USS Redskins Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Anyone who grew up in the region, Wheaton, silver spring, etc... In the 70's knows the story. It was a huge part of my childhood in silver spring... The Lyon sisters, aged 12 & 10 vanished in 1975 in or around Wheaton plaza.39 years later a break in the case...http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Sheila-Lyon-Katherine-Break-in-Decades-Old-Disappearance-of-Md-Sisters-Police-244783641.htmlI can't tell you how many times I heard " remember what happened to the Lyons sisters!" From my mother whenever we went out or to the mall. I went to Einstein high school in Wheaton and one time my buddy and I skipped school and went to the Wheaton plaza and afterwards took a shortcut through the woods to his house and he told me it was the path the girls took that day... It was 10 years after that and I remember getting the chills...Press conference tomorrow, should be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney B Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hadden Clark? Let's hope this isn't just some false lead or weak rumor getting blown out of proportion. That family's been through enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySkinsFan Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I was just thinking about the Lyons girls the other day. Such a sad case. I hope it's solved, finally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. has been named as person of interest in Lyons disappearance by police during a press conference at the Montgomery County Public Safety Headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md. He is also known as Michael Welch. Investigators say Welch was noticed paying attention to the sisters at Wheaton Plaza the afternoon they disappeared. Welch is a convicted sex offender and has been in prison in Delaware since 1997, according to police. Police wrote in a press release, "He traveled extensively throughout the U.S. from the 70's through the mid 90's. Welch worked as a ride operator for a carnival company, often set up at malls. He was arrested in several states, charged with sexual offenses against young girls." http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/02/10/development-in-lyon-sisters-disappearance/5378293/ The case was all the more prominent because John Lyon, the girls' father, was a well known radio personality on WMAL, back when people actually listened to WMAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I honestly don't remember this. I was 7 when it happened. I was living in Waldorf. Hope this is the break they need to maybe find the bodies and put the girls to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USS Redskins Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Problem is, he looks like every Carny in exsistence. I was only 6 at the time and I remember it very clearly. Our parents wouldnt let us play outside alone for a few weeks and I remember adults commenting on how the playgrounds were empty for days afterwards. It was very chilling visiting Wheaton Plaza after that. I worked at Wheaton Plaza at Wards in the 80's. It was a nice mall.. the Orange Bowl where the girls ate that day was there up until those all closed in the late 80's and I remember seeing the girls on "Missing" posters all over the city for months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balki1867 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 That's so weird.. I grew up <2 miles from Wheaton Plaza and I had never heard of this crime until this thread. Granted, I'm about 15 years younger than these girls. Kudos to the cops who stuck to this case, even after 39 years. I always wonder how cases like this get blown open after so much time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Mugshot of Welch from 1977 after his arrest on a burglary charge near Wheaton Plaze: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Looks guilty to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USS Redskins Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 That's so weird.. I grew up <2 miles from Wheaton Plaza and I had never heard of this crime until this thread. Granted, I'm about 15 years younger than these girls. Kudos to the cops who stuck to this case, even after 39 years. I always wonder how cases like this get blown open after so much time. Since you werent even born, that is understandable but living next to the mall... you must have just forgot about it. People say the region lost its innocence after this. I was only 6 but for years we talked about it at school... some kids were scared to go to Wheaton Plaza... older kids loved to tell made up stories about what happened to the girls to freak you out. it worked. Since the internet came around I have always tried to keep up with any news and information on this story. There really wasnt any news just message boards pages and pages long with peoples theories, memories and stories about that time. Websleuths.com is a good source. Very interesing stuff.. hopefully someone can get come forward with some info on this creep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Looks guilty to me. We don't know about the Lyon girls, but he's been arrested for raping girls in Virginia, South Carolina and Delaware. He was seen watching the sisters at the mall before they disappeared that day. It makes sense to look at him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSkins0721 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 People say the region lost its innocence after this. I was only 6 but for years we talked about it at school... some kids were scared to go to Wheaton Plaza... older kids loved to tell made up stories about what happened to the girls to freak you out. it worked. Yeah, it did. It was a horrible crime with thousands of questions and no answers. The pain the family went through, I just can't imagine. i don't think Wheaton Plaza was able to keep up after this. Montgomery Mall was the new shining star in the area, an enclosed mall compared to the open air Wheaton Plaza. And, yeah, kids of all ages were afraid of what was lurking near Wheaton Plaza. