More than 44 years now have passed without answers.
Tuesday marked the anniversary of the disappearance of Lonene Ray Rogers, a young mother of two who was last seen Jan. 7, 1981, at her Hayfield Township home near routes 98 and 198 at Littles Corners.
Rogers was just 29 when she disappeared without a trace, according to Pennsylvania State Police at Meadville, which continues to. work the case.
Once again, state police are requesting those who may have information related to Rogers’ disappearance to come forward.
Rogers, almost completely deaf and unable to speak fluently, left the home in the midst of a severe snowstorm, according to Trooper Kevin Geibel, an investigator at the state police Meadville barracks.
At the time of her disappearance, Rogers may have been wearing a navy blue peacoat, blue jeans and high brown boots, according Geibel.
However, her purse, hearing aids and glasses, car and keys — and her two young children — were left behind.
“Somebody knows something,” Alison Duiker, Rogers’ now-adult daughter, told The Meadville Tribune in a phone interview Tuesday.
Since October 2024, Duiker has had a billboard along routes 6 and 19, about 2 miles of Meadville, with her mother’s photo, asking those with information to contact state police in Meadville at (814) 332-6911.
The billboard has been funded by Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization in Zionsville, Indiana, that provides funding toward helping solve cold cases. It’s scheduled to remain up until later this spring.
Duiker, who was just 5 when her mother vanished, has vowed to spread awareness far and wide about Lonene’s story in an effort to move the case forward.
“It (the billboard) is to build awareness and put pressure on those who know something to get them to come forward,” Duiker said.
Geibel said periodic media stories about the disappearance help to generate new information. Even minor information can be critical when combined with existing case information.
“People will contact us and we interview them,” Geibel said. “It may not be something that directly corresponds, but it adds to the case.”
Lonene Rogers was seen at her job on Jan. 6, 1981, and left work at the completion of her shift.
Rogers then was seen by the babysitter when she picked up her two children, according to Geibel. It was typical for her to get her children after work and then go home.
The babysitter told investigators that she had communicated with Rogers via TTY (Text Telephone) on the evening of Jan. 6, 1981. A close friend also reported communicating with Rogers via TTY that night.
The TTY that Rogers communicated from was located within her residence.
Her husband, Clinton Rogers, told police that he was at home with Lonene and the children that evening. However, the couple had an argument at their residence, state police said.
According to Clinton, he last saw Lonene on Jan. 7, 1981, at 12:45 a.m. when he went to bed. He reported waking up during the early-morning hours and discovering his wife was not at the residence.
Clinton told authorities that he initially wasn’t worried so he didn’t contact police right away.
Since Rogers disappeared, none of her close friends or relatives have had any contact with her and there has been no activity for her Social Security Number, according to Geibel.
“One thing family and friends consistently have said is she’d not have left home without her children,” the trooper said.
Rogers is described as being 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds with long sandy brown hair and gray eyes. She also had freckles, pierced ears and no tonsils.
Anyone with information regarding Rogers’ disappearance is asked to call Geibel at state police at Meadville at (814) 332-6911 or via TTY/TDD at (814) 724-2985, or anonymously by calling PSP Tips (formerly Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers), toll-free at (800) 4PA-TIPS (8477), or online at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=107.
All callers to PSP Tips remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest, the solving of a crime/cold case, or the location of a wanted person/fugitive or missing persons.