The Springfield Three

Part One: Disappeared

On the afternoon of Saturday, 6 June 1992, 19-year-old Suzanne "Suzie" Streeter and 18-year-old Stacy McCall graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri. Stacy's parents were in attendance that day, as was Suzanne's mother, 47-year-old Sherrill Levitt. Spirits were high that evening as Suzie and Stacy celebrated with friends, staying out until just after 2:00 AM on June 7th, before returning back to Sherrill’s home along the 1700 block of East Delmar Street…

Springfield, Missouri, known as the "Queen City of the Ozarks," is the third most populous city in the state of Missouri, located roughly halfway between St. Louis and Tulsa, Oklahoma. While nearly half-a-million people live in the metro area surrounding Springfield, it is often thought of as a large town, not a city. This is due in no small part to the general aesthetic of Springfield, which more closely resembles a typical American suburb instead of a city.

It is here, in the very middle of America's Bible Belt, that today's episode takes place in the early 1990s. And it is a story that continues to haunt Springfield to this day.

This is the story of the Springfield Three.

The women that have become known over time as the Springfield Three were just women that, decades ago, were in different stages in life. One had time to live decades of her life, and was beginning to settle down into a quiet middle-age. The other two were just beginning their ascent into adulthood and were preparing to go their separate ways, one hoping to begin college, the other heading straight into a potential career.

Sadly, none would get the chance to fulfill their short-term or long-term ambitions.

Sherrill Elizabeth Levitt, born Sherill Elizabeth Williams on November 1st, 1944, would spend most of her youth in the area surrounding Seattle, Washington. It was there that she met her first husband, Brentt Streeter, and the two began having children in the mid-1960s. First came their son, Bartt, who was followed a handful of years later in 1973 by a daughter named Suzanne.

Suzanne, born on March 9th, 1973, was born with a small cosmetic birth defect on her chin. Sherrill's marriage with Brentt had already been circling the drain for a while before Suzanne's birth, but afterward, Brentt would apparently float the idea of them getting divorced but continue to live together so that Sherrill could collect welfare and afford medical care for Suzanne. Sherrill immediately divorced Brentt and kicked him out of the home, working hard to put a roof over her and her children's head in the years to come.

In 1980, Sherrill relocated with her two kids out to Springfield, Missouri, where she struggled for a time. She worked random jobs in order to pay her rent, but eventually began a career as a cosmetologist and beautician. She'd remarry in the 1980s to a man named Don Levitt, from whom she would take on the surname Levitt. Don Levitt already had a daughter named Melinda who was about the same age as Sherrill's son, Bartt, and the family would live together peacefully for a number of years.

In 1989, however, Sherrill and Don divorced. Based on numerous reports, it seems like the financial strain of a failed business by Don had been the major impetus for their split, but it had been an amicable one. Afterwards, though, Sherrill seems to have given up on dating in general, choosing not to see anyone in the years that followed. A friend would later claim that Sherrill had a "hermit side" to her.

In 1992, 47-year-old Sherrill Levitt was working as a cosmetologist at New Attitudes Hair Salon in Springfield, where she had more than 250 clients. That year, she purchased a home along the 1700 block of East Delmar Street in Springfield, and she moved in with her daughter, Suzanne. Sherrill would spend most of her free time that Spring either renovating or decorating the home, not only the inside but the outside. Already known for keeping a tidy and clean home, Sherrill loved spending her time making small improvements here and there, and seemed to enjoy the work.

When not spending time working or fixing up her new home, Sherrill could be seen alongside her daughter, Suzanne.

Suzanne Elizabeth Streeter, better known as "Suzie," was born in March of 1973. While she was born in the Seattle area and spent her first six years there, she'd move with her mother and brother to Springfield, Missouri in 1980.

Having never really known her father, Suzie grew up to be incredibly close with her mother, Sherrill. For most of Suzie's life, the two were inseparable, to the point where - unlike other kids her age - Suzie would often cancel plans with friends so that she could be with her mom. She had no real relationship with her father at all, and wouldn't have much of a relationship with her stepfather, Don Levitt, after he and Suzie's mom divorced in 1989. Yet Suzie's friends say that she never really talked about the divorces at all, but that's not to say that it didn't affect her.

