The Disappearance of Leichia Reilly

Episode 208

On a bitterly cold winter night in January of 1985, twenty-one year old Leichia M. Reilly left her family home to visit a popular, local nightspot. She never made it home and early the next morning, her parents reported her missing.

Investigators tracked down everyone who had been at the bar that night and found several witnesses who stated that they saw Leichia leaving at approximately 3am in the company of another man, off-duty NY State Trooper Daniel D. Rose. Rose did not report being at the bar that night, nor did he tell investigators he had seen the missing woman.

Rose quickly hired a lawyer, denied leaving with Leichia, denied knowing her and denied being involved in whatever happened to her. Severely lacking evidence, and having never found a body, detectives had nothing to work with and cannot even technically classify it as a homicide, rather than a missing persons case.

Leichia's father, Patrick Reilly, was devoted to finding his daughter and seeing her killer put behind bars. He made a vow that both of these things would happen, but tragically, passed away after thirty years of wondering, searching and hoping. What happened to Leichia that cold January night and what secrets might the former police officer hold about her fate?

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Sources:

14 Feb 1985, 17 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

15 Feb 1985, 13 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

31 Jul 1985, 11 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

05 Feb 1986, 13 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

06 Feb 1986, 17 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

17 Feb 1986, 8 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

27 Feb 1986, 13 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

16 Mar 1986, 41 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

16 Mar 1986, 43 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com

20 Mar 1986, 25 - The Buffalo News at Newspapers.com