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50th Anniversary Of An Unsolved Paulding Murder

By Scott Sarvay
November 9, 2010 Updated Nov 9, 2010 at 6:34 PM EDT

PAULDING, Ohio (Indiana's NewsCenter) - It was an unexplainable crime that shocked the small town of Paulding, Ohio 14-year-old Nancy Lee Eagleson was abducted as she walked home with her 5-year-old sister. Her body was found hours later in nearby woods, she had been raped and shot to death.

"A man asked if we wanted a ride and she said 'no thank you, we're almost home' then he pulled onto our side of the road and just grabbed her out of my hands," said Sheryl Eagleson Garza, Nancy’s sister.

Even today it's hard to talk about for Sheryl Garza. As a 5-year old she jumped on the back of the abducted, but couldn't stop him from taking her sister.

The two girls were walking along the road when the abduction took place. All within sight of the home they were walking toward.

50-years-ago, police technology wasn't near what it is today. Not only did police not have DNA, but family members say all of the physical evidence from the scene is gone. Despite a reward of over $6,000, a prime suspect never emerged. Nancy's 2 sisters and her Mom feel the killer was a local man based on the woods the body was found in. They also realize he may not be alive, which means any kind of closure may never happen.

"You hear all these rumors it would just be nice to know what really happened that night, just some closure", says Garza.

The family will honor the anniversary of Nancy's death on Saturday night with a vigil and candlelight walk that starts at the First Christian Church in Paulding at 7pm. Despite all the time that has past the family holds a glimmer of hope, that someone still knows what happened 50-years-ago on the side of the road.



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