Never Quit Looking — Case File
Missing Person
Case ID#: 3647
VICTIM’S PHOTOGRAPH
Missing
Charlotte June Kinsey
May Also Be Known As: N/A
Unidentified Person Notice: In English, unidentified individuals are often known as “Jane Doe” or “John Doe.” This means the victim’s true name is currently unknown.
Biological Sex: Female
Age at the Time: 13
Country: United States of America
Date Missing: September 26, 1981
Brief Overview: Cinda Pallett and Charlotte Kinsey were playing at the Oklahoma State Fair when a man offered them work. The two girls have not been seen since.
Public Awareness Notice: This case file is provided for public awareness and responsible information sharing. If you have relevant information, please contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Victim Description
Physical Description
Date of Birth
September 10, 1968
Age
13
Age Group
Teenager (13 to 19 Years Old)
Biological Sex
Female
Hair Color
Blonde / Strawberry Blonde Feathered Hair
Eye Color
Blue, Gray, Light Colored
Ethnicity
Caucasian or White
Nationality
Ukraine
Language(s) Spoken
English
Physical Build
Height (ft’ in”)
5'0"
Height (cm)
152 cm
Weight (lbs)
100 lbs
Weight (kg)
45.4 kg
Distinguishing Features
Medical Condition
She suffered from depression and had attempted suicide by an overdose on tranquilizers two weeks prior to her disappearance
Dental Condition
Silver caps on her lower front teeth
Scars & Other Marks
Triangular birthmark on her lower back near the waist. Small dot-shaped scar below left eye caused by pencil lead.
Piercing(s)
Ear
Clothing & Accessories
Clothing
Description
- Dark maroon short-sleeved pullover blouse with white stripes on the sleeves and white trim on the sleeves and neck.
- Blue jeans.
- Nike sneakers.
Possessions & Accessories
Description
- Wedding band style ring on her right ring finger.
Description of Events
Disappearance
Date Last Seen
September 26, 1981 (*Some sources say they disappeared on September 26)
The Incident
Royal Russell Long, who worked at local fairs and carnivals in the Rawlins area in 1974, is considered a possible suspect in the disappearance of Christy Gross, Carlene Brown, Jayleen Banker, and Deborah Meyer. All four girls disappeared from Rawlins over the period of a few weeks. Hie is described as a Caucasian male with dark hair, a beard, and a mustache. Long had a history of violent crimes against young women and was later convicted of kidnapping another young woman, Sharon Baldeagle. He also pled guilty to murdering Cinda Pallett and Charlotte Kinsey; however those charges were all dropped. He died in prison in 1993 without ever being charged in connection with the Rawlins disappearances.
Charlotte & Cinda
A chilling disappearance took place when two 13-year-old girls, Charlotte June Kinsey and Cinda Leann Pallett, vanished after spending the day together at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. The girls were last seen with a man who had hired them to help unload plush toys from a truck.
The girls had spent the afternoon hanging out at the fairgrounds when an unidentified man offered them work unloading stuffed toys from the back of his truck. Excited at the opportunity to make some spending money, Charlotte called her family at around 5:00pm (17:00) to let them know. Their plan was to be work at the fairgrounds before spending the night at Cinda’s house. Charlotte’s mother agreed as long as the girls called her back by 9:00PM (21:00) to reassure her they were back safely. Cinda made similar plans with her mother as well.
According to reports, the worker that hired the girls had also hired to teenage boys to assist with the project. The worker drove the four children to a truck stop off of Interstate 40; however, when they arrived there was no truck present. The worker then left the boys in the parking lot with $10 in cash and told them to wait while he went to see what was wrong with the truck. He then drove away with Charlotte and Cinda in the back of his car. This would have been around 5:40pm (17:40).
The worker was described as a middle-aged man between 35–50, standing between 6’1 to 6’3 and weighing 200–250 pounds. He had dark hair but his mustache and beard had grew streaks. The witnesses noted that he had muscular arms and wore silver wire-rimmed glasses. He was dressed in a brown-striped or plaid cowboy shirt, cowboy boots, a leather belt tooled with the name ‘Joseph’, a straw cowboy hat, and a yellow badge. He also had on a digital watch on his left wrist.
He drove a tan 2-door 1980 or 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix with a half-vinyl roof and South Dakota plates. The vehicle was later found to have been rented by a man fitting the same description as that the boys had described.
According to other testimony, the same worker had spoken with several children throughout the day, offering them odd jobs for $5 per hour. Investigations later found the yellow badge on the fair’s midway, revealing the name and photo of another carnival employee named Donald Corey. Mr. Corey was later to have an alibi placing him in Dallas, Texas when the girls disappeared. All other staff and employees were also cleared. It is now believed the worker was using a false identity to reassure the children he approached.
