Right: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 56 years
Right: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 56 years
Name: Karen Reinert
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: June 22, 1979
Location Last Seen: Ardmore, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Date of Birth: September 23, 1967
Age: 11 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 4'8"
Weight: 70 lbs.
Hair Color: Sandy
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Karen Reinert was last seen at approximately 9:20, leaving her home with her brother, Michael , and their mother, Susan, in Ardmore, Pennsylvania on June 22, 1979. Three days later, on June 25, 1979, Susan's body was found in the trunk of her own car, which was parked in the parking lot of the Host Inn in Swatara Township, Pennsylvania. She had been beaten and bound with a chain, then killed with an injection of morphine 24 to 36 hours after the beating. There was no sign of Michael or Karen at the scene and an extensive search turned up no signs of either of them.
Various tips came in about the whereabouts of the children. One tip claimed the children were with an ex-con in Denver, Colorado. Authorities discovered a photograph of what appears to be a grave, and are trying to identify the location of where it was taken; they believe the children may be buried there. Sand samples taken from Susan's feet suggest her murder could have taken place at the New Jersey shore. The weekend Susan was killed one of the men convicted of her murder was known to have gone to Cape May, New Jersey.
Two men were convicted of the murders of the Reinert family. One of the men, William Sidney "Bill" Bradfield, Susan's boyfriend, died in prison; the other Dr. Jay Charles Smith, principal of the school where Susan taught, was released when his conviction was overturned because of allegedly concealed evidence by the prosecution.
It is believed they were murdered for Susan's insurance money. Michael and Karen are presumed deceased, but their remains have never been found. They were declared legally dead in 1987, and their father died in 2002.
Agency Name: Pennsylvania State Police
Agency Contact Person: Trooper Scott Denisch
Agency Phone Number: 717-671-7500
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: H1-149888
NamUs Case Number: 9414
NCIC Case Number: M092517545
NCMEC Case Number: 1159611
NamUs
NCMEC
The Philadelphia Inquirer - Jun. 20, 1999
The Times Herald - Jun. 24, 2019
Added: 01/30/2007; Last Updated: 04-17-2024 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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