Funds being raised for Cheryl Anne Scherer remembrance marker

SCOTT CITY, Mo. — A musical event to raise funds for the Cheryl Anne Scherer remembrance marker is planned for Thursday, June 6 in Scott City.

Forty-five years after she disappeared in broad daylight while working at a gas station in Scott City, Cheryl’s family and friends continue to be her voice and advocate, keeping Cheryl in the public eye.

“We will not give up, and we remain hopeful that the person or persons who know what happened that day will come forward,” said Cheryl’s sister, Diane Scherer-Morris.

A preliminary sketch of the remembrance marker for Cheryl Anne Scherer, who went missing April 17, 1979, is pictured. Fundraising efforts are ongoing for the marker that will be placed at the site of her disappearance in Scott City, Missouri. (Leonna Heuring/Standard Democrat)

On April 17, 1979. Cheryl, who was 19, went to work at Rhodes Pump-Ur-Own Station self-service gas station in Scott City, like she had done over the last year. Around 11:20 a.m., she spoke with her mother by phone. Cheryl and her mother talked about what was for supper and how Cheryl was going to do some sewing when she got home.

Sometime between 11:40 a.m. and 11:50 a.m., Scherer was apparently abducted. Her purse, keys and car were left behind and $480 was missing from the gas station cash register.

Scherer, a 1977 graduate of Thomas W. Kelly High School near Benton, Missouri, was last seen wearing a light blue slip-on sweater with white trim, a dark blue windbreaker with a white-trimmed hood and brown corduroy pants. She had on tiny, pierced earrings, a silver ring with a small diamond and yellow-gold necklace with a one-inch cross. She has red hair, blue eyes and a dime-sized mole between her should blades and a small mole half an inch from her naval.

Cheryl Anne Scherer

“Last year it was mentioned by several to have a permanent marker placed at Rhodes Convenience Store telling the history of Cheryl’s story and that we are still looking for the ending,” Diane Scherer-Morris said.

Mike Landeros, artist/sculptor with Forever Granite in Benton, Missouri, is creating the marker, and a preliminary sketch of the marker has been released.

“Mike has put a lot of thought and work into this,” Diane Scherer-Morris said. “We didn’t really know what we wanted, but Mike’s artistic ability was so evident when we sat down with him to talk about this.

Cheryl Anne Scherer's photo is shown age-progressed to 58 years. Her age now is 64 years old.

She continued: “His vision of the light illuminating upward from the marker represents that Cheryl was a light in this world at one time, but now we will keep the light burning until we have her back home, which I think is so symbolic of Cheryl and all missing persons.”

In an effort to raise funds for the marker, the Scott City Historical Museum organized “Music at the Caboose” with the Main Street Four from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 6 at the Scott City Caboose located on the parking lot outside of museum located at 1414 Main St. in Scott City. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

The museum will also be open during the musical event, and attendees can view the display about Cheryl, which includes some of her personal belongings.

Hats and T-shirts will also be sold during the event, and there will be a food truck and baked goods for sale, too. All proceeds will go to the Benefit Fund for Cheryl Anne Scherer Remembrance Marker.

Any money collected over the amount for the marker will be donated to the Forensic Anthropology Cold Case Team at Southeast Missouri State University.

Cheryl’s family continues to plead with members of the public who may have any information about her disappearance to come forward.

“If anyone has any information that could be helpful in finding what happened 45 years ago, please share this information with law enforcement," Diane Scherer-Morris said.

They can remain anonymous if needed, she said.

“Our hope is whoever did this — and will be meeting their maker soon — that they will come forward to give us closure and, more importantly, peace for Cheryl, but also peace for themselves before passing on to the next life,” Diane Scherer-Morris said. “If you know that person who may be holding a deep, dark secret or you are that person who took Cheryl, if you have a conscience, if you feel the slightest bit of remorse, we plead with you to somehow let us know where we can find her.

She continued: “Allow us the opportunity to say our goodbyes to her and allow us to provide Cheryl a proper burial and to be able to put her at the location we already have ready for her which is between our parents in this church’s cemetery out back with her name already on the tombstone. We just need to find her.”

Anyone with information on Cheryl or her disappearance is asked to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or the Scott County Sheriff’s Office at 1-573-545-3525. Her missing poster can be found here: https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1302188/1