1990 segment on a missing Tennessee girl - Marlena Childress

[Kane]

Here's an UM segment that apparently never appeared on Lifetime: It was a segment about a little girl from Tennessee who was reportedly seen after she allegedly died.

Although I am certain that I saw the segment, my memory of it is vague. According to the episode guide at this site, the segment in question was broadcast on September 5, 1990.

Does anyone remember this particular segment? If so, what was the girl's name? What is the current status of the case?

Thank you in advance for any details.

[justins5256]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/170dftn.html


==================================================
MORE TIPS RECEIVED ON MARLENA CHILDRESS
==================================================
The Commercial Appeal-September 12, 1990
Author: The Commercial Appeal

Authorities investigating the Marlena Childress disappearance received another 50 tips in the case Tuesday, bringing to more than 200 the number of calls generated by last week's Unsolved Mysteries episode.
The NBC television show's producers passed along the roughly 50 new calls Tuesday to the Obion County Sheriff's Department, in addition to the 130 calls they passed along last week, said Chief Deputy Ken Hutchens.


The calls, generated by the show's toll-free number, have come in addition to the 35 to 40 calls the department has received directly from people who believe they have information on the case, said Hutchens.


However, despite the heavy influx of calls, Hutchens said few of the tips are likely to produce any solid leads in the search for Marlena, who was 4 years old when she disappeared from her Union City, Tenn., home on April 16, 1987.


Last Wednesday, Unsolved Mysteries aired a 15-minute segment on Marlena's disappearance and mentioned the $30,000 reward offered by LaWade Strickland, Marlena's maternal grandfather, in exchange for information leading to the safe return of the girl.


''We're getting a lot of calls . . . but about 75 percent of them are thrown out,'' said Hutchens.


''One person said that aliens picked her (Marlena) up and have her on some planet some where. That's the sort of thing we're getting,'' he added.

Edition: Tennessee
Section: News
Page: A16

Index Terms: MISSING
;
CHILD
;
TN
Record Number: 00256153
Copyright 1990, 1994 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN

==================================================
CALLS FOLLOW TV SHOW ON MISSING TENN. GIRL
==================================================
The Commercial Appeal-September 8, 1990
Author: The Commercial Appeal

Authorities investigating the disappearance of Marlena Childress were handed 130 potential new leads Friday by the producers of NBC's Unsolved Mysteries, which aired an episode on Marlena earlier in the week, officials in Union City, Tenn., said.
The show's producers sent the Obion County Sheriff's Department information from the 130 phone calls they received in the two days after airing the episode on the missing girl, said Chief Deputy Ken Hutchens.


The deluge of tips, generated by the show's toll-free number, are in addition to the 25 to 30 calls the Sheriff's Department has received since the 15-minute segment aired Wednesday at 7 p.m.


Hutchens said some calls will be disregarded but most will be tracked down in an attempt to locate Marlena, who has been missing from her Union City home since April 16, 1987.


''We've gotten calls from every part of the country. Some of them are so crazy we can throw them away right from the start, but we'll check out most of them,'' said Hutchens.


The show centered on the bizarre events surrounding Marlena's disappearance.


The program also repeatedly showed photos of Marlena, who was 4 when she vanished, and mentioned a $30,000 reward offered by LaWade Strickland, Marlena's maternal grandfather, for her safe return.


''I think a lot of people who have called are snatching at that $30,000 reward,'' said Hutchens.


Hutchens said many of the tips passed along by Unsolved Mysteries are improbable and several contradict one another.


''We had people seeing her in Florida and Ohio at the same time,'' he said.

Memo: Shorter version, Final B2
Edition: Tennessee
Section: News
Page: A13

Index Terms: MISSING
;
CHILD
;
TN
Record Number: 00252113
Copyright 1990, 1994 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN

==================================================
MARLENA PROGRAM PROMPTS TIPS
==================================================
The Commercial Appeal-September 7, 1990
Author: Jerry Huston The Commercial Appeal

A 15-minute segment on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries devoted to the 1987 disappearance of Marlena Childress has prompted several tips and sighting reports to Northwest Tennessee authorities, officials in Union City said Thursday.
''We've probably gotten about 20 calls already. I'm surprised at the response,'' said Chief Deputy Kenneth Hutchens of the Obion County Sheriff's Department, which is in charge of the investigation.


