07/14/2023
On January 31st 1996 in Bolingbrook Illinois, 13 yr old Rachel Mellon stayed home from school due to a sore throat. She was last seen taking a nap during the afternoon. She was wrapped in a blue blanket at the time her stepfather, Vincent Mellon, last saw her. He stated they played video games together, then she fell asleep and he left the house to take the family's dog for a walk. He claimed the dog got loose and he didn't return to the house until half an hour later. Authorities maintain that Vincent never checked on Rachel when he returned home, but he stated that he did indeed notice his stepdaughter had disappeared after he finished the walk. Rachel was apparently reported missing to investigators at approximately 5:00 p.m. when her mother, Amy Mellon, got home.Two pillows and the blue blanket she was wrapped in are also missing. Her winter clothes, shoes, and coat were not taken, even though the wind chill was twenty degrees below zero outside that day. There were no indications of forced entry. An extensive search of the surrounding area turned up no signs of her and she couldn't have survived long if she was outside and exposed to the elements. Her bank account has not been touched since her disappearance, and there was no evidence that she'd purchased plane or bus tickets to go anywhere.
Vincent gave DNA in case a body can be found. Amy stated that she believed Rachel was alive and other persons knew her whereabouts.
Police believe foul play was involved in Rachel's disappearance. Vincent has been considered a possible suspect in her case for several years. He had scratches on his body after her disappearance; he said he was injured while repairing his car. He has a long record for domestic violence and he failed lie detector tests in connection with Rachel's disappearance. The grand jury investigation ended in 2000 without any indictments handed down. She kept a diary which police read after her disappearance. In one entry, written months before she vanished, she wrote that Vincent had kissed her and touched her inappropriately. Rachel's father, Jeff Skemp, was living in Dallas, Texas at the time of her disappearance. He had separated from Amy when Rachel was a toddler. Skemp stated that the day Rachel vanished, she telephoned his mother. He said this was out of the ordinary for Rachel, as she was not allowed to talk to her grandmother.Skemp keeps his phone number listed in case Rachel tries to contact him, but he believes she met with foul play. He held a memorial service for her in 2006. Amy and Vincent moved away from the area sometime after 1996. Rachel's disappearance remains unsolved and no arrests have been made in connection with her case, but her disappearance is being investigated as a homicide.
