The Springfield Three: The Overnight Disappearance of Sherrill Levitt, Suzanne Streeter, and Stacy McCall
The Victims
Case ID#: 0055, 0056, 0057
Three women disappeared from a quiet Springfield home during the hours after a high-school graduation. Their vehicles, purses, money, identification, medication, clothing, and even the family dog remained behind. There was no obvious struggle, no clear point of entry, and no confirmed sighting that explained where they went.
Name: Sherrill Levitt
Gender: Female
Age: 47
Description: Brown Eyes, Blonde Hair, Caucasian or White, Smoker, Freckles, Eyeglasses, Pierced Ears.
Name: Suzanne Elizabeth Streeter
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Description: Bleach Blonde, Brown Eyes, Caucasian or White, Pierced Ears, Scar on Upper Right Arm, Mole on Upper Lip
Name: Stacy Kathleen McCall
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Description: Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, Caucasian or White, Pierced Ears
Note: This account is based largely on secondary material, including newspaper reporting, television programs, family statements, and other public sources. Some accounts conflict about exact times and details. Those conflicts and unverified claims are identified wherever possible. No person discussed below should be presumed responsible unless established through reliable evidence and due process.
- The Victims
- The Women at the Center of the Case
- Graduation Day and the Changing Plans
- The Morning No One Could Find Them
- Inside the East Delmar Home
- Reported Sightings and the Obscene Calls
- The Investigation and Its Long Aftermath
- People and Events Examined in Public Coverage
- Unknown Offender and Crime-of-Opportunity Theories
- The Vans Reported Near the Time of the Disappearance
- Other Leads, Calls, and Searches
- Resources
- Contact Authorities
- Important Notice
- Join The Conversation!
- Disclaimer & Content Warning
The Women at the Center of the Case
Stacy McCall and Suzanne “Suzie” Streeter were close friends and classmates who had just completed high school. They were planning for the next stage of their lives and for the adventures that graduation seemed to promise. Suzie’s mother, Sherrill Levitt, was also enjoying a period of greater personal and financial stability. After difficult years and major changes, she had purchased a modest but comfortable home in Springfield and was making it her own.
Sherrill Elizabeth Levitt, née Williams
Sherrill was 47 years old and the single mother of Suzanne and Bartt Streeter. She had been through two unhappy divorces and had moved to Seattle in 1980 in search of a new beginning before later establishing herself in Springfield. She and Suzie were close. Her relationship with Bartt had been more volatile.
Sherrill worked as a hairdresser and reportedly served approximately 250 customers, earning favorable reviews for her work. She enjoyed improving and decorating homes. During her final known telephone conversation, she talked about repainting furniture. She had finally saved enough to purchase the small home on East Delmar Street and was enjoying the opportunity to decorate it. After attending the graduation ceremonies on June 6, she planned to return home and work on wallpapering and other improvements.
Sherrill was born on November 1, 1944. The original 2020 version of this article noted that she would have been 75 that year. She would be 81 in 2026.
Suzanne “Suzie” Elizabeth Streeter
Suzie was 19 and lived with Sherrill at the East Delmar home. She worked at a local theater but had June 6 and June 7 off for graduation activities. She was described as outgoing and was interested in becoming a hairdresser like her mother.
Suzie was born on March 9, 1973. The original 2020 article noted that she would have been 47 at that time. She would be 53 in 2026.
Stacy Kathleen McCall
Stacy was 18, the daughter of Janis and Stu McCall. Some accounts render her mother’s first name as Janice. Stacy worked at a local gym and had modeled wedding dresses. She was Suzie’s friend and a fellow student at Kickapoo High School.
Stacy was born on April 23, 1974. She would be 52 in 2026.
Graduation Day and the Changing Plans
Saturday, June 6, 1992, began with the excitement surrounding Kickapoo High School’s afternoon graduation ceremony. Stacy and Suzie graduated together, celebrated with classmates, and later joined friends for parties around the Springfield area.
Stacy, Suzie, Janelle Kirby, Nigel Holderby, and other friends initially planned to leave that night for a graduation trip to White Water Park in Branson. Because the parties ran late, the group agreed that they would sleep at Kirby’s home in Battlefield and leave the following morning. The plan changed several times as the night continued. Stacy and Suzie never reached Branson.
The Morning No One Could Find Them
“There are actually two [fears]: We will find Stacy and her remains and that we won’t find Stacy and her remains.”