In Springfield, Suzie would attend Kickapoo High School, and seemed to struggle with certain aspects of her studies there. In particular, reading. Those that knew her well say that she was dyslexic and had trouble shaping letters into cohesive words. Beyond that, she also seems to have had trouble adapting to the natural heirarchy of high school, which can often be overwhelming or intimidating to even the most emotionally-strong teenagers. Janet Bussell Oliveras, a family friend that lived with Sherrill and Suzanne for a period of time, later said about Suzie:

"She was a very sensitive girl. She felt like she wasn't part of the in crowd, like she didn't have enough friends."

Having fallen in with a tough crowd for a bit in high school, Suzie seems to have really gotten her head on straight the final year, as graduation approached. In addition to attending school, she worked at a movie theater, and had her sights set on following her mother into the cosmetology field. In her free time, she loved to go bowling, watching movies, and of course, gossip about boys with her friends... among whom was a longtime friend named Stacy McCall.

Born on April 23rd, 1974, Stacy Kathleen McCall was the youngest of three daughters born to her parents, Stuart and Janis McCall.

Described by her mother, Janis, as a "daddy's girl," Stacy was also described as a giggly girl that often took a while to get the jokes that her family loved to throw around, earning her the nickname that everyone with the name Stacy gets at some point in time: "Spacy Stacy."

Always close with her family, Stacy had become close with Suzanne Streeter when the pair were in second grade. Since then, they'd gone through various stages of being involved in each others' lives, but had always been friends, and months before high school graduation in 1992, they'd started to become closer than ever.

While attending Kickapoo High School, Stacy also worked as a secretary/receptionist for Springfield Gymnastics, and was preparing to attend Southwest Missouri State University in the latter half of 1992. Yet she wasn't without hardship. Stacy had often suffered from debilitating migraines, which required medication to subside. However, Stacy refused to let the migraines deter her from doing what she needed to get done, whether it be her homework or "work" work.

June 6th, 1992 was high school graduation day for both Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall, who graduated from Kickapoo High School that Saturday. The ceremony took place at Missouri State University in Springfield, at the Hammons Student Center, which was large enough to house the graduating student body and their families. Sherrill Levitt was in attendance, watching her daughter walk across the stage and pick up her diploma, as were Stuart and Janis McCall.

After the ceremony came the onslaught of parties involving varying groups of family members and friends of the graduates, who were all excited to have put aside the final chapter of childhood. Seen almost as a coming-of-age ritual in America, high school graduation marked the end of one era and the beginning of another, and it was no different for Suzie and Stacy that Saturday afternoon, with the ceremony ending at around 6:00 PM.

Having been invited out for dinner, Sherrill Levitt and Suzie Streeter decided to instead remain behind at home, enjoying a take-out pizza and each others' company. But Suzie still made plans to go out with her friends later that evening, heading out to a graduation party shortly thereafter.

That evening, both Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall planned to hit up some graduation parties and then road trip with some friends to the nearby town of Branson, where they planned to stay in a hotel. The following morning, they hoped to get an early start and spend all day at a water/amusement park called White Water. Those plans would change throughout the night, however.

Suzie Streeter and Stacy McCall, each driving their own vehicles, arrived at friend Janelle Kirby's home in Battlefield, Missouri, a small town about ten miles southwest of Springfield.

Janelle Kirby was a friend that both Suzie and Stacy had known since early childhood; Stacy had been friends with Janelle since preschool, and Suzie had known her since second grade or so. While the three had gone through their ups and downs over the years, spending varying times with different friend groups, they'd always ended up back with each other. Those three - along with another friend, Adina Ruthrauff - had been very close friends throughout high school, and were excited to finally celebrate the accomplishment of graduating. Even though they had a large number of family members visiting, Janelle's mother, Kathy, offered to make up a bed and let Suzie and Stacy crash there if they felt like it.

Suzie and Stacy both arrived at Janelle's home at around 8:00 to 8:30 PM, and a short time later, all of the girls would walk from Janelle's home to another birthday/graduation party nearby, leaving behind their vehicles at Janelle's home. Over the next few hours, they would be seen at a couple of different graduation parties, including one at the home of Michelle Elder, another friend of Stacy's that she'd fallen out of touch with recently. That night, Stacy and Michelle talked about rekindling their friendship, and made plans for the following evening.

