The Missing
Lonene Ray Rattle-Rogers
Hayfield Township, Pennsylvania
Lonene (Lonnie) Ray Rogers was 29 years old when she was last seen on January 7th, 1981 at her home in Little Corners, Pennsylvania, which is about 10 miles northwest of the town of Meadville, Crawford County, PA. She lived there with her husband Clinton “Bud” Randall Rogers and their two young children, Aaron and Alison, who were three and five years old at the time. Lonnie and Bud were both deaf and she first met Bud at the “Erie Silence Club” which is a social club for the deaf community in Erie, PA. They got married at the Littles Corners Methodist Church on October 21, 1972.
Over time, Bud became abusive. It was said that on Thanksgiving of 1980, Lonnie drove to visit family members in Ohio with her kids but Bud was not with her. She then confided in her sister that she planned on leaving her husband, but was going to allow him to see the kids on Christmas as an act of kindness. When Christmas rolls around, Bud is allowed to visit his kids but then he ends up refusing to leave the apartment. At this point, Lonnie surely feels trapped.
On January 6th, Lonnie meets up with her father Ray, and tells him she wants to get away from Bud. Ray gives her $60 cash. Later, Lonnie had finished her shift as a hotel maid and picked up her kids from their babysitter, Sandy. She then heads home.
The night of January 7th in Meadville was a bitter cold one, with a severe snowstorm heading their way. At some point during the evening, it is claimed that Lonnie and Bud got into an argument, and Bud decided to go to bed. He said he awoke sometime between 1am and 3am (sources differ) and Lonnie was not in bed, so he assumed she was asleep on the couch and he went back to sleep. He says he got up in the morning and he realized Lonnie’s boots and coat were gone. However, she left behind her purse, glasses, medication, hearing aids and her car keys. Bud said he was not worried at first and didn’t call the police because when the couple had separated in 1980, she left him but she eventually returned. He assumed this scenario was happening again so he packed the kids up to go to the babysitter unusually early and then he proceeded to go to work as usual. He didn’t bother to call the cops.
While Bud was working, Lonnie’s father received a phone call from Sandy. She explained to him that the children were with her, and that Lonnie was nowhere to be found. Realizing something was very wrong, Ray rushed to the couple’s apartment and kicked the door down after knocking and receiving no response. The place was spotless, the dishes were put away and the beds were made. This is when Ray calls the police to report his daughter missing.
Despite this, authorities have stated that Bud was cooperative throughout the investigation. He has not been ruled out but he is not considered a suspect either.
No physical evidence was collected from their apartment. There was no sign of a struggle and there was no blood present. A king-sized pink blanket is later noted as missing and Bud could not account for where it was. Bud’s wallet was also searched and exactly $60 was found inside of it. The same amount of money Ray had given Lonnie the day before she disappeared.
Lonnie is a white female with long, sandy brown hair and gray/brown eyes, standing at 5’5” and weighing around 140 lbs. She is almost completely deaf and cannot speak fluently. She has freckles, pierced ears and had her tonsils removed at one point in her life. She may have been wearing a navy blue peacoat with blue jeans and high brown boots. Her date of birth is listed as October 18, 1951. There has been no activity on her social security number since she went missing.
After Lonene’s disappearance, both of the kids were juggled around, staying with family members and friends. Bud eventually placed their daughter Alison up for adoption.
After she grew up, Alison started researching her parents, and she learned that Bud had been arrested multiple times and that her parents’ marriage was strained. In 1972, a few months after her parents’ wedding, Bud was caught breaking into a woman’s car and brought to jail. He blamed this behavior on a metal plate on his skull that was surgically placed there after he was in a bad car accident as a child.
Alison believes her father is responsible for her moms disappearance, and has not had contact with him in many years. She believes certain people in the local deaf community may also have knowledge of what happened to her mother and are keeping quiet. Alison continues to fight for justice and closure.
Authorities have reached out to Bud several times, but no response.
Did Lonnie leave her kids behind and venture out into a blizzard in the middle of the night? Did something happen to her at the hands of the man she once loved? Or is it something else entirely?
Police suspect foul play, but Lonene’s case remains unsolved.
If you have any further information, please contact the Pennsylvania State Police of Meadville at 814-332-6911.
Sources:
https://uncovered.com/cases/lonene-rogers
https://www.lightthewaymissing.com/lonenerogers
https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/45556498/what-happened-to-lonene-rogers
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1850dfpa.html https://int-missing.fandom.com/wiki/Lonie_Rogers
The Lost & The Taken 
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