IL RACHEL MARIE MELLON-SKEMP: Missing from Bolingbrook, IL - 31 Jan 1996 - Age 13

The Doe Network:
Case File 1592DFIL

Age-progressed to 27 years (circa 2010); Right: Age-progressed to 30 years

Rachel Marie Mellon-Skemp
Missing since January 31, 1996 from Bolingbrook, Will County, Illinois
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: October 13, 1982
Age at Time of Disappearance: 13 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'0"; 70-75 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Asian female. Black hair (short at time of disappearance bu often had shoulder length hair); hazel eyes.
Marks, Scars: A small mole on the upper left side of her lip. Both ears pierced.
Clothing: Yellow sweatpants, a pink top, red house-slippers. A blue blanket was missing.
Dentals: Available.
DNA: In CODIS.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Mellon was last seen at her residence in Bolingbrook, Illinois on January 31, 1996.
She was home ill that day with her stepfather.
Her stepfather walked the family dog while Rachel went to her bedroom. Upon her stepfather's return, he did not check on Rachel.
Rachel's disappearance was discovered by her family at approximately 17:00.
Although a few articles of her clothing are missing, Rachel's purse, coat and winter clothes were still at her home.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Bolingbrook Police Department (Illinois)
Missing Persons Unit
Detective Mark Revis
630-226-8620
Email

Agency Case Number: 96-2670
NCMEC #: NCMC814151
NCIC Number: M916161162
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Child Protection Education of America, Inc.
Polly Klaas Foundation
Remembering Rachel Marie Mellon Skemp
Bolingbrook Police Department
NamUs MP #2397
NAMPN

The Doe Network: Case File 1592DFIL

edited by staff to add media link

RACHEL MARIE MELLON-SKEMP has been missing from Bolingbrook, #ILLINOIS since 31 Jan 1996 - Age 13

She was home ill that day with her stepfather. Her stepfather walked the family dog while Rachel went to her bedroom. Upon her stepfather's return, he did not check on Rachel. Rachel's disappearance was discovered by her family at approximately...

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Guess Who]

What in the he77 is this woman doing still married to this loser? He likely killed her daughter, probably raped her and dumped her somewhere.

Even if she is unsure, he T-boned someone coming from a strip club drunk. What a winner.

I try so hard not to be judgmental without fact and evidence but find myself being judge and jury in this one. Of course he did it.

Her personal journal SHOULD be evidence, let the jury decide whether to believe it.

Evil creep--and her mother still with her daughter's murderer or likely is based on the above?

Some days these cases really get to me. This is one of them.

It is 17 below zero here today and no one I know goes out in it unless they have to, particularly to walk a dog for half an hour. The dogs do not want to go nor do people. The dog wants to run outside and p** as quickly as possible and get back in the warm house.

my dog side eyes the cats using their litter box on days like this. She goes out, does her stuff and no investigating anything afterwards like usual. It's too cold on their paws to take them out walking for that long.

 

[Akoya]

From the article.
Ironically, Drew Peterson worked on the Rachel Mellon case during his tenure as a Bolingbrook police officer.

Nuf said.

I don't believe in coincidence. Rachel disappeared in 1996 and Stacy disappeared in 2007, but I do believe that a connection is very possible. Drew stated that Stacy went to live with another man and took her favorite bikini. This is probably the only truthful statement Drew made and it certainly does describe Human Trafficking. Rachel didn't even have her shoes when she disappeared from her bedroom. Lisa Stebic's disappearance was equally as strange. Bolingbrook is located close to a major Interstate and Drew owned a small airplane. I do believe these three disappearances are connected to Human Trafficking. I wouldn't be at all surprised if these three women were sold.

 

[Akoya]

my dog side eyes the cats using their litter box on days like this. She goes out, does her stuff and no investigating anything afterwards like usual. It's too cold on their paws to take them out walking for that long.

The dogs don't like those cold temperatures, and Rachel disappeared without her shoes. She obviously wasn't walking.

 

[GrandmaBear]

my dog side eyes the cats using their litter box on days like this. She goes out, does her stuff and no investigating anything afterwards like usual. It's too cold on their paws to take them out walking for that long.