At some point, the girls also changed their plans for that night, deciding not to drive out to Branson, a roughly 45-minute drive. Instead, they decided to stay out late near Springfield with their friends and then head out early the following morning. Stacy called her parents at home to let them know about the change in plans, telling them that she planned to stay at Janelle's home that night.

At around 1:45 AM on June 7th, the party at Michelle Elder's was broken up, and the girls began heading back to Janelle Kirby's home in Battlefield. They'd shifted plans to stay there for the night, but now, Suzie and Stacy - not wanting to impose - decided to just head back to Suzie's home in Springfield. It wasn't too far away and she'd just had a new waterbed delivered, which she wanted the chance to show off for at least one of her friends.

Before they left Janelle Kirby's home, the girls all cemented their plans for the following morning. They planned to wake up early and meet up again at Janelle's home, then head out to Branson to spend the day at White Water. With it expected to be a warm day, they looked forward for the chance to lap up the sun... for the first time, as high school graduates. As adults.

Suzie and Stacy each started to get into their vehicles to leave, with Suzie telling Stacy to:

"... follow me to my house."

Stacy responded:

"Okay, I will."

Suzie got into her Ford Escort and Stacy followed behind her in her Toyota Corolla, leaving Janelle Kirby's home at around 2:15 AM. That was the last time either of them would be seen alive.

Back at Suzie's home, Sherrill Levitt had last been heard from a few hours beforehand.

After Suzie had left for the night, Sherrill seems to have set her sights on home renovations yet again, fixing up an old dresser. When people came into the home the following day, they claim it still smelled like varnish.

A friend spoke with Sherrill on the phone at around 9:45 that evening, and at that time, Sherrill was working on the dresser, and talked about painting and varnishing an armoire in her bedroom. She likely worked on that for a bit but then eventually began winding down for the night, crawling into bed at some point.

Suzie had previously made plans to go stay with friends in Branson, and it doesn't seem like she made a call home to let her mom know about the change in plans. So when Sherrill went to bed, she likely had no idea that Suzie would be coming back that evening, let alone with a friend.

It seems like Suzie and Stacy got in, likely arriving at Sherrill's home on 1717 East Delmar Street at around 2:30 AM. But whatever happened during this vital time period remains a complete mystery to this day.

The following morning - Sunday, June 7th, 1992 - Janelle Kirby and her boyfriend, Mike Henson, waited for the other two girls to arrive at her home. They'd all made plans hours earlier to meet up at Janelle's and then drive down to Branson and spend the day at the White Water theme park.

Janelle started calling Suzie at around 7:30 to 8:00 AM, and would call sporadically over the next few hours. Yet, there was no response at the Levitt-Streeter residence. It was as if the girls had already left, yet hours would begin to pass and they failed to materialize at Janelle's home. She likely began to worry that she'd been left behind. Janelle would reach out to other friends to see if they'd heard from either Stacy or Suzie, including Adina Ruthrauff, the fourth member of their close-knit friend group. Adina, who'd similarly not heard from either of them, would later recall to the Springfield News-Leader:

"I started getting worried because Stacy, she's so responsible and so is Susie. I know they wouldn't just take off without telling us they weren't going to White Water."

After waiting a while, Janelle and her boyfriend decided to head out to Suzie's home to check in on her. They arrived at the home along East Delmar Street at around noon that Sunday, and were surprised to find the vehicles of all three women - Sherrill Levitt, Suzie Streeter, and Stacy McCall - parked in the driveway. Sherrill's blue Corsica was parked in the carport on the side of the home, per the usual, and Suzie's red Ford Escort was parked in the curved driveway, with Stacy's Toyota Corolla parked right behind her. Suzie and Stacy's vehicles weren't pulled all the way forward however, something that later planted a seed of doubt in the minds of many.

