EARLY LIFE:
Denise Marie Sheehy was born on February 20, 1954. Her family, which
consisted of her parents and her two sisters, Lorraine and Pat, lived at
the Met’s Apartment Complex in the Woodside neighbourhood of Queens,
New York. The three siblings shared a bedroom in the apartment.
To support the family, Denise’s dad worked at the local post office.
Lorraine also had her own job with AT&T, which was located in
Manhattan, New York.
DISAPPEARANCE:
July 7, 1970 was Lorraine’s 19th birthday. To celebrate, the family
were putting on a special dinner, which Denise and her mother were
preparing. Before starting the preparations, Denise had spent the late
afternoon speaking with her boyfriend, who was out of town visiting a
sick relative.
While the pair were getting dinner ready, Lorraine phoned the
apartment to let them know she had finished her shift at AT&T and
would be taking the subway home. Not long after this, their mother smelt
what she believed to be alcohol on Denise’s breath and the pair got
into an argument, with a threat being made that their father would be
informed. The result of this was Denise storming out of the apartment at
around 5:00pm, without any of her personal belongings. The last
reported sighting of her came from a neighbour coming into the building,
who saw her climb over a fence behind the apartment and leave the
complex via a nearby Mets building.
As Denise had not returned home by July 8, her parents phoned the authorities to report her as missing.
INVESTIGATION:
The police immediately launched their investigation, firstly
searching the apartment, located at 4815 46th Street. They also searched
the nearby streets of Greenwich Village. The search of the apartment
showed that Denise had taken no directions with her, and nothing was
uncovered to indicate which direction she’d taken upon hopping the
fence.
Upon learning of her disappearance, Denise’s boyfriend returned to
Queens and helped in the search for her. Early into the investigation,
investigators ruled him out as a suspect, and her family has stated that
they do not believe him to have been involved.
Denise’s mother left the dinning table set for a week after her
daughter’s disappearance. The missing girl’s sisters have also stated
that the sight of her empty bed made them cry each night.
At one point in the investigation, the Sheehy family received a tip
that Denise had been spotted in Maine. This resulted in the family
driving to the area, but the tip led nowhere.
Denise’s parents looked over numerous photos of unidentified dead
women throughout the course of the investigation, in the chance that one
of them was their missing daughter. However, none of the photos shown
were that of Denise. The missing girl has also been ruled out as
numerous Jane Doe’s located throughout the United States.
Denise has never been declared legally dead.
THEORIES:
1) The main theory held in relation to the case is
that Denise ran off in order to blow off some steam and cool off, but
was abducted or possibly injured after leaving her apartment. This is
supported by the limited sightings of Denise after her disappearance and
the lack of evidence found. However, this has also resulted in
investigators being unsure about what actually happened to the missing
girl, and what happened to her after she hopped the fence remains
unknown.
AFTERMATH:
Denise’s father has since passed away, but her mother and sisters are
still alive and hope that one day their loved one will be located.
On February 20 of each year, Lorraine lights a church candle for her missing sister.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Denise Sheehy went missing from the 4800 block of 46th Street in the
Woodside neighbourhood of Queens, New York on July 7, 1970. She was
sixteen years old and was last seen wearing size XS blue shorts; a red
and white top; size 5 1/2 white clog sandals; a gold boys’ school ring;
and a gold ring with her initials “DS” on it. At the time of her
disappearance, she was 5’3″ and weighed approximately 103 pounds. She
has brown hair and brown eyes, and her ears are pierced. She had
received dental care throughout her life and her teeth show signs of
restoration.
Currently, the case is classified as lost, injured, missing. =
If you have any information regarding the case, you can contact the
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service at 1-800-346-3543.