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You are here: Home / Cold Case News / Help needed in Karen Caughlin case

Help needed in Karen Caughlin case

March 13, 2014 By Alice

OPP seeks help in 1974 cold case of Karen Caughlin as her death nears the 40th anniversary on March 16th. From CBC News: “Ontario Provincial Police hope a new appeal to the public will help reinvigorate an investigation into a four-decade-old homicide. Police on Thursday released a seven-minute video detailing the events of the day Karen Caughlin died. Her older sister, Mary Lou Schwemler, hopes the video helps bring closure for the family.“

https://web.archive.org/web/20190317025150/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qaWsh01osM

The case of Karen Caughlin has been discussed at length here on DCC. All the posts about Karen can be found here.

“This investigation has been ongoing for 40 years,” OPP Det. Insp. Chris Avery says in the video. There are persons of interest and people under investigation,” said Avery. “It had to be someone she knew. She would not get into a car alone unless she knew that person” said Schwemler.

Another sister, Kathy, is unhappy with the way police have dealt with the case. She claims they haven’t followed up on some tips. Two years ago, she organized a protest outside the OPP office in Petrolia, demanding an independent review.” This too has been discussed on my blog. An independent review was denied.

On March 15, 1974 Karen Caughlin (14) went to school as usual. She had after-school plans to go to a friend’s home and later on to the Rose Garden roller rink. She would possibly sleep over. Karen and her friend left the rink around 11pm. They accepted a ride from a couple of boys and left in their pick-up truck. Karen’s friend was dropped off at her home. Karen continued to drive around the area with these boys until Karen was dropped off near her friend’s house close to 1am on March 16, 1974. This was the last time Karen was seen alive. Her body was found on March 16, 1974 around 9:50 am by an area farmer 22 kilometres from where she was dropped off. What happened to her after he drop off? What was she doing 22 kilometers away from her friend’s house? The case remains unsolved.

Kathy has collaborated with me in the past to get renewed attention for her sister’s case. I am relieved to finally see the OPP reach out to the public and admit that they can use some help.

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Unsolved Tagged With: Autopsy, Canada, Crime Scene, Evidence, Forensics, Karen Caughlin, Police, Sarnia, Unsolved Homicide, Victim

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Author Notes

On my website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more!

My database has hundreds of cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database is free to the public.

All writing suggestions for cases that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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