Exactly. My mom has a little dog and seriously his *unit* about drags in the snow when there is a few inches on the ground if no trail made. When below zero cold like today, she has to almost push him out, he stands on the step and she has to knock on the door to get him to go out and pe*. He has no desire to go out. He then rushes it and runs back to the door. He too envies the cats and their pan and one can tell And not a one of us would decide to walk the dog in such weather, much less for a half hour.

So after being home all day with stepdad something happened to this girl in a half hour window in her own home with not a bit of evidence of anyone? Do I have that right? Pretty hard to believe. And she just happened to months earlier write about her stepdad being inappropriate with her... Yah right.

And the MOTHER stays with him???

 

[Akoya]

I absolutely believe that Drew Peterson knows exactly what happened to Rachel, Lisa, and Stacy.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I absolutely believe that Drew Peterson knows exactly what happened to Rachel, Lisa, and Stacy.

I agree. But then I just have a problem with Petersons--named Scott, Drew and Michael... (No offense to other Petersons intended)...

 

[Akoya]

Rachel's Home
612 Melissa Drive
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

4 beds 1 bath 1,279 sq ft

 

[GrandmaBear]

I absolutely believe that Drew Peterson knows exactly what happened to Rachel, Lisa, and Stacy.

Dirty cop, now an inmate.

 

[Akoya]

Drew Peterson owned a small aircraft like the one above. He could have transported those women anywhere in the area. The airport was a few blocks from his home.

 

[Mel70]

I have always wondered if both of them were involved with Rachel's disappearance.

Both?

 

[kdg411]

Remembering Rachel Marie Mellon Skemp...

 

[kdg411]

 

[Whatsnext]

I often think about this beautiful girl, and hoping that someone will have the balls to speak up for her. It's time. But then again seeing her mother still clinging to this guy makes me feel quite hopeless.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Rachel Mellon's disappearance from Bolingbrook home remains unsolved 25 years later

No one has ever been charged in the disappearance of Rachel Mellon - and she's never been found.

abc7chicago.com

Rachel Mellon's disappearance from Bolingbrook home remains unsolved 25 years later​

Twenty-five years ago this Sunday, a Bolingbrook teenager vanished without a trace.

No one has ever been charged in the disappearance of Rachel Mellon - and she's never been found.

As that sad anniversary approaches, Rachel's father talked to the I-Team about one of Chicago's most inexplicable crime mysteries and how it began on a bitter cold day, Jan. 31, 1996.

Jeff Skemp said he would like to see justice for his daughter in the form of an arrest and conviction for Rachel's abductor and likely killer. He said his daughter lives only in his heart now.


"Sooner or later, time and guilt catch up with people. Maybe it's a family member that knew something and decided not to tell because they were trying to protect someone," Kushner said. "Maybe it's the individual who's responsible for the disappearance themselves finally realizes that they're getting down near the end of the road and they want to make peace, somewhere there's a break."


Bolingbrook police said in a written statement Thursday the case is still "active" and evidence preserved, awaiting possible scientific advancements. Even though public attention might help their investigation, Bolingbrook police would not do a television interview, explaining they have "no new information" to provide.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Rachel Mellon age progression image released 25 years after disappearance from Bolingbrook

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has released an age progression picture of what Rachel Mellon may look like now 25 years after her disappearance from Bolingbrook.

abc7chicago.com

Rachel Mellon age progression image released 25 years after disappearance from Bolingbrook​

The age progression image created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children shows what she might look like now at age 38.

 

[Mel70]

Drew Peterson owned a small aircraft like the one above. He could have transported those women anywhere in the area. The airport was a few blocks from his home.

Too bad it didn't crash with him in it.

 

[Mel70]

The dogs don't like those cold temperatures, and Rachel disappeared without her shoes. She obviously wasn't walking.

No they don't their paw pads freeze.

