Neighbors Who See Stabbing Kick Ass
Jonelle Matthews' Abduction Still Baffles Greeley Police 25 Years Later
Monday, December 21, 2009 at 7:00 am
On the evening of December 20, 1984, 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews sang Christmas carols with her school choir. Afterward, she was driven home by a classmate and her mother. They dropped Jonelle off in front of her house in Greeley, Colorado. Her friends watched her walk into the house before driving away...
According to Greeley police detectives, they were the last people known to have seen the young girl. During the time she was home, she took a phone message from a teacher for her father, Jim Matthews, who was the principal at Platte Valley Elementary School in Kersey.
When her father came home about an hour later from a basketball game he'd attended for his oldest daughter, Jennifer, he saw Jonelle's shoes and her shawl near a space heater in the family room. Jonelle typically sat next to the heater whenever she watched TV. However, there was no sign of the girl that evening, and Matthews called the police.
An age progression of what Jonelle Matthews might look like today at age 37, a quarter-century after she was kidnapped from her home
Investigators took his statement, and officers remained at the house for most of the night. Although they did not find any signs of a struggle, they discovered footprints in the snow around the perimeter of the house. Jonelle's disappearance became one of the biggest mysteries in Greeley's history.
Everything possible was done to find the girl. Hundreds of volunteers showed up to search Greeley and the outlying areas. Her parents went on national television talk shows and programs about missing children, and made heartfelt public appeals. President Ronald Reagan even mentioned her in one of his national addresses, to no avail.
"We occasionally get a tip on the case, but that usually involves a body that was recovered somewhere," said Lt. Brad Goldschmidt. "If the body was old enough, they might contact us because Jonelle is still considered a missing person. But we haven't had anything for a few years."
Goldschmidt said that Jonelle's DNA had been entered into a national database, but there have so far not been any hits. Also, investigators had not found any suspect DNA at the house, believed to have been the scene of the abduction.
Since Jim Matthews and his wife, Gloria, had adopted Jonelle, police naturally contacted her birth mother to determine if there was a possible connection to the disappearance. The birth mother was quickly cleared.
Approximately five years ago, a man who lived in Jonelle's neighborhood, who was employed as a truck driver at the time, came into the offices of the The Tribune--a Greeley newspaper--and announced that he was a suspect in the case. However, investigators found no evidence linking him to the girl's disappearance. After discovering that he had mental issues, they decided that he was only a publicity seeker.
In 1994, 10 years after Jonelle disappeared her parents, who now live in the Philippines, had her officially declared dead. They also had a funeral service for her, in which dozens of family friends attended to offer their condolences and to say goodbye to the young girl.
"People might say now that we're just giving up hope," Jim Matthews said. "But if you put your head and heart together, it will bring some finality. This time, we're saying she's not coming back."
"We had 10 years without a reason, 10 years without a motive, 10 years with no answers," Gloria Matthews said. "In all this time, don't you think the person who took her has said anything to anyone? At least someone could give us evidence that would prove she is dead, or tell us where her body is, so we can bury her."
The Matthews said recently that they still remember Jonelle on her birthday, and that they have kept the Christmas tree ornaments she made in elementary school and still hang them on the tree each Christmas.
Naturally, there is still hope that answers about this mysterious case will come about. Jonelle's family, as well as the Greeley police, urge anyone with information about the case to call the Greeley Police Department at (970) 350-9600, or to fax their information to (970) 350-9655.
Tags: Colorado
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