Walking up to the front door, Janelle Kirby and Mike Henson were surprised to find that a glass lamp shade, which had once covered the porch light, had been broken. The light itself was fine - in fact, it was still on even though the early summer sun was beaming down from the middle of the sky - but the glass bulb had been broken, shattered glass left on the front porch. Because Janelle was barefoot at the time, Mike would sweep up the broken glass, dumping it in the garbage can.

At the front door, Janelle and Mike knocked and tried to stir up some kind of presence inside. But there was no response. Despite the vehicles still parked in the driveway, it seemed like no one was home. They'd even peer around into the backyard, hoping that Suzie and Stacy might have been sunbathing outside, but similarly found no one back there.

Rounding back to the front door, Janelle and Mike were surprised to find that the front door was unlocked. They'd briefly enter, finding no evidence that any of the women - Suzie, Stacy, or Sherrill - were inside. However, they did encounter Sherrill and Suzie's dog, a Yorkshire Terrier named Cinnamon, who appeared to be agitated.

While inside, the phone would begin ringing. Answering it in the hopes that it might be one of their friends, Janelle was surprised to hear a "strange and disturbing" voice on the other end, who she claimed began making several "sexual innuendos." She'd hang up, but immediately receive another similar call that was identical to the first, with Janelle later describing the caller as sounding "teenish." Janelle remembered Suzie complaining about similar prank calls that she and her mother had been receiving since they moved into the home just a couple of months prior, so she thought little of it at the time.

Unable to find any trace of the missing women, Janelle Kirby and Mike Henson would end up looking around for Suzie and Stacy for a bit longer, trying to track them down at a nearby sub shop, and then dropping by the home once again. Because so much time had been spent trying to track down the pair, they no longer wanted to make the drive out to Branson that day, instead settling on a different, smaller water park called HydraSlide located there in Springfield.

Throughout June 7th, Janis McCall tried to locate her 18-year-old daughter, Stacy.

Janis learned early that Sunday that Stacy had not spent the night at Janelle Kirby's as she'd previously claimed. However, after calling Janelle's home and speaking with her family, she'd discovered that Stacy had gone to stay the night at her other friend, Suzie's home. Throughout the day, Janis would leave behind several voicemails at the home of Sherrill Levitt and Suzanne Streeter, growing more upset with each iteration. Yet she had no real reason to get concerned quite yet. She knew that Stacy and Suzie had been planning to drive out to Branson to visit a water park, and while she was upset that Stacy had not informed her of the change-of-plans, she knew this was something she was going to have to get used to, with Stacy now a high school graduate.

But later that day, word would get around that Janelle Kirby and some others had been trying to locate Stacy and Suzie, having dropped by Sherrill Levitt's home in an attempt to find them. When she learned that Stacy's and Suzie's cars had been parked in front of the house all day, Janis began to grow alarmed.

Hours after Janelle Kirby and her boyfriend had first dropped by the home, Janis McCall would arrive at 1717 East Delmar Street with her other two daughters in tow. At around 7:00 PM, Janis pulled up to the home and like Janelle hours earlier, was surprised to find the front door unlocked. As soon as she stepped inside, she later recounted, the family dog, Cinnamon, came "barreling toward" her, still in a state of agitation and/or upset.

Looking around the home, Janis was unable to find any sign of her missing daughter, Stacy, nor of her friend, Suzie, or Suzie's mother, Sherrill. What she found was even stranger.

The purses of all three women were on Suzie's bedroom floor, near the bottom of a set of stairs. They were stacked next to each other, and seem to have been untouched. Nothing inside the purses seemed to be missing, including an $800 cash deposit that Sherrill Levitt had received from work the day prior. Their keys, jewelry, ID cards, money, you name it... it was all still there.

Inside the bedroom, Janis also discovered her daughter's clothes from the night before, neatly-folded in a small stack, along with Stacy's swimsuit. As far as she knew, those were the only clothes that Stacy had, and she wouldn't have fit in any of Suzie's clothing, so her clothes being left behind like this made her more concerned than she'd been previously.

The light inside Suzie's room was off and the blinds were open, but the TV was on, playing snow by the time Janis and the others arrived. The bed looked slept-in. It almost appeared as if Suzie and Stacy had fallen asleep watching a movie and forgot to turn off the TV afterward.

