Finding "KAY"?

[DarkDante]

Hey all - time for another one from the vault so to speak. The case of Nyleen Kay Marshall involves a four year old girl who disappeared from the Helena National Forest in the Elkhorn Mountains on June 25, 1983 while on an outing with her parents. The case was profiled on UM in 1990. I believe the segment detailed how Nyleen vanished shortly after being coaxed by a man in his thirties in a purple tracksuit to "walk into the shadows" (creepy ain't it?).

There was little word on Nyleen's whereabouts until three years later when letters started surfacing penned from a man in Wisconsin claiming to be Nyleen's abductor. The letters stated that the individual understood the pain that Nyleen's parents must be going through but he "loved her very much, took care of her and treats her well but cannot give her up". Apparently this same individual made phone calls to a missing children's agency in New York claiming that again he "had Nyleen whom he called KAY" but refused to give her up. These calls were later traced to the Montana area but contact soon ceased and little word has been heard about Nyleen since (at least information that has been disclosed to the public)

I would like to personally state that of all the missing children cases profiled on UM I truly believe that Nyleen Kay Marshall is still alive with probably no memories of 6-25-83 or the years that preceded it. I was wondering as to what others opinions are regarding the case and Nyleen's whereabouts? - it is amazing to me that she has not stumbled upon herself on a missing persons flyer or something like that. Officials now believe that there is strong evidence that Nyleen may have never been taken out of the Montana area by her abductor(s).

One question that comes to mind - Nyleen is now twenty six years old - the harsh reality of realizing that your entire life has essentially been built upon lies would be a cold reality for the young woman to face if/when she is reintroduced to her life prior to 6-25-83. I think this is one aspect of a lot of cases of missing children often overlooked while police officials are wrapped up in locating these youngsters and reuniting them with their parents (which I do agree should be a top priority) they fail to realize that in a lot of these cases (with Marshall's being a prime candidate) there was a life etched out for over twenty years that will essentially be snuffed out upon realization of Nyleen's past. The reintroduction of a individual into their "new reality" must be treated with great care (almost as this was an amnesia case) as to not cause psychological damage to the individual.

Like I said so many questions and so few answers abound when speaking about this case - I guess as in all cases like this we can only hope for the best for Nyleen and her family.

Later.

[Kemistry]

What creeps me out about that segment was the letter that they displayed on the screen, I can't remember the exact words but it did get quite graphic about certain the kidnapper made Nyleen do. After this long it's hard to believe that she may be alive because at some point you'd think she spot herself somewhere but in the event that she is, I hope oneday she will realize the truth and finally get back with her family.

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

One question that comes to mind...

Your question makes me think of the case of Steven Stayner, of the famous t.v. movie "I know my first name is Steven." He was old enough to remember his life before the kidnapping, but somehow came to accept his new life with his molester, Kenneth Parnell. He only decided to run after Parnell abducted another young boy, and he started to remember exactly how he got there.

By all accounts, life after his homecoming was bizarre, and Steven's parents tended to over-indulge him (perhaps over guilt of not being able to find him after all those years). He died at a very young age in, I believe, a motorcycle accident.

Perhaps the most bizarre postscript to this story is that Steven's brother Cary became famous himself for murdering at least 4 people in Yosemite National Park. Cary was known to have behavioral/mental problems before his brother was kidnapped, but the trauma certainly compounded any existing issues. On top of that, his problems were reportedly ignored due to the parents' all-consuming obsession with finding Steven.

So, I guess you could say that not only was Steven's life after kidnapping a short and confusing, but that the rest of his family, and the families of Cary Stayner's victims we're indirectly affected by the kidnapping. I guess it's just an example of the far-reaching effects of these perverse crimes.

[DarkDante]

The guy really creeps me out as well. On one hand I'd like to think if nothing else for Nyleen's sake that he was a lonely person who longed for a child but could not have one of his own so he snatched Nyleen for himself. There are part of the letter that seem to depict him as a loving and devoted parent but there are other parts of the letter that are just extremely weird.

