I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin -Solkowski. And
I'm your co -host, Eli Solkowski. And this is
Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and
missing person cases. Hello everyone and welcome
back to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali .
And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome back, everyone.
Just a little housekeeping right at the top.
Next week is Christmas. I believe Christmas Eve
is next Thursday, if I'm not mistaken. So we
will be off next week. Eli and I are traveling
for the holidays, seeing our family and our friends.
So we will be busy doing that. I just know myself
and we will not have time to get an episode up.
So we'll be off next week, but we'll be back
for 2026 on January 1st. And moving right back
into this episode, we are on episode 151 this
week. That's right. And we are on a missing person
case. All right, let's get into it. Today, we
are talking about the missing person case of
Kelly Dove. in Harrisonburg, Virginia. But first,
a little bit about Kelly. Kelly Dove is just
20 years old in 1982. Kelly is a young wife and
a mother to a four -year -old daughter and a
sister, one of four sisters who all work together
at the same place. Kelly was married to Dale
Dove, who was 25 years old and worked in construction,
and together they were building a life in Harrisonburg.
Kelly worked at the Imperial Gas Station located
at 2141 South Main Street. And this job was very
familiar to her, as I previously mentioned. Her
other sisters worked there too, so it was a comfortable
place. Night shifts were common for her. And
like many women working alone on the overnight
shifts in the early 1980s, Kelly was used to
some uncomfortable situations, unwanted attention
or obscene phone calls. According to her sisters,
these were common occurrences at the gas station.
Kelly's 21st birthday was just weeks away. She
would have turned 21 on August 30, 1982. And
now, a timeline of events. Thursday, June 17,
1982. On Thursday night, Kelly reported to work
for the third shift at the Imperial Gas Station.
Her husband, Dale, dropped her off around 10
o 'clock at night and stayed with her for about
an hour before leaving. He was there just hanging
out with her and chatting. According to him,
nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As the night
stretched on, Kelly was alone behind the counter.
We know that she passed the time by reading magazines
from the newsstand. And slowly, the hours and
minutes creeped by. And Thursday night became
Friday morning, June 18, 1982. Police say that
they're able to account for Kelly's night, minute
for minute, up until about 2 .15 a .m. What we
do know is at 2 .27 a .m., Kelly picked up the
phone and called the Harrisonburg Police Department.
And police have actually released this 911 call,
so we're going to play it here. Um, I'm working
the third shift at the Imperial Gas Station.
I just had an obscene phone call. And this guy
came in earlier, and he was kind of dressed improperly,
but I kind of ignored him. I think it was that
guy, because he just drove through the parking
lot a few seconds before I got the call. Could,
you know, you have somebody kind of keep an eye
out on me? Okay, this is on... Main Street. South
Main? Uh -huh. So as you guys heard in this 911
call, Kelly doesn't sound panicked in the 911
call. It's pretty matter -of -fact and solid,
but she is asking for someone to keep an eye
out on her. She's cautious, but calm. But just
two minutes later, at 2 .29 a .m., Kelly calls
911 again. This time, her voice is faster, more
urgent, and the tape skips, according to those
that have heard it. She told the dispatcher that
the man was back in the parking lot. When the
dispatcher asked what kind of car he was driving,
Kelly answered, quote, a silver -colored Ford.
The dispatcher said officers would be notified.
Kelly thanked them and hung up. According to
Kelly's sister, Rose, who has listened to the
second 911 phone call, she says that you can
hear a shuffle and then the phone abruptly snaps
at the end. This 911 call is the last confirmed
contact anyone has with Kelly Dove. However,
police arrive just minutes later. Her last 911
call was at 229. And according to police reports,
they pull up to the gas station at 2 .31 a .m.,
so minutes later. However, Kelly is nowhere to
be found. Inside the store, everything looked
almost untouched. There were no signs of robbery.
In some reports, it's said that money was left
on the counter and all the cash remained in the
cash register. The keys to the safe was still
in the office, and there were no signs of struggle
anywhere. Kelly's purse was left behind along
with her cigarettes and money. The magazine she
had been reading sat on the counter, folded open
as if she had just stepped away for a moment.
One of the officers working the case said that
it looked like somebody had just stepped into
the bathroom and would be back at any minute.
At first, there's a panic and some confusion.