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balki1867 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Since you werent even born, that is understandable but living next to the mall... you must have just forgot about it. I'm guessing you're right -- I'm sure I heard about it, but never registered it to memory (especially since I haven't lived in the area since I finished HS in the late 90s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 That's so weird.. I grew up <2 miles from Wheaton Plaza and I had never heard of this crime until this thread. Granted, I'm about 15 years younger than these girls. Kudos to the cops who stuck to this case, even after 39 years. I always wonder how cases like this get blown open after so much time. It might have changed a lot of how you were raised. Before that event, it was real common for us 8-12 year olds to walk or ride our bikes to the park 3 or 4 miles away. The main thing I remember is that a lot of my friends were no longer allowed to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSkins0721 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 It might have changed a lot of how you were raised. Before that event, it was real common for us 8-12 year olds to walk or ride our bikes to the park 3 or 4 miles away. The main thing I remember is that a lot of my friends were no longer allowed to go. Or hitchhike. We used to hitchhike when we were in 7th grade. I was much older when this happened in 1975 but I was still hitchhiking. I do remember being way more skeptical before getting into a car or truck after this happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgundyrush Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Wheaton Plaza existed in the 70s? Someone please tell me what it was like back then? Did they have the movie theater built already which was separate to the mall. Also anyone remember that movie theater on Piney Branch Rd/Flower Ave in Silver Spring? Is it still abandoned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Yesterday's Washington Post article gives more detail about Welch's background and the cricumstances of how he recently became a person of interest... http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/inmate-named-as-person-of-interest-in-1975-missing-sisters-case/2014/02/11/38f4d856-9330-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html?hpid=z5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USS Redskins Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 they are digging on a Virginia mountain for the girls remains. I am praying this will end it and they can get the SOB that did this. http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2015/01/sheriff-holds-news-conference-lyon-sisters/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSkins0721 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Wheaton Plaza existed in the 70s? Someone please tell me what it was like back then? Did they have the movie theater built already which was separate to the mall. Also anyone remember that movie theater on Piney Branch Rd/Flower Ave in Silver Spring? Is it still abandoned? Yeah it existed in the 70s. Montgomery Wards & all. Yes, the movie theater was built. Sometime in the mid-70s they talked about enclosing the mall. Not sure when they did it. I don't remember much about the place except for Woodies, Monty Wards (the smell of popcorn constantly in the air), & the theater. Every time I walk into Target & smell popcorn I'm always reminded of Monty Wards at Wheaton Plaza. Hope they catch this guy & find the girls remains. Wow, 40 years of pain for that family. SMFH Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chew Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I went to Einstein high school in Wheaton and one time my buddy and I skipped school and went to the Wheaton plaza and afterwards took a shortcut through the woods to his house and he told me it was the path the girls took that day.. I went to Einstein, and I know the exact path you talk about between the football field and the mall. Made that trip through the woods many times to skip school lol. Spooky, I hadn't known of that story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yeah, it did. It was a horrible crime with thousands of questions and no answers. The pain the family went through, I just can't imagine. i don't think Wheaton Plaza was able to keep up after this. Montgomery Mall was the new shining star in the area, an enclosed mall compared to the open air Wheaton Plaza. And, yeah, kids of all ages were afraid of what was lurking near Wheaton Plaza. Wheaton Plaza was pretty popular when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's. I think that's the mall I spent the most time at. I know we went there a ton to the movies and out to eat (Hot Shoppes and the eatery) and shopping (Walden Books, CVS, etc) with our grandparents. Of course White Flint also had that cool old town look for a while when we were kids that I always look back on fondly. Now White Flint's gone (I think or at least mostly gone), and Wheaton Plaza and Montgomery Mall are still there and still pretty popular. Wheaton looks pretty different now though, and of course it's gone through some name changes. I don't remember hearing about the Lyons sisters though. It's possible my parents or grandparents mentioned it in passing, of course. Hopefully this gets solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yeah it existed in the 70s. Montgomery Wards & all. Yes, the movie theater was built. Sometime in the mid-70s they talked about enclosing the mall. Not sure when they did it. I don't remember much about the place except for Woodies, Monty Wards (the smell of popcorn constantly in the air), & the theater. Every time I walk into Target & smell popcorn I'm always reminded of Monty Wards at Wheaton Plaza. Hope they catch this guy & find the girls remains. Wow, 40 years of pain for that family. SMFH Sad. It was an open air mall back then, and I think he is asking about the theater outside of the mall not the one inside. They built the outside one in the mid-late eighties. The one inside only had 3-4 screens. There was a Farrell's ice cream parlor there that we would always go to. The food court did not exist as we know it now. When they decided to enclose the mall they added the downstairs food court...outside theater had to be around the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I went to Einstein, and I know the exact path you talk about between the football field and the mall. Made that trip through the woods many times to skip school lol. Spooky, I hadn't known of that story. I google mapped out of curiosity. Looks like it's all developed now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeesburgSkinFan Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Major announcement upcoming in this case: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Lyon-Sisters-Mystery-Police-to-Announce-New-Details-315369131.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DCBrand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 My mom grew up in wheaton. She has always claimed that wheaton plaza was the biggest shopping plaza in the country when it was built. Before the mall craze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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