The latest effort to find the missing Lyon sisters is a two-day dig on Taylor's Mountain in Bedford County, Va., where police investigators have narrowed their search after linking a person of interest in the case to the area in September.
Sheriff Michael Brown of Bedford County said Monday morning that a team of investigators will be processing evidence gathered from forensic digs made in specific areas of the mountain on Monday and Tuesday. A forensic pathologist from Radford University is assisting in the search, he said.
Police hope to find evidence or the remains of Sheila, 12, and her sister, Katherine, 10, who were last seen just after 2 p.m. March 25, 1975, after walking to Wheaton Plaza from their Kensington home. Police previously identified Lloyd Lee Welch, 57, as a person of interest in the girls’ disappearance. Welch is a former carnival worker with a history of child abuse who is imprisoned in Delaware on a conviction in a different case.
Richard Welch, 69, Lloyd’s uncle, also has been identified by police as a person of interest and is believed to have worked as a security guard in the Wheaton area when the girls disappeared.
Police began searching Taylor's Mountain in Thaxton, Va., in September after linking Lloyd Lee Welch’s family to the area. In Bedford County, a grand jury has been called to determine if indictments can be made in the case. Patricia Welch, Richard’s wife, was charged with perjury in December after appearing before the grand jury. Virginia Commonwealth Attorney Randy Krantz said Monday that she made false statements under oath to the grand jury.
Krantz said Monday he could not detail the specific evidence that has led investigators to conduct the forensic dig, but said, “our focus is to bring these children home” and that “this case will be resolved.”
“We’ve aggressively investigated this case,” said Lt. Sean Gagen of the Montgomery County Police Department on Monday. “Our work is not yet done. As we draw closer to a conclusion, we’re still looking to the public for any information they may have on the disappearance of the Lyon sisters.”
