31 years and counting in unsolved case of Springfield’s three missing women

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - It was June 7, 1992 when the Springfield Police Department learned of the disappearance of three women from a home in central Springfield. The case received so much nationwide attention that even now if Springfield residents hear the words “the three missing women,” most of them know what event is being discussed.

Mark Webb is now the Bolivar Police Chief. But in 44 years of law enforcement work at several different stops, Webb’s biggest regret and frustration over a case that never got solved goes back to his time as an investigator with the Springfield Police Department when he worked the missing women’s case.

“Personally, it is probably number one,” he said. “And I’ll live with it the rest of my life.”

47-year-old Sherrill Levitt, her 19-year-old daughter Susie Streeter and Susie’s 18-year-old friend Stacy McCall were last seen at Sherill’s house on Delmar St. the day after the two teens’ high school graduation. The house’s front door was open, and the family dog was left behind in addition to money, clothing, cars, keys, and other personal items.

There were no apparent signs of a struggle. It appeared they had just vanished.

Despite herculean efforts to find them, including searches by law enforcement and the public, local and national media coverage, and distribution of flyers, the three have never been found.

Now over three decades later, the media attention continues.

“I got a call from ‘People’ magazine last week,” Webb said.

And he also remembered that the thousands of tips the Springfield Police Department received over the years included some that were very unusual.

“Someone suggested that we should interview Cinnamon, the dog,” Webb said. “And there were some psychics who provided some information.”

There have been many interviews, searches from parking garages to farmland, and multiple possible suspects checked out with no answers found.

The Springfield Police Department declined to interview on the 31st-anniversary date but did say in a statement that the investigation is still active, urging people with any information to call Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS or go online to p3tips.com.

Webb explained that the missing women’s case profoundly affected the department’s operation.

“It impacted the way that the police department conducted investigations,” he said. “We were still in the forefront of computers and technology at the time, and I think that case helped expedite the progression of new technology to the police department. Keep in mind this incident happened long before DNA, so it’s a different world now. Back then, the volume of tips and information kind of overwhelmed our capacity. It was a new experience for all our investigators and the department. A lot of our officers had their lives turned upside down because all our resources were committed to this incident for several months, and a lot of adjustments had to be made.”

It also had a profound emotional impact on the officers as well.

“A lot of us had families,” he said. “I myself had two daughters, and when you start to personalize it, you realize it’s not somebody’s computer or car that’s been stolen. It’s their child. That impact was felt throughout the police department, and it was one of the most serious things that most of us had been involved in up to that point in our careers.”

Stacy’s mom Janis McCall, whose devotion to the case has never waivered, declined an interview on the anniversary date because of health problems. But over the years, she’s always been there to champion the cause.

“She’ll always be our baby,” Janis said in a 2022 interview with KY3′s Frances Watson. “She’ll always be 18 years old in our mind because I can’t picture her as being 48. And I don’t believe in closure for missing persons. You can have an ending, but it won’t be closure.”

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