Sheryl Tillinghast Missing Person Case

Dec 01, 2009

Jan 12, 2024

Sheryl

Tillinghast

69

17

63 inches

140 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the late summer of 1973, a 17-year-old female named Sheryl Ann Tillinghast disappeared from Wassaic, New York, a small hamlet in Dutchess County. She was living and working at the Wassaic State School, an institution for individuals with developmental disabilities, having found employment in the laundry room. Originally from Phelps, New York, Sheryl had a difficult home life marked by abuse and her mother's struggles with alcoholism. This led to her being sent to a reform school after a marijuana possession charge; when that facility burned down, she was transferred to the Wassaic State School. Despite her troubled background and the distance from her family, Sheryl maintained regular contact with her siblings, with whom she shared a close bond. Around September 24, 1973, she vanished, leaving behind all of her personal belongings and two uncashed paychecks. The circumstances immediately following Sheryl's disappearance are marked by a tragic misunderstanding and a significant delay in official action. Sheryl had told her family she planned to come home for her mother's birthday and had even spoken to her sister about plans to move to California together. When she failed to arrive, her mother contacted the Wassaic State School. She was reportedly told that Sheryl was an adult and did not wish to come home. Accepting this explanation due to their strained relationship, her mother did not pursue the matter further and never filed a missing person report. For 25 years, Sheryl's siblings believed a report had been filed, only discovering in 1998 that their sister was never officially considered missing. A formal report was finally filed on November 2, 1998, a quarter of a century after she was last seen. The investigation into Sheryl's case, once opened, uncovered troubling details. A month before she went missing, Sheryl had reported to the police that she had been assaulted by an older man who was also a coworker. The man was arrested and arraigned, but a relative posted his bail. His court date was scheduled for October 1973, the month after Sheryl disappeared. This individual is considered a possible suspect in her case. Over the decades, there has been no activity on Sheryl's Social Security number, no marriage records found, and no confirmed sightings. The case remains an unsolved and painful mystery for her surviving siblings, who continue to seek answers. The overview of the case is one of a vulnerable young woman who, after escaping a difficult family life, vanished just as she was making plans for a new future, with the official investigation into her disappearance starting decades too late.

Sep 24, 1973

Wassaic

New York

Dutchess County

12592

No

7709

New York State Police - Dover Plains

Dover Plains

New York

Dutchess County

12522

Troop K -Dover Plains, New York

8458773669

State

Law Enforcement

8220971

1998-11-02

New York State Police - Dover Plains

6561

Brown

Brown

Brown

09/15/2026