Not too far away from the missing women's purses were Sherrill and Suzie's cigarettes, which was very unlike them. Sherrill in particular was an avid chainsmoker, and Suzie had developed a similar habit, so them leaving behind their cigarettes, more than anything, was enough to make it seem like something had happened to them. An unfinished can of coke sat beside the cigarettes, seemingly abandoned just partway through.

Feeling that things had become too unusual to ignore, Janis McCall walked out into the living room and dialed the nonemergency line for the Springfield Police, reporting her daughter and the other two women missing that evening.

After placing the call, she decided to check the answering machine, hoping that in doing so, she may hear a message left behind by one of the missing women. What she heard, however, was one of the most intriguing elements of this story: a "strange message," the details of which remain clouded in mystery decades later. Police would express interest in the voicemail, believing that it "may have contained a clue" pertaining to the disappearance of the three women, and that it was not connected to the prank calls that Janelle Kirby had received from the same phone earlier that day.

Unfortunately, it's believed that police would never get the chance to hear this message. After it played for Janis McCall, rumors persist that the message itself was either automatically or accidentally deleted. But considering the scant amount of evidence in this case, it's possible that this is just one element that investigators have chosen to withhold.

Springfield Police were notified of the strange disappearance of Sherrill Levitt, Suzanne Streeter, and Stacy McCall at around 9:00 PM on Sunday, June 7th, 1992, nearly an entire day after anyone had seen or heard from them. In the time that had passed, Sherill and Suzie's home along East Delmar Street had been visited by worried family members or friends, not just limited to Janis McCall and Janelle Kirby. Others had dropped by, checking in on the missing women, and by the time police arrived at the home, they estimated that anywhere between ten to twenty people had been inside what they described as a potential crime scene... contaminating whatever evidence may have been left behind.

This included the broken glass on the front porch, which Janelle Kirby and Mike Henson had swept up earlier that day, June 7th. While the lightbulb itself was undamaged, the broken glass surrounding it was maybe the most remarkable piece of evidence at the scene, and the only sign of a struggle of any sort taking place. It being swept up and disposed of was a huge loss to investigators, who already felt like they were on the back foot as they arrived at the Delmar residence.

One of the only other elements of the scene that looked out of place was an awkwardly-bent window blind in Sherrill Levitt's bedroom, which was left one-quarter of the way up, making it look as if someone had been peering outside. Her bed looked slept in, so the blind being slightly-askew indicated that something unusual had happened while she slept, or perhaps right after waking up... but what that was, investigators could only speculate on.

Sherrill's bedroom, which was normally kept neat and tidy, was left in an abject mess by the time authorities arrived at the scene. This was described as being very unusual, with her former-stepdaughter, Melinda Unger, telling reporters:

"That's not my mom. Oh my gosh. I mean, a pair of sandals, if she'd been working in the yard, would sit up on the back step for maybe a day. She definitely hung up her clothes."

Family members and friends would tell police about other strange deviations at the crime scene, including Nigel Kenney, a coworker of Suzie's at the movie theater, who had become close friends with her in recent months. She described Suzie as a "creature of habit" that would park in the same spot in the home's driveway every day, but her car was not parked there as it should have been. This led to the belief that someone else may have been parked there at the time Suzie and Stacy arrived at the home early on the morning of June 7th.

There was also the discrepancy involving the cigarettes. Sherrill and Suzie both smoked constantly, and their cigarettes remaining at the scene was striking to everyone that knew them, more so than even their purses. Even if they'd planned on stepping out for less than an hour, they'd likely have taken their cigarettes and lighters with them. Officer Rick Bookout, the first police officer to arrive at the scene, later remarked:

"She'd leave her house without a lot of things, but a smoker wouldn't leave without her cigarettes and lighter. I'm thinking, 'Yeah, this probably isn't a good situation.'"

But the thing that was most odd to the police officers at the scene is that none of the women’s' belongings were missing. The purses, keys, jewelry, money, and vehicles were still at the scene, as was Sherrill and Suzie's dog, Cinnamon. Even Stacy McCall's migraine medication was still there, medication she needed daily to keep herself from being in debilitating pain. The only thing missing was them.

