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Teen vanished in 1985 while biking, cops say. Now officials try new search for answers

Thirty-nine years after a teen vanished while biking to work, a new task force was created to look into her disappearance, Massachusetts police said.
Thirty-nine years after a teen vanished while biking to work, a new task force was created to look into her disappearance, Massachusetts police said. Stow Police Department

Thirty-nine years ago, a teenage girl vanished while biking to work in a Massachusetts town.

The 16-year-old’s bike was found in Hudson two years later, the Stow Police Department said in a Feb. 2 Facebook post.

Since then, however, there have been no “substantial leads or developments” in Cathy Malcolmson’s case, police said.

Now, police said they’ve created a task force to search for answers in her 1985 disappearance.

“Cathy’s disappearance has always remained on the minds of our department members and this town,” Chief Michael Sallese said in the news release.

Sallese said police plan to use both “technological and investigative advancements” that were not available at the time of Malcolmson’s disappearance.

“Our hope is that given the time that has passed, people who may not have come forward then will come forward with information now and we can finally get some answers as to what may have happened to Cathy,” Sallese said.

The grant funding the task force, the Edward J. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, will also cover a podcast about Malcolmson’s disappearance, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 978-897-4545, ext. 1985, or email tipsforcathy@stow-ma.gov.

Hudson is about 40 miles northwest of Boston.

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This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Teen vanished in 1985 while biking, cops say. Now officials try new search for answers."

Daniella Segura
McClatchy DC
Daniella Segura is a national real-time reporter with McClatchy. Previously, she’s worked as a multimedia journalist for weekly and daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area. Her work has been recognized by the California News Publishers Association. She is also an alumnus of the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley.
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