Images Courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Information Courtesy of The Charley Project

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and it is not meant to cause harm to anyone connected with the case. Please do not contact, threaten, harm, malign, or otherwise intimidate those mentioned in the post. Please do not release any personal information of the people mentioned in this post, and do not join in attacks conducted by others. Per U.S. law, every person directly or indirectly connected with this case is innocent until proven guilty.

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About Nyleen

Nyleen Kay Marshall was born on September 18th, 1978, to her mother, Nancy Marshall. Little information is available about Nyleen’s biological father or Nyleen’s life leading up to her disappearance. By the time of her disappearance, she was living with her mom, stepfather (Kim), a six-year-old half-brother, and a two-year-old half-sister.

Nyleen and her family lived in Clancy, Montana, a rural community with plenty of opportunities to explore the outdoors. Because of this, the family often hiked and spent time outside.

From early on, both of her parents took safety seriously. They taught their children how to be safe in the woods, and they enacted procedures to keep everyone safe. While I was unable to find specific information about these procedures, it seemed like the end goal was to prevent someone from getting lost, injured, or both during their adventures.

As for Nyleen herself, she blossomed into a sweet, courteous child who loved the outdoors and preferred playing outside whenever possible. She loved to take off her shoes, get her hands dirty, and stay out until sunset. She was also well-loved by her family, friends, and community.

Disappearance

On the day of her disappearance, Nyleen and her family attended a picnic with several other families at the Elkhorn Mountains in Helena National Park. Her stepfather was a member of the Capital City Radio Club, and he and his family were one of several who were invited. The club would often host community events, such as endurance runs and other outdoor events.

The Helena National Forest is a large state park at around 976,000 acres, with elevations rising over 9,400 feet. It’s also home to many types of big game, including bears, elk, moose, big horn sheep, whitetail deer, and Rocky Mountain goats. The terrain can be difficult to navigate, and it’s famous for being one of the spots where famed explorers Lewis and Clark passed through on their expedition.

From all accounts, the picnic was a fun event. There were plenty of opportunities for the children to play and for the adults to hang out. As fun as the event was, the area had dangers. For example, there were steep, rocky embankments, as well as abandoned mine shafts and dense forestry.

As the day wore on, the children broke into groups to play. Nyleen’s group explored the forest, the river, and a beaver dam. Sources vary on the details of what happened immediately before and after her disappearance. Most reports say that she was last seen at approximately 4:00 PM, sitting alone on a beaver dam. These sources further state that Nyleen got separated from her friends, who then returned to the adults, assuming she was playing alone or going back to the picnic. As a result, the group went back to the main area, emerging from the forest.

To everyone’s surprise, Nyleen wasn’t with this group of children and hadn’t made her way back. Confused, her parents asked the kids where Nyleen was, and they informed them that she was last seen at the Beaver Dam.

Given the difficult terrain and the dangers it presented, her parents were concerned. They immediately jumped into action, searched the forest with the help of the other attendees, and called out for the young girl. She never responded, much to everyone’s shock. She was last seen barefoot. No one thought she could’ve gotten that far.

As it became evident that Nyleen wasn’t going to be found quickly, the decision was made to drive to a phone and contact the local authorities.

Investigation

Once the authorities arrived, they contacted locals and search-and-rescue groups to help search. The forest was so dense that they needed volunteers with the skills to navigate the area. In total, there were over 2,800 volunteers and canines intensively searching for Nyleen. At one point, dogs picked up her scent near Maupin Creek, only for them to lose it just as quickly. For investigators, this brought up the dark possibility that she had been kidnapped.

While the official searches were conducted, the authorities interviewed witnesses, paying special attention to the children who were last seen with Nyleen. Despite the number of witnesses, police only discovered two pieces of information:

1. Multiple witnesses reported seeing a man in a purple jogging suit. Some sources report that he was in the area shortly before her disappearance, and others report that the man spoke to her shortly before her disappearance. As of this writing, this man has never been identified, and it’s unknown if he’s connected to her case.
2. One boy reported that Nyleen had told him that this same man told her to “follow the shadow.” It’s unknown what this phrase means or how it’s connected to her case.

