Real Name: Unrevealed
Case: Lost Savior
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: July 1961
Case[]
Details: We have all met people who have made lasting impressions upon us. Sometimes, they are total strangers who pass through our lives without ever knowing they have made a difference. In the early 1960s, a young girl named Cathy Williams (now Cathy Loving) lived in a horrifying world of emotional and physical abuse. But when all seemed lost, a man she had never met before and has never seen since helped change her life forever.
In July 1961, the streets of Chicago's south side echoed with the carefree laughter of children. But far removed from the delightful sounds of summer, a hidden crime had been committed. One young girl had been stripped of her innocence. The night before, Cathy, then fourteen, was forced to participate in a drunken party and then fell prey to the abusive sexual advances of her stepfather, Clifford Starks.
That morning, Cathy awoke in the middle of Clifford's bed with him laying almost on top of her. They were both naked. She remembered his hands being all over her breasts. She knew that what had happened was wrong. However, she could not remember what else had happened. She was very scared. She wrote a letter and planned to escape, thinking that that would be the end of the abuse. She wrote, "I'm never coming back. Never. Never."
The events of the previous evening were the culmination of months of horror for Cathy. She felt she had no choice but to run away. But with nowhere to go, she was soon picked up off the streets by Clifford. She was beaten and held prisoner in a relative's apartment, locked in a small room for more than a week. She was trapped in a horrible but all too familiar tragedy. Compounding her dilemma was the fact that Clifford was a respected detective in the Chicago Police Department.
In desperation, Cathy reluctantly went to the police. She devised an elaborate scheme in which she pretended to have amnesia. If all went as planned, Clifford would never learn of her visit, and she would be sent somewhere else to live. One of the police officers told another that they would have to put her down as a "Jane Doe". Cathy was happy because she thought that they would take her someplace that would be away from Clifford. She felt that any place would be better than with him.
One officer, noticing bruises on Cathy's arms, asked her if she was having problems at home. The officer said that if she was having problems, then running away would not solve them. The officer also asked if she had any siblings, saying that if she did, then they could be going through the same thing she was going through. Finally, Cathy decided to tell the truth and hope for the best. She told the officer that her stepfather had been molesting her. The officer told her that they would do anything and everything they could to help her.
Cathy said that the officers were empathetic. She felt that they would be able to help her. She also knew that her younger sisters did not need to be with Clifford, so she hoped that the officers would be able to help them out of the situation. Her optimism was quickly shattered. Just as she had feared, Clifford was notified. He came down to the police station to pick her up. Cathy believes that he had influence over the other officers because of his status as a detective.
Cathy knew that if she went home with Clifford, she would be "dead meat". So, she told the officers that she did not want to go home with him. He responded by telling them to "lock her up". Cathy was shackled with handcuffs and thrown into the back of a paddy wagon "like a common criminal". She was then taken to the county jail. According to her, she was labeled "incorrigible" according to existing Illinois state law. She spent one night in jail and was then remanded to a city home for delinquent minors.
Four months later, Cathy appeared at a hearing in juvenile court. Many of her closest friends from the neighborhood gathered, prepared to testify on her behalf. However, they were not allowed in because they were not immediate members of the family. She remembers that as the proceedings began, it was discovered that her case file had conveniently disappeared. The file contained affidavits supporting her allegations of sexual abuse. Once again, it seemed that Clifford had stacked the deck against her.
According to Cathy, the judge's decision was based solely upon Clifford's testimony in the courtroom that day. Clifford told the judge that she would stay out late at night and sometimes not come home at all. He claimed that she "ran with a bad group of kids". He said that he had had all kinds of trouble with her, that she was "an incorrigible runaway teenager and prostitute". He also said that she was into drugs. All of this was, of course, not true.
The judge ordered that Cathy be confined to the Illinois State Training School for Girls at Geneva until her eighteenth birthday. She felt that it was the end of the world for her. She did not realize that she could feel that much pain or hurt. Each time, she thought that things could not get worse, but they did. Looking at her family and friends, she wondered why these things were happening to her. She wondered if the reason why these bad things were happening to her was because she actually was a bad child.