There were also several alleged sightings — California, Maryland, New Jersey — but none were ever confirmed.
After Mr. Corey was ruled out, authorities turned their attention to Royal ‘Roy’ Russell Long, a carnival worker and part-time trucker whose appearance closely matched the suspect’s description.
Mr. Long had arrived in Oklahoma City the day prior to the girls’ disappearance delivering a flatbed trailer. The two teenage boys that had also been picked up by the worker later identified Mr. Long as the mand who had hired them. Mr. Long had a long history of sexual assault accusations, including his daughter who testified that he had molested her for many years as a child. According to her, she sometimes traveled with him on long-haul trips
Mr. Long confessed that the had been at the Oklahoma State Fair the same day that Charlotte and Cinda disappeared. His vehicle was later recovered in El Paso, Texas and forensic evidence placed the girls in that car.
13 strands of Cinda’s hair was found inside as well as the fur of some pets she had been playing with at the fair. Additionally, forensic experts identified blonde hair that may have belonged to Charlotte in his trailer home; however, they were unable to match it conclusively at the time. Bloodstains and a bloody boot print were found on the floor mat, and one expert testified that the bloodstains appeared to outline one larger body or two smaller ones.
Investigators later stated they believed Mr. Long was a repeat offender with potentially more than two dozen victims over the years (Hearst Television). Based on other cases in which he was a person of interest where the remains were recovered and the distance he was able to travel at the time, police suspect the victims’ remains could be relatively nearby . . . possibly within around 60 miles of Oklahoma City.
During his trial, Mr. Long would further confess that he had killed the girls, but that confession came amidst his harassment of the victims’ families. Despite the significant case against him, the judge ruled to dismiss most of the evidence and all charges were eventually dropped. Mr. Long later wrote to The Oklahoman, a local newspaper, offering to solve the case if they paid him for the story but they rejected the offer (The Oklahoman). He would also write a letter to Cinda’s mother telling her he regretted what had happened but that he never saw Cinda that day.
Mr. Long would later be convicted in the attempted kidnapping and assault of two other young girls, one of who also disappeared. He died in 1993 in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.
Multiple Victims?
Yes
Rumored Sightings
California, Maryland, New Jersey — but none were ever confirmed.
Additional details
Related Vehicle
Description
Tan 2-Door 1980 or 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix with a half-vinyl roof (RENTED)
License Plate
South Dakota
Related Persons
Description
The suspect in their disappearance is described as being 35 – 50 years old, between 6’1 and 6’3, 200 – 250 pounds with dark hair, a mustache, a beard with grey streaks, and hairy and muscular arms. He was wearing silver wire-rimmed glasses, a straw cowboy hat, a brown-striped cowboy shirt or a plaid shirt, cowboy boots, a digital watch on his left wrist, a leather belt tooled with the name ‘Joseph’, and a yellow badge. Witnesses say he drove a tan 2-door 1980 or 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix with a half-vinyl roof and South Dakota plates.
Royal ‘Roy’ Russell Long, a traveling carnival worker and part-time long-haul trucker would emerge as the key suspect in several unsolved disappearances and murders of young women across the south western United States in the 1970s-1980s.
Description: Caucasian, Male, 40s, Dark Hair & Beard, Mustache.
Mr. Long had a long history of sexual assault accusations, including his daughter who testified that he had molested her for many years as a child. According to her, she sometimes traveled with him on long-haul trips:
“[H]e would see young girls, give her money to go play the pinball machine or buy a soda, and he would use stuffed animals to lure those girls to the truck. When she would come back, the girls would be gone” — Hearst Television.
Investigators have stated they believed Mr. Long was a repeat offender with potentially more than two dozen victims over the years (Hearst Television).
- Four young girls from the Rawlins, Wyoming area in 1974:
- Two young girls from the Oklahoma State Fair in 1981:
- Two young girls hitchhiking in Wyoming
- S. (survived)
- Sharon Baldeagle
Long pled guilty to murdering Cinda Pallett and Charlotte Kinsey. Unfortunately, the charges were all dropped in that case, and he was never formally charged in most of the other disappearances.
Long also pled guilty to reduced charges for kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, and drug abuse in the case of Sharon Baldeagle.
He would later testify that police had been rushing to close the case and simply chose him as the scapegoat. Long was told shortly upon arriving in prison that he may have stomach cancer with a negligible survival rate. He had no health insurance and could only receive treatment if in prison. He claimed that this information was fabricated to pressure him into accepting a plea deal. After his sentencing, Long would recant his confession and plea deal and continued until his death to assert that he did not kill Sharon.
He was sentenced to two life terms in the Wyoming State Penitentiary and died in prison in 1993.
