Chautauqua County is a gem in the southwest corner of New York State. Bordered by Lake Erie in the north and Pennsylvania in the south, the area draws millions of visitors each year for various reasons.
The tiny town of Celeron, on the shores of Chautauqua Lake, is the birthplace of the legendary Lucile Ball. Just a short drive away, in Jamestown, people visit the Lucy and Desi Museum and the National Center of Comedy. The Chautauqua Institute combines art and education, and its famous summer series has included several illustrious speakers, such as Salmon Rushdie, David McCullough, Hillary Clinton, Booker T. Washington, Amelia Earhart, and four sitting presidents.
Drive up a county road, and you will find yourself at Lily Dale, a retreat for spiritualists and mediums. Summer workshops range from learning how to make tinctures from herbs to unlocking the power of your intuition.
Wine enthusiasts also make their way to Chautauqua County to travel the wine trail and discover varietals that rival Napa Valley. And at the end of the day, you can watch a beautiful sunset from the cliffs of Lake Erie State Park.
However, what doesn’t make the county’s tourist guides are the several missing and murdered women. Some of these cases go back decades, and the fact that they are unsolved is a stench upon the county that can’t be covered by flowers that bloom along country roads.
Families that have gone without answers for so long have found reason to hope again. Chautauqua County has been awarded a $100,000 grant to investigate these cold cases. Therefore, I thought this would be a good time to revisit the events surrounding the murders and disappearances of these women in hopes that someone, somewhere, will come forward with the missing piece of the puzzle that will complete the picture.
Today, I’m going to tell you about the missing.
Judith Threlkeld - Missing since March 8, 1976
Twenty-two-year-old Judy loved books. And for an avid book reader, it can become an expensive habit if you go to the bookstore every couple of weeks to buy the newest releases. I imagine, like me, Judy would spend hours wandering among the stacks of Anderson-Lee Library to find something that caught her eye. And, living in a house with her parents and four brothers, Judy probably took the opportunity to take a couple of hours for herself to sit quietly and read.
At approximately 9:00 PM, Judy gathered up her items and started walking home. It was a typical March night, with temps in the mid-20s and cloudy skies with a threat of snow later on. Judy would have been walking on Central Avenue, a main thoroughfare through Silver Creek. Even at the late hour, several vehicles would pass by, including her brother, who offered her a lift home. But Judy declined because she was only a few minutes from her house.
But Judy never made it those last few blocks. Somewhere, in that short distance, she disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. Her father quickly reported her missing to the Silver Creek Police Department. Unfortunately, the department no longer exists, and all the original files related to the case have been destroyed.
Judy’s parents passed away without closure, but her brothers still hope they will find out what happened to their sister. Two important leads have come to light in recent years. The first is a sighting of a white dump truck driven by a man in his mid-twenties with sandy brown hair and a beard.
The other lead was a reference to Judy during the investigation of an unrelated homicide—a person called into a tip line with details regarding Yolanda Bindic’s murder and Judy’s disappearance.
You or someone you know may have information on Judy’s disappearance. You may have been driving down Central Avenue when she was walking. She was tall and thin, at 5’11” and 130 lbs. She had brown hair and blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a navy blue suede coat, blue jeans, and snow boots and carrying a brown purse.
You may also know someone who drove a dump truck for work. This person could have worked at a construction firm or for the city, town, or county.
Patricia Laemmerhirt - Missing since April 3, 1976
Less than one month later, and about 30 miles south, Patricia Laemmerhirt was reported missing by her husband, Ernie. A few days before she disappeared, the petite, brown-haired, brown-eyed 28-year-old called her brother Albert. She and Ernie were having some marital problems, and she asked her brother to come pick her up and take her to their mother’s house in Dunkirk. A few days later, Patricia returned home to her husband and children.
A few days later, Ernie called Albert and asked where his wife was as he hadn’t seen her for several days. Albert became suspicious, and when he knew Ernie wouldn’t be home, he and another relative took the opportunity to break into the house. They became even more concerned when it looked like Patricia’s belongings were gone. There were no clothes in the closet, and the drawers were empty. It was almost as if Patricia had never lived there.
Ernie was the prime suspect, but he denied having anything to do with her disappearance. He stated he believed she went to Chicago.
Eventually, Ernest sold his house, and the new owners graciously allowed Albert to excavate their property in hopes of finding Patricia’s remains or some sort of clue to her fate. Unfortunately, the land yielded no answers.
While Patricia’s husband may seem to be the most likely suspect, we can’t rule out other possibilities, including the fact this happened within a month of Judy’s disappearance.
Lori Bova - Missing since June 7, 1997
On the evening of Saturday, June 6, 1997, Lori, her husband Tyrone, her sister Renee, and Renee’s husband went out to eat at Red Lobster in Lakewood. They left around 10:30 p.m., which was the last time anyone other than Tyrone ever saw Lori again.
At approximately 11:15 a.m. the following day, Tyrone called the Lakewood-Busti Police Department to report Lori missing. He stated that he and Lori argued after returning home from Red Lobster. She left their apartment on New York Avenue in Lakewood at 2:00 a.m., saying that she was going to go for a walk and smoke a cigarette.
Lori never returned.
A few hours later, Tyrone called Lori’s family members to tell them Lori hadn’t returned from her walk. They drove around the area for several hours before telling Tyrone he needed to contact the police.
When the police searched the apartment, they found Lori’s purse, ID, money, and cigarettes. However, there was no evidence of a crime. Still, Tyrone quickly became a suspect.
Lori and Tyrone lived only a few minutes walk from Chautauqua Lake. On June 10, a dive team searched a portion of the lake but found nothing.
It didn’t take Tyrone long to stop working with the police to find his wife. On June 21, he hired a lawyer from Buffalo and refused to cooperate any further. And the police had no evidence to charge him in Lori’s disappearance.
A short time later, he moved to North Carolina with his new wife, with whom he had two sons. Unfortunately, on June 19, 2018, while on vacation, Tyrone and his family were involved in a head-on collision. The crash killed Tyrone, his wife, and their youngest son. The older son was in critical condition but has since made a full recovery.
Lori’s mother, Susan, passed away in 2010. She went to her grave with a piece of her heart missing, not knowing what happened to her daughter. Lori’s father, Jim Ceci, is still alive and is hoping that someday he will find out what happened in the early morning hours of June 7, 1997, when Lori vanished without a trace.
Corrie Anderson - Missing since October 10, 2008
Corrie disappeared from her home on October 10, 2008. Her abandoned vehicle was discovered a few days later. Her estranged husband, Ken Anderson, continues to be the prime suspect.
You can read more about Corrie’s case here.