Tracy Marie Kroh-Missing 25 Years

Tracy Kroh; Photo Credit to CharleyProject.org

ON August 5, 1989, 17 year-old Tracy Kroh went to the Alex Acres Trailor Park in Millersburg, Pennsylvania at 10:00 PM to visit her sister and brother-in-law who lived at the trailer park. They were not home, so Tracy left some coupons and a BBQ grill on the front steps of their home. Tracy also lived in Millersburg, seven miles west of the trailer park, with her parents. Tracy never made it home that night. She was not reported missing until the next day. Tracy's parents thought she slept over at her sister's home, as she often did. After finding out Tracy was not at her sister's residence, her parents contacted police immediately. Tracy has not been seen or heard from since.

Tracy was very petite at the time of her disappearance, weighing 85 pounds and a height of 4'10". She had brown hair, green eyes and a small mole in the center of her chin. Tracy had previously worn braces and her ears are pierced. At the time of her disappearance, Tracy was wearing a light blue and white floral print blouse, size small. She was wearing white shorts and white size 4.5-5 sneakers, a silver Timex watch on her left wrist and a white gold Halifax High school class ring of 1990 with a white diamond in it. Her purse she had with her had a small strap and a unicorn or image of a horse on the side, with a keyring of Roger Rabbit on it.

Tracy's 1971 Mercury Comet that was found in the Millersburg Townsquare after she went missing. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

The following evening, Tracy's blue-striped white 1971 Mercury Comet was found at the Millersburg town square along Market Street. There was no evidence found in the car to give any clue as to what happened to Tracy that night. Her belongings were not located in the car. However, and interesting discovery Wiconisco Creek in Washington Township would give investigators further clues. Tracy's National Honor Society card, driver's license and parts of her wallet were discovered in 1993. It is unknown if this wooded area was further canvassed for any other sign of Tracy. This discovery was nine miles from Millersburg, where Tracy vanished.
Authorities announced in their investigation that they believe Tracy was on her way to see her boyfriend that night after she stopped at her sister's house. He lived in the Millersburg town square with his parents, which was only a short distance away from her sister's home. Tracy's car was also found parked in the time square that night. Her boyfriend and his family have been a focus of the investigation for years, but they all still maintain their innocence in Tracy's disappearance.

Tracy's case was reopened after investigators recieved new leads in 2014. Photo credit to CharleyProject.org.

The idea that Tracy ran away was immediately discarded. For one, Tracy's empty car was discovered in Millersburg. Also, she left $300 cash in her room, and her bank account contained $400 untouched. Tracy also had no history of running away, and was an honor student. She was very close to her family. Authorities announced they believe Tracy was abducted that night, and knew who her attacker(s) were. According to an article from ABC27.com, Tracy's case is being looked at as a criminal act that resulted in her death due to the established fact that she had every intention of returning to her home that night.
In September of 2010, it was announced that a set of remains were found in Newport. There were high hopes that this was Tracy, so the family could have peace. However, it was established that the remains were of a white woman, 25-45 years old with an extensive amount of dental work. The coroner announced in October of 2010 the remains were not a match to Tracy Kroh.
In August of 2014, twenty-five years after Tracy was abducted, investigators announced Tracy's case was being reopened due to the new leads. One lead the state police announced was the report of  an attempted abduction of a girl within the area who resembled Tracy three months prior to her own disappearance in August of 1989. This attempted abduction also took place in Millersburg Square.

 (L) Elizabeth Miller and (R) Tiffany Sessions were included in a tip to a missing children's hotline where the informant claims both girls were with Tracy Kroh, and that the trio were forced into prostitution. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

There are two other names that often get brought up along with Tracy Kroh's. There names are Tiffany Sessions and Elizabeth Miller. Tiffany was last seen going on her 6 PM walk, but never returned. Tiffany vanished from Gainesville, Florida on February 9, 1989 and 14 year-old Elizabeth vanished from Idaho Springs, Colorado on August 16, 1983. Elizabeth was abducted from a park in Idaho Springs, and witnesses confirmed an older man who hung around the park and called himself "Claude" as being her possible abductor. Being these three women vanished from three very different areas across the United States, why would there be any association with them? The only factor all three had in common was that they were all abducted. Well, there may not be, but a tip to a missing children's hotline forever tied these three cases together. The tipster insisted they saw the three women together in Austin, Texas. They claimed the trio was being held hostage by a man named Thomas Stewart and forced to work as prostitutes. The tipster described a white van they were traveling in with Florida license plates, and a blue/gray van with unknown license plates. Police from all three states investigated the tips for the missing girls. Nothing panned out, and they decided it to be so bizarre, it was probably a hoax.

