focused heavily on that lead.
It generated public attention because it offered something the case desperately needed: a possible person connected to the girls shortly before they disappeared.
But investigators eventually determined that the man had been testing a recording device and was not responsible for the sisters’ disappearance.
The lead went nowhere.
Yet another witness description had already entered the case.
That clue would remain largely overlooked for decades.
The sketch that would change the investigation
A friend of Sheila and Katherine provided investigators with another description.
She reportedly remembered seeing a young man paying unusual attention to the girls at the shopping center.
Her description was striking.
The man was believed to be approximately 18 to 20 years old, with long hair and noticeable acne scars. He was described as roughly 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds.
A police artist produced a composite sketch.
