Kathleen Kelly preferred to be called Kathy. At 12 years old, Kathy was a pretty independent child. It was also 1981, and things were different then. Kids were often left on their own while parents worked and were allowed to walk all over town- to friends’ houses, to the store, etc.- without much worry, as long as they were ‘home by dark’.
If you were a child of the 80’s- or earlier, you know what I’m talking about.
And that was the case with Kathy Kelly in May 1981.
On May 22, 1981, Kathy went with her family to the local skating rink. Later that evening, she showed up at her older sister’s house. Her older sister, Judy, had children of her own and was home taking care of an infant when Kathy stopped by.
Kathy came in for a bit and just told Judy that she left the skating rink because she was bored. While that by itself was nothing out of the ordinary for Kathy to say, Judy couldn’t help but get a weird feeling from Kathy.
When Kathy left her house that night, saying she was heading home, Judy had no idea that she’d never see her little sister again.
Where is Kathy Kelly?
Kathleen Kelly was born on February 20, 1969, in California. She had an older brother Robert, who was about five years older. After her father died, her mother, Annabelle Kelly, moved the family to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area to be closer to relatives.
Annabelle had another daughter too- possibly other children- but we know that she had an older daughter named Judith. Judith was quite a bit older than Kathleen, in fact, she had children of her own before Kathleen (Kathy) was even born.
During the time leading up to Kathy’s disappearance, she was living a troubled life at home, although the specifics we do not know. It is believed that family members didn’t want to speak up or say anything while certain people were still alive- which makes Kathy’s life all the more mysterious.
On May 22, 1981, several of Kathy’s family members went to the Ches-A-Rena Skating Rink to hang out for the night, a very normal activity.
At some point that evening, Kathy left the skating rink and walked to her sister’s house. Her sister, Judy, was 25 years older than Kathy, but the two had a very good relationship. Judy had two teenagers who had also gone skating that night, but she stayed home with her youngest child, who was still an infant. Judy also worked at the rink, as did her husband, so they spent many evenings there with the children.
Kathy came into the house, and when Judy asked her why she left the skating rink, Kathy told her she was just bored there.
This was nothing out of the ordinary for Kathy and Judy was not surprised. Kathy, as did most kids in those days, walked everywhere around town anyway, so to walk to her sister’s house was not unusual.
The skating rink- which is no longer there today- was on Pittsburgh Street in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, and her sister, Judy, lived over on Maxwell Street, likely under a mile walk.
So it’s not hard to imagine a 12-year-old, getting bored at the skating rink, and heading out to walk to her sister’s place.
Judy said that Kathy stayed for about an hour, and then Kathy got up to leave. Judy remembers asking her if she was sure she wanted to walk home, and even though Kathy said yes, Judy had the feeling there was something Kathy was not telling her.
Kathy walked out the door and headed towards her home.
It wasn’t a far walk.
Even though the skating rink was in Cheswick, her home in Springdale was just about 2 miles away from the rink- and her sister’s house was right in the middle of the two. So her path that night makes complete sense.
Judy couldn’t remember exactly what time Kathy headed out, or even if it was dark yet or not.
Kathy was never seen or heard from again.
Interestingly, she wasn’t reported missing right away, even though she didn’t make it home that night.
Judy said that she believed that Kathy had finally run away from home.
In fact, during one interview well after Kathy’s disappearance, Judy said, “My initial thought was, ‘Thank God she’s gone and out of that house, Then it was, ‘I lost my best friend.’ … I never thought she would never come back.”
Initially, Kathy is reported as a runaway, and no one looks for her- which is extremely sad. Judy said that Law Enforcement wasn’t interested, and there were no organized searches.
Even as I researched this case, I came across a comment from a woman claiming to be Kathy’s aunt, who said that Kathy disappeared in 1980, not 1981, and they just finally took it seriously in 1981.
So we believe Kathy was last seen in Cheswick, Pennsylvania on May 22, 1981, but it very well might be May 22, 1980. How frustrating that is for so many reasons!
Does this mean a whole year went by with no one looking for this missing 12-year-old girl?
What if items or even remains were found and identified to be older than 1981- no one would connect them to Kathy thinking she wasn’t missing yet. But maybe she was.
Kathy’s mom, Annabelle, did say many times to people, through the years, that she prayed she would have answers and find Kathy while she was still alive.
She would not get her wish, however, as she passed away in 2009, with her four children being listed as survivors in her obituary, and that included Kathleen.
