Rita, Steve, and Pam Madding
Real Names: Steven Ward Case, Rita Kay, and Pamela Ray Madding
Case: Lost Nieces, Nephew
Location: Powell, Wyoming
Date: 1950s
Case[]
Details: Ethel Loraine Sheme of Powell, Wyoming, is searching for her nephew and nieces, Steve, Rita, and Pam Madding. They were the children of her sister, Elnora Madding Hamilton. Ethel and Elnora came from a family of seventeen children. In the 1950s, Elnora divorced the children's father. After the divorce, she took them to Seattle and found a woman to babysit them while she worked as a waitress. Eventually, she left them with the babysitter and never returned. They were then given up for adoption.
Elnora later remarried and moved to Virginia. Sadly, she and the children's father have since passed away. Ethel began searching for them in 1980. She traveled to Seattle twice to find them. She advertised in Seattle and Tacoma newspapers, tried to persuade school districts to help in her search, and contacted welfare agencies. However, she was unable to find any trace of them. Steve was born around 1948, Rita around 1949, and Pam around 1951.
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired on the March 4, 1992 episode, as part of a "Lost Love Roll Call" which also included those of James Russell, Darlene and Davida Ebmeier, and Thomas Manion. It was updated on the December 23, 1992 episode.
- It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the Robert Stack episodes.
Ethel with Steve, Rita, and Pam
Results: Solved. The day after the broadcast, Rita, now living in Tacoma, Washington, contacted the telecenter. Her foster mother had seen the broadcast and told her about Ethel's search. Steve and Pam's adoptive parents also saw the broadcast and told them about the search. They contacted Ethel a few days later. Steve now lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Pam is in Richland, Washington. They had been raised together, but had no idea where Rita was. They were happy to learn that she had been found as well.
Soon after the broadcast, Ethel was reunited with Sam, Rita, and Pam at Sea-Tac Airport in Washington state. First, she was reunited with Rita. Moments later, they were reunited with Steve and Pam. Ethel was overjoyed to have her dream of finding them finally come true. That summer, they attended their first family reunion in over forty years.
Sadly, in 2016, Ethel passed away at the age of ninety-one.
Links:
- Show Helps Reunite Long-Lost Relatives - March 20, 1992
- "Lost" siblings to be reunited - March 21, 1992
- Powell woman finds relatives - March 26, 1992
- Ethel Sheme's Obituary