 

[Mel70]

I don't believe in coincidence. Rachel disappeared in 1996 and Stacy disappeared in 2007, but I do believe that a connection is very possible. Drew stated that Stacy went to live with another man and took her favorite bikini. This is probably the only truthful statement Drew made and it certainly does describe Human Trafficking. Rachel didn't even have her shoes when she disappeared from her bedroom. Lisa Stebic's disappearance was equally as strange. Bolingbrook is located close to a major Interstate and Drew owned a small airplane. I do believe these three disappearances are connected to Human Trafficking. I wouldn't be at all surprised if these three women were sold.

I don't believe sex trafficking had anything to do with any of these cases. But murder. Yes Bollingbrook is by the Interstate. It's just outside of Chicago. I've been there. So is where I live being right by the intersection of 2 interstates. I don't think that means anything.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Friend of Bolingbrook teen who disappeared holds out hope for answers – 30 years later

Saturday will be an emotional anniversary for the friends of Rachel Mellon Skemp, a then-13-year-old who vanished from her home in suburban Bolingbrook 30 years ago.

www.nbcchicago.com

Friend of Bolingbrook teen who disappeared holds out hope for answers – 30 years later​

Saturday will be an emotional anniversary for the friends of Rachel Mellon Skemp, a then-13-year-old who vanished from her home in suburban Bolingbrook 30 years ago.

Carrie Scaglione was Rachel's best friend.

“We want closure, we want answers,” Scaglione said. “I feel like case has fallen flat and there is so much to look into. So many obvious things. My kids have lived a longer life than my friend. Every year, you think this will be the year.”


“They started saying she stayed home sick. But she didn’t stay home sick," Scaglione stated. "She loved being at school. When Rachel's mom got home from work...She said...go get her for dinner and she wasn't in her room. Then her mom reached to me and called Bolingbrook Police, and that is when we all started hitting the streets."

Scaglione said every year - they think maybe this will be year the case is solved.

"Or there's certain events that you go through in life and you're like, maybe this is gonna lead me to that answer," she said. "All it takes is one person to come forward. Things like this just don't happen and there's no trace whatsoever. I'm frustrated. I deserve answers. Her family deserves answers."

 

[Kimster]

AI update:

The disappearance of Rachel Marie Mellon-Skemp remains unsolved, and there are no recent breakthroughs or changes in her status. Despite decades of investigations, she has never been found and no one has ever been charged. [1, 2]

Case Overview

• Date Missing: January 31, 1996
• Location: Bolingbrook, Will County, Illinois
• Age at Disappearance: 13 years old
• Current Status: Open and active cold case investigation [1, 2, 3, 4]

Circumstances of Disappearance
On the day she vanished, Rachel stayed home from school with a sore throat. The bitter winter weather outside was near or below zero. Her stepfather, Vincent Mellon, was the only adult home with her. According to his statement to police, Rachel went into her room to take a nap around 2:30 PM while he left the house briefly to walk the family dog. [1, 2, 3]
When her mother arrived home from work later that evening, Rachel was gone. [1]

Key Evidence & Suspicions
Investigators quickly ruled out the possibility of Rachel being a runaway due to several critical red flags: [1]

• Belongings Left Behind: Rachel left behind her purse, winter coat, boots, money, and her Walkman. [1, 2, 3]
• Missing Items: The only items missing from her bedroom were two pillows and a blue blanket. [1, 2]
• Diary Entries: Detectives later uncovered Rachel’s diary, in which she wrote allegations that her stepfather had been sexually abusing her. [1]
• Investigation Focus: Stepfather Vincent Mellon failed polygraph tests and gave conflicting timelines regarding his whereabouts. Both he and Rachel's mother were subpoenaed before a grand jury in 2000, but authorities lacked the physical evidence necessary to file criminal charges. He has always denied involvement. [1, 2, 3, 4]

How to Help
Rachel is of Asian and Caucasian descent. At the time of her disappearance, she was 5'5" tall, 75 pounds, with hazel eyes and short black hair. Law enforcement and age-progression experts from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children continue to seek information. [1, 2]
Anyone with any information regarding her whereabouts is urged to contact the Bolingbrook Police Department at 630-226-8600 or the Cook County Sheriff's Office. [1]