— Janis McCall, 2008
Inside the East Delmar Home
The house contained almost everything the women would ordinarily have taken with them. The condition of the home strongly suggests that Stacy and Suzie arrived safely and that all three women were present sometime between approximately 2:30 and 4:00 a.m. What happened after that remains unknown.
By the time police processed the residence, an estimated 15 to 20 people had already moved through it. Visitors had cleaned broken glass and otherwise disturbed the space. As a result, the original condition of the potential crime scene can no longer be fully reconstructed.
The personal property left behind included the women’s purses, money, keys, identification, makeup, cigarettes belonging to Sherrill and Suzie, Stacy’s required medication, and Cinnamon. Sherrill had approximately $900 intended as a deposit or payment, and that money remained in the house. The television and other appliances were untouched. Theft did not appear to be the motive.
All three women’s vehicles were at the property. Suzie’s red Ford Escort, however, was not parked in its customary position. One possible explanation is that another vehicle had already occupied her normal space when she and Stacy arrived.
Online rumors later claimed that neighbors saw a small terrier resembling Cinnamon outside at about 3:00 a.m. One officer reportedly considered whether someone could have used the dog as a pretext to gain access to the house. Police have not substantiated that account.
Reported Sightings and the Obscene Calls
George’s Steakhouse
A server reported seeing Sherrill, Stacy, and Suzie together at George’s Steakhouse, 339 South Glenstone Avenue, sometime between approximately 2:20 and 3:00 a.m. The restaurant was only a few minutes from the East Delmar residence. The witness also reportedly thought Suzie appeared to be under the influence. Police have not confirmed the sighting.
The Green Van
A tipster reported seeing a grey-green van between approximately 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. The driver was described as a woman resembling Suzie, while a male voice was allegedly heard speaking to her in a threatening manner. This report has not been substantiated by police.
The Three Telephone Contacts
The first two sexually explicit calls were answered by Janelle Kirby during the morning visit to the house. Investigators later discounted those two calls. The third contact—the message heard and accidentally erased by Janis McCall—has received more attention. Police have sought additional information about that call and have indicated that it may be relevant to the case.
The Investigation and Its Long Aftermath
Investigators have received more than 5,200 leads from at least 21 states. Responsibility for the case has passed among different officers and units over the years. Each change has brought renewed hope that a fresh review might reveal something previously overlooked, yet no lead has produced the decisive break needed to explain the disappearances.
In 1997, Sherrill and Suzie were legally declared dead. Even so, they and Stacy continue to be carried in law-enforcement records as missing persons in an unresolved cold case. The investigation was formally revisited or reopened in 2001, prompting renewed searches and a new wave of tips during the following years.
People and Events Examined in Public Coverage
Brentt Streeter
Sherrill’s first former husband; father of Suzie and Bartt
Sherrill reportedly said that Brentt was unhappy about their divorce, which occurred during the 1970s. The long interval between the divorce and the 1992 disappearances raises obvious questions about motive and timing. Any theory involving him would also have to explain why Suzie—but not Bartt—would be involved, and why Stacy would disappear as well.
Don Levitt
Sherrill’s second former husband
Don Levitt reportedly left substantial debts, and creditors pressured Sherrill to pay them. Those financial problems contributed to her decision to relocate to Springfield. The couple divorced in 1989. The passage of time and the fact that none of Sherrill’s money was taken from the home weaken a simple financial-motive theory.
Bartt Streeter
Sherrill’s son; Suzie’s brother; age 27 in 1992
Suzie stayed with Bartt briefly in early 1992 but moved out after an argument. At the time of the disappearance, Sherrill and Suzie were reportedly not speaking with him. Because he was a close relative who could potentially enter the house without immediate suspicion, his name has appeared in discussion of the case.
However, Bartt had an alibi and passed a polygraph. A 2019 arrest on allegations of public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and attempted false imprisonment was reported as unrelated to the Springfield disappearances, and his family described the later allegations as exaggerated.
A theory involving Bartt would still need to explain the absence of a struggle, the timing in the middle of the night, Stacy’s presence, and why all three women would have left willingly.
Dustin Recla, Michael Clay, and Joseph Riedel
Former boyfriend and associates discussed in relation to Suzie
Dustin Recla, Suzie’s former boyfriend, was described in contemporary coverage as a drug user with a troubled reputation. He, Michael Clay, and Joseph Riedel had recently been arrested in a grave-robbing case and were reportedly connected with the Galloping Goose Motorcycle Club, an organization associated in reporting with violence and criminal activity.
