Simone Stephanie Ridinger-Missing 36 Years

Simone Stephanie Ridinger. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

ON September 2nd, 1977, 17 year old Simone Stephanie Ridinger left her job at Rainbow Restaurant in Sherborn, Massachusetts to go to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She mentioned to coworkers she had to meet her mother at a relative's home in Cape Cod, which is about 81 miles (one hour and thirty six minutes) away. Simone did not have a designated ride, so she planned to hitchhike her way there. Simone never arrived and has not been seen or heard from since.
For many years, Rainbow Restaurant was the last place Simone had been located at. What happened to her after she stepped out of the door remained a mystery, but in 1986, a witness would step forward and shed some light on her disappearance. The witness was an elderly man, who has now passed away. He stated he was on his way to the Cape when he was pulled over by a state trooper at a rest stop in West wood, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Route 128 and Route 109. The state trooper who stopped him had Simone in the backseat of his car. He had asked the witness to give her a ride to the Cape. The elderly man said he dropped her off at Hyannis Rotary near the airport. She was last seen walking to a nearby restaurant. His accounts have never been confirmed, but there is nothing to suggest he had anything to do with her disappearance. He stated she called herself "Sissy". It is also important to note that the man claims he picked Simone up the date after she was reported missing from the Rainbow Restaurant.

Simone was 17 years old when she vanished after work in Sherborn, MA. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Simone is 5'2" and weighs 120 pounds. Her birthday is January 6, 1960. She has blonde hair, brown eyes and a mole on her back. She was last seen wearing a silver and turquoise necklace. Simone loves wearing jewelry, she even wears rings on every one of her fingers. She was in high school at the time, and is described by the ones who love her as sweet and beautiful girl.

New York's Caledonia Jane Doe. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Many have thought that Simone was actually New York's Caledonia Jane Doe, a young female found deceased with a gunshot wound to the head in a Livingston County cornfield on November 9, 1979. The girl had been previously seen at a small diner in Lima, New York.Truckers claimed to have seen her hitchhiking days before as well.  Although they had striking similarities, Simone tested out as not being New York's Caledonia Jane Doe. She is also listed as a possible match for Princess Doe, another young girl found deceased in a Blairstown, New Jersey cemetery on July 15, 1982. It is unknown if she was ever tested to see if she is Princess Doe.

A modern day Rainbow Restaurant, where Simone was last confirmed seen leaving.

I have many thoughts and questions about Simone's case, as there is just not much information out there about her. Why was she in the back of a state trooper's car? At first I thought it was maybe for hitchhiking, but in the '70s it was common. Was she on probation? Was the person she was going to visit incarcerated for some sort of crime, so she needed a police to escort her? Was she incarcerated herself? Another thing I thought was odd is that the state trooper asked a random guy he stopped for a violation to give Simone a ride to the Cape? Was this something usually done in the 70s? With Simone being 17 (still a minor), it would have made more sense to bring her back to the station or contact her mother, than it does to pass her along to a stranger.
I must add that the witnesses story has never been confirmed, but if the state trooper had contact with Simone on the day she was reported missing, why didn't he come forward as a witness? How about at that restaurant she was last seen walking towards? It seems like there would be more witness accounts than there is being reported. I tried to locate where Simone was reportedly dropped off at, Hyannis Rotary, and it looks like she was very close to Cape Cod, most of her journey would have already been done. If this witness account is true, perhaps she hitchhiked again, or met someone, and went with them for a ride.

 Susan Labbe vanished while hitchhiking back to her apartment in Lowell, MA. She vanished an hour and 40 minutes away from where Simone was last seen around Cape Cod. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

 Years earlier, on August 8, 1974, 17 year-old Susan Rhonda Labbe was visiting her family in Lawrence, Massachusetts. They lived on Andover Street. She needed to get home to her apartment in Lowell, Massachusetts where she lived with her boyfriend, but she did not have a vehicle. Susan decided to hitch hike her way home from Lawrence, Massachusetts to Lowell, Massachusetts. The journey would taken about 20 minutes. Susan never arrived in Lowell and has not been seen or heard from since. She was last seen carrying a black suede handbag. Her father describes her as shy and smart in school, although she has been in trouble with the law. Her loved ones say she would never voluntarily leave and not contact her family. She was employed at Paris Shoe in Lowell.
Susan vanished one hour and forty minutes from the Cape Cod area, where Simone was dropped off at in 1977. Their disappearances happened three years apart, not too far from each other and could be the result of hitchhiking-gone-bad. There's is no way we could ever establish a connection between the two, unless someone came forward, a suspect comes in custody or either one of the girls are found. I will say though, out of all the cases I just searched through, Susan's is the only one I came up with that has many similarities to Simone's.

Simone vanished on her way to see her mother in 1977. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

I must say I am surprised there is not an age progression of Simone. Usually they do them for any child that has been missing for sometime, but there has been none of Ridinger, possibly because her photos are blurry. Still, they can use other photos of her, or ones even of her parents. I was unable to find any new updates. It's still unknown exactly where she vanished from, and doesn't look like they have suspects. I definitely do not believe Simone is a runaway, it's most likely she may have hitched a ride with the wrong person.
Seven years after she vanished, her family held a memorial service for her. Her mother passed away without knowing what happened to Simone, but her friends and loved ones are still searching. I am crossing my fingers for her case to stay open and be active! I know she still has loved ones looking for her. Simone could really be out there, anywhere! Please share her story and keep her in your prayers.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Simone Stephanie Ridinger, please contact:

If you remember seeing Simone hitchiking or in the Cape Cod area, please come forward! (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Sherborn Police Department

508-653-2424 

An age progression of Susan Labbe. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

 If you have any information about the disappearance of Susan Rhonda Labbe, please contact:
Billerica Police Department
978-670-6000
OR
978-671-0900

Sources:
Caledonia Jane Doe
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1ufny.html
Princess Doe
www.princessdoe.org
Charley Project
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/ridinger_simone.html
Unsolved-In the News
http://unsolveditn.blogspot.com/2009/09/unsolved-simone-ridinger.html
NamUs
www.namus.gov
Account from Simone's Friend
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-563292
Susan Labbe
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/labbe_susan.html