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It’s been 13 long, painful and frustrating years for the parents and families of two McCloud women who mysteriously disappeared without a trace in 1997.
Time doesn’t always ease the pain of the loss; on the contrary, longterm missing persons can be devastating to families.
Robert Knechtel, father of Karin Knechtel-Mero, one of the missing women, suffered a heart attack and developed other stress-related health problems shortly after his daughter’s disappearance.
In a recent interview he said he and his wife Alice haven’t given up hope that their daughter will be found and the person or persons involved in her disappearance will be apprehended.
“My wife and I are having faith in the justice system and we are hoping for a resolution, and that’s what we are praying for,” he said.
Hannah Marie Zaccaglini, then age 15, disappeared four months after Mero.
Both women were last seen at the home of Ed Henline Sr. and his wife Debbie.
From the onset of the investigations, sheriff’s investigators were criticized by both families of the two women for what they perceived as a slow response to the disappearances.
Hannah’s mother Jennifer has always maintained that false rumors around town saying she was a drug dealer not only hurt her but may have influenced initial reaction to her daughter’s case.
In a recent interview, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department Captain John Villani, a former detective on both cases, said, “Mero was an adult and believing that she had probably moved away, or was in hiding, because of an outstanding search warrant, the Sheriff’s Department didn’t list her as missing till November 1997.
“As time passed the likelihood she had left town on her own lessened and our efforts to find her accelerated,” he said.
“Hannah running away didn’t gel with me,” said her former McCloud High School teacher Susan Villarreal in a recent telephone interview.
“Hannah played the bass guitar in a band at a school concert the night before she disappeared, then played again during a school assembly the day of her disappearance. That was the last time I saw her.
“She was totally stoked, very happy and very excited, because the kids had been invited to play at the race track in Yreka the following week. That would be their first gig. “She was a very outgoing, very strong-willed, intelligent and a very creative girl. So sad,” Villarreal added.
Siskiyou County Sheriff Rick Riggins said that two years ago the department hired part-time, retired detective sergeant Nick Schwall to reinvestigate the Mero case.
“I felt somebody that wasn’t involved with the case originally might see something that might have been missed,” Riggins said. “He is doing an excellent job and we are extremely happy with him.”
“I would really personally find extreme satisfaction that the two cases be solved and that there be some kind of closure for the families,” said Villani. “If I could wish anything in the world I would like to see some resolution because I’ve had an opportunity to get close to the families and see what residual effects it’s had on them. I pray that for them.”
It’s been 13 long, painful and frustrating years for the parents and families of two McCloud women who mysteriously disappeared without a trace in 1997.
Time doesn’t always ease the pain of the loss; on the contrary, longterm missing persons can be devastating to families.
Robert Knechtel, father of Karin Knechtel-Mero, one of the missing women, suffered a heart attack and developed other stress-related health problems shortly after his daughter’s disappearance.
In a recent interview he said he and his wife Alice haven’t given up hope that their daughter will be found and the person or persons involved in her disappearance will be apprehended.
“My wife and I are having faith in the justice system and we are hoping for a resolution, and that’s what we are praying for,” he said.
Hannah Marie Zaccaglini, then age 15, disappeared four months after Mero.
Both women were last seen at the home of Ed Henline Sr. and his wife Debbie.
From the onset of the investigations, sheriff’s investigators were criticized by both families of the two women for what they perceived as a slow response to the disappearances.
Hannah’s mother Jennifer has always maintained that false rumors around town saying she was a drug dealer not only hurt her but may have influenced initial reaction to her daughter’s case.
In a recent interview, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department Captain John Villani, a former detective on both cases, said, “Mero was an adult and believing that she had probably moved away, or was in hiding, because of an outstanding search warrant, the Sheriff’s Department didn’t list her as missing till November 1997.
“As time passed the likelihood she had left town on her own lessened and our efforts to find her accelerated,” he said.
“Hannah running away didn’t gel with me,” said her former McCloud High School teacher Susan Villarreal in a recent telephone interview.
“Hannah played the bass guitar in a band at a school concert the night before she disappeared, then played again during a school assembly the day of her disappearance. That was the last time I saw her.
