Stacie Madison & Susan Smalley- Missing 24 Years

Photo Credit: Charley Project.org

 

On March 19, 1988 (Saturday) , 17 year old Stacie Madison had planned to spend the night at her friend, 18 year old Susan Smalley's residence in Carrollton, Texas during spring break. Stacie permed her hair that day, and Susan stopped by to pick her up. Stacie drove her  light yellow 1969 Ford Mustang convertible to Susan's house. The girls picked up Susan's mother from work, go shopping (Stacie bought a pair of new shoes), then return to Susan's home to get ready for the night. The girls were known to have been to the apartment of a boy whom Stacie had known. It was established that the girls returned to Susan's home once more at midnight, when a phone call to a friend was placed from the residence. They departed in Stacie's Mustang afterwards.
Two young women matching Susan and Stacie's description were seen at a local 7-11. They made an attempt to purchase some beer, but were denied due to their age. Afterwards, they were both seen at Steak and Ale (in their town, Carrollton), where Susan worked as a hostess. She went inside for a few minutes to speak with a friend while Stacie waited in the car, then left. This was the last known sighting of the girls. They have not been seen since.
Stacie's 1969 Mustang was later located in a strip mall parking lot in Dallas, Texas (on Forrest Lane and West Chapel Road). It was locked, undisturbed, convertible top closed with the exception of Stacie's portable stereo on the back seat. There was no sign of a struggle. The girls were both seniors from Newman Smith High School, just months shy from graduation.

Stacie vanished with her friend Susan. Her Mustang was found parked at a strip mall. Photo Credit: Charley Project.org

Stacie Elisabeth Madison had blonde hair (usually permed, as she believed the bigger the hair, the closer to God) with blue eyes and was 5'6", and about 120-160 lbs when she vanished. Her ears are double pierced, and she has some white discoloration on the back of her neck. She was last seen wearing cotton pants, white sneakers, and a long sleeved white sweatshirt with a pink and orange logo on the front. She was girly, loved baton twirling and was an honor student.


Susan Smalley vanished with her friend Stacie. Both were only two months shy of graduation. Photo Credit: Charley Project.org

Susan Renee Smalley had brown hair, green eyes, and both ears pierced three times when she vanished. She was 5'8" and 140 lbs. She also wore contact lenses or eye glasses. She was last seen wearing a white sweater and blue pants, and was carrying a navy blue shoulder bag with a camel trim. She was an honor student and was working two jobs when she disappeared, trying to save up money for a new car.

Now, Forrest Lane (the road where Stacie's Mustang was located off of), was rumored to be a party lane, used for "cruising", partying and drag racing. It is said (not confirmed) that Stacie and Susan were spotted there that night (after midnight). If so, I would like to offer the theory that the girls met someone they knew and trusted there that night. With Stacie's car being found locked, I believe the girls got a ride from the person(s) they knew, and had every intention of coming back to Stacie's car, whether it was in a few hours, or in the morning. I do not believe that the girls got in with someone they had just met, or a stranger, as it would be hard for a predator to kidnap two girls at the same time, with many people around to be witness.

 Investigators need anyone who was at Forrest Lane to come forward if they believe Stacie or Susie were there that night. Photo Credit: Charley Project.org
 

Another scenario is the girls met up with Stacie's boyfriend that night. Stacie's mother claimed he was abusing Stacie, a claim other women would make years later. Stacie's boyfriend later confessed to a girlfriend that he killed the girls and buried them in a cemetery. He took a polygraph test, passed, and moved out of Texas, and changed his name.
I will say, I read a lot of cases where an abandoned car is found after a vanishing, and they never seem good. What makes this different is, there were two girls, and they both left behind no clues. Usually, I like to scour the NAMUS database for other cases that may be connected. However, I really think that these girls' disappearances were more personal then that of a serial killer or repeat offender. Still, the person who took them most likely has a record in other areas of crime of violence that can't be counted out. I am still planning to search the Unidentified Persons section on NAMUS for any possible matches to Stacie or Susie, and I also browsed other missing persons cases in Texas of women close to from 1975-1995 (just an estimated time frame to narrow down the wide search).


