‘Just disappeared’: Police need help closing case of 1977 missing teen

FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio — Sometimes the smallest tips can lead to the biggest breaks for investigators working to solve a case. Even one that has gone cold.

Fairview Park Police Chief Paul Shepard said he is counting on someone speaking up with information to finally bring Yvonne Reglar’s family answers after their loved one went missing nearly 50 years ago.

“She was a tomboy, played in the band,” Shepard said while flipping through photographs. “Just a decent, good kid.”

The pictures give a glimpse into Yvonne’s life. At least up until Aug. 8, 1977: the day Shepard said the 17-year-old was abducted during a work shift at a gas station on Lorrain Road.

“The fact that she wasn’t supposed to be there,” he said. “Two, she had plans that night. We found no indication that she ran away.”

Shepard said coworkers brought the North Olmsted teen to the Fairview Park service station around 8 a.m. He said she was transferred there to replace the scheduled employee, who was skilled at changing tires and sent to cover a shift at a location with a garage.

“It was raining that day,” Shepard said. “There were storms, business wasn’t super busy. It was just like, ‘Hey, just go and do it.’”

Yvonne was the only attendant on duty.

“The other thing is, it’s Fairview Park,” he said. “What could happen to you in Fairview Park?”

Shepard said Yvonne initialed a receipt around 1:25 that afternoon, but between 1:30 and 2:05 p.m., he said two customers and a coffee machine repair person found the gas station empty. Yvonne’s personal items were still there.

“Would you leave your purse and all your belongings behind?” Shepard said. “No. You would take something.”

He said it was only after her shift replacement arrived for work at the empty station around 3 p.m. that Yvonne was reported missing. By that time, it was about an hour and a half after Shepard believes she was either tricked or physically taken.

“She was taken from the pump,” he said. “There was no DNA. There’s no evidence. Because she would have just been grabbed and put in the car.”

The disappearance captured newspaper headlines at the time, as her parents asked for answers.

Peter Elliott said he was a detective at the Higbee’s department store where Yvonne’s mom worked.

“I can remember that time,” he said. “I can remember the mom and her daughter was missing. Again, I wasn’t in law enforcement at the time, I was in security, so I really didn’t know what was going on.”

But now as the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, Elliott brings national resources to assist with the investigation into what happened to Yvonne.

“Not very typical is a serial killer that comes to town and snatches people,” Elliott said. “So typically it’s somebody you know, may know well.”

Shepard said they look into every lead, as he combed through a box of files to bring out an example. A black-and-white clipping of an advertisement.

“They thought this model looked like her from a 1970s hair stylist, and they ended up finding out that this was a professional model,” Shepard said, explaining the tip. “But there is some resemblance.”

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an updated age progression photo of how Yvonne might look today at age 65.

Shepard hopes someone recognizes her or remembers something to close a case that generations of Fairview Park officers have worked to solve.

“This is a young lady that showed up to work, did nothing wrong, she’s missing,” Shepard said. “We owe it to her, her family and the rest of the community to find out what happened to her.”

He vowed that his department will not stop searching until they find her.

If you have any information about Yvonne Reglar’s disappearance on Aug. 8, 1977, please call Fairview Park Police at (440) 356-4418 or email chiefofpolice@fairviewparkohio.gov.