The remains were found in July 1990 in Monroe Township in Clarion County. Investigators are working to figure out what happened that summer.
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She was born in October 1970 in Kentucky. Windy and her siblings did not have an easy upbringing, Welsh shared at the press conference. “The last time her family saw Windy, was that she and her family and two brothers pulled off on a random off ramp looking for a place to rest and eat,” he said. “Windy’s last words to her family were, ‘Bye, Dad, I’m leaving.’” They never saw her again. Welsh would not share any additional information about where exactly that highway off ramp was located. It is unclear where the off ramp was in relation to the tunnel where the remains were found.
Welsh said Windy’s family had searched for her over the years but were unsuccessful. Her younger sister, Tania Buchanan Boyd, spoke at the press conference, and shared more about who Windy was as a person. “My sister was fierce and she was kind, and she was loving,” she said. “She was the first born of five, and she would often watch over us.”
“She was basically always there for me,” Tania said. “She was creative and artistic. She loved horses and animals. She was convinced that horseshoes brought good luck.”
They weren’t the only things Windy believed brought good luck.
“She always thought that finding a penny heads up brought you good luck,” Tania said. “Find a penny, pick it up. And all the day, you have good luck.”
Tania also thanked the investigators who worked the case for more than three decades. “Our family deeply, deeply appreciates each and every one of you for staying with the case,” she said. “For many years we did search for Windy. We prayed that she would somehow be found, or that she might return to us one day.”
“One of our deepest and longest held prayers has finally been answered,” Tania said. “But it’s not over. We know where she was at, but we don’t know what happened to her.”
“It’s important that our first goal has been accomplished,” D.A. Welsh stated. “My sincerest hope today is that this will start a new beginning to this investigation, where we will be able to answer that second question -- that second goal -- to find out who did this and bring them to justice.”
Welsh urges anyone who knows anything about what happened to Windy Buchanan to please come forward. “It was easy for you to stay silent when it was an anonymous Penny Doe. Those days are done,” he said. “Now, you must speak.”
“It’s never too late to come forward,” sister Tania said. “Windy deserves the truth, and our family deserves all of the answers.”
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