The Abduction of Heather Teague

EARLY LIFE:

Heather Teague was calved connected April 25, 1972, arsenic the archetypal of 4 children. Growing up successful Kentucky, she was known for being a bully pupil and actively progressive successful her schoolhouse community. Along with being connected the honour rotation and cheerleading squad, she was homecoming queen, named “Junior Miss”, and progressive successful way and basketball. In her spare time, she enjoyed penning poetry.

Following her graduation from Webster County High School, Heather took immoderate clip retired from education, with her and her parent making plans aft a fewer years for her to be Western Kentucky University. The then-23-year-old hoped to survey psychology.

At the clip of her abduction, Heather was surviving successful Clay, Webster County, Kentucky. She was dating a antheral 20 years her elder and had gotten progressive successful drugs. She was known to enactment erratically arsenic a effect of her substance abuse, and she had adjacent been reported missing 2 weeks prior. When located, she’d said she “was conscionable moving around.”

ABDUCTION:

On August 26, 1995, Heather was sunbathing astatine Newburgh Beach successful Spottsville, Henderson County, Kentucky.

Around 12:45 PM that afternoon, Tim Walthall was looking done his scope from his Indiana home, connected the different broadside of the Ohio River, erstwhile helium saw a antheral attack the 23-year-old, drawback her by the hairsbreadth and resistance her disconnected her tract chair, into a wooded country by the beach.

According to Walthall, the abduction had occurred astatine gunpoint. When asked by the authorities to picture the suspect, helium reported that the antheral was White, 6’0″ and weighed betwixt 210 and 230 pounds. He had brownish hairsbreadth that appeared to beryllium a wig, a bushy beard, and was lone wearing a brace of jeans and a mosquito net.

SEARCH:

Upon learning astir the abduction, constabulary officers with canines, divers and a chopper equipped with infrared exertion searched Newburgh Beach, uncovering portion of Heather’s bathing suit and a towel successful the woods adjacent the abduction site. Other bits of grounds was located, but investigators said it didn’t supply immoderate insights into Heather’s whereabouts.

During the aboriginal stages of the investigation, Heather’s existent and past boyfriends were interviewed by the authorities, but small was gleamed from these conversations.

The archetypal fishy to look successful the lawsuit was Marvin Ray “Marty” Dill, a Henderson County resident. Dill’s reddish and achromatic Ford Bronco was pulled implicit during a regular postulation halt soon aft Heather’s abduction and recovered wrong it were 2 guns, duct tape, rope, rubber gloves and strands of hairsbreadth that looked akin to the missing woman’s.

Along with the items recovered successful his vehicle, Dill was said to lucifer the composite sketch provided by Walthall, and his Bronco had been captured connected video successful the country connected Newburgh Beach, arsenic farmers had been monitoring the country pursuing incidents of vandalism against their crops. On apical of this, Dill’s conveyance was seen parked adjacent Heather’s 1990 Nissan hatchback.

Throughout the extremity of August 1995 and into that September, investigators received tips connecting Dill to Heather’s abduction, prompting them to sojourn his home. He reportedly told his woman to permission the residence aft learning of the officers’ presence, astatine which constituent helium took his ain life. When investigators made their mode into the home, they recovered Dill’s body, but nary grounds Heather had been there.

A expansive assemblage was brought distant to perceive grounds of Dill’s engagement successful the lawsuit pursuing his death. While attempts were made to person his woman attest arsenic a witness, she evoked her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to reply immoderate questions.

A 2nd fishy came to investigators’ attraction successful 2004: Christopher J. Below, different nonmigratory of Henderson County. Below had pleaded blameworthy to attempted involuntary manslaughter successful narration to the 1991 decease of Kathern Fetzer, a pistillate with whom he’d been having an affair. For the crime, helium was sentenced to betwixt 11 and 18 years successful prison.

Outside of Fetzer’s death, Below is suspected successful the disappearances of Mary Kushto, Kristina Porco and Shaylene Farrell. While helium hasn’t been charged oregon convicted successful narration to their cases, the details are arsenic follows:

• Kushto went missing from St. Cloud, Florida, connected May 5, 1995. Below was successful the metropolis astatine the clip of her disappearance.

• Porco went missing from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, connected November 29, 1986, having near her family’s flat portion aft an statement with her mother. She’d reportedly planned to slumber by the complex’s pool, but erstwhile a person went to spot her, each that was recovered was her reddish sweater. While Below had lived successful the authorities betwixt the precocious 1980s and aboriginal ’90s, authorities are inactive trying to find his nonstop whereabouts successful ’86.

• Farrell went missing from Piqua, Ohio, connected August 8, 1994. She was reported missing aft missing a enactment shift.

Investigators judge Below targeted women who resembled Fetzer. Heather, successful particular, was astir the aforesaid tallness and value arsenic the deceased woman. As well, helium was known to beryllium successful the wide country astatine the clip of the 23-year-old’s abduction, and helium near connected the aforesaid time Dill took his ain life.

Below has refused to reply immoderate questions regarding Heather’s case. It’s believed helium and Dill whitethorn person abducted her together, with 1 grabbing the missing pistillate and the different driving the getaway vehicle.

In 2007, Heather’s mother, Sarah Teague, had her girl declared legally dead, truthful she could get the FBI’s record connected the case. Six years later, she filed a suit against the agencies progressive successful the investigation, claiming a cover-up and malfeasance.

Teague alleged investigators had gotten passageway imaginativeness regarding Dill’s guilt and had disregarded different imaginable leads arsenic a result. She added that, successful 1995, he’d been clean-shaven and balding, meaning helium didn’t lucifer the sketch created from Walthall’s description.

A fewer months aft it was filed, a justice dismissed the lawsuit, saying, among different things, that malfeasance couldn’t beryllium tried successful a civilian tribunal of law, arsenic it’s a transgression offence successful Kentucky.

Teague has filed respective Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and petitions implicit the people of the probe into her daughter’s abduction. Her efforts person resulted successful grounds being tested for DNA and the handing implicit of Walthall’s 911 call. She’s besides listened to a portion betwixt Dill’s lawyer and the Kentucky State Police (KSP), successful which the erstwhile was heard informing them of confronting the antheral without him archetypal entering the home.

In 2012, the Kentucky State Police enactment Heather’s lawsuit connected decks of playing cards that were passed retired successful prisons wrong the state.

In January 2024, an anonymous donor enactment up a $10,000 reward for accusation starring to a solution successful the case. Investigators accidental they proceed to look into leads and are exploring caller avenues successful an effort to find Heather.

DETAILS:

Heather Teague was 23 years aged erstwhile she went missing from Spottsville, Webster County, Kentucky, connected August 26, 1995. She stood astatine 5’2″, weighed betwixt 90 and 100 pounds, and had brownish hairsbreadth and greenish eyes. It’s noted she has fallen arches, a circular reddish birthmark connected her close buttock and scoliosis, which gives her a slight, yet noticeable curve successful her spine.

At the clip of her abduction, she was wearing a reddish plaid bathing suit, which was recovered adjacent the abduction site.

CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Heather’s lawsuit is presently classified arsenic Endangered Missing, with foul play suspected. Her DNA is connected file.

Anyone with accusation regarding the lawsuit is asked to interaction the Kentucky State Police astatine (270) 826-3312. Tips tin besides beryllium called into Sarah Teague astatine (270) 824-8343.

Image Credit: The Doe Network

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