The show, which aired Wednesday night, centered on the child's mysterious disappearance from her Union City home on April 16, 1987. In the episode, several photos were shown of Marlena, who was 4 years old when she was reported missing.


At the end of the program, Robert Stack, the show's host, urged viewers with tips to call the show's toll-free number or contact the Obion County Sheriff's Department.


However, Hutchens said the calls have not greatly increased hopes of finding Marlena.


''All the people we've talked to seemed to have good intentions, but it has been three years since she's been gone. Who knows what she looks like now?'' said Hutchens, adding that deputies will check out every tip they receive.


In Mayfield, Ky., meanwhile, Marlena's family hasn't given up hope that the program will provide clues to her whereabouts.


Knowing the story of their granddaughter's disappearance didn't make watching it any easier Wednesday night for LaWade and Catherine Strickland.


''I knew pretty much what they were going to have on, but just seeing the pictures of her, seeing it like that . . .'' said Mrs. Strickland, her voice trailing off as she wiped away tears.


The program shed no new light on the three-year-old mystery of Marlena's disappearance, but her relatives expressed hope Wednesday the publicity would spark new life in the search for the little girl.

Edition: First
Section: Metro
Page: B1

Index Terms: MISSING
;
PERSON
;
CHILD
Record Number: 00251115
Copyright 1990, 1994 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN

==================================================
TV SHOW FEATURES MISSING UNION CITY CHILD
-
GRANDPARENTS HOPE NEW LEADS RESULT
==================================================
The Commercial Appeal-September 6, 1990
Author: Jerry Huston The Commercial Appeal

Knowing the story of their granddaughter's disappearance didn't make watching it any easier Wednesday night for LaWade and Catherine Strickland.
Sitting in the den of their Mayfield home, the Stricklands watched silently as the strange saga of 4-year-old Marlena Childress's disappearance was played out nationwide in a segment of the NBC television series Unsolved Mysteries.


''I knew pretty much what they were going to have on, but just seeing the pictures of her, seeing it like that . . .'' said Mrs. Strickland, her voice trailing off as she wiped away the tears she knew would come.


The long-awaited national television spot shed no new light on the three- year-old mystery of Marlena's disappearance, but her relatives expressed hope Wednesday the publicity would spark new life in the search for the little girl.


Most of the 15-minute segment was devoted to a chronology of the case. Marlena disappeared from her Union City home on April 16, 1987.


A massive search was launched throughout northwest Tennessee in the weeks after Marlena was reported missing until Pam Bailey, Marlena's mother, confessed two months later to killing the girl and dumping her body in the Obion River. Mrs. Bailey, who was charged with second-degree murder but not indicted, later recanted that confession, but no widespread search was renewed.


However, there have been numerous sightings of children who look like Marlena, including one in Nevada this summer, which turned out to be false.


''If this show turns up a single good clue it will have been worth it,'' said Strickland, Marlena's paternal grandfather. ''I think it'll get things started again.''


The show included interviews with Mrs. Bailey, Strickland, people who claimed to have seen Marlena after she disappeared and area police.


Most of the interviews were taped last spring.


''They spent too much time talking about sightings that turned out to be nothing. They should have talked more about the more recent stuff,'' said Mrs. Bailey, who watched the show across town at the home of family friends.


Watching the show, which featured a girl who bore some resemblance to Marlena, wasn't easy for Mrs. Bailey, but she was glad the show was aired.


''It's hard to look at her face on TV like that. But I guess it's good that they have her face on there a lot because if people see her, maybe it'll get someone to call in,'' said Mrs. Bailey.


Clara Ann Wyrick of Mayfield, the chairman of the Find Marlena Childress Committee, which disbanded in the weeks after Mrs. Bailey's confession, said she fears the broadcast will ''cause a lot of false leads to smokescreen real clues.''


Within minutes of the 7 p.m. airing, there were signs the show could lead to new clues.


