True Crime

The Disappearance of Sherry Marler

Case File Overview

The morning of June 6, 1984 started like any other for the Stringfellow family on their farm in Greenville, Alabama.

Greenville, the county seat of Butler County, had a population of around 7,600 in 1984. Known as Camellia City after it petitioned for the camellia to become Alabama's state flower in 1959, Greenville may have seemed like an ideal quiet place to raise a family.

Betty woke up early because she had to be at the Waffle House restaurant by 7:00AM sharp for the start of her shift. After getting ready, she quietly left the house. She did not want to wake her twelve-year-old daughter Sherry who was sleeping on the couch after giving up her bed to her stepdad's aunt who was in town visiting for the week.

Shortly after 9:00AM Sherry noticed her stepdad Raymond was backing his red pickup truck down the driveway. She raced out of the house, shoes in her hands, asking if she could go with him into town.

At around 9:30AM the pair stopped at the First National Bank so Raymond could sign some papers. Sherry said she was thirsty, so Raymond gave his stepdaughter a dollar bill and told her to go buy herself a beverage at the Chevron gas station across the street.

Witnesses saw Sherry walking across the parking lot by the General Telephone building and Jernigan's Furniture store on her way to the gas station.

Fifteen minutes later, Raymond was done at the bank and went out to his truck. He was surprised Sherry was not there waiting for him. When twenty-five more minutes passed with no sign of Sherry panic set it.

Raymond called Betty at the Waffle House to see if Sherry had stopped by there for a visit. Betty said no...she had last seen her daughter that morning fast asleep on the couch.

Raymond checked the obvious places for his stepdaughter, like the Chevron, but had no luck. He also asked around at the tractor shop and the feed store. Sherry's nickname was "Little Farmer" for a reason; she loved everything to do with farming, including hanging out at those stores. But no one had seen Sherry.

The young girl was finally reported missing at 11:46AM.

Before long a massive search effort was underway. Volunteers combed the city and surrounding areas. An aerial search was even conducted by Crenshaw Flying Service. Family, friends, and volunteers printed off countless missing person posters and plastered them across the city and neighbouring towns.

Despite all of the efforts, Sherry remains missing.

Sherry is a Caucasian female with brown hair and brown eyes. When she disappeared in 1984, she was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 100 to 120 pounds. She has two distinguishing marks: a two-inch scar on her abdomen and a one-inch scar on her back near her shoulder. Sherry was last seen wearing a long-sleeved red plaid flannel shirt, light jeans, gray runners with velcro fastenings, and a watch with a black band.

Sherry at twelve years old

The Charley Project

Sherry age progressed to forty-four years old

The Charley Project

Case File Theories

Ran away