In February 1992, Sherrill was asked to testify about whether her vehicle had been used in the grave robbery. In December 1992, Riedel became a state witness against Clay and Recla. All three ultimately received probation. Clay and Recla supplied alibis and voluntarily assisted police during the investigation. They later maintained that Sherrill’s vehicle had not been used in the grave robbery.
The original article questioned whether young thieves would abduct three women yet leave cash and valuables untouched, and whether the grave-robbing charge was serious enough to motivate kidnapping or murder. It also raised a separate, wholly speculative possibility that someone outside the trio may have noticed Suzie through people in Recla’s social circle and targeted her for abduction or trafficking. No public evidence establishes that theory.
Steve Garrison
Acquaintance of Recla; reported motorcycle-club connection
Garrison was arrested in 1993 for the violent assault of a female student and later received a 40-year sentence. While seeking a plea arrangement, he offered information about the Springfield Three. He claimed that he had overheard a person at a party confess to the killings and supplied details that were reportedly not public.
His statements led police to two locations where he said the bodies and a green van could be found. On August 28, 1993, officers searched a farm near Northview, Missouri, and another site in Webster County. One location belonged to Francis Robb Sr., who had been convicted in 1990 of two murders. What investigators found, if anything, has not been publicly disclosed and was reportedly protected by a gag order.
Gerald Carnahan
Acquaintance discussed through the same reported social network
Gerald Carnahan was described as another acquaintance of Recla and Garrison through the motorcycle-club circle. Public reporting linked him to serious violent offenses, including kidnapping, burglary, and assault. The original article stated that he was convicted in connection with the killing of Jackie Johns and received life imprisonment without parole. He was in the Springfield area in 1992.
Public speculation has asked whether Suzie could have encountered Garrison, Carnahan, or someone known to them through Recla’s circle. It has also questioned whether Garrison was involved himself or merely knew someone who was. The sealed or restricted nature of information connected with the 1993 searches has fueled speculation, but it does not itself prove that relevant evidence was found. The original article also questioned why police pursued some later searches while apparently discounting other claims, such as the Cox Hospital garage theory.
Robert Cox
Former coworker of Stacy’s father; Springfield resident in 1992
Robert Cox previously worked at the same automobile dealership as Stacy’s father. In 1997, he publicly claimed that he knew what had happened and that the women were dead. He did not confess to taking part in the crime. Instead, he said that the women were buried near Springfield and that the person responsible had prior experience.
Cox originally said that he spent the night of June 6 with family and attended church the next morning with his girlfriend. The girlfriend initially supported his alibi but later withdrew or altered that support. His whereabouts during the morning of June 7 have therefore remained uncertain in public accounts.
Investigators have reportedly questioned whether Cox possessed genuine information or was seeking attention. One possibility raised in the original article was that he learned details from someone else, such as Garrison or Carnahan. His statement that he would not reveal more until after his mother died was also interpreted as suggesting either a deeply personal family connection or some direct involvement. That interpretation remains speculation.
Unknown Offender and Crime-of-Opportunity Theories
The case also allows for the possibility that the women were targeted by a stranger or by someone whose connection to them has never been recognized. The original article set out three broad variations:
Sherrill as the Intended Target
Someone may have expected Sherrill to be home alone because Suzie often spent evenings elsewhere. That theory leaves major questions. Nothing was stolen, no clear disturbance was found in the bedroom or elsewhere, and an offender interested only in Sherrill would have had to respond to the unexpected presence of two younger women.
Suzie as the Intended Target
An offender may have expected Suzie to be home and may not have known that she initially planned to stay elsewhere. This theory does not explain why the person waited for a time when three women were together rather than approaching Suzie when she was alone.
Stacy and Suzie Targeted After the Parties
Someone could have noticed the girls at graduation, at one of the parties, or earlier in the evening and followed them. An experienced offender—or more than one offender—might explain how three adults were removed without a clearly visible struggle. If the offender expected only the two girls, Sherrill’s presence could have become an unexpected complication. A sudden need to transport three victims might also explain interest in a van that was stolen or disappeared around the same time.
Even this theory leaves difficult questions: Why remove Sherrill rather than leave her at the house? How could all three women have been controlled so quietly? If Garrison truly knew nonpublic details, where did that knowledge come from? How did Cox acquire the information he later claimed to possess?
