A Bright Future Cut Short

On March 11, 1987, 18-year-old Kimberly Kay Kersey vanished while walking home from Mountain View High School in Vancouver, Washington. A senior with plans to attend a basketball tournament in Tacoma with her boyfriend that evening, Kimberly never arrived home. The next day, her schoolbooks and papers were discovered scattered in a wooded area near her residence, raising immediate concerns of foul play. 

The Last Known Movements

Kimberly was last seen in the Hearthwood Boulevard area, a route she often took to walk home. Her typical path included crossing Mill Plain Boulevard, just east of Evergreen Airport. While she sometimes received rides from her father or friends, on this particular day, she chose to walk. Her home was approximately two miles away in the 13600 block of northeast 18th Street. 

Immediate Search and Discovery

The discovery of Kimberly's belongings in a wooded area near her home intensified the search efforts. Despite extensive searches and community involvement, no further traces of Kimberly were found. The circumstances of her disappearance led authorities to suspect foul play early in the investigation. 

Persons of Interest

Investigators identified two primary suspects in Kimberly's disappearance. One was Russell Francis Stenger, who was later convicted of murdering a woman who disappeared while walking near the area where Kimberly was last seen. The other was an unidentified man with a history of child molestation who lived two blocks from Kimberly's home at the time and has since left the state. ...Read More