I just saw this case for the first time yesterday, though I had been somewhat familiar with the Charley Project casefile for some time. I thought I would start a thread seeing as there is very little discussion on this case. This was the case of a 5 year old girl, who was abducted by her mother Merle in Hawaii during the summer of 1990. UM aired the case about 6 years later. Merle was mentally disturbed to the point that she wasn't allowed unsupervised visits with her daughter. Sadly, the father died not long after the segment aired. For those unfamiliar with this case, here is a link to the CP page, which has most of the known info:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/vanderheiden-walsh_therese.html

The UM segment had some info that the CP page doesn't. When Francis (the father) was on his first date with the woman that would eventually become his second wife, Merle found out where they were going, harrassed them and attacked Francis's new girlfriend with a stun gun. Thankfully, the batteries in it were low and it didn't inflict much damage. It was stated that Therese had made great improvements living with Francis and his new wife and with Merle out of the picture.

Therese is still missing to this day, 24 years later. Merle is clearly a very mentally disturbed person. I feel that there is a good chance that Therese is still alive, but I'm worried that she may have suffered emotional and perhaps physical abuse at the hands of Merle. I don't know what the odds are this case ever being solved, I'm thinking pretty low since Merle has the intelligence to evade authorities due to her Army training and apparent ability to change her appearance.

I didn't realize this case was ever profiled on UM. I do remember reading Therese's page on CP (read almost all the pages there at one time or another).

Would Merle have had to have gotten new SSN's for her and Therese? I think she must have to have remained undetected for this long.

It seems as if a person who attacked someone else with a stun gun, for no justifiable reason, might commit future offenses. Merle's fingerprints should be on file for the stun gun incident. If there is a felony interference with custody warrant out for her, and she was arrested in the future and fingerprinted for another crime, would there be any type of alert issued? Does law enforcement submit fingerprints from all arrests to a national database?

Or what about applying for a job in a hospital, as a social worker or as a forest ranger (as suggested on CP)--do those positions require fingerprint checks?

I hope Therese is alive. I wonder if she knows any of the details of what happened (she was six, and while Merle could have convinced her that Francis didn't want her/had died/was a bad person, you'd think she would have Googled her name in the last 10 years).

I remember this case well and it is a very sad one.

As I recall, Merle had been in the US Army and was in an intelligence unit. She was said to be very skilled at altering her appearance and would probably be good at obtaining identity change type documents. It seemed she had a lot of anger issues, hence the attack on the girlfriend, which appeared to be very unprovoked. I am not sure if she would harm her daughter, but maybe she would rather her be dead than with her father.

Her father, Fran, founded some sort of foundation in Hawaii for missing children at some point in the early or mid 90s. I presume it's merged with another or no longer in operation.

Unfortunately this case already has a fairly sad ending, as Fran died in 1998 without seeing his daughter again. Since then there has been little movement on the case and clearly the young lady is around 30 now.

One item of note. I remember reading somewhere that authorities believed that Merle had received or been receiving help with the "Children of the Underground" network. If that is the case, it's even less likely she might be located, though some who were in that group have been.

Would Merle have had to have gotten new SSN's for her and Therese? I think she must have to have remained undetected for this long.

Probably. I would suspect it was much easier circa 25 years ago to create a new identity. After 9.11, a lot of that changed.

It seems as if a person who attacked someone else with a stun gun, for no justifiable reason, might commit future offenses. Merle's fingerprints should be on file for the stun gun incident. If there is a felony interference with custody warrant out for her, and she was arrested in the future and fingerprinted for another crime, would there be any type of alert issued? Does law enforcement submit fingerprints from all arrests to a national database?

Or what about applying for a job in a hospital, as a social worker or as a forest ranger (as suggested on CP)--do those positions require fingerprint checks?


Fran and Merle met while on active duty in the Army, so their prints should most definitely be on file.


I hope Therese is alive. I wonder if she knows any of the details of what happened (she was six, and while Merle could have convinced her that Francis didn't want her/had died/was a bad person, you'd think she would have Googled her name in the last 10 years).

Me too, though I wondered the same about the Baskin children.

I just watched this. I'm surprised that Merle wasn't cited for contempt of court, having ignored the court orders of taking a psychiatric evaluation, plus why she wasn't charged with assault with a deadly weapon and destruction of property for attacking Francis' new wife Janice with a stun gun and disabling their car by ripping out the distributor wires. The court system failed Francis, and sadly, he died on September 7, 1998. Janice, her stepmother, died on May 4, 2014.

Merle's full name is Merle Marie Vanderheiden. Here are her statistics:

Born: August 5, 1950 (would today be 65 years old)
Height: 5'5-5'7
Weight: 120-145 lbs
Eye color: Green
Hair color: Brown
Characteristics: Merle might be wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses. She uses wigs as means of disguise. Both of her ears are pierced.
Aliases: Marie Walsh, Kara Vanderheiden, Jacqueline Smith, Vann Vanderheiden, Pat Doherty, Mary Jean Hamm, Kara Johnson and/or Kara Cochran.
Other: Merle is wanted by the state of Hawaii and the FBI for kidnapping and interference with child custody. She has access to firearms and should be considered dangerous. Merle's intelligence training in the US Army has probably aided her in hiding and avoiding arrest. She has been sighted in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Colorado and Texas. Merle might be employed as a social worker, forest ranger or works in a hospital. The group, Children of the Underground, ran by Faye Yager, might have helped Merle and Therese in hiding from Francis.

http://dojapp.doj.ca.gov/missing/image.aspx?img_id=1869836500249s1.jpg&width=200

Here's the statistics for Therese:

Born: July 4, 1984 (would today be 31 years old)
Height: 3'0 (at time of disappearance)
Weight: 45 lbs (at time of disappearance)
Eye color: Green/hazel
Hair color: Blonde
Characteristics: She has moles on her back and both shoulders. Both of her ears are pierced. Was last seen wearing pink shorts, pink T-shirt, and pink and white Nike sneakers.
Aliases: Therese Rose Vanderheiden Walsh, Therese Rose Vanderheiden and/or Therese Rose Walsh.

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/l/t1.0-9/65647_595113303839672_830798104_n.jpg?oh=aa99361c73892c8e0a8cf354032bd551&oe=57CB77FA

Anyone with pertinent information is asked to call the the Honolulu Police Department at (808) 529-3115, the Kailua City Police at (808) 262-6555 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at (202) 324-3000.