The Vans Reported Near the Time of the Disappearance
The America’s Most Wanted Caller
On December 31, 1992, an unidentified person called America’s Most Wanted and reportedly supplied important facts about the case. When program staff attempted to connect the caller with police, the caller disconnected and never called again. Investigators have said the person may have been important to the case.
The Transient Man
A transient man was reportedly seen in the area several times between June 5 and June 7. He was described as white, approximately 34 to 38 years old, about 145 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair and a full beard. The report appeared in 1992 coverage but received little public follow-up, and police may have discounted it.
Two Missing Men and the Marshfield Slaughterhouse
In 1992, a woman reported that two men had disappeared from a local concrete company shortly after the women vanished. Police revisited the information in 2002 and investigated a nearby slaughterhouse in Marshfield. Search dogs alerted to two suspicious areas. Investigators recovered human remains, but the remains were determined to be too old to belong to Sherrill, Suzie, or Stacy. The lead has not been publicly identified as significant since then and appears unrelated.
Other Leads, Calls, and Searches
Brown Dodge Van
A brown Dodge van with rust along the bottom and no side or rear windows was reportedly seen in the area at approximately 4:30 a.m. A similar vehicle had reportedly been parked near a dentist’s office on June 3 and June 4.
Grey-Green Dodge Van
A grey-green Dodge van, believed to date from approximately 1964 to 1970, was reportedly seen a few blocks from the house between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. A witness said a woman resembling Suzie was driving while a male voice issued a threat resembling, “Don’t make any silly moves.” Similar sightings of a van of that general description were reported elsewhere. The account has not been confirmed by police.
Vehicle Searches and Later Discoveries
In April 2003, police found parts of a green vehicle in Cassville, Missouri, after two tipsters claimed that the women were buried inside a van on the property.
In 1993, authorities examined a stolen Dodge Ram found at a campground approximately eight miles east of Versailles, Indiana. The vehicle had disappeared on June 7, 1992, and investigators considered whether it might have been connected to the case. It may have been the pickup used by an unidentified couple who left a blue van with a camper top and no license plates at the campground.
The grey-green van has remained the most frequently discussed of the reported vehicles. Witness descriptions varied in color, which is not unusual under changing light and viewing conditions. The discovery of a blue van in Indiana complicated the picture. The original article suggested that the vehicle reports could fit either an improvised kidnapping or a trafficking theory, but no such explanation has been proven.
The Cox Hospital Parking-Garage Claim
In 2007, crime reporter Kathee Baird examined a psychic’s claim that the women’s bodies were buried beneath the foundation of the south parking garage at Cox Hospital. Baird said ground-penetrating radar identified three anomalies of a size and shape that could be consistent with burial sites.
Skeptics challenged whether radar could reliably produce that conclusion in the conditions beneath the garage. Police spokesperson Lisa Cox said the department could not substantiate the claim and lacked enough evidence to justify excavation. Construction of the garage did not begin until September 1993, more than a year after the women disappeared.
Baird later claimed that she knew what happened but would not disclose the information because she had received threats. The original article treated the psychic claim and Baird’s later refusal with skepticism while acknowledging that technical questions about the radar should be assessed by qualified engineers.
There is no known relationship among Robert Cox, police spokesperson Lisa Cox, and the name of Cox Hospital. The repetition of the surname has sometimes caused confusion in public discussion, but a shared surname is not evidence of a connection.
Resources
Articles & Other Written Works
- Bauer, L. (2002) “Webster Country Digging to Begin”, Springfield News Leader, 3 August
- Bryan, B. (1993) “Van May Yield Clues in Case of Missing Women”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 31 October.
- Clauser B. (1992) Springfield News Leader, 5 December.
- Fruen, L. (2019) ‘Police Reveal New Leads in 1992 Case of the Springfield Three‘, Daily Mail, 23 October.
- Goldman, K. (2017) ‘Crime Watch Daily Investigates the Mysterious Disappearance of the Springfield Three’, True Crime Daily, 17 October.
- Gounley, T. (2017) “25 Years After Three Springfield Women Went Missing, The Tips Still Trickle In”, Springfield News Leader, 30 May
- Investigation Discovery (2011) “The Springfield Three“, [Disappeared], Season 3: Episode 10. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004R146YE/ref=atv_feed_catalog?tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20
- Joshua A. Tepfer, Laura H. Nirider & Lynda M. Tricarico, Arresting Development: Convictions of Innocent Youth, 62 RUTGERS L. REV. 887 (2010).
- Keegan, H (2019) “Family Says Tennessee Charges Against Three Missing Women Relative Were ‘Exaggerated‘”, Springfield News Leader, 21 March.
