Account
Apr 15, 2010
Feb 10, 2023
Charlotte
Kinsey
55
13
60 inches
100 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
On a September afternoon in 1981, thirteen-year-old friends Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett were excited for a day of independence at the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City. For the first time, their parents allowed them to go to the fair on their own. On September 26, 1981, what began as a day of fun took a devastating turn. Around 5:00 p.m., Charlotte called her mother to share exciting news: she and Cinda had been offered a job by a carnival worker to help unload stuffed animals from a truck. Believing it to be a harmless opportunity for the girls to earn spending money, both mothers gave their permission, asking the girls to call back at 9:00 p.m. to arrange for their ride home. That second phone call never came. Charlotte and Cinda were last seen at the fairgrounds around 5:30 p.m. and have not been seen or heard from since. As 9:00 p.m. passed with no word from their daughters, the girls' parents grew increasingly worried and reported them missing to the Oklahoma City Police Department. In response, uniformed and undercover officers immediately began searching the fairgrounds, while volunteers distributed flyers bearing the girls' images. The investigation gained crucial information from two teenage boys who reported a similar encounter with the man who had offered the girls a job. They told police the man had driven them, along with Charlotte and Cinda, to a truck stop off Interstate 40, supposedly to meet the truck with the stuffed animals. After the truck wasn't there, the man gave the boys ten dollars, dropped them off, and drove away with the two girls still in his car. Based on witness descriptions, a composite sketch was created of a man between 35 and 50 years old, with a full beard, mustache, and glasses, wearing a cowboy hat and a belt with the name "Joseph" on it. The initial investigation mistakenly focused on a carnival worker named Donald Michael Corey after his badge was found, but he was quickly cleared as he had an alibi. The investigation soon zeroed in on a prime suspect: Royal Russell Long, a long-haul truck driver and carnival worker with a history of crimes against young girls. Long matched the composite sketch so closely that even his ex-wife contacted police after seeing it. Evidence began to mount against him. He had rented a Pontiac Grand Prix that matched the description of the suspect's car, and an examination of the vehicle's trunk revealed crucial forensic evidence. Investigators found scalp hairs that were a match to Cinda Pallett, along with other blonde hairs that could not be conclusively linked to Charlotte. Furthermore, the use of luminol, a chemical that detects blood, revealed staining in the trunk. In 1985, Long was charged with the kidnapping and murder of both girls. However, in a shocking turn of events, a judge dismissed the case against him, citing a lack of evidence. The families later reported that as Long was led from the courtroom, he taunted them, claiming to be the only one who knew the truth about what happened to their daughters. Royal Russell Long was never retried for the disappearances of Charlotte and Cinda due to the judge's dismissal. He died in a Wyoming prison in 1993 from a heart attack while serving two life sentences for kidnapping other young girls. To this day, the bodies of Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett have never been found, and the case officially remains unsolved. Though law enforcement and the girls' families remained convinced of Long's guilt, the legal proceedings failed to provide them with the justice and closure they sought. The disappearance of the two friends from the state fair has left a lasting scar on the community, a haunting reminder of a day of youthful excitement that ended in an enduring mystery. The case serves as an overview of a promising investigation that was ultimately cut short, leaving the fate of Charlotte and Cinda unknown for decades.
Sep 25, 1981
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
Oklahoma County
26675
Oklahoma City Police Department
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
Oklahoma County
73102
701 Colcord Drive, Oklahoma
4052971129
Local
Law Enforcement
812730035
Oklahoma City Police Department
Blond/Strawberry
Blue
Blue
06/22/2026
