Article from a newspaper in 1975. (Credit: Pennsylvania State Police)
It has been 50 years since 15-year-old Wendy Eaton vanished in Media, Pa., on May 17, 1975, just nine days before her 16th birthday.
Wendy was a sophomore at Penncrest High School in Delaware County when she was last seen at Indian Lane and Media Station Road in Middletown Township at around 2:40 p.m..
The intersection where Wendy was last seen. (Credit: Pennsylvania State Police) She decided to stay home that day with the plan to walk into town to buy her older brother, Richard, a birthday present and a birthday card. Wendy spent part of her day sunbathing in their yard as the rest of her family went to play a round of golf at Edgemont Country Club.
When the Eaton family returned home from their outing, Wendy was nowhere to be seen. Her mother, Joan recalled that when she went into Wendy’s bedroom, the window was open, her bathing suit was on the floor, her bed wasn't made, and she left out her John Denver album that she had been listening to.
She was supposed to attend her church choir rehearsal at Middletown Presbyterian Church on the night of her disappearance. Her family reported that she was infatuated with religion and would not have willingly missed the rehearsal that night.
The idea of Wendy joining a religious cult-like organization was pursued; however, investigators found nothing to support the claim.
“Wendy was an idealist. Our hope was that if she was alive, she’d gotten tangled up in a cult,” her mother, Joan Ware Eaton, told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1990. “We chased them all over the country.”
At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing “a yellow sleeveless terrycloth blouse, cutoff denim shorts, and white sneakers with a blue stripe,” as reported in a statement released by the Pennsylvania State Police. “She may have been wearing gold-rimmed eyeglasses and possibly a class ring with a red stone.”
Portrait of Wendy. (Credit: Pennsylvania State Police) Bloodhounds traced Wendy’s scent from her bedroom to the intersection where she was last seen, but were not able to track her any further. This led police to believe this is where she vanished.
In 2021, 46 years to the day, investigators turned the case from a missing person case to a homicide investigation. They were seen searching for new evidence, digging in the woods near the spot of her disappearance.
Officials did not reveal what information made them search the area 46 years later or what made them turn the case from a missing person to a homicide investigation.
Philly Daily reached out to Wendy’s brother, Richard Eaton, to ask about what he remembers from that day and if he would like to make a statement to the public, but has heard no response.
While 50 years might seem like a long time for a case to reopen, new information, details, and eyewitness accounts can emerge over time, helping break through investigative dead ends.
Public assistance is essential in helping cold cases advance, such as the case of Wendy Eaton. The state police are urging anyone with information, no matter how insignificant the information may seem, to come forward and help make progress in the investigation.
“As forensic technology continues to improve, even small tips from the public can be re-examined with new tools, increasing the chances of solving cases that have remained unresolved for decades,” the Pennsylvania State Police reported in a press release.
If you have information, you have the chance to help bring closure to a case that has been unsolved for 50 years. You are urged to call Pennsylvania State Police at 215-451-5216 with any information regarding the case of Wendy Eaton.