- Lemieux, J. (1992) “Search goes on for three women missing from Springfield, MO”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 9 August.
- McCall, J. (N.D.) Surviving Parents Coalition. http://www.spcoalition.org/mccall.html
- Nachtigal, J. (1993) “Graduation-Day Disappearance of 3 MO. Women Remains Unsolved a Year Later”, The Sun, 9 June
- Nachtigal, J. (1993) “Anguish but No Answers a Year After 3 Women’s Disappearance Crime”, Los Angeles Times, 13 June.
- No Author (1992) “Three Vanish; Police and Family Fear Foul Play”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 9 June
- No Author (1992) “Mother, Daughter Vanish With Friend; Police Baffled”, Orlando Sentinel, 13 June.
- No Author (1993) “Whereabouts of 3 Women Still a Mystery”, Orlando Sentinel, 13 June.
- No Author (1993) “Police Search Farm, Won’t Give Reason”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 30 August
- No Author (1995) “1,000 Days and No Sign of 3 Women”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 24 February.
- No Author (2002) “Our View”, Springfield News Leader, 3 June.
- No Author (2002) “Case of 3 Missing Women Baffles Authorities”, Los Angeles Times, 9 June.
- No Author (2006) “I’m Not a Monster”, Springfield News Leader, 9 June
- No Author (2006) “Missing-women Case May Break”, Springfield News Leader, 9 June
- Pasqualini, K. (2019) “Springfield 3: best Friends and Mother Missing in Missouri”, Medium, 15 October.
- Rollins, J. (2010) “Missing Poster Still Hangs 18 Years Later”, Springfield News Leader, 3 December.
- Springfield Police (2015) “Three Missing Women”, https://www.springfieldmo.gov/2498/Three-Missing-Women.
- Story of the Unsolved (2018) ‘The Disappearance of the Springfield Three”, 24 December.
- Strait, J. (2002) “Tip Proves Fruitless In Missing Women Case”, Springfield News Leader, 5 August
- Streeter Family Blog, http://streeterfamilyblogg.blogspot.com/p/person-of-interest.html
- Uhlenbrok, T. (1992) “Disappearance of 3 Women Baffles Police; No Clues: Abduction Suspected”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 14 June.
- Warren, D. (2015) The Springfield Three, Lulu.com.
- Wise County (1995), “Former Death Row Inmate Sentenced to Life in Prison – Cuts Write Before Punishment Phase of Trial”, Wise County, August 11, http://www.wisecounty.com/themuse/PressRelease2.htm
Podcasts
- Creepytime, “Ep. 74 – Three Women Disappear From the Same Home in ONe Night” (Link)
- Ozarks True Crime, “The Springfield Three Ep. 1: Graduation Night and the Disappearance of Stacy, Suzie, and Sherrill, (Link).
- Housewives of True Crime, “Vanishing in Springfield: The Mystery of the Missing Three (Suzanne “Suzie” Streeter, Stacy McCall, and Sherrill Levitt), (Link).
- Inhuman: A True Crime Podcast, “Episode 39: The Springfield Three Part 1, (Link)
- Mile Higher, “93: Unsolved Disappearance of the Springfield Three”, (Link)
- Voices for Justice, “The Springfield Three”, (Link)
- The Generation Why, “The Springfield Three – 258”, (Link)
- American Hauntings Podcast, “The Vanishing of the Springfield Three”, (Link)
- Red Web, “Springfield Three”, (Link).
- Wife of Crime, “Vanished – The Springfield 3”, (Link).
- True Crime Garage, “Springfield Three / / / Part 2 / / / 98”, (Link).
- Crime Weekly, “S2 Ep 87: The Springfield Three: Gone Without a Trace (Part 1), (Link).
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The list of suspicious individuals has a minor error. One of the primary suspects was Gerald Carnahan, not George Carnahan. Otherwise, excellent summary,
Thanks so much! Thanks for the heads up about the mis-type. We’ll work on fixing that picture. 🙂
I was so impressed with your very factual and organized summary of a case that has held my interest for about three or four years (not as long as many who know much more than I do ) It’s a great summary, I made a screenshot of it so I can refer to it now and then! Excellent work.
Yes, a great summary indeed! And Richard Wendt, you know just about more about this case than anyone!
I love this summary. I cool to add the link to my facebook page.
Reread. Really quite good. I think all the relevant facts were laid out clearly. I wish the police were interested.
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