Wednesday marks 30 years since Stephanie Crane disappearance

CHALLIS – Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary since 9-year-old Stephanie Crane disappeared in Challis.

Stephanie, who went missing in 1993, would be 39 years old this year.

On Oct. 11, 1993, around 8:16 p.m., Sandi Crane, Stephanie’s mother, arrived at the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to report she could not find her daughter. She told deputies that Stephanie had gone bowling after school, as she bowled in a league with her friends.

According to a news release from the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, Sandi went to the Challis Lanes Bowling Alley between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. that afternoon. She paid for her daughter’s bowling, briefly spoke with Stephanie and gave her $1 for a snack.

Stephanie was supposed to go directly home after bowling but never showed up.

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office sent out a news release Wednesday with ten interesting facts about the case.

10 facts about the disappearance of Stephanie Crane

• Stephanie has not been seen or heard from since the evening of Oct. 11, 1993.
• Stephanie was described as a “cautious tomboy” who was afraid of the dark.
• There is no evidence or witnesses as to what happened.
• A suspicious yellow pick up with the red pin stripes that was seen near the high school (across from the bowling alley) was not located and no one could provide a license plate.
• Several psychics have volunteered their efforts but no leads have panned out.
• In November 1993, local television stations aired a public service message featuring actor William Devane. The message urged viewers to call authorities if they had any information Stephanies disappearance.
• In February 1994, Sandi Crane, along with other parents of missing children, appeared on “The Jerry Springer Show” (before his talk show was sensational). The episode was entitled “They’re Stealing Our Children” but it was not available on local cable channels in Challis.
• That same month, a very thorough search of an overlooked cistern was conducted. This cistern had been abandoned for twelve years and was in a weed-covered field about 50 feet from the path Stephanie usually took. Four days were spent digging out this cistern. Stephanie was not in there.
• In 2002, Keith Hescock kidnapped and raped a 14-year-old girl in Idaho Falls. She managed to escape and authorities were alerted. Hescock took his own life after a high-speed chase with law enforcement. He had been in the Challis area on Oct. 11, 1993 and shot and killed a big horn sheep in Morgan Creek.
• The Custer County Sheriff’s Office attempted to interview a “drifter” mentioned in the 2018 episode of “Disappeared” entitled “Into the Mist” that aired on Investigative Discovery. When it was brought to his attention that the Custer County Sheriff’s Office received information from other individuals that he may have something to do with Stephanie’s disappearance, he called them all liars and walked out.

The Custer County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the state of the investigation on Wednesday.

More details on the case

According to a Custer County Sheriff’s Office news release from 2021, accounts differ as to whether Stephanie was going to the high school to watch soccer practice or was heading to her family residence which was approximately 500 yards away from the bowling alley.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., when Stephanie had not arrived home, Sandi said she had gotten a funny feeling something was wrong. She called the bowling alley only to find Stephanie was not there.

Sandi said she drove around town for a couple of hours looking for Stephanie on her own before coming into the Sheriff’s Office at approximately 8:16 p.m. to report she could not find her daughter.

At 8:20 p.m., the sheriff was notified. At 8:26 p.m., the deputy in the office left to go check the creek that runs behind the bowling alley. At 9:06 p.m., the Challis Volunteer Fire Department was called to assist in the search.

At 9:08 p.m., Custer County Search and Rescue was called out. There were approximately 60 searchers out looking for Stephanie that evening. The search continued until approximately 12:30 a.m.

The search for Stephanie continued the next morning with deputies, 300 searchers, two planes, hundreds of phone calls, FBI Agents, Idaho State Police officers, Fish and Game officers, and a team of tracking dogs.

The search failed to turn up any sign of Stephanie. The boat crews that checked the Salmon River from Challis to Salmon also failed to turn up any sign of the missing girl.

To get the word out that Stephanie was missing, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office relied on volunteers to hand out fliers and stuff envelopes with a flyer of Stephanie and a cover letter for a nationwide mailing to get the word out that Stephanie was missing.

In October 1993, Stephanie’s case was featured on the show “America’s Most Wanted.” The following month, a benefit concert was held for Stephanie’s cause by the Braun Brothers. Her case was also featured on a short-lived news magazine show “Front Page.”

In 1994, and again in 1997, “The Child Connection, Inc,” an independent non-profit organization that assisted with searches for missing children throughout the US and Canada, came to Challis to help locate Stephanie. Despite their efforts, she was not found.

In 2010, the Custer County Sheriff Office contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and requested the assistance of “Project Alert.” This is a group of retired law enforcement professionals trained by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to participate in a variety of ways on missing children’s cases.

In 2012, acting on different tips, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office searched different areas of the county but the searches turned up nothing.

In 2016, Stephanie’s case was featured on Dateline’s “Cold Case Spotlight.” online. The Custer County Sheriff’s Office also started reviewing and re-evaluating possible evidence and traveled out of state to conduct some interviews.

Stephanie’s case is still open and will remain open until she is found, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“Every tip that the Custer County Sheriff’s receives is followed up on. Stephanie has dark brown hair and blue eyes,” states the news release. “Her face is freckled, and she has a space between her two upper front teeth. She has a cowlick on the right side of her hairline and a scar over her right eye.

Anyone with any information about Stephanie is encouraged to call the Custer County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 879-2232. You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-842-5678). You can also send an email to stephaniecranetips@gmail.com.