I won't reprint what the abductor wrote (I can't even remember most of it as it is one of the episodes I don't have on vhs unfortunatley) but it seemed he was into some videotaping exploitation fantasy activity which is sadly the route many of these abductors persue. Sadly what some people do not realize is part of the job of an investigator on a case like this is to pour through dozens of archives of smut trying to link up the unfortunate individuals in these "films" with the missing children on their dockets - certainly a very morbid job for sure. (just ask Pete Townshend - jk)

The problem with the more "off color" sections of the letter is it could indicate that at some point Nyleen Kay Marshall became a liability to her abductor and was disposed of. However, it is important to note that we are not even sure that the letter was sent from someone who abducted Nyleen although something I forgot to previously mention the letters did contain intimate details about Nyleen and the case not released to the public that only someone who was very close to Nyleen would know. It just makes me heartsick to think of the situation in this case if Nyleen was truly abducted by this sicko. Then again he did say he cared for her and treated her well in the same breath that he said his other "off color" remarks.

The obvious problem about locating Nyleen Kay Marshall today would be in essence the search is still on for a little girl. In reality Nyleen is a young woman now and in all likelyhood probably does not resemble the Nyleen of twenty years ago. I know they can do computer processing photos taking pictures of relatives and the person themselves and merging features but at times it seems like finding a needle in a haystack. This is what makes me worry about cases like the Baskin children and Morgan Nick. The Baskins would be around Nyleen's age but in their case they were abducted much later in life so there is a bit of a measuring/jumping point to start from in locating them. In Morgan Nick's case she would be in her pre-teens by now and was abducted I believe when she was around five years old.

Again all we can do is hope for the best

Love & Mercy

[mercy1825]

The possibility that the letter was a cruel hoax must not be dismissed. There was a famous case, I believe in Montana, profiled on the FBI Files (discovery channel) of a serial child predator who contacted the families of his victims with lies and stories about the survival of victims he had already actually murdered. So the possibility remains that the letter writer actually murdered Nyleen and enjoys cruel and unspeakable taunts to the family.

Also, it could be a ridiculously cruel prank but someone who was close to Nyleen and enjoys the attention of the incident. Somewhat analogous to munchhausin. These events do occur.

The above case profiled on FBI files; the killer committed suicide in jail very soon after his arrest after confessing and leading authorities to the graves of his four victims. This took place I believe in the early 1980's. Anyone remember the guy's name?

[palmyrafan]

About Nyleen, was she the little girl that was allegedly related to the actor, Rick Schroeder?

I remember that at the time a little girl who was camping with her family and then disappeared, was somehow related to Rick Schroeder. Her uncle or something.

I only saw the show once, and have never seen any updates about it.


As for Nyleen, if she was taken to Montana, I would not be surprised if she were still alive. We just had neighbors leave our neighborhood in Philadelphia who moved to Montana and their closest airport and closest big city (over 30,000 people) are 2 1/2 hours away by car. It would be possible for her to remain anonymous out there.

[DarkDante]

No relation to Mr. Schroeder and yes I do believe Nyleen is still alive.

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by palmyrafan

About Nyleen, was she the little girl that was allegedly related to the actor, Rick Schroeder?

I think the case you're referring to about is that of Laura Bradbury. She was supposedly a distant cousin of Rick Schroeder. She wasn't profiled on UM but here is a previous thread where her case was discussed:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...laura+bradbury

[Tap Dancer]

Nyleen's story was on today. I hope you were all able to watch it.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by mercy1825

There was a famous case, I believe in Montana, profiled on the FBI Files (discovery channel) of a serial child predator who contacted the families of his victims with lies and stories about the survival of victims he had already actually murdered. So the possibility remains that the letter writer actually murdered Nyleen and enjoys cruel and unspeakable taunts to the family.

The above case profiled on FBI files; the killer committed suicide in jail very soon after his arrest after confessing and leading authorities to the graves of his four victims. This took place I believe in the early 1980's. Anyone remember the guy's name?

David Meirhofer. And the child murder case you're referring to was the 1973 murder of seven-year-old Susie Jaeger (pronounced Yay-ger). Although it isn't an UM case, I remember seeing it on FBI Files.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Someone made a comment about Nyleen possibly still being alive and living in Montana. I've mentioned before that I live in Montana, and I'm approximately the same age as Nyleen. I do not agree with the theory that she would still be living in Montana, unaware of the fact that she had been abducted. The reasoning behind this is because this was a HUGE case. I knew who Nyleen was even before she was proflied on UM. Why? Because it was ingrained (at least in my elementary school) that we were NOT to run off and play alone, lest we suffer the same fate as Nyleen. And I wasn't even from the same area in which Nyleen disappeared from.