Police were unable to find any sign of forced entry on any of the doors or windows, and the beds appeared to have been slept in. Whatever had happened on the morning of June 7th, it seems like Suzie and Stacy had made it back home, as Suzie's bed appeared to have been slept in, and there were make-up wipes left behind, indicating that both Suzie and Stacy had cleaned themselves up and then settled into bed that morning. But whatever happened to them had likely happened by 8:00 AM, when Janelle Kirby began calling the Delmar residence, receiving no response.

Police would later begin to analyze the content of the phone calls received by Janelle Kirby after she arrived at the home around midday, which she had described as "strange and disturbing." Apparently, the family had been receiving similar calls since they moved in earlier that Spring, so when Janelle Kirby received those calls, she didn't think much of it. Yet, authorities, describing the calls as "obscene," wondered if there was a link between them and the strange disappearance they were now investigating. David Asher of the Springfield Police Department, the lead investigator on the case for many of those early months, later stated:

"... The Individual would not identify himself... They were using the F-word and several other words and she just hung up the phone."

Surprisingly, a canvas of the area was unable to come up with anything definitive. None of the neighbors had heard or seen anything out-of-the-ordinary: no screams, no shouting, no sounds of violence. Nothing. Similarly, a newspaper carrier that came by during the vital unexplained timeframe, 2:30 to 7:30 AM, saw and heard nothing untoward. Sgt. Mark Webb of the Springfield Police Department would later state:

"It's the strangest thing I've ever seen in my years with the department."

Captain Tony Glenn would tell the Springfield News-Leader years later:

"The only thing unusual about this house was that three women were missing from it. You had this feeling as you looked around that something was missing, that something had to be missing. But there wasn't. Just them."

In the days to come, family members and friends remained hopeful that the missing trio would turn up, but predictably, that didn't happen. Sherrill Levitt missed a doctor's appointment scheduled for Monday, June 8th. That same day, Stacy McCall failed to show up for her job, something she'd never done before. Suzie Streeter, scheduled to work on Tuesday, June 9th, was also a no-show.

Authorities pushed information about the missing three, hoping that doing so would spark a memory in someone's mind. Sherrill, 47 years old at the time, stood about five feet tall and weighed about 110 lbs, with brown eyes, blonde collar-length wavy hair, a thin build, and had last been seen wearing a flowered dress. Suzie, 19 years old, stood around 5'5" and weighed about 102 lbs, with brown eyes, straight blonde hair, a birthmark on her right chin, and was last seen in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and pink shoes. Stacy, 18 years old, was about 5'3" and weighed roughly 120 lbs, had blue eyes and straight blonde hair that went just below her shoulders, and was last seen wearing flowered shorts, a yellow T-shirt, and brown sandals.

In the days ahead, authorities continued to hope that they'd make a break in the case, but authorities continued to couch their comments in vague uncertainties. Meanwhile their family and friends continued to grow more worried with each passing day that something terrible had happened to them. Adina Ruthrauff, friend of both Suzie and Stacy's, told the Springfield News-Leader:

"I'm scared to death about what's going on. The longer they're gone, the more negative comes out. I'm scared someone broke in and got them. I just hope to God nobody hurts them."

Investigators struggled to determine a potential motive for the disappearance of the three women from Springfield, Missouri, but struggled to come up with anything that sounded feasible. None of them had any known enemies or anything of the sort, and there wasn't a preexisting reason for anyone to want to have done them harm.

Sadly, because they were all women, the notion that this crime may have been spontaneous and/or driven by some sexual motive didn't elude investigators. But in the absence of any evidence of a struggle taking place, they had to try and whittle away at any possibilities pertaining to a potential motive. Anyone that had threatened them before. Anyone that had a grudge against them. Anything at all.

Yet as police dug into the backstories of all three women - Sherrill Levitt, Suzanne Streeter, and Stacy McCall - they found nothing substantial. Of the three, Sherrill was the one who had the most personal baggage, but that was due almost entirely to her age. As the mother of Suzie, Sherrill had been divorced twice, but had been in a state of no contact with both of her ex-husbands for years. She hadn't seen her first husband, Brentt, in decades, and hadn't seen or heard from her second husband, Don Levitt, since they'd split up in 1989. Colleagues say that she didn't even talk about them when prompted. It was as-if she'd tried her hardest to overwrite that part of her brain, instead choosing to internalize it or focus that attention elsewhere.

