PAWHUSKA, Okla. — It’s a town known for its beloved mercantile, bakery and restaurant made famous by one pioneer woman.
But behind the magnetic draw in Osage County, lies the dark secret of a missing teenage girl, a devastated family and a battle of investigators.
Cynthia Dawn Kinney was 6 years old when she disappeared from a Pawhuska laundromat in June of 1976.
"This particular day to my understanding because of the reports is that she goes in to cover the laundromat by herself because the person that worked it had to go out of town for a short time to another location,” said Sheriff Eddie Virden.
Investigators said it appeared Cynthia left in a hurry because they found her purse, a drink and a half eaten donut on the counter.
After that day, Cindy, as she was known to friends and family, was never heard from again leaving her family heartbroken and investigators without answers.
Fast forward decades later, and Virden began looking deeper into her case.
He said the investigation led him to interview BTK serial killer Dennis Rader at a prison in Kansas where is serving life sentences after confessing to killing 10 people.
"'He said 'would you like to know about a fantasy that I always wanted to do?' I said 'sure, why not?' And he said, 'I always wanted to kidnap a girl from a laundromat,'” said Virden.
Following that statement by Rader, Virden got permission to go through the files of the BTK murders and began to read over writings of Rader obtained by investigators.
"He had started a book that he was in the process of making that had 13 chapters in it of the crimes and the murders, said Virden.
The sheriff said Rader would often refer to his victims as projects.
“In that book he was making, everything was a project, and he would come up with a project name for everything. He still does this today. He calls me project cowboy. 'When you get to 1976, which is when Cindy went missing, he's got a project called, "Bad Wash Day. In that he indicates that he would watch laundromats and do certain things,” said Virden.
As Virden pieces the puzzle together, he said he looked at the fantasy Radar told him about during his interview and then the journal entry about a “bad wash day” and other evidence and began piecing it all together.
“I absolutely think at this point he is the best suspect in this case. Our prime suspect at this time,” Virdin said.
However, Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher said he needs more information to connect Rader to the murder of Cynthia Dawn Kinney.
Rader has not confessed to killing her, as he did with other victims.
As the sheriff and DA continue to dispute whether or not Rader was involved, people in Pawhuska say they just want closure for her family.
"I was in college at the time and heard what had happened here and the town was just devastated,” said Ja Anita Burnett.
She said the possible connection to Rader is devastating for this small town.
“'Yes, especially her family and a lot of her classmates it's hit them hard again to go back and remember,” she said.
Burnett said she hopes with the national spotlight on Cynthia’s case, someone will come forward.
Virden said he will continue his investigation into who killed Cynthia Dawn Kinney.
A national task force using the skills of federal and local law enforcement from Oklahoma and Kansas is working to help solve cases linked to Dennis Rader.
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