Ashley Reed was 19 years-old when she went to IHOP to meet up with friends. The following morning, her car was found abandoned off the ramp near to the IHOP restaurant. Photo Credit: Charley Project.org

In my search of other missing persons, there was one case that caught my eyes as reminding me of Stacie and Susie's disappearances more then the others. It is the case of 19 year-old Ashley Fuller Read. She vanished January 14, 1990 from Garland, Texas-exactly 27 minutes or 23 miles away from where Stacie and Susan vanished in Carrollton. Ashley was meeting two male friends that were known to her family only as "Dave" and "Robert" at a restaurant called IHOP that was located I-635 and Military Parkway. On the following morning of her disappearance, her car was found on the freeway ramp leading into her neighborhood, about one quarter of a mile away from the restaurant she planned to visit the previous night. She was a Harding High School student and participated in cheerleading. I was unable to find further information. I do not know if the two men she planned to meet with were ever identified, and I don't know if she even made it to the IHOP restaurant. If there was a case similar to Stacie and Susie, I feel it is this one because they happened not too far apart, in time and distance. Both cases involve high school girls that possibly met up with friends the night they vanished, only to have their car found abandoned the morning after. Ashley has never been seen since, and authorities believe she was taken against her will. I wonder, since the girls lived and went to school only 27 minutes apart, if they knew each other, or had common acquaintances. Did Stacie or Susie know "Dave" or "Robert"?

It is my theory that with a few months left until graduation, and plans in place for summer time, they did not runaway. Stacie's shoes she bought earlier in the day were found in Susan's room. If they were to leave, she would have taken them. I believe they went to Forrest Lane wanting to have a fun night, met up with someone they both knew and trusted, got in their vehicle, and left the parking lot. What happened next is anybody's guess, but it does not seem good. From what I read, I doubt they are located far from their home town. I also wish they would take another look at Stacie's at-the-time boyfriend, as some of his action after she vanished are disturbing. He may have passed that polygraph test, but so did Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer. I truly hope they locate him and take another look, these families deserve to at least have the peace of finally knowing where their daughters are.

Age progressed photographs of Stacie Madison and Susan Smalley.Photo Credit: Charley Project.org

All in all, the theories I mentioned here are just that: theories. They are theories investigators have, but there is no evidence to back any of it up. Anything could have happened to these girls, and they could be anywhere. Finding the girls will help fill in the pieces of what happened and who took them. Both families are still actively searching 24 years later, waiting for answers. If you have any tips, or even seen Stacie or Susan that night or anytime after, please come forward. The families care more about finding their daughters than anything else. Please find the courage to come forward. After all, they could have been your daughters, sisters, aunts or friends.

Do you know who these people are?

 

 If you know the identity of anyone in these photos, or if you recall seeing Stacie and/or Susan at Forest Lane, or anywhere else that night, please contact Carrollton PD or report to Missing Girls Book Site listed below! They are not suspect, just possible witnesses that may have valuable information to the investigation.

Police Information:
Carrollton Police Department
214-466-3324
or Submit Anonymous Tips at
www.missingkids.com
Please visit this site to read additional information:
http://www.missinggirlsbook.com/Weblinks___Contacts.php
Never Forget Stacie Madison and Susan Smalley:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/59664093867/

If you have any information about the disappearance of Ashley Fuller Reed, please contact:

Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Dallas Police Department
214-670-5146
All information may be submitted anonymously.

Sources:
This Night Wounds Time by Shawn Sutherland
Charley Project:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/madison_stacie.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/smalley_susan.html
Articles:
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/headlines/20130315-25-years-after-carrollton-teens-disappearance-organizers-hope-vigil-draws-out-clues.ece
http://missinggirlsbook.blogspot.com/
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Photos-Could-Help-Explain-Teen-Girls-Disappearance-136341053.html
Ashley Reed
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/reed_ashley.html
http://doenetwork.org/cases/221dftx.html
The Missing Angels & Cold Cases blog is also mentioned here by The Daily Mail in light of the Smalley and Madison disappearances:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2295724/It-horrifies-think-probably-happened-Mother-teenage-girl-vanished-25-years-ago-clings-hope.html