Name: Erica Lee Fraysure
Age: 17 years old
Last seen: October 21, 1997
Location: Brooksville, Kentucky
Status: Still Missing
Case Information
17-year-old Erica Fraysure was last seen in Brooksville, Kentucky on October 21, 1997. She disappeared while driving home after spending a night out with friends.
Background
Erica Fraysure was born on May 6, 1980 to parents Maggie Doherty and Kevin Fraysure. She lived in Germantown, Kentucky, a small town located about fifty miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1997, Erica was a senior at Bracken County High School with plans to enroll at Northern Kentucky University after graduation to study accounting. She was working part-time at Carota’s Pizza, a local pizza restaurant in Augusta.
Disappearance
On October 21, 1997, Erica was last seen hanging out with friends outside the Video-N-Tan store in Brooksville, Kentucky, between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m.
Erica Fraysure never returned home and hasn’t been heard from since.
Erica’s mother reported her missing to the Bracken County Sheriff’s Office after she failed to return home.
Investigation
On October 22, 1997, Erica’s vehicle, a Black four-door 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE, was found unlocked and abandoned in a field off Fronks Lane, just outside of Brooksville, parked between rolled hay bales.
Authorities found Erica’s purse, wallet, checkbook, and money inside the car. The keys were later discovered in a field across the road. Police found no fingerprints, foreign hairs, or evidence of foul play inside her car.
There’s been no indication that Erica left of her own accord, and she never picked up her $100 paycheck from Carota’s Pizza.
She didn’t tell her friends about any plans to travel and had no history of running away. She was a good student and there were no indications of trouble in her life.
Shane M. Simcox
On October 21, 1997, Erica Lee Fraysure was last seen in her car with 20-year-old Shane M. Simcox, an acquaintance whom she had known for less than a year.
Simcox told police that he was barhopping with friends and was a little drunk when Erica and one of her female friends pulled up to him on a street corner in Brooksville, Kentucky.
According to Simcox, Erica offered him a ride around town after her friend got out of the car and they rode alone together for 10 or 15 minutes. Erica eventually decided to go home and dropped him off at his step-grandfather’s house around 9:00 pm.
In a 1997 interview with WCPO he admitted to being the last person to see Erica alive.
In 1995, Simcox served several months in jail for burglary. He was also expelled from Bracken County High School for threatening a teacher and her daughter.
Simcox is considered a person of interest in Erica Lee Fraysure’s disappearance. Authorities have been unable to find any evidence against him, and he had refused to take a lie detector test.
He denies any involvement in Erica’s disappearance.
Whereabouts
Foul play is suspected in Erica Fraysure’s disappearance. Neither of her parents lived to see the mystery of their daughter’s case solved. Her mother died in 2012, and her father died in 2016.
The circumstances of Erica’s disappearance remain unclear and her case is currently classified as missing. Her case remains unsolved.
Appearance
Physical Description:
White female born on May 6, 1980. Erica has brown hair, blue eyes, stands 5’6 tall, and weighs 115 pounds.
Distinctive Physical Features:
Erica has a strawberry birthmark on the back of her neck.
Clothing and accessories:
Erica was last seen wearing a purple sweater with two white stripes which extend down the sleeves, Levi’s jeans, and white Keds sneakers. She was wearing a Winnie The Pooh watch, a tri-gold chain, and four gold rings on her right hand, one of which has a sapphire and diamond heart.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Erica Fraysure please contact the Bracken County Sheriff’s Office at (606) 735-2700, or the Kentucky State Police at (859) 428-1212. Agency Case Number: 6C972364
Resources & Further Information
Erica Lee Fraysure #MP6079 – National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
Erica Lee Fraysure – National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
News & Media Links
Erica Fraysure: Questions remain unanswered – The Ledger Independent 10/05
Fraysure mystery continues to frustrate police – The Ledger Independent 10/07
More than a memory – The Ledger Independent 10/12
Search for answers spans 18 years – The Ledger Independent 10/15
Unsolved Erica Fraysure case haunts classmates – WCPO 10/17
Kentucky Community Still Fearful 20 Years After Erica Fraysure Disappearance – NBC News 10/17
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