Officers wonder if Kelly had been abducted in
her own vehicle because there were no cars at
the gas station at all. But when they spoke to
her husband, Dale, they learned that Dale had
dropped her off at 10 p .m., so there was no
missing car. Really, the only thing missing from
the gas station was Kelly. That night, as Dale
learned that his wife was missing, he spent the
entire evening just riding around the roads looking
for any sign of Kelly. He said, quote, I know
it's a wild goose chase, but it's better than
just sitting around. The next day, Saturday,
June 19, 1982, so Kelly has been missing for
one day, police announced that they were looking
for a man seen at another convenience store about
30 minutes before Kelly vanished. The man was
described as around 25 years old, about 5 '10",
weighing roughly 150 pounds, with shoulder -length
blonde hair. He was driving a late -modeled,
silver -colored car, possibly a Ford. Since Kelly
had mentioned the silver Ford, this is why police
think they're connected. But in addition, the
clerk at the other store reported seeing a two
-tone silver car driving slowly around 2 a .m.,
circling the area several times. The clerk told
police that about two weeks earlier, a man driving
a similar car had exposed himself to a woman
working the night shift. Despite this description,
police don't really get any solid leads here,
but they do think that these two events are connected.
On Wednesday, June 23rd, so it's been five days
since Kelly vanished, and police admit that they
have no solid leads. Kelly's sister Debbie spoke
to the media, explaining that obscene phone calls
and sexual harassment were common when women
worked the night shift. She said, quote, we get
those all the time. Kelly's family searched constantly,
scanning parking lots, watching for silver cars,
looking for any man who matched the description.
However, no real solid leads or suspects pop
up. Really, the only thing that anybody has at
this moment is hope that they'll find Kelly.
On Thursday, July 29th, so it's been 41 days
that Kelly has been missing. With each day, police
privately worried that Kelly would not be found
alive. Her family, however, held on to hope that
she would come home. Investigators believed that
the abduction happened in seconds, considering
how tight the timeline is between that last phone
call and when police say they arrived at the
scene. The phone Kelly had used to call police
was just 10 feet from the front door. They theorized
that a man pulled directly up to the entrance,
got out, and forced Kelly into the car. and they
believe the attacker was armed. Police say, quote,
During the last month of investigation, investigators
focused heavily on men with prior sex crime convictions.
Given the obscene phone calls and the sexual
harassment of the encounter, police believed
that the crime could be sexually motivated. Police
noted that since Kelly's disappearance, The gas
station had only received one obscene phone call
since she disappeared. Police say that they're
scrutinizing every detail, going back over Kelly's
911 calls, even questioning what Kelly could
have seen. Quote, When Kelly Dove called, did
she see a silver -colored Ford? Was it silver?
Dark gray? She wore glasses, was looking through
tinted glass into a light. So police are really
questioning. everything about the statement,
trying to find a lead. However, police are determined,
quote, we're not about to throw the towel in.
Sooner or later, we're going to get a break on
it. However, months begin to go by. In January
of 1983, so over six months now that Kelly has
been missing, police acknowledge what her family
has feared, that they believe Kelly is dead at
this point. Investigators even theorize that
they believe that she's buried within 50 miles
of the gas station, but really don't have any
proof to hang this on. The FBI has joined the
case as advisors, but still there's real no breakthrough
in the case. In 1989, so it's been seven years
since Kelly vanished, and she's legally declared
dead. And still... No leads in the case, no suspects
are named, and the case continues to get colder
and colder. In 1993, so it's been over 11 years
at this point, and Kelly's family publicly criticized
the original investigation. Her mother said she
believed police bungled the case from the beginning.
She claimed that on the night Kelly was taken,
the gas station was never properly secured, that
customers were still walking in and out thinking
the place was open. Kelly's sister, Elaine, said,
quote, There was no police tape up. They weren't
doing fingerprints. Customers still thought it
was open. She said that she was told fingerprints
weren't taken because there would have been too
many at the scene. She says, quote, That same
year, in 1993, The newspaper article suggested
a possible connection between Kelly's disappearance
and the murder of Paula Jean Chandler and the
abduction and murder of 12 -year -old Katie Warsky.
All three crimes happened within weeks of each
other. Kelly vanished June 18th, Paula vanished
June 19th, and her body was found just days later.
