Ceremony planned to mark Scherer's disappearance 40 years ago

Forty years ago this April, Cheryl Ann Scherer disappeared from the Rhodes Pump-Ur-Own Service station where she worked on Main Street in Scott City.

A co-worker had seen Scherer, then 19, around 11:30 a.m., but minutes later Scherer was gone.

There appeared to have been a robbery, as roughly $480 was missing from the register, but Scherer's purse was found behind the counter at the station and her car was still parked outside. Scherer has not been seen or heard from since, but many of her family members and friends still hold out hope for a resolution to the mystery.

Toward that end, a rememberance ceremony for Scherer will be held 1:30 p.m. April 13 at St. Denis Parish Center in Benton to mark the 40th anniversary of her disappearance and, as Scherer's younger sister Diane Scherer-Morris said, "to try and keep her name out there just in case."

"Every five years we try to do something just to bring awareness to her case," Scherer-Morris said. "She's still missing."

She said a similar event held in 2009 to mark the 30th anniversary of Scherer's disappearance saw about 175 people in attendance.

"I think sometimes people forget," Scherer-Morris said. "[Cheryl] was someone's classmate. She was our cousins' cousin. She was a person who was here 19 years and made friends and went to school, and the support that we've had whether it's through the community or friends has been immeasurable throughout these years."

But four decades is a long time, she said.

"And if there's someone out there that did this, they're likely reaching their mortal end. We want to make sure [Cheryl's] name is out there."

Scherer-Morris said her hope is if a person did take her sister, that person might be compelled to confess.

"My brother (Anthony) and I have talked about it and it's kind of like we've had to come to terms with a new normal with her missing," she said. "But you never give up hope that we can still find her. Somewhere along the line we will have an answer."

The ceremony will include prayers and brief remarks from Cheryl's family members and law enforcement officials, Scherer-Morris said.

"And if anyone knows anything about [the disappearance or Cheryl's whereabouts], please come forward," she said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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