Cathy was placed in the custody of a Cook County Deputy Sheriff to be transported to the reform school. She had no idea that this ride would become a remarkable turn of fortune. When she was put in the back of the paddy wagon, she started "boo-hooing". It dawned on her that nobody knew where she was going, she did not know where she was going. She felt like she was going through hell.
Alone and scared to death, Cathy began to blurt out her story to the deputy that was driving the paddy wagon. She told him that she did not do anything wrong. She said that Clifford had been molesting her and had used his influence to put her in jail. By the time they arrived at the reform school, the deputy was convinced that the system had made a terrible mistake. To him, it was obvious that she was being punished for being a victim.
The deputy risked his own job by offering to help. He told Cathy that he believed her story and wanted to reach out to her friends in the neighborhood. She gave him the names of her friends, Louise Gordon and Maisy Bell. By that point, she did not know if she could believe that he could help her or not. She said she had believed everyone else, but she was still on her way to the reform school. However, she said that something in her heart wanted her to believe him. She said there was "something kind" in his eyes. She hoped that he could be the person that could do something to help her. But she was not sure.
The unknown deputy was true to his word. Seven weeks later, Cathy was taken to the state building in downtown Chicago for an interview with a social worker. The deputy had contacted Cathy's friends and put them in touch with the proper authorities. Some had even signed affidavits corroborating her accusations against Clifford. The deputy also talked with the social worker and told him about Cathy. The social worker and his office reviewed everything and realized that she had apparently been railroaded. He told her that she just needed to stay out of trouble and they would be back in touch.
Cathy thanked the social worker but figured that nothing would change about her situation. But this time, the system worked. Two weeks later, she was released from the reformatory. Ultimately, she was declared an emancipated minor and went to live with friends in the neighborhood. She was very happy to be able to go to her new home with her "new mother and father" and her "new sisters".
Cathy was fortunate. She flourished in her new family and started a church group which offers counseling to abused children. She later had a son and moved to a well-appointed suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. But she has never forgotten the unknown deputy who lent a helping hand when no one else would. She hopes to find him and say to him that many people reach out for help and many are refused help. But because of the fact that she reached out to him and he acknowledged her and gave her the help that she needed, he gave her her life.
Cathy feels that she has touched other people's lives in many ways. She believes that if the deputy had not helped her, none of the things that she has done would have happened. She does not know the deputy's name. In 1961, he was running transport between the Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, and the Illinois State Training Facility at Geneva.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 13, 1991 episode. It was repeated on the May 13, 1992 episode, and updated on the November 4, 1992 episode.
Results: Solved. On the night this story was re-aired, Cathy's search for her unknown benefactor finally came to an end when former Deputy Sheriff Fred Lyle of Chicago called the telecenter. He said he had watched the story and remembered the incident vividly. That evening, he and an overjoyed Cathy spoke on the telephone and made plans to meet as soon as possible.
On July 18, 1992, Cathy and several friends gathered at her home to await the arrival of Fred and one of his daughters. For Cathy, it was a special occasion, which afforded her the opportunity to finally say, "Thank you." When the two were reunited, she told him about how she had been waiting so many years to say, "I love you, and thank you." The celebration culminated with a homemade feast prepared by Cathy, which included Fred's favorite dishes.
Fred left the sheriff's department in 1965. He has four children and eight grandchildren. And meeting Cathy was like welcoming a new member to the family. He said meeting her was something special, something that never happened to him before. He wanted to see her and thank her for looking for him. He said it was a good feeling, knowing that he did something that helped her and that she appreciated what he did for her.
Cathy said that the lesson she learned with Fred is that, when all else has failed, do not give up, because there is always a way. And, in her case, Fred was her "way". She considers him her hero. Out of all the people she reached out to, he was the one that reached back. She said he is her "light" and her "rainbow".
Sadly, on October 5, 1998, Fred passed away at the age of sixty-six. At his funeral, Cathy told their story to the congregation.
Links:
- 6 Mysteries That Were Solved After Being Featured on Unsolved Mysteries - June 13, 2018
- She Was Raped and Abused by Her Stepfather, A Powerful Chicago PD – November 12, 2020
- Fred Lyle's Obituary
- Fred Lyle's Death Record