And then Katie Warsky went missing just under
a month later on July 12th. The article named
a man who had never been interviewed in Kelly's
case, Glenn Barker. Barker had been convicted
of the murder of Katie Worski, whose body has
never been recovered, so he was tried without
a body. But at the time in 1982, when Kelly vanished,
Barker drove a silver to dark gray, both colors
have been described, 1965 Ford Falcon. However,
after Kelly's disappearance, he painted the car
blue. Furthermore, Barker had previously been
charged in 1981, so two years before Kelly's
disappearance, with assaulting an 18 -year -old
girl at knife point, so he has a history of violent
crime against women. Police say in 1993 that
Barker had never been interviewed by Harrisburg
police regarding Kelly's disappearance, despite...
him driving a similar car to what Kelly described
and what the other gas station clerk said. And
Barker fit the description of the man seen about
30 minutes before Kelly vanished at the other
convenience store. During March of 1993, Barker
was arrested again during a traffic stop. Police
found a pellet gun resembling a pistol in his
car, which he wasn't allowed to have. And underneath
his car seat, they found a pair of handcuffs.
After the newspaper publishes this article that
Barker could be connected to Kelly's disappearance,
police announce that they're reopening the investigation
and they intend to look into this connection.
However, I couldn't find any updates, so I do
assume that police had talked to Barker at that
point in 1993 or shortly thereafter, but there's
never any updates. or if police officially were
able to rule him out of the investigation, or
if he's still considered a suspect. However,
whatever information that they learn in 1993
or thereafter doesn't really seem to make any
big commotion in the case. The case goes cold
and really falls out of the media after that.
The next big update comes in 2020 when police
announce that they're reopening the investigation
again. So they're going to look into Kelly's
disappearance again. And over the next few years,
there are some periodic updates. So in June of
2022, investigators announced that they had narrowed
down their suspect list from four people to just
one. However, almost like in the same breath
as saying they have this one suspect, they acknowledge
the possibility that Kelly's case could be part
of a larger pattern and they could be dealing
with an outside serial killer. So it might not
even be the suspect that they're looking at.
So they're pretty vague and they don't name the
suspect in the case. In 2023, Kelly's sister
Elaine spoke about the weight of waiting. She
says, quote, you have to have hope. There's nothing
else you can do. Investigators say that the biggest
challenge now is evidence, degraded DNA specifically.
Police need to be careful with what evidence
they do send away because it's been over 40 years
since Kelly's disappearance. So a lot of the
DNA could have just been destroyed over the years.
just won't be a good sample. So that is a challenge
that they're facing. But it does sound like there
could be some DNA in this case, or at least potentially
some things that could be tested for DNA, it
sounds like. Police say in 2023 that they are
closer than ever. And when they talk about this
case, and they're still saying that there's just
one suspect in the case, they still declined
to name him in 2023, but they talk very confidently
about the case. saying things along the line
of what they know and what they're able to prove
are two different things. So it sounds like police
have a very strong theory of what happened and
something that they believe is the truth, but
they're not able to prove it at this point with
evidence. So it looks like they're still missing
something to really bring this case home. So
with that, if you have any information about
the disappearance of Kelly Dove in 1982 or her
whereabouts today, please call the Harrisonburg
Police Department at 540 -437 -2650. So that
is the missing person case of Kelly Dove. I feel
a bit more comfortable just jumping right into
the timeline of Kelly's disappearance because
throughout the questions I ask you, I will be
talking about both Kelly's character and personality.
More than anything, and I know we got to hear
the first 911 call, more than anything, I would
love to hear the second one because it sounds
like to me and how family spoke about it, that
auditorily you maybe would have been able to
hear or gain some sense of what was happening
with her and around her in those final moments
before the phone cut off. Yeah, I agree. We get
to hear the first one, which I think is great
information, just hearing how calm she is and
kind of matter of fact during that first phone
call. But I agree. I would like to hear the second
one. And according to the family, you can hear
something right at the end, like a scuffle, shuffling,
and then the phone kind of snapping off. So I
think there is. evidence in that second phone
call for sure. Even if the tape skips and like
maybe cuts out a little bit, I think there's
strong evidence in that second phone call. Another
question I had, which was confirmed in your timeline
later, was did you think that someone approached
her with a weapon? And what the context clues
I used to reach that confirmation was the state.
that the store was in that it looked almost like
she just stepped away from what she was doing.
So I think, yes, that someone approached her
with a weapon because that's the only way she
was going to leave. I said I would speak about
her character and like someone else confirmed,
she sounded really scrappy, like she could handle
herself. She was someone who was working this
third shift regularly and was no stranger to
the pretty regular abhorrent behavior of men
during the 3 a .m. shift. And I'm sure some of
our listeners are no stranger to that behavior
as well. If you've worked third shift before,
I know you are not a stranger to it as my wife.
