Janelle Matthews was a 12-year-old American girl who disappeared near Greeley, Colorado, on December 20, 1984. She remained missing for 34 years, until her remains were discovered on July 24, 2019, by construction workers putting in a new pipeline 15 mi (24 km) away from her home.
Disappearance
On the evening of December 20, 1984, Janelle was performing in a holiday concert at IntraWest Bank of Denver as a member of Greeley's Franklin Middle School Choir. Her family was not present at the concert as Janelle's father was at his other daughter's basketball game and her mother had flown east to be with Janelle's ill grandfather.[ At 8:15 PM that evening, Janelle arrived at her home in Greeley, Colorado, after getting a ride from her friend DeeAnn Ross and DeeAnn's father. Shortly after 8:30 PM, Janelle answered a phone call and took a message for her father. The phone call was the last time anyone was known to have spoken with Janelle.
Her father arrived home at 9:30 PM and found the garage door open, but no one was in the house, although Janelle's shoes and shawl were near a heater in the family room, a place she often sat. Janelle's older sister, Jennifer, got home at 10:00 PM, but had not seen her. Their father began to worry, and called police. The police arrived at 10:15 PM and found footprints in the snow, indicating that someone had been looking in the windows. There were no signs of a struggle or of forced entry. With snow on the ground, Janelle's father thought it unlikely that she would go far without shoes.
Family
The Matthews family lived at 320 43rd Avenue Court in Greeley, Colorado. The family consisted of Janelle, her adoptive parents Jim and Gloria Matthews, and her older sister, Jennifer. At the time of her disappearance, Janelle's father was the principal of Platte Valley Elementary School in Kersey, Colorado.
For several weeks after the disappearance, police placed Janelle's birth mother Terri Vierra-Martinez under surveillance, without telling her that her daughter had gone missing. Ten years later and after Janelle was declared legally dead, Gloria received a letter from the birth mother, requesting permission to visit the child she gave up for adoption, something Janelle always wanted. The birth mother had used a search consultant to help locate the child. The adoptive parents notified the birth mother about what happened, and the families became friends.
Years after Janelle's disappearance, Jim and Gloria Matthews retired and moved to Costa Rica. Janelle's sister married and moved out of Colorado.
Public interest
The disappearance attracted public interest, including the President of the United States and members of Congress. President Ronald Reagan mentioned Janelle Matthews in a speech on March 7, 1985 from Room 450 of the Old Executive Office Building. She was mentioned in the Congressional Record for the United States House of Representatives on April 2, 1985, page 7224. In 2010, the Greeley Tribune published another summary of the missing child—still not found. As recently as 2018, Greeley Police had been re-contacting witnesses and applying the latest forensic advances to learn what happened to Janelle. She appears in the International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons' database.
A chokecherry tree was planted nearly 30 years ago in front of Franklin Middle School, in memory of Janelle. The tree is now gone, along with a plaque inscribed with Janelle's name.
Discovery of remains
After almost 35 years, excavators installing a pipeline discovered human remains at 4:50 PM on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, near the intersection of County Roads 34.5 and 49, at coordinates 40.239848°N 104.602514°W, about 15 mi (24 km) southeast of Janelle's home. Based on DNA evidence, the Weld County Coroner's Office positively identified the remains as being those of Janelle Matthews. As of July 29, 2019, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had not released any information about Matthews' cause of death, but had stated that the case is being treated as a homicide. Authorities are searching historical records to determine who owned or lived on the land where the remains were found.
News reports stated Janelle "died from a gunshot wound to her forehead". After examination of the remains, the forensic report listed Janelle's cause of death as "a gunshot wound to the head".
Investigation
On September 13, 2019, Greeley Police Department announced a "person of interest" in Janelle Matthews' abduction and death: Steve Pankey, a former Greeley resident who ran for governor in Idaho in 2014 and 2018, and for lieutenant governor in 2010. His home in Colorado was searched under a warrant that stated investigators had probable cause to believe that Pankey abducted and murdered the girl that night. Pankey and his former wife lived about 2 mi (3.2 km) away from the Matthews home, where Janelle was last seen. Pankey had been a youth pastor at the church the Matthews family attended. Greeley Police Commander Roy Smith stated that Pankey "had made repeated efforts to speak with detectives" about the Matthews case. But after detectives traveled to Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 15, 2019, Pankey refused to answer questions. Commander Smith stated Pankey has not been charged with Janelle's murder, but he is being investigated in relation to her death.
On October 13, 2020, authorities announced that Steven D. Pankey had been indicted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in Janelle's death. He is currently being held without bail at the Ada County Jail in Idaho, while awaiting extradition to Colorado. Steven Pankey was 69 years old at the time of his indictment.
Pankey already knew that he was a "person of interest" to the police in September 2019, when he was interviewed by the newspaper Idaho Statesman. Pankey claimed that he did not know Janelle or the Matthews family, and only heard about them following the disappearance. He also claimed that on the night of Janelle's disappearance, he and his wife were at their home. He said that they were planning to leave town the next day for a Christmas visit their family in California, and had already loaded their car. The trip's destination was Big Bear Lake, California. Decades later, Pankey provided investigators with documents concerning this trip. Police reported that these documents contained "false statements and superfluous details".
Pankey's ex-wife Angela Hicks contradicted this narrative. She reported that they started their trip not on December 21, but December 22, two days following Janelle's disappearance. She also said that this trip was unexpected. Hicks said that they returned to Greeley on December 26, and that Pankey took an unusual interest in the disappearance case. She said that already on their return trip, Pankey "uncharacteristically listened to the radio, searching for news of the girl's disappearance". She also said that after their return, Pankey forced her to read to him newspaper articles concerning the case. According to the 2020 indictment statement, shortly following their return to Greeley, Pankey started digging in their yard. At about that time, a car stored on their property caught fire and the burned car "was disposed of at a salvage yard".
A few months following Janelle's disappearance, Pankey attended a church service. There, a minister claimed that Janelle would be found safe. Hicks claimed to have heard Pankey muttering in response, accusing the minister of being a false prophet. In 2008, Pankey's son was murdered. At his son's funeral, Hicks reportedly heard Pankey state: "I hope God didn't allow this to happen because of Janelle Matthews"
Jennifer Mogensen, Janelle's older sister, said that while the family experienced "some closure" when they learned that Janelle was murdered, she considers Pankey's arrest to be "another gift to our family". Mogensen's father was reportedly "especially excited to see justice". Mogensen said that there was sibling rivalry between her and Janelle in 1984, and that Janelle's killing eliminated the possibility for the two siblings to grow closer.
The police announced that Pankey had long been a person of interest in the case. Pankey repeatedly claimed to have knowledge of the crime, and had asked "for immunity in exchange for information". The criminal indictment said that he "intentionally inserted himself in the investigation many times over the years claiming to have knowledge of the crime which grew inconsistent and incriminating over time". Pankey had claimed that at the evening of Janelle's abduction, a rake was used to cover up the tracks left in the snow. Pankey also claimed to have watched middle school students walking home, returning from the middle school which Janelle attended.
Pankey gave an interview to the newspaper Times-News, where he said that he was being framed by the police. He said that he was targeted for his sexuality, identifying himself as a "celibate homosexual". In 2018, Pankey had campaigned for the Idaho Republican Party's nomination for the position of governor of Idaho. His campaign website said that Pankey has studied criminal justice.
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