''We've already had three or four calls, including one from Kansas, just in the time since the show was on,'' said Chief Deputy Kenneth Hutchens of the Obion County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the case.

photo

Marlena Childress

Edition: Final
Section: Metro
Page: B1

Index Terms: MISSING
;
CHILD
Dateline: MAYFIELD, Ky.
Record Number: 00250202
Copyright 1990, 1994 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN

==================================================
LOOKING FOR MARLENA
==================================================
Fayetteville Observer, The (NC)-September 5, 1990
Author: LARRY CHEEK

By LARRY CHEEK




For the Anderson Creek woman, it is a long shot, this column I am writing about Marlena Childress. The little girl was abducted in Tennessee, after all, not Fayetteville or even North Carolina. But Marlena's former Bible school teacher feels there's a chance Marlena could be in this area - because we're right on the I-95 corridor - and she's looking for all the publicity she can get.




Marlena Childress disappeared from her Union City, Tenn., home on April 16, 1987. She was 4 years old. One moment she was playing in her yard. The next, she was gone.




"I was living in Mayfield, Ky., which is close to Union City, at the time," said the Anderson Creek woman, who came to Fayetteville with her Air Force husband. "LaWade and Katherine Strickland, Marlena's grandparents, went to the same church I did." A Car With Peeling Paint




Marlena was a shy child. At first, she wouldn't have anything to do with her Bible school teacher, but later warmed up.




The search for her has been intensive. There's a $30,000 reward for her return and if you're wondering why I haven't yet used the name of the Anderson Creek woman, it's because she's scared.




"When LaWade was following up some leads he got a threatening phone call," she told me. "The voice said, "You don"t know what you're doing by keeping up with the search. A lot of things could happen to you, your wife, Pam (Marlena's mother) and your children.' But he's not willing to give up."




Shortly after Marlena disappeared, a witness said she had seen the girl in a beat-up car with peeling paint. The car was traced to Clinton, Ky., but no charges were filed against the owner. No Proof Against The Father




In May of 1989, what could have been a break in the case occurred. A report of child neglect was filed in Alabama against a man and a woman who had 10 children in their company. A social worker went to the man's house. She talked with one of the little girls - who said her name was Marlena Childress.




The social workers had seen posters about Marlena. She knew the name and thought the girl looked like the picture on the posters. The next day, authorities went to the house. The "family" was gone.




When they were found two weeks later in Florida, Marlena was not with them. The man and woman claimed another girl was the one the social worker had talked to.




The Anderson Creek Air Force wife thinks the two children might have been swapped.




I asked her if Marlena's disappearance could be the result of a custody fight. "There's no proof her father (who is split from the child's mother) got mad and had somebody snatch her," she said. "We had reason to believe at one time it might have been possible. But she hasn't been seen at all with him." On TV, Marlena's Story




LaWade Strickland's car has been broken into, and his garage door opener stolen. He has received more than just the one threatening telephone call.




Are drugs involved? Child pornography? No one knows.




"It's rough," Mr. Strickland told a reporter. "I always said death was the worst thing that could happen to the family, but it's not. It's the uncertainty of it. It's harder today than when it first happened."




As I said, the odds are against Marlena Childress being in this area. But the Anderson Creek woman, who is concerned about the safety of her own four children, thinks it's possible.




"Marlena will be on Unsolved Mysteries tonight at 8 on NBC," she said. "Maybe somebody will recognize her."




If you do, call 502-247-6593.

Section: Local & State

Record Number: 548443
Copyright 1990, 2002 The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer

[DarkDante]

''One person said that aliens picked her (Marlena) up and have her on some planet some where. That's the sort of thing we're getting,'' he added.

Jeez I guess Ed Walters called in that night eh? - LOL GO UM FANS GO!

Seriously though this case sounds intriguing, too bad Lifetime never broadcasted it

Edit: Here is the DOE NETWORK profile: Seems like the mother is a bit of a screwball and could've been involved in her child's death/disappearance

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/170dftn.html

[Kane]

I knew I had seen that segment. I just didn't remember the girl's name. But what I do recall was the mentioning of the name Strickland. I would imagine that LaWade Strickland (Marlena's grandfather) was interviewed in the segment.

When I saw that segment and heard the name "Strickland", I thought of Mr. Strickland, the high school principal from the Back to the Future movies. That is one of the few things that I remember about the segment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Marlena Childress allegedly spotted at a store? Somehow, I remember something about a store (perhaps a retail store or a department store). But I could be misremembering.

