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Chautauqua County seeks help in 1988 murder

The following image was posted by the Sheriff’s Office on Facebook.

Chautauqua County investigators are looking for the public’s help on a 38-year-old murder.

On May 18, 1988 Kathy Wilson of Jamestown was kidnapped. Her body was recovered on Sept. 24, 1989 in Lander, Pennsylvania, which sits between Sugar Grove and Russell.

The Sheriff’s Office is seeking information from the public in regard to one of the leads being investigated in the case.

“The Sheriff’s Office is inquiring about the owner of a construction style work van, which was charcoal grey in color and likely a 1980s model. The van may have had only three windows. One was the front windshield, and the other two were the driver’s side and passenger side windows,” the Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. “The van had no windows in the rear and the van had no observed markings. The van was reportedly seen parked directly next to Kathy Wilson’s van around the time of her disappearance.”

Wilson’s van was a 1987 Plymouth Voyager, blue in color. It was located in the Chautauqua Mall parking lot on May 19, 1988 at 1:36 a.m.

“Anyone who knows the identity of a person who lived either in Chautauqua County, or the Warren County Pennsylvania region in May of 1988, who owned a van matching this description, is encouraged to contact the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Unsolved Case Team at (716) 753-4578 or by email at Tarpley@sheriff.us. Anyone who feels they have other information that pertains to the Kathy Wilson case is also encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office,” the Sheriff’s Office posted.

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