Morbidology reports Cherrie Mahan’s family and law enforcement agencies throughout the nation went to great lengths to make sure every media outlet and newspaper in the United States would distribute information about Mahan and the mysterious van. Authorities also sent letters to people who were incarcerated to ask whether they had heard anything about the missing girl from other inmates. However, none of their efforts led to any new or useful information.

Law enforcement officials ruled out Mahan’s family and friends as suspects via extensive questioning and lie detector tests. Although it was suggested that her biological father might have been involved, authorities were never able to tie him to the assumed abduction. According to Active Missing People, authorities also ruled out kidnapping for ransom, as the family never received any ransom demands.

According to Chilling Crimes, law enforcement officials briefly suspected a Massachusetts man of Mahan’s abduction. In 1994, they learned the man had abducted and killed one child and attempted to abduct another. However, he was eventually ruled out as he had a confirmed alibi on the day Mahan vanished. By the mid-1990s, authorities had exhausted all leads, and the case went cold. In 1998, the missing child was officially declared dead. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Janice McKinney addressed the court, saying, “This is not over. We’ll always look for Cherrie. If nothing else, she’ll always be in our hearts.”