Amy Fandel Missing Person Case

Apr 15, 2010

Jul 30, 2024

Amy

Fandel

55

8

48 inches

52 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the late summer of 1978, in the small, wooded community of Sterling, Alaska, eight-year-old Amy Lee Fandel and her thirteen-year-old brother, Scott, were living a life marked by recent upheaval. Their parents had recently gone through a difficult divorce, and their father, Roger Fandel, had moved to Arizona. The children resided with their mother, Margaret, in a cabin situated in a rural, heavily forested area off Scout Lake Road. On the evening of September 4th, Margaret and her visiting sister, Cathy Schonfelder, took the children with them to a local bar and restaurant called Good Time Charlie's. Around 10:00 p.m., they drove Amy and Scott back to the cabin, which notably had a broken lock on the front door, before returning to the establishment by themselves. After being dropped off, the siblings went next door to play with the Lupton children, with whom they were close friends and daily school companions. They later returned to their own cabin; a passing neighbor noticed the lights were on inside at approximately 11:45 p.m. Margaret and Cathy returned to the Fandel cabin between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. on September 5th to a disquieting scene. The cabin was dark, which was unusual as both children were afraid of the dark and typically left lights on. Inside, they discovered a pot of water boiling on the stove, alongside an open can of tomatoes and a package of macaroni on the counter, suggesting Scott had been interrupted while preparing a late-night snack. Assuming the children were spending the night at the Lupton's, the two women went to bed. The following day, the grim reality of the situation began to unfold. Margaret called Amy's school that morning and was informed her daughter had not arrived. Although worried, her employer would not permit her to leave work. Later that afternoon, when the Lupton children came by, Cathy learned that neither Amy nor Scott had been at school or had stayed at the neighbors' house overnight. Margaret was immediately contacted, and she reported her children missing to the Alaska State Troopers. The investigation into the disappearance of Amy and Scott Fandel was launched immediately, with an intensive search of the dense woods surrounding their home, but no trace of the children was found. Investigators explored numerous leads; bullet casings were discovered outside the cabin, though their connection to the case remains unknown. The children's father, Roger Fandel, was initially considered a person of interest and traveled to Alaska to aid in the search. However, he reportedly had an alibi and no evidence was found to directly link him to their disappearance, though some family members harbored suspicions for years. Other avenues were pursued, including questioning two carnival workers who had been in the area, but this also yielded no charges. Over the years, theories have ranged from a planned abduction by someone who knew the children would be alone to a connection with a drug transaction. Despite the passage of decades, the case has grown cold. The family cabin burned down several years after the disappearance. The case remains an unsolved and painful mystery, leaving a family and community with unanswered questions about the fate of Amy and Scott Fandel.

Sep 05, 1978

Sterling

Alaska

Kenai Peninsula Borough

No

26540

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

D783303

1978-09-06

Alaska State Troopers

Blond/Strawberry

Brown

Brown

No

07/16/2026