I was interested to see if there were any other similar disappearances to Tracy's in Pennsylvania or the surrounding states that were in the time frame from 1980-1995 of other women. I searched missing persons in the NAMUS database and Unidentified persons and unsolved homicides on Pennyslvania's cold case website. In the surrounding area, I was not able to come across many other cases that share similarities with Tracy's disappearance. This matches the authorities thoughts that Tracy was taken by someone she knew, making it likely they were from the area at the time. It could also explain the attempted abduction months earlier where a woman who resembled Tracy was almost abducted in the town square, which is where Tracy's car would be found when she went missing three months later.

Anne Riggins disappeared from a town 33 minutes from Millersburg, PA. There are very few details about her disappearance. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Out of all the cases from the area I read over, I realized that there was only one from my search results that was under an hour away from Millersburg. This was the disappearance of 25 year-old Anne Lillian Riggin on May 28, 1982. She was last seen at her residence at 2nd Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which is 33 minutes north east of Millersburg. Unfortunately, there are very few details in this case to suggest what may have happened to Anne. It seems most likely Tracy's disappearance is one that resulted from a friend or acquaintance then a random abduction, but nothing can be ruled in or out.
As I was studying other cases from the area, I realized a lot of the missing persons may have had links to drug activity that led to their disappearance. There were also many accounts of women going missing who crossed paths with motorcycle gangs. There were many noted motorcycle gang conventions and meetings in Pennsylvania and Delaware. There were also three cases of unidentified women I came across that appeared to have been murdered by members of a bike gang. Some of the gangs present during the 1980s and earlier were the Breed Motorcycle Club, the Aces and Eights Motorcycle Club, The Original Warlocks and The Outlaws MC. My question is, was it ruled out that Tracy had no association or friends who associated with anyone from any of these gangs? Was there bike gang activity in Millersburg or surrounding areas? From what I read about Tracy, she was a well-rounded good person who had plans to go far in life, but nothing can be excluded when it comes to figuring out what really happened that night.

Tracy Kroh is still missing, and investigators believe she knew her abductor. Photo Credit: charleyproject.org

Tracy is still missing, but her case is still open. She is on the FBI list of missing persons. The disappearances of Tiffany Sessions, Elizabeth Miller and Anne Riggins are still open as well. Tracy's family will never give up searching for her, and with new leads given to investigators, they are urging to public to come forward with absolutely any information they have about the Tracy's disappearance.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Tracy Marie Kroh or Anne Lillian Riggins, please contact 

 (L) Age progression of what Tracy would look like to day. (R) Anne Riggins. Both photo credits to charleyproject.org

Pennsylvania State Police

717-362-8700

OR

717-705-0340

If you have any information about the disappearance of Elizabeth Miller, please contact

Age progression of what Elizabeth would look like today. photo credits to charleyproject.org

 Colorado Bureau of Investigation

303-239-4222

If you have any information about the disappearance of Tiffany Sessions, please contact

Age progression of what Tiffany would look like today. photo credits to charleyproject.org

Alachua County Sheriff's Office

352-367-4161

Sources:
Charley Project:
Tracy Kroh
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kroh_tracy.html
Elizabeth Miller
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/miller_elizabeth.html
Tiffany Sessions
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/sessions_tiffany.html
2014-Tracy Kroh case reopened:
http://www.wgal.com/news/state-authorities-reopening-tracy-kroh-cold-case/27376454
http://www.abc27.com/story/26107704/authorities-continue-25-year-search-for-missing-halifax-woman
ABC27: Remains not Tracy Kroh
http://www.abc27.com/story/13319033/perry-county-remains-not-tracy-kroh-forensic-testing-underway
FBI Missing Tracy Kroh
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/missing-persons/tracy-marie-kroh/view
1994: Tiffany Sessions Sightings
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-05-07/news/9405070051_1_tiffany-sessions-sessions-case-disappearance
Elizabeth Miller Leads:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2012/04/21/elizabeth-ann-miller-missing-kidnapped-buried/3767/
Anne Riggin:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/riggin_anne.html