Places of Interest
Disappearance
Street Address
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd
City
Oklahoma City
State or Province
Oklahoma
Country
United States of America
Postal Code (Zip Code)
73107
Latitude & Longitude
35.4712448,-97.5733146
General Location
Town or City
Map of Other Key Locations
Photo Gallery
Related or Similar Cases
Christine Ann Gross
Relationship: Christine and Carlene Brown were friends who disappeared from the Carbon County Fairgrounds in Rawlins, Wyoming together on the 4th of July, 1974. Christine was later found deceased in 1983 of an apparent homicide. Roy Russell Long was allegedly in the area at the time of their disappearance.
Case ID#: 3651
Carlene Brown
Relationship: Carlene and Christine Brown were friends who disappeared from the Carbon County Fairgrounds in Rawlins, Wyoming together on the 4th of July, 1974. Roy Russell Long was allegedly in the area at the time of their disappearance.
Case ID#: 3650
Jayleen Dawn Banker
Relationship: Jayleen was another young woman who disappeared from the Carbon County Fairgrounds in Rawlins, Wyoming in August 1974. She (like Christine Gross) was later found deceased due to an apparent homicide.
Case ID#: 3653
Deborah Rae Meyer
Relationship: Deborah was another young woman who disappeared from Rawlins, Wyoming in August 1974.
Case ID#: 3652
Cinda Leann Pallett
Relationship: Cinda and Charlotte Kinsey were also friends who similarly disappeared from a public fair. They were enjoying the Oklahoma State Fair when they disappeared together in 1981. They are strongly suspected to have been victims of Roy Russell Long.
Case ID#: 3648
Sharon Baldeagle
Relationship: Sharon and a friend were traveling through Evansville, Wyoming when they were kidnapped by a passing trucker, taken to his home, and allegedly assaulted. Sharon’s friend escaped and later accused Roy Russell Long of the incident. Sharon was never found.
Case ID#: 3649
Resources
Articles & Other Written Works
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Charlotte June Kinsey
- NamUS, Charlotte June Kinsey
- Hearst Television (2023) “‘We had the right man’: 1981 fairground kidnapping of Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett”, September 24, Link.
- International Missing Persons Wiki, Charlotte Kinsey
- State of California Dept. of Justice, Charlotte June Kinsey
- Doe Network, “174DFOK — Charlotte June Kinsey”, Link.
- The Charley Project, Charlotte June Kinsey
- Uncovered, Charlotte Kinsey
- Money, J. (2022) “Decades-old Oklahoma State Fair-related disappearance case remains unsolved”, The Oklahoman, 21 September, Link.
- Stories of the Unsolved (2021) “The Disappearances of Charlotte Kinsey & Cinda Pallett”, 1 June, Link.
Videos
Podcasts
- Rollins, R. (2023) “The Oklahoma State Fair Murders”, The Sirens Podcast, 2 September, Link.
- Prime Time Krime, “Cinda Pallett & Charlotte Kinsey”, S9, F161, Link.
- OWL (Once Was Lost) (2021), “Charlotte Kinsey & Cinda Pallett — Missing”, 8 August, Link
- Twisted Travel & True Crime (2023), “A Royal Pain in the …. — Murdered and Missing Charlotte Kinsey, Cinda Pallett, Sharon BaldEagle, Carlene Brown, Christy Gross, Deborah Meyer, Jaylene Banker”, 4 September, Link.
- Crime, Wine, & Chaos (2024), “Episode 184 — The Disappearance of Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett & Oak Island”, 28 April, Link.
- Curious Cousins OK Podcast (2024) “Ep 73 Disappearances of Charlotte Kinsey & Cinda Pallett”, 23 February, Link.
- Before Amber (2023), “Episode 5: CInda Pallett and Charlott Kinsey”, 28 November, Link.
- You’re Doing Fine Oklahoma (2021), “The Disappearance of Charlotte Kinsey & Cinda Pallett”, 28 December, Link.
- Sipping On Some Crime (2023) “Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett”, S2, Ep 7, 24 April, Link.
Contact Authorities
Police, Relevant Agencies, & Other Useful Personnel
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This page is not intended for emergency use. Contact details may change over time, and the information listed below may be outdated or incomplete. If you notice an error or have a correction, please let us know.
To the best of our ability, we have provided contact information for the national police agency or, where that is not available, the police agency serving the capital city. Our hope is that these agencies may be able to direct readers to the proper office, even when a matter falls outside their immediate jurisdiction.
For the most accurate guidance, please contact the relevant embassy in your country or your own country’s embassy or consulate in the country involved.
Contact Information — United States of America
Agency 🏢
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Phone Number 📞
Emergency Phone Number 🚨
Website 💻
Email Address 📧
IDD Prefix
011
Country Code
+1
Additional Contacts
- National Crime Information Center (NCIC) — Website
- Crime Stoppers USA — Locate a Program
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) — Website
- National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) — Website
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