Sherry Lynn Marler Simply Vanished from a Small Alabama Town

Sherry Marler was known as “Little Farmer” by the people who knew her in Greenville, Alabama. It was obvious why this was her nickname, as she was described as a tomboy who loved anything to do with farming.

She enjoyed just being a kid in a small, southern town, where the most excitement was a trip to the gas station or dollar store. With a population of only 7,600 at the time, it was completely safe, or at least it was until the morning of June 6, 1984.

Betty Stringfellow, Sherry’s mother, woke up early that morning to make it to her shift at the Waffle House by 7 a.m. Sherry was sleeping on the couch after giving up her bed to an aunt who was visiting the family. Betty tiptoed quietly out of the house as to not wake Sherry. She had no idea that this was the last time she would ever see her little girl.

Around 9 a.m., Sherry had awakened and realized that her stepfather, Raymond, was getting ready to leave to head to the bank. Sherry grabbed her shoes and ran outside to catch him, asking if she could come along.

The pair reached the First National Bank around 9:30 a.m., where Raymond needed to sign some papers. Sherry told him that she was thirsty, so he handed her a dollar bill and told her to run over to the Chevron gas station to buy her a soda. The gas station was just across the street from the bank.

She Just Disappeared

Witnesses reported seeing Sherry walking across the parking lots of the General Telephone building and Jernigan’s Furniture Store on the way to the gas station. Within the next few minutes, Sherry Marler would never be seen again.

It only took about 15 minutes for Raymond to complete his business at the bank. He walked out to his truck, expecting to see Sherry waiting for him, soda in hand. But she wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere.

After 25 more minutes had passed, Raymond began to really worry. He called Sherry’s mother at the nearby Waffle House to see if Sherry may have stopped by there to see her. Betty confirmed that she had not seen Sherry since she left their home that morning.

Raymond began searching the area, starting with the Chevron gas station. Having no luck there, he also checked the tractor shop, feed store, and other nearby businesses. There was no sign of Sherry.

The Search Begins

Raymond and Betty reported Sherry missing at 11:46 a.m., just over two hours after she was last seen. There was no hesitation in the search for the 12-year-old girl. A massive search began, executed by volunteers, friends, and family. Even the Crenshaw Flying Service conducted an aerial search. Missing posters were distributed all over town and into neighboring counties. Sherry never turned up.

There are several scenarios that the people of Greenville and the authorities have looked into over the years.

Could She Have Run-Away?

Even in 1984, the number of runaway youths was staggering in the United States. With over a million runaways during that time, it makes sense that it would have been suggested. However, according to the people who knew Sherry, this is the least likely scenario.

Sherry’s family insists that she was very happy and content. She had no reason to run away from home and was excited about the plans that she had made on the day she disappeared. She had planned to visit her grandmother and watch her favorite TV show.

Sherry was by no means a troublemaker and tended to be very straight-laced and respectful. She did not take any belongings with her when she left, as most runaways do. She has not contacted any family since she has been missing, also something that runaways typically do.

Was She Taken by a Stranger?

It is definitely possible. While rare in small towns such as these, nowhere is exempt from monsters preying on children. No one witnessed anything that would have hinted at an abduction, but sometimes it can happen in seconds. She could have been taken from the gas station itself or on her journey to or from the store.

Strengthening the argument for an abduction, in the months following Sherry’s disappearance, there were three sightings, although unconfirmed. All three reported seeing a girl resembling Sherry with a man around 50 years old with a husky build and a hardened appearance. A truck driver in Conley, GA said the girl referred to the man as “B.J.”, while appearing upset, disheveled, and dazed.

Was She Murdered by Someone She Knew?

Unfortunately, this is also possible. She has been missing for almost 40 years, without any contact or recent sightings, so the theory that she was murdered, whether by a stranger or someone familiar is the most plausible.

Family members are typically the first to be questioned by police, and this case was no different. Raymond, Sherry’s stepdad was the first person interviewed by law enforcement since he was the last person to see her. Raymond was cooperative and answered all of the authorities’ questions, but when he was asked to take a polygraph test, he refused. Raymond however, was never listed as a suspect.

During the summer of 1983, before Sherry went missing, she stayed with her stepsister and her husband in the St. Stephen area of South Carolina. Authorities received a tip after Sherry disappeared that she had been sighted in this area. Could these relatives have been involved in her disappearance?

The Sherry Lynn Marler Still Missing Facebook Page

A Facebook page was created in 2012 to keep Sherry’s case alive and continue searching for answers. In 2019, there was an update post from the page creator, Ryan Anderson. She stated that a group of volunteers and herself, who had been searching for answers for years, had located what they believe is new evidence.

Part of the post reads:

Sherry Marler was murdered and dismembered by someone she knew very well (not her stepfather) and thrown into a hog pen in Butler County. We believe the person who murdered her is deceased. We strongly suspect there were 1 or 2 other people there at the time of her death, and that they are also deceased. We strongly suspect she was pregnant at the time. We believe she was a victim of a multiple family-based incest pedophilia ring that involved people from both Butler and Crenshaw Counties.

She goes on to state that the team located the pig farm in Butler County that was operational in 1984 but has since been abandoned. They further revealed that they have video footage of two separate cadaver dogs hitting on human remains. When they began digging, they discovered clothing and sent it off for DNA testing. Unfortunately, The Greenville Police Department reported that the material did not contain any DNA evidence.

Ryan also detailed that a family member of the person that she believes murdered Sherry allowed her to look through a box of old photos. Some of the photos show the pig farm when it was in operation. One photo really caught Ryan’s attention.

It was of a pig near a fence, standing over what she believes is a severed human head. For those that aren’t aware, hogs eat everything. There have been numerous cases where they have been used to consume human bodies to dispose of evidence.

It was reported that the original photo was seized by local law enforcement and turned over to the FBI. However, after not hearing any updates, Ryan contacted the FBI, who stated that they had never received the photo. The discoveries seemed to have led to even more questions than answers.

What do you see in the photo below?

Over 40 Years Later

We may never know what truly happened to Sherry Marler. All we know for certain is that a family has spent the last 40 years tirelessly searching for their “little farmer.”

Sherry’s stepfather, Raymond, passed away without ever knowing what happened to her. Betty said he never got over the fact that Sherry was with him when she vanished. Just before he died in April 2003, he told his wife, “Betty, I wish I could go get Sherry and bring her home to you, but I can’t, because I don’t know where she is.”

Betty has volunteered thousands of hours with Team HOPE (Help Offering Parents Empowerment) — a program created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to train the family members of missing or sexually exploited children so they can help others in their situation.

Betty said,

“At Team Hope, we are members of a club that no one wants to belong to,” she said. “I volunteer in the hope that no one else will ever have to go through what our family has been through.”

***Story previously published on Medium.com by the author***