The authorities also briefly looked into Nyleen’s stepfather, although I was unable to find any more information about why he was suspected. In any case, he was cleared, and the leads quickly went dry.

Later Developments

In November 1985, two years after Nyleen disappeared, the Marshall family received the first of three phone calls, all coming from an unknown man who police suspected abducted the young girl. Little information about these calls has been released, but this man was reported to have taken Nyleen. The police were able to trace the calls to several different phone booths in Edgerton, Wisconsin. However, the phone calls stopped soon after.

A few months later, in January 1986, a series of letters with a Madison, Wisconsin postmark were sent to Child Find of America and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. These letters were written by a man who claimed to have picked up a little girl named “Kay.” Among other details, the writer claimed to have picked up “Kay” on a road in Elkhorn Park between the towns of Helena and Boulder in Montana. He claimed to have a good investment income, worked from home, homeschooled the girl, and traveled extensively within the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain. He claimed to love the child and acknowledged that her family must love her, but he couldn’t “let her go.”

These letters included details that were known only to law enforcement and whoever was responsible for Nyleen’s disappearance. As of this writing, they have not found the person or people responsible for the phone calls and letters.

In 1990, the television show Unsolved Mysteries covered the case. This airing generated at least one tip. A caller reported that he believed that Nyleen was a student at his school, which was in Vancouver, British Colombia. This student, who went by the name of Mary Ann Kelly, bore a striking resemblance to Nyleen’s age-progressed photo at the time.

The authorities investigated and conducted a background search on “Mary” and her father, “Robert Kelly.” Both individuals were living under false identities, but “Mary” was not Nyleen. Instead, she was another missing person, a young girl named Monica Bonilla. Monica had been abducted by her non-custodial father in Burbank, California on September 22nd, 1982. Shortly after this discovery, her father was arrested, and she was reunited with her mother.

The case would stall again until 1991 when Richard James Wilson turned himself in. He claimed to have murdered both Nyleen and another woman, and he told them where they could find Nyleen’s remains. In response, the authorities took him back to the Elkhorn Mountains so Wilson could show them the location. They were unable to find her remains, and upon being questioned further, he recanted his confession.

By the late 1990s, another tip was called in. A woman who worked at a hospital in New Orleans told the FBI about an unusual encounter she had had with a patient two years prior. A man and a 19-year-old woman (named “Helena”) came, wanting to be admitted for labor and delivery. As she asked the couple about their medical and family history, they became visibly uncomfortable and left before receiving care. In response, the authorities tracked down this woman and had her submit to a DNA sample, which was compared to that of her birth father. It was not a match.

Unfortunately, another tragedy befell the Marshall family in the years since Nyleen’s disappearance. Nancy, Nyleen’s mother, was found dead in Mexico in 1995. Some sources say she was in Mexico for a vacation, but others say she was there looking for houses, as Kim had received a job transfer. Either way, she was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Even though the local authorities ruled it a suicide, many are convinced it was murder. Whether or not her death was related to Nyleen’s disappearance is unknown.

There have been no new leads in Nyleen’s disappearance since the late 1990s. The case is still open, and the authorities investigate every lead, but they haven’t been able to get the evidence they need. As of this writing, her case remains unsolved.

My Thoughts

The disappearance of Nyleen Marshall is confounding and heartbreaking. A four-year-old spent an afternoon doing what she loves, playing outside and hanging out with family and friends. It’s something that countless children have done, and for the most part, they come home safely. Only this time, Nyleen didn’t. She disappeared from the Elkhorn Mountains in the Helena National Forest, and she hasn’t been found in over 40 years.

To make things even worse, her mother Nancy was found dead in Mexico in the mid-1990s. She had tirelessly searched for her daughter in the years following her disappearance, but she tragically died before she could receive closure.

When it comes to this case, there are three main theories that people believe:

1. Nyleen got lost in the woods, where she either succumbed to the elements or was the victim of an animal attack.

2. Nyleen was kidnapped and murdered soon after she disappeared.

3. Nyleen was kidnapped by someone looking for a child to raise.

Let’s examine these one by one.

First, we have the theory that Nyleen got lost in the woods and succumbed to the elements or an animal attack. On face value, this seems like the most likely theory. After all, she and her family were in the woods. The terrain was difficult to navigate, and there were a variety of wild animals. Considering Nyleen was so small, it wouldn’t have taken much for her to get into a dangerous situation. She could’ve fallen into an abandoned mine shaft, drowned in a body of water, been carried off by a wild animal, or any number of other scenarios.

The problem is that we don’t have any evidence. Despite exhaustive searches and the passage of time, the authorities never found anything connected to Nyleen. No hair, no blood, no torn clothes, nothing. Besides that, no one heard any screams, growls, or anything to suggest a wild animal was in the area. I’m not saying this theory is impossible. Given how dense the forestry was and her size, she could’ve fit in tiny spaces, spaces that could’ve been overlooked. But given the number of searches and the amount of time that’s passed, you would think that something would’ve been found by now.

With all of these factors in mind, I believe we can set this theory aside.

That leads us to our second theory, that Nyleen was abducted and murdered soon after her disappearance. For many, this is the most likely theory. At first glance, it makes sense. It’s all too common for children to die soon after they’re abducted, especially by a stranger.

However, because of the lack of evidence, we can’t say for sure what the motive was. Not only that, but between the phone calls, letters, and sightings of Nyleen herself, it’s possible that she was alive for years after her disappearance. But given that there haven’t been any sightings since the late 1990s, it’s also possible she was killed years after she was last seen.

I think we have to keep this theory in the back of our minds, but given the sheer lack of evidence, we can’t say for sure.

That brings us to the last theory, that Nyleen was abducted by someone who wanted a child. Several years after her disappearance, organizations received letters and phone calls from an individual claiming to be responsible for Nyleen’s abduction. They were able to pinpoint the exact location where she was last seen, and there was reportedly information known only to law enforcement and the perpetrator.

You could argue that the phone calls and letters were hoaxes. It’s possible, but given that the information was so specific, I just don’t think that’s the case. Criminals have been known to taunt law enforcement and victims’ families, so it wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case.

The frustrating part is we have nothing to go on here. Instead, we’re left with endless questions. There was no evidence of suspicious individuals or Nyleen herself. If it wasn’t for all of the eyewitnesses, I would question whether she even went to the picnic that day.

Given that this took place in a national forest, I wonder if there was a record of him being there. Did visitors have to purchase tickets or sign a guest book? Or could people enter and exit unmonitored? I also wonder if police searched these records and interviewed people who were at the park that day. I wasn’t able to find anything definitive. If they did, they never revealed anything to the public.

Unfortunately, unless there’s a major development, I can see this case stalling for another 40 years. It’s tragic because this was an innocent four-year-old girl. She was playing outside with her friends, and she should’ve come home. She should’ve had the opportunity to live her life. But in all likelihood, she never got that chance. All because of one sick and twisted individual.

But you can help make things right. Start by sharing this post. Keep talking about her story. It might jog someone’s memory or pressure the individual involved to come forward.

Nyleen’s mother died without knowing what happened to her daughter. Let’s find out what happened so the rest of her family can have peace.

***

If you’re looking for more information about the disappearance of Nyleen Kay Marshall, there are several news articles and podcasts. The following sources helped me as I wrote this post:

• The Charley Project
• Crime Online
• Trace Evidence Podcast
• The Crime Wire
• Grunge
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Visitmt.com

If you have any information about the disappearance of Nyleen Kay Marshall, please contact the Jefferson County Sherrif’s Office Missing Persons Unit at 406-225-4075. You can also submit tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-843-5678.

What do you think happened? Let me know in the comments.