[crystaldawn]

Wow, I would love to see this segment. Very sad and the story about her brother in the cemetary was horrible! I agree with Dante that the mother is probably involved. Why would you confess to murdering your child if you didn't? Plus by the incident with the brother, its obvious she is capable of hurting her own children. Sad case.

[justins5256]

The other segments that aired as a part of this 9/5/90 episode were repeats. I suspect that Lifetime did not purchase this specific episode for that reason. Over the summer (during repeat season), it was not uncommon for NBC to manufacture "new" episodes by splicing together repeat stories from other episodes and occasionally sticking in a brand new story as well. It looks like that is what happened here. I suspect this is also the reason we never got the Todd Mcafee story.

Years ago, Lifetime used to show half hour installments of UM around 2am. Sometimes these "misfit" stories ended up there.

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

Seems like the mother is a bit of a screwball...

That's the understatement of the year. What the heck is wrong with this woman??

I don't remember this segment at all. Crystaldawn, I can't believe that there are segments you haven't seen!

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

Crystaldawn, I can't believe that there are segments you haven't seen!

I know... I would kill to see some of these old ones but they're proving all but impossible to find. Hardly anyone back then taped UM off of NBC and if they did they didn't keep the tape.

Lets hope this psycho didn't have any more kids.

[Bailey_720]

Hey my name is Casey Bailey im one of the only people that has the type and imone of the only people that knows the true story about it all i hate getting on this websites and seeing **** thats not true but if yall would like to know the true true about it all you can emailme at caseyb89@hotmail.com

[synthisislab]

I wonder why this only made the UM rotation once. So is this the only segment that you haven't seen and/or don't have access to, Heather?

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by synthisislab

So is this the only segment that you haven't seen and/or don't have access to, Heather?

No, I wish. The segments on this thread I don't have and I'm sure there are others.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=223839

Yes it is strange they wouldn't keep reairing that one considering she is still missing.

[meglruss]

Her name was Marlena Childress and she was from my home town. I don't really remember much because I was 7 at the time. But the general idea is that her mother killed her and dumped her in the Obion River (which is really a large creek unless its flooded) Anywhoo, Marlena's mother reportedly confessed but later recanted. To this day they have never found anything as far as remains go. However, her mother took her 12 year old son to a graveyard up in Kentucky about 7 or 8 years ago and tried to stab him. He got away and she's in prison now. That has pretty much sealed the deal for her in public opinion here but they haven't charged her for Marlena's death or disappearance because of lack of evidence. In a town our size (a little over 10,000), She's kind of an urban legend now that it is 21 years later.

[unsolvedmysteriesfan]

Originally Posted by meglruss

Her name was Marlena Childress and she was from my home town. I don't really remember much because I was 7 at the time. But the general idea is that her mother killed her and dumped her in the Obion River (which is really a large creek unless its flooded) Anywhoo, Marlena's mother reportedly confessed but later recanted. To this day they have never found anything as far as remains go. However, her mother took her 12 year old son to a graveyard up in Kentucky about 7 or 8 years ago and tried to stab him. He got away and she's in prison now. That has pretty much sealed the deal for her in public opinion here but they haven't charged her for Marlena's death or disappearance because of lack of evidence. In a town our size (a little over 10,000), She's kind of an urban legend now that it is 21 years later.

Talk about someone with a mental condition. Thanks for posting.

[wiseguy182]

i found an e-mail address for Marlena Childress' brother, but egads, I wouldn't feel comfortable contacting him: I get the impression that he and the rest of his family just want to put the whole thing behind him: apparently Marlena's mother, who is strongly suspected of killing her, also tried to kill her son. The mother sounds very messed up.

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

i found an e-mail address for Marlena Childress' brother, but egads, I wouldn't feel comfortable contacting him: I get the impression that he and the rest of his family just want to put the whole thing behind him: apparently Marlena's mother, who is strongly suspected of killing her, also tried to kill her son. The mother sounds very messed up.

Actually the person who posted above with the screen name Bailey 720 is her brother. The reason I mention this is he seems willing to speak about his sister giving out his email address and when he first posted this I exchanged a few emails with him. He would probably be willing to talk about the case Wiseguy if you wanted to contact him.