2nd Person Of Interest Named In 1975 Disappearance Of 2 Md. Sisters

BEDFORD, Va. (WJZ) -- There is a break in a missing persons case--two Maryland sisters who disappeared 39 years ago. What happened to Catherine and Sheila Lyon has been a mystery since 1975.

Rick Ritter explains there is a new person of interest in the case.

This case has picked up quite a bit over the past few weeks. The sisters have been missing for nearly 40 years. Police say they're closer than ever to finding them.

It is one of the oldest active missing person searches in the country.

"It was one of those profound cases that really startled, shook the community," said Harry Geehreng, retired investigator who worked the case.

The 39-year-old heart-wrenching case is now back in the national spotlight.

"Our feeling is we're further along now, closer to resolution than we've ever been," said Russ Hamill, Montgomery County assistant police chief.

Richard Allen Welch is now a person of interest in the disappearance of 10-year-old Catherine and 12-year-old Sheila Lyon.

"He is alive and we do know where he is located at this time," Hamill said.

Back in March of 1975, the two girls walked to the Wheaton Plaza Mall for lunch and were never seen again.

"We believe that Richard Allen Welch Senior may have been a security guard in the Wheaton area of Montgomery County in the 1970s," said Hamill.

You may recall back in February, his nephew, Lloyd Welch, was named the first person of interest in the case. The convicted sex offender has been in a Delaware prison since 1997.

"He continues to be a person of interest in the case," Hamill said.

Investigators shift the focus of their search to a portion of mountains in Bedford County, Virginia, where police say the Welch's owned or still own land and the girls might be.

"Do I personally think so? I personally think there's a good chance," said Hamill.

The Lyon parents have spent countless nights searching for answers.

"The brides that he didn't walk down the aisle, the grandchildren we didn't have," said Mary Lyon, mother of the girls.

Police are now pleading for the public to do the right thing.

"There are people out here in these communities that know what happened back then," said Hamill.

Officials in Bedford County and Montgomery County are now working together on the case.

A grand jury will begin hearing testimony and evidence in the case on Friday morning.

Other Local News: