'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In December 1984, 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her Greeley, Colorado home after returning from a school Christmas concert. Her father came home an hour later to find the television and heater still running, but Jonelle was gone.
Despite national attention, including her image on milk cartons and a reference in a 1985 speech by President Ronald Reagan, the case went unsolved for 35 years. According to a CBS News report dated August 6, 2022, construction workers discovered Jonelle Matthews' remains in a rural field southeast of Greeley in 2019. An autopsy confirmed she had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation quickly refocused on Steven Pankey, a former Greeley resident and political candidate in Idaho, who had repeatedly inserted himself into the case over the years. Pankey's knowledge of confidential case details, including the raked-over footprints outside the Matthews home, raised further suspicion.
Trending
NBC's Dateline episode Footprints in the Snow, airing Friday, May 23, 2025, at 9 PM ET, revisits the decades-long mystery of Jonelle Matthews' 1984 disappearance. This case, once cold, gained national attention and became a symbol of the missing children movement in America.
5 key details about Jonelle Matthews' murder ahead of Dateline on NBC explored
1) Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her residence shortly after returning home from a holiday choir performance
On December 20, 1984, Jonelle Matthews, a 12-year-old from Greeley, Colorado, was brought home after taking part in her school choir's Christmas performance. At the time, no one else was at the house.
Her father returned around 9:30 PM to find the house seemingly untouched, the space heater was running, the television was on, and Jonelle's shoes were placed neatly inside. However, she was missing.
Snow outside the house showed unusual footprints near a window, and someone had attempted to erase them using a rake, a detail that investigators deliberately withheld from the public.
2) Her body was discovered 35 years later during pipeline construction
In July 2019, oil field workers digging a pipeline about 20 miles southeast of Greeley unearthed human remains. Authorities identified the remains as Jonelle Matthews through dental records and clothing fragments, including the sweater vest she wore the night of her disappearance.
According to the Oxygen report dated July 26, 2019, her remains were found with a gunshot wound to the head and were confirmed to be those of the 12-year-old girl missing since 1984.
3) Steven Pankey, a former Greeley resident, was charged decades later
Steven Pankey, who lived just two miles from the Matthews residence in 1984, became a suspect after years of unusual behavior. He repeatedly inserted himself into the case, contacted the FBI, and made public statements referencing details that were never released.
As stated in a CBS News report dated October 14, 2020, Pankey had mentioned the rake used to cover the footprints in the snow outside the Matthews' house, information police deliberately kept out of the press.
4) Pankey's ex-wife and his own testimony were central to the prosecution
Angela Hicks, Pankey's ex-wife, testified that he abruptly made the family leave for California two mornings after Jonelle's disappearance. She also recalled him obsessively following media coverage and forcing her to read news articles aloud. In court, she disclosed she once found a note in his handwriting referencing raked snow, the very detail authorities had never released.
As per a CBS News report dated August 6, 2022, during the trial, Pankey admitted under oath:
“It was just me trying to be a big man, be in the case, OK? I had no knowledge.”
His testimony further complicated his defense, with the prosecution describing him as a manipulative figure who craved attention.
5) A mistrial was followed by a conviction in 2022
The first trial in 2021 ended in a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a verdict on the kidnapping and murder charges. However, Pankey was found guilty of making false reports to authorities. Steven Pankey was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of Jonelle Matthews' murder during a retrial in October 2022.
According to The Independent report dated November 9, 2022, Jonelle's sister, Jennifer Mogensen, acknowledged the decades-long wait for justice after their sister's disappearance.
“This closure, this verdict, and just going home knowing that when we leave Greeley, a big part of our life, our big part of our story, has a conclusion ... that just feels really good,” she said.
Catch NBC's Dateline episode Footprints in the Snow, airing Friday, May 23, 2025, to know more about Jonelle Matthews' disappearance.