Those that knew her, including Sherrill's other child, her 27-year-old son Bartt Streeter, would claim that none of them had spoken to his father, Brentt, in decades. He also said that his stepfather, Don Levitt, had been essentially off-the-grid for a few years, ever since he and Sherrill had divorced. Apparently, Don's failed business had left him in debt, and Sherrill ended up fielding a lot of calls from creditors looking for Don, but she had nothing to tell them. According to family friend Janet Bussell Oliveras, who lived with Sherrill and Suzanne for a bit after the divorce, Sherrill never let the divorce or the debt bring her down, with Oliveras telling reporters:

"She wasn't bitter about it."

Following their divorce, Don Levitt had been a hard man to get ahold of. But following Sherrill's disappearance, investigators were able to track him up to Seattle, where he'd since remarried. He claimed to have not spoken to either Sherrill or Suzie since the divorce in 1989. He also said that despite the financial woes, his split from Sherrill had been an amicable one; the two had reportedly just gone their separate ways, and most friends and family seemed to agree. Don Levitt may have been many things, but he wasn't a suspect in this case. Neither was, it seemed, Brentt Streeter, Sherrill's first husband.

Janet Bussell Oliveras, Sherrill's friend, believes that whoever was responsible for this disappearance was not familiar with Sherrill, insisting that she would not have been the primary target in any way. She told the Springfield News-Leader about Sherrill:

"She was about as close to Mother Teresa as you could get. Whoever did this had to be someone who did not know her. No one had any kind of vendetta against her."

For a time, investigators even entertained the ridiculous idea that all three women may have run away, although they may have done so under the stipulation that it was a possibility they just had to eliminate. And they seem to have done so early on, with investigators ruling out the idea of all three running away together that first week.

By June 9th, 1992, two days after the women known as the Springfield Three had disappeared, the FBI had been brought in to assist with the case, helping Springfield detectives with some out-of-state leads that they hoped to track down. Despite Springfield P.D. allocating almost all of their investigative resources on this single case, they were still struggling to whittle through the massive amount of information at their fingertips. Per Captain Tony Glenn:

"I still wouldn't label it an abduction. But there's a strong indication a crime was committed. At this time we still don't know what that is."

"The girls were popular, pretty, social girls at a big high school. They had a lot of friends. There were at least a hundred people at each party the girls went to graduation night. Sherrill had over 250 clients. We're trying to interview every single one of all those people, plus anyone else who knows anything. That's a big job."

As the case began approaching the middle of the following week, investigators confirmed that they were in touch with at least three suspects, who were in the process of either being questioned or re-questioned. This included Suzie's brother and Sherrill's son, Bartt Streeter, as well as two of Suzie's ex-boyfriends, but more on them later. Police had also gone through a long list of clients from Sherrill's hair salon, as well as a guestlist of the parties Suzie and Stacy had gone to hours before their disappearance. They'd even question a young man who lived across the street from Sherrill and Suzie, whose 1991 red Chevy Cavalier was stolen Monday evening, but it's not believed there was any connection. Just a strange coincidence.

Meanwhile, federal investigators were helping police expand the case outside of the immediate area, trying to locate out-of-state family members or friends and question them. The FBI's involvement also allowed investigators access to tools like psychological profiling, which they hoped would help them narrow in their potential suspect pool.

Springfield Police would even begin corresponding with psychics, although as noted by lead investigator David Asher, they'd never helped solve a case before but, in his words:

"I keep hoping for a first time."

Police received hundreds of tips about this case from all over the country, pointing investigators towards possible persons-of-interest or even potential sightings of the women. However, working 12-hour shifts for weeks, investigators would need to spend time exhaustively poring over every tip in order to include it in their case file or exclude it from consideration.