“She was totally stoked, very happy and very excited, because the kids had been invited to play at the race track in Yreka the following week. That would be their first gig. “She was a very outgoing, very strong-willed, intelligent and a very creative girl. So sad,” Villarreal added.
Siskiyou County Sheriff Rick Riggins said that two years ago the department hired part-time, retired detective sergeant Nick Schwall to reinvestigate the Mero case.
“I felt somebody that wasn’t involved with the case originally might see something that might have been missed,” Riggins said. “He is doing an excellent job and we are extremely happy with him.”
“I would really personally find extreme satisfaction that the two cases be solved and that there be some kind of closure for the families,” said Villani. “If I could wish anything in the world I would like to see some resolution because I’ve had an opportunity to get close to the families and see what residual effects it’s had on them. I pray that for them.”
A missing woman timeline about their disappearances was published in Southern Siskiyou Newspapers in 2003. It included events in 1997 and 1998.
• Feb. 14, 1997 — Bob and Alice Knechtel of Mount Shasta see their daughter Karin Knechtel-Mero at the home of Ed Henline Sr. and his wife Debbie Henline at East Minnesota Avenue in McCloud. Mero was 27 at the time of her disappearance and was last seen Feb. 14, 1997 at the Henline residence. Mero was living there with her boyfriend Ed Henline Jr.
• May 21, 1997 — The Knechtels have heard nothing from their daughter since February. Her 28th birthday passes and they still don’t hear from her. The Knechtels continue to try to notify the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department and California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco after her disappearance. The hospital handled Mero’s anti-rejection medicine and prescriptions after she had a liver transplant in 1994. The Sheriff’s Department tells the Knechtels that Mero is an adult so she can leave when she wants. Deputies also have a warrant out for her arrest so they think she is hiding.
• June 4, 1997 — McCloud High School student Hannah Zaccaglini, 15, disappears from McCloud. Deputies say the last person to see her was Ed Henline Sr. outside his house.
• Late June 1997 — Sheriff’s detectives ask FBI agents for assistance in the Zaccaglini case.
• Summer 1997 — Detectives do about four consent searches at the Henline home.
• Oct. 16 1997 — Sheriff’s detectives tell the Knechtels that detectives can’t get information on whether their daughter is receiving her medicine without a missing report. The Knechtels are finally able to make a report. FBI agents also help on the Mero case.
• November 1997 — Authorities cancel Mero’s medical disability money and she still doesn’t contact anyone.
• April 16, 1998 — Sheriff’s detectives serve a search warrant at the Henline home. This is the first search warrant served concerning the Zaccaglini/Mero cases. Ed and Debbie Henline are arrested on suspicion of welfare fraud. They are suspected of writing checks on Mero’s account from the time she disappeared to December 1997 and failing to report the extra income.
• April 30, 1998 — Ed and Debbie Henline plead guilty to perjury in connection to the fraudulent acquisition of funds from the checking account of Mero. The Henlines are sentenced to pay $2,000 and placed on three years probation.
• May 1998 — The Knechtels retrieve two of their daughter’s rings that had been sold to Jon Thomas Jewelry in Mount Shasta.
• June 8 and 9, 1998 — Authorities serve two search warrants at the Henline home. These are the second and third search warrants served there. Two body-searching cadaver dogs scour the home and other areas of McCloud for two days.
McCloud resident Ron Berryman, in a recent interview, said, “I personally think it is very likely there are people still living in this area that know what happened to those two young ladies but are remaining quiet for obvious reasons.”
“I can only imagine what must go through the parents’ minds on a daily basis. My sympathies lie with the families that haven’t gotten closure for their loved ones. Mostly what we need is someone to come forward,” Berryman added.
McCloud resident Barbara Korb said, “I suppose only if someone with direct knowledge spills the beans will the cases ever be closed. Maybe someone will be tired of secrets and speak up.”
“The Henlines remain as “persons of interest,” according to Detective Schwall, who is assigned to both Zaccaglini and Mero cases, but is presently focused on the Mero case.
Anyone with any information regarding either case is urged to call the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department at (530) 841-2900.
