueline had ended their relationship around Christmas of 1981 and had started seeing another man, which was said to have angered Kunish. A few days after she went missing, her daughter, who also worked at the Magic Lamp, discovered unsettling spots of blood in the bar. This discovery, coupled with Jacqueline's sudden vanishing, led authorities to suspect foul play. Despite the absence of a body, a murder weapon, or a confession, the circumstantial evidence was compelling enough for prosecutors to take the rare step of charging Kunish with her murder a month and a half after she was last seen. The subsequent legal proceedings were highly unusual for their time, as it was only the second instance in Pennsylvania's history that a murder conviction was sought without the victim's body. In September 1982, a jury convicted Gary Kunish of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to a term of three and a half years in prison and was eventually paroled in 1988. Kunish maintained his innocence and never revealed the whereabouts of Jacqueline's body before his death in 1996. Over the years, extensive searches were conducted in numerous locations, including two Westmoreland County lakes, wooded areas, a cave, the basement of the Magic Lamp, and a landfill in Buffalo Township, all to no avail. The disappearance of Jacqueline Simpson left a void in the lives of her seven children and a community that continues to hope for answers and the day she can finally be laid to rest.
Feb 28, 1982
Vandergrift
Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County
No
24666
Pennsylvania State Police
Greensburg
Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County
15601
100 North Westmoreland Avenue, Pennsylvania
7248323288
State
Law Enforcement
Pennsylvania State Police
Blond/Strawberry
Unknown
Unknown
05/30/2026
