Young Boy Vanishes Months After Claiming He Was Molested

Louis Anthony Mackerley was a 7-year-old boy living in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Originally from New Jersey, he lived with his parents and three siblings: Harold Jr. (9-years-old), Sheila (3-years-old), and Edward (5-months-old).

He attended 1st-grade classes at Central Elementary, but Louis was due to transfer to a special education class as he had learning and emotional disabilities. He struggled to pay attention and was hyperactive, requiring two doses of Ritalin every day.

Louis was a friendly and talkative child, but he also liked to be alone. He was scared of sleeping by himself.

On June 7, 1984, Louis was under the care of his aunt while his mother, Sheila, was undergoing surgery. He returned home from school in the afternoon and told his aunt he was going to play with his friends two doors down from their home on Chew Street.

At 4 PM, Louis entered Marco’s Doggie Shop, a hot dog restaurant on Gordon Street, about a block from his home. He told the owner, Carmen Marco, that he was hiding from two teenage boys who had been chasing him. Louis left 45 minutes later, walking east on Gordon Street.

It wasn’t unusual for Louis to stay out late, often returning home around 9:30 PM. But on this particular day, it was 11 PM, and there was no sign of him. Louis’ parents looked for him but had to report him missing at 11:10 PM.

An extensive search was conducted, with a prime focus on Jordan Creek and Lehigh River because Louis liked to play near water. Also searched was Dorney Park, as the young boy had mentioned wanting to visit. Unfortunately, there were no signs of Louis.

A witness recalled seeing him at a park near Jordan Creek around 4:30 PM. Louis had been speaking to an unidentified man and woman. Although not ruled out by authorities, this sighting could not be confirmed.

The teenagers who had been following him were questioned, but investigators do not believe they were involved.

In 2014, Harold Jr. spoke publicly about his brother’s disappearance. He claims authorities did not take Louis’ case seriously, assuming his parents were involved.

“The cops, literally for, like, the first three years, were useless, before they finally said, ‘Maybe somebody outside the family actually did do something.’”

There were rumors that Harold and Sheila were abusive towards their children. However, social services found no evidence of such. They took several lie detector tests and were ruled out.

The family believes Louis was walking to a house on Chew Street. He often visited the elderly woman who lived there, Helen.

In January of 1984, mere months before vanishing, Louis made a shocking revelation to his parents, school nurse, and psychologist. He told them a couple named Frank and Elizabeth had molested him.

The authorities looked into the allegations but didn’t have enough evidence to launch an investigation. It is unknown if there was more than one encounter, but Louis’ statements differed.

He told officials he had been molested on the railroad tracks near Jordan Street and Lehigh River. Louis also said he’d been driven in a station wagon to an apartment in Allentown, where Frank and Elizabeth molested him. Afterward, they dropped him off in his neighborhood.

According to Harold Jr., the couple threatened Louis,

“He was told that if the cops found out that he was going to disappear. So the cops came down and started asking everybody a bunch of questions, and lo and behold, Louis disappeared.”

David Riggs, a 33-year-old alleged private detective from New York City, joined the search for Louis a few months after he disappeared.

He had worked with runaway children while earning a master’s in sociology at Columbia University. Although now running a company that sold amplifiers, David was inspired to search for missing kids after coming across an ad for a missing child organization in a trucker magazine.

He told the Mackerleys he had started his own organization, Search 7. The first child he wanted to find was Louis, whom he believed had been kidnapped for financial reasons.

“I plan to use ‘guerrilla tactics’ police don’t usually use. This is a battle. This isn’t something where you can sit back in your armchair and contemplate your next attack.”

It didn’t take long for authorities and the Mackerleys to realize David was a fraud and had no real value to the investigation. The man did not have a private detective license and Search 7 was not a registered organization.

In 1988, David was arrested in West Virginia after offering several young boys money for them to pose in bikini underwear. He was sentenced to a year in prison.

David was investigated as a possible suspect in Louis’ disappearance, but authorities could not find a connection.

Authorities have followed dozens of leads over the years to no avail. Louis was one of the first missing children featured on milk cartons, grocery bags, and billboards.

Eleven months after his disappearance, Helen was placed in a retirement home, so the Mackerley family moved into her house. Louis dreamed of living there one day, and they wanted to be somewhere he liked, hoping he would return.

Sadly, they were unable to pay the mortgage despite contributions from the community. The Mackerleys filed for bankruptcy and moved to Effort, Pennsylvania, in 1989.

Louis Mackerley has been missing for 38 years. If alive, he is now 45-years-old.