I've been witness to it while, you know, doing
exactly what her husband was doing, hanging out
with you during your first hour or last hour
of a second shift or third shift. And I would
witness that behavior. So, yeah, I agree with
law enforcement's take on that, that whoever
approached her and disappeared her most likely
had a weapon. Yeah. You know, Kelly is really
scrappy. And I think, you know, like you mentioned,
I've worked overnight shifts where I'm, you know,
working at a place at 3 a .m. And my mom also
she used to work at a gas station overnight like
this exact job. And it just takes like. a scrappier
gal to work at. That's always going to be the
case, I think, is that a scrappier girl is going
to take the job. So I think that's true in Kelly's
case, is that she could handle her own. And so
the only way someone was getting her away from
the gas station quickly, quietly, and without
a fight was with a strong weapon. So I do agree
with police here. And yeah, I think that's the
right conclusion. Especially considering the
state of the store, I think if somebody had just
tried to grab her, she would have really fought
and there would have been a mess left at the
store for the police to find because they're
there just minutes later. So, yeah, I think it's
a weapon and I do think it's a gun in this case.
Just to pivot quickly to Kelly's husband, I just
really feel for him. They were so young and were
just really getting their life started. And his
reaction is, I think, exactly how I would behave.
Like, I would just start looking for you. I wouldn't
really wait or listen to anyone, I think. I think
my response would be exactly what his was. And
I really think he put his all into trying to
find his wife. Yeah, my heart just really goes
out to him because I think he married into such
a beautiful family and it sounded like they were
just beginning to build what the rest of their
lives would look like together. Yeah, I think
when he says like it's, you know, I know it's
a wild goose chase, but it's like better than
sitting around. It's loosely what he says. I'm
not I don't think I'm quoting verbatim there,
but I think that's it. Like if, you know, someone
that you love is missing, like I think it would
feel in. sane to just like sit I like I'd want
to jump out of my skin I'd want to just be moving
and looking and running my eyes over things just
trying to like find the person that I love and
you know they have a young daughter too that
I know this must have been so confusing for and
really difficult to grow up without your mom
there so yeah this whole family like my heart
just breaks for them because Kelly Seems like
such an amazing person, and it's so unfair that
she didn't get to finish what she started, you
know, raising her daughter, her marriage. You
know, she didn't get to finish those things that
she started, and I hate that for her and those
that love her. With hearing the first 911 call,
I have heard this tone in your voice when you
have been dealing with difficult men. I have
heard this tone, and in that first phone call,
you know, she sounds, she's aware and alert,
concerned as to what's happening, but she sounds
over it. To me, she did not sound panicked or
super nervous, but it also didn't sound like
she knew who the person was. And that's something
that I just wanted to... take extra note of was
this person wasn't recognizable to her. Not that
she got like a full confirmation, but in that
911 call, she didn't give like a full description.
So as far as I'm concerned, I don't think she
knew who the person was, but I think that maybe
he knew who she was, or at least aware that a
woman was guaranteed going to be working at that.
gas station that evening. And that brings me
to my next question is, do you think that the
person that most likely disappeared her, do you
think this was someone that had their eyes on
the gas station location and was counting on
maybe even Kelly herself being there, but at
least for sure that a woman would be working
that evening? It's a great question. For me,
I think my mind goes to the other convenience
store a little bit, where at around 2 a .m.,
so roughly a half hour before Kelly starts to
do the 911 calls, this guy was seen kind of circling
the parking lot, and it matched the description
of a guy who had been harassing a woman who was
working there a few nights before, maybe a few
weeks before, something like that. I almost wonder
and like if this guy who did this, if his intent
was this other gas station and he like kind of
had his like eyes set on a particular person
there. But like they shifted around the work
schedules because of this harassment that was
happening. So men were working the night shift.
And so was he like just going out committed?
He was going to do this thing. And then his like
a wrench was thrown into his plan. So now he's
just driving around trying to find a gas station
with a woman working. Or was this just his M
.O.? Like he was going to do it at the first
gas station that he I don't know. I. I take note
of the fact that after. Kelly's disappearance,
there's only like one obscene phone call. I would
be curious if police think that's the same person
who did this or is it just a random thing? I
don't know. You know, it's a very vulnerable
position to be working by yourself late at night
at a gas station. Like I can only imagine how
vulnerable that must feel. So really anyone who
pulled up there could have just seen an opportunity
and. acted on it. And we have no idea. It's so
random, it feels like. But maybe it was targeted.
Maybe somebody was watching. But I don't know.
I did read in one report that Kelly might have
picked up this shift from somebody else. It might
have been one of her sisters. I only read that
in one report. I didn't see that repeated a lot.