I agree with the theory that she may have been raised as "Kay." Just not in Montana. I think the case was too high-profile. SOMEONE would have recognized her over the years.

[Awsi Dooger]

I found this today on another message board. I'll just paste it. On the immediately preceding post, this person claims to be Nyleen Kay Marshall's cousin so if true he would know something like this: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sho...203#post959203

" Oh, You may have been wondering...

"I thought some of you might find this interesting. Nyleen was profiled on Unsolved Mysteries, if some of you saw that episode, you would have seen her mother. She was murdered in mexico while looking for a house for her family to move into as her husband Kim was being transferred. She was found raped, with her hands bound behind her back, hung with a mans belt, all jewelery and valuables missing, and the mexican police labeled it a suicide and refused us jurisdiction to investigate. Voila! A whole new unsolved mystery for you. Poor Kim, how much can the man take?"

If this is true, it must have happened in the last few years since this article from 2002 shows a picture of the mother, Nancy Marshall, and quotes her as still looking for Nyleen even while at amusement parks, etc. Of course, it's obviously an older picture off a TV still frame and perhaps the quote was very dated as well: http://www.channel3000.com/news/1555573/detail.html

On edit: I just watched the UM segment and that still frame and quote from Nancy Marshall were taken directly off UM's coverage. That's very poor journalism since the UM segment was apparently from 1990 yet the article presents it as current as of 2002. If Nancy Marshall was indeed murdered, it might have happened long before that article was written, depicting her as alive and looking for Nyleen. So far I haven't found anything confirming Nancy Marshall's death.

[Tap Dancer]

Nyleen is one year younger than I am. I only have one memory before the age of 4. She was 4 when she was kidnapped. She probably doesn't remember the incident and I bet she thinks that man is her relative. Even though she's an adult now, he may still have her. It's hard to imagine that someone her age doesn't have TV or Internet access, but she might not.

[buckeyeblogger]

(Anger on)

I think stories of abducted children are probably the one's that make me ache the most. It's very easy to place myself in the shoes of the parent, in this case Nyleen's mother. All of these years looking for her 4 year old little girl that was taken from her by pure evil.

That little girl is of course, if still a live, a grown woman (about 4 years younger than myself) who may have no memory of her life at age 4.

I'm trying to think back to 1980 (when I turned 4) and about the only thing I remember..and it's very vague.. is when my parents bought a new house.

It's very possible that Nyleen never lived past that afternoon though, and that's more probably the likely outcome. Someone that's very sick and demented has been taunting authorities and her parents since then with the prospect that she is still alive.

Honestly, with the fact that this abductor decided to keep the game of cat and mouse going for sometime makes me wonder how the hell he/she hasn't been caught. A fingerprint on a letter, tracing those phone calls, etc. It's 23 years removed from the incident and still nothing..

One thing that can comfort all of us is that God opens his arms to the innocent among us and I can think of nothing more innocent than a little boy or girl that meets an untimely death. If she is no longer alive -- she's been in very good hands for a long time. And her abductor
will eventually meet his/her miserable fate, in this world or the next.

(Anger off)

[Awsi Dooger]

Originally Posted by Echoes Of Fear

What creeps me out about that segment was the letter that they displayed on the screen, I can't remember the exact words but it did get quite graphic about certain the kidnapper made Nyleen do. After this long it's hard to believe that she may be alive because at some point you'd think she spot herself somewhere but in the event that she is, I hope oneday she will realize the truth and finally get back with her family.

I didn't tape it but today I took a quick look at the typed text after this thread was bumped and posters mentioned the segment was on today. I hope this isn't too graphic but the sentence I read said something about the guy's semen. Sorry for that reference but I think it's necessary to understand the type of sicko we're dealing with here.

He apparently had specific info regarding the abduction. If he's indeed the perpetrator I would have to agree with buckeyeblogger that Nyleen probably didn't live long, perhaps not surviving the rest of the day.

If she is alive, having internet access means nothing. At that age memories fade incredibly quickly and focus change is immediate. Just a day or two of the new person saying mommy was going away for a while, and he was taking care of her until then, would be plenty. Then within weeks the new person has taken over and is essentially the only world she ever knew.