Family of Cherrie Mahan hopes inmate could hold answers 41 years after disappearance

The family of Cherrie Mahan, the 8-year-old girl who disappeared 41 years ago Sunday, is hoping an incarcerated man could be the key to bringing their decades-long nightmare to a close.

Janice McKinney, Cherrie's mother, has been exchanging letters with the man who claims his own family members are responsible for Cherrie's disappearance.

"Now in his letters to Janice, he denies any involvement, other than knowing what his family was capable of and that his family members were the ones who did it," said Alyssa Dietz, a member of the "Cherrie's Angels" group that supports McKinney.

Bailey Gizienski, another member of Cherrie's Angels, said they believe the man, located in a Pennsylvania prison, knows where Cherrie is and what happened to her.

"I mean, I believe he's a suspect. I believe he knows information but was involved as well," Gizienski said.

McKinney looks forward to the day when they can talk when he's out of prison.

"I would love to talk to him just to hear what he has to say," McKinney said.

She first reached out to the man based on tips and heard back from him in July. She said he indicated he wanted to talk to her.

"When I got the first letter, we tried to get in to speak to him while he was in prison, and we went there, and then he denied seeing us," McKinney said. "So he's hiding from himself, and if he had nothing to do with it, there's no reason why he couldn't have talked to me."

She said he may have just gotten "cold feet." They have continued to exchange letters for months.

The man has multiple stipulations for meeting with McKinney, Cherrie's Angels said, including that the conversation be televised live, which wouldn't be possible, they said, inside the prison.

"He has a story to tell, but we don't know what that is, yet," Gizienski said.

McKinney expects the man to be released from prison in the next few months.

At a meeting with supporters on Sunday, they discussed what they've learned and what comes next, working to connect the dots.

"Little tips that maybe didn't seem significant [are] now connected with another little tip that didn't seem significant," Gizienski said.

They hope to answer the questions they've had for years.

"I have always felt that this, when this year starts, that we were going to find her, because she wants to come home," McKinney said.

A $100,000 reward remains open for anyone with information that leads to Cherrie's discovery.