One of these tips included a claim that the bodies could be found in nearby Pierson Creek. None were. Another, a caller from New Jersey, claimed without evidence that she'd seen Sherrill Levitt boarding an airplane. A pair of white shoes found abandoned on Missouri 14, south of Nixa, gave investigators hope that the women might have been there at some point, but that was never proven. Then there was a sealed map placed anonymously in a Springfield News-Leader paper rack that led investigators to a northwest Springfield apartment complex, one of dozens they'd search along Bolivar Road, to no avail.

Police would search through most nearby bodies of water for a sign of the women, including Lake Springfield and long stretches of the nearby James River, as well as other small lakes. However, no trace of the Springfield Three would be found there.

Early on, authorities would seek information about a vehicle seen early on Sunday morning, June 7th, but wouldn't publicize what type of vehicle it was. Instead, they chose to withhold that information, believing it might be pertinent to their investigation - and help them exclude possible witness sightings. Lead investigator David Asher told the Springfield News-Leader:

"Someone saw a car in that neighborhood. You just don't drive through a neighborhood and not be seen."

Authorities would also seek information about a potential prowler in the neighborhood, based on reports from the prior tenant of the home that Sherrill and Suzie lived in. That tenant claimed to have seen transients and "parking lot partiers" quite frequently while living there, and even reported strangers walking up to and looking into her home. This included an incident where she claimed a "dirty-looking old guy" actually broke into her home, likely under the influence of drugs.

While the last incident wasn't reported to police, some of the other claims were confirmed by other residents of the neighborhood, including a former police officer and assistant city manager for Springfield, Kurt Naegler, who lived at 1705 East Delmar Street. While he had trouble believing that any of the transient individuals seen around there had carried out the abduction, he did confirm that the area seemed to attract an unsavory bunch, telling the Springfield News-Leader:

"It was transients, not the type of person who is capable of abducting three people at once - not even one, but much less three. If you think about it, it takes some doing to get three people out of a house..."

In the weeks to come, police in Springfield would recruit the media to help them spread the word of the missing trio, with "48 Hours" filming there within a week of the women’s disappearance, and "America's Most Wanted" showing up soon thereafter. As word spread - and people learned more about the bizarre circumstances of this strange disappearance - a number of questionable individuals with personal links to this story or the city of Springfield would be explored as possible suspects.

That is on the next episode of Unresolved.

continue to part two

Episode Information

Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan

Published on November 24th, 2024

Sources and Other Reading

Wikipedia Articles

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Springfield Three. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Three#cite_note-13

Newspapers.com Entries

Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207797975/?match=1&terms=levitt%20streeter%20mccall
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207798045/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/682341194/?match=1&terms=levitt%20streeter%20mccall
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/1020392752/?match=1&terms=levitt%20streeter%20mccall
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207799028/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207799159/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207799472/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207799527/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207800754/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207800887/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207800912/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207801928/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207802131/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207804222/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207804294/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207805781/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207805985/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Levitt, Streeter, and McCall case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207686025/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Maple Park Cemetery mention. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207612119/?match=1&terms=Maple%20Park%20Cemetery
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Maple Park Cemetery mention. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207617982/?match=1&terms=Maple%20Park%20Cemetery
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Dustin Recla mention. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207836780/?match=1&terms=Dustin%20Recla
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Springfield Three case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/1020467176/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Springfield Three case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/208406118/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Springfield Three case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207698157/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Springfield Three case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207694366/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Springfield Three case. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/207694647/

Local and News Sources

Springfield, MO Government. (n.d.). Three Missing Women. Retrieved from https://www.springfieldmo.gov/2498/Three-Missing-Women
News-Leader. (2002). Three Missing Women: Ten Years Later, Part 2 of 5. Retrieved from https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2002/06/06/three-missing-women-ten-years-later-part-2-of-5/77164862/
News-Leader. (2002). Three Missing Women: Ten Years Later, Part 3 of 5. Retrieved from https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2002/06/07/three-missing-women-ten-years-later-part-3-of-5/77200924/

YouTube Videos

[Video]. (n.d.). The Springfield Three. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh00Eka_zYU
[Video]. (n.d.). Unsolved Cases: Springfield Three. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT33cfWakpY
[Video]. (n.d.). What Happened to the Springfield Three?. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i0AOIP4SCE
[Video]. (n.d.). The Disappearance of the Springfield Three. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gHUqa7aZnE