So I'm not sure if that's factual. But if that
is the case, then Kelly wasn't even supposed
to be working that night at all. So then that
almost leads me more towards like it was somebody
who was looking for the opportunity and then
found it. I understand that there are many reasons
for declaring someone legally deceased after
a certain amount of time, especially in cases
like this. But this was a moment where my stomach
just sank. And the fire under me to find answers
became that much more raging because it seemed
so soon that the declaration of her being deceased
happened, even though it wasn't. It was multiple
years, seven years, I think you said. But I want
answers. I want answers so badly for this family.
But in that part of the timeline, it's really
where I started to lose a little bit of hope.
But hearing that they're still working in 2023
gave me so much. It was a small breath of fresh
air in the wake of something that's truly horrific.
Yeah, I love to see that there is energy behind
it. In the last five years, in the last six years,
we're really seeing some energy, resources, money
put towards Kelly's case because I do think it's
solvable. It seems like police are right there.
They're right on the cusp of making an arrest,
but they just need those little missing pieces,
whatever that is. If it's DNA, I hope we get
that DNA. If it's just like confirmation of like,
oh, I, you know, 40 years ago, I said this person
was with me, but they actually weren't. You know,
I lied about their alibi. Like, you know, something
like that, that last little piece of information
that's just needed to close this case and get
this family answers. I mean, they have been holding
out and hoping for answers. And yeah, I mean,
it's always. I totally understand what you mean
when like somebody is declared legally dead in
these cases where they've been missing for so
long because and families speak about this, too.
It's like they're not giving up hope. They still
desperately have hope that their loved one is
out there. But most of the time it's like they
need to do this to move things forward, whether
that be like, you know, estate stuff, social
security benefits for children. So sometimes
it's like legally it's just like the next thing
that has to happen. But it's so I can't even
imagine that feeling that the family must wrestle
with to do it and to make that declaration, because
I'm sure so many would love to have like a caveat
on it. It's like, yes, we're doing this, but
we hope she's still alive. I feel like that's
what every family is saying when they do this.
Now, I do want to bring up Barker. And I guess
this is more speculation on our end, but the
moment you brought him up, he seemed like a very
probable suspect to me, especially the detail
about painting the car. I wanted to know. what
your take was and if you think in at least as
far as you know as recent as 2023 goes do you
think that he's maybe someone who is um on that
list of probable suspects yeah i think I think
Barker is really suspicious and like specifically
to what you point to, like the painting of the
car, because for the murder that he was convicted
in, if I'm not mistaken, he paints the car before
that murder. So it's like, why are you doing
that if you haven't murdered somebody yet? I
believe that's right in the timeline, but. If
police have been able to rule him out, I feel
like they should come out and say like we've
ruled him out, especially when like the paper
is kind of publicly calling it out and like making
these connections between these three cases.
It just seems like the responsible thing to do
would be if you 100 percent ruled it out, then
like just say not considered a suspect for X,
Y, Z reason. But because they haven't done that
and they've never really mentioned him again
after, you know, the newspaper kind of calls
him out, I wonder if he's still on that list
and they're trying to kind of protect the investigation
a little bit. They say they limited the suspect
pool from four to one. I don't know if he's included
in that four, the one. I'm not sure. But we don't
have any of the names of it. But hopefully in
this case, we do get answers. Kelly's family
gets the answers that they're looking for, and
they're able to bring Kelly home ultimately and
give her a proper resting place, which the family
so desperately wants to do. So again, if you
have any information about the disappearance
of Kelly Dove in 1982 or her whereabouts today,
please call the Harrisonburg Police Department
at 540 -437 -2650. And we will have pictures
of Kelly on our Instagram at coldandmissing.
We'll also have that suspect sketch of the man
seen at the convenience store. 30 minutes beforehand,
but police think is connected. We will have that
suspect sketch as well on our Instagram at coldandmissing.
You can follow us there where you'll get all
the updates into 2026 and beyond. So please follow
us if you're not already. It's a great resource
for current missing person cases, current cold
cases, all that. So you can find us at coldandmissing.
Also on our website, www .coldandmissing .com,
if you or a loved one is hard of hearing, we
have our official transcripts there where everything
is spelled out correctly. So please, if you need
them, you can find them there along with the
rest of our old episodes. And you can contact
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Bing bang boom, you are doing advocacy work for
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And the kind words whenever you write one, oh,
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You guys are doing exactly what we want you to
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thank you so much. But that is all I have for
you this week. Thank you so much for listening
to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Allie. And
I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and
stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.