Pop culture saw hit movies like Men in Black and The Lost World: Jurassic Park released into theaters, breaking box office records.
Television had historical moments as well. Netflix was launched, and shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Crocodile Hunter debuted on TV sets across the nation.
We listened to music like Spice Girls, the Backstreet Boys, and LeAnn Rimes.
Lydia Ann Perkins was 14 years old in 1997, and I have to wonder, was she listening to the pop sensation of the Spice Girls? Did she have a Backstreet Boys crush? Or did she prefer the Southern country voice of LeAnn Rimes?
Lydia was living and growing up in the northwest area of Lexington, Kentucky, a neighborhood known as Cardinal Valley.
Lydia had a younger brother, Justin, who was two years her junior, and they lived with their mom and nearby many other family members.
On October 26, 1997, Lydia and her brother visited with their grandmother. Later, they went to Lydia’s boyfriend’s house. After some time there, Lydia’s brother left, and shortly after, Lydia also left.
She was seen walking home in her neighborhood. Her brother was going to one of his friends’ houses, and he would be home later.
Lydia made it home and called one of her cousins on the phone. But from there, Lydia seems to vanish into thin air.
When her brother returns home, Lydia isn’t there, and no one has seen her. Searches turn up no sign of Lydia, and she is quickly reported as missing.
Where is Lydia Ann Perkins?
Lydia Perkins was 14 years old in 1997. Yes, she was a teenager. Yes, teenagers have minds of their own. But 14 is still a child. Isn’t there a reason we don’t allow 14-year-olds to live on their own, to vote, to drive a car? They aren’t emotionally ready for all that.
Yet, when a 14-year-old goes missing, they are often labeled as a runaway, and law enforcement doesn’t want to bother searching. They are, in the minds of law enforcement, ‘just’ a runaway. They chose to be missing.
But why don’t we take that just as seriously? They can’t just run away and live on their own, right? Are we supposed to just let them? In my mind, they are in danger of being out there, vulnerable to being taken advantage of in many instances, and their lives are most definitely at risk.
Now, in the case of Lydia Perkins, we don’t know for sure that she was a runaway; in fact, many signs point to her not being a runaway. But as you’ll see, searches for her after her disappearance were practically nonexistent.
Lydia Ann Perkins was born on December 21, 1982. Two years later, Lydia would gain a younger brother, Justin. The two were close growing up; they were only two years apart in age, and they shared some of the same friends and friend groups.
THE DISAPPEARANCE.
On Sunday, October 26, 1997, Lydia and her brother, Justin, went to visit their grandmother. After spending some time there, they both walked to Lydia’s boyfriend’s house, where they all hung out for a while.
From there, 12-year-old Justin decided he wanted to go over to one of his friends’ houses, and he left. Lydia left her boyfriend’s house a short time later, telling him she was going home to her house in the Cardinal Valley subdivision.
When she reached her house, she phoned her cousin and chatted with her a bit. No one else was home at Lydia’s house at the time.
A little while later, Justin returned home from his friend’s house and found that Lydia wasn’t home.
Quick searches of the area turned up no signs of Lydia, and she wasn’t with any of her friends.
Her mother had returned home by now and was panicked, trying to find Lydia, but there was just no sign of her anywhere.
Lydia had disappeared.
That evening, the evening of October 26, Lydia was reported missing to the local police department.
THE SEARCH and INVESTIGATION.
By the time the person has disappeared, and the media picks it up, even if just briefly, there are usually details about the searches themselves and the investigation. What areas should we be looking into? Where did she like to frequent? Who were her friends? Her boyfriend? What clues, if any, were discovered? All of these can help the public keep their eyes open for her.
But there was nothing.
Granted, this was in 1997, so most media was print-based, and news clips are likely archived if there were any.
Not everyone had internet, there was no Facebook, and few people had cellular phones.
We don’t know what was done in the way of searches, but I do know that authorities initially blew her off as a runaway teenager and said she’d likely come back on her own.
In fact, Lydia had left home once before, but her mom said that she stayed in the neighborhood that whole time.
Neighbors were interviewed, and it was confirmed that Lydia was seen walking near her home, heading towards her house. This would have coincided with the time she had left her boyfriend’s house, so that part of the story checked out.
Her cousin came forward and said that Lydia called her once she made it home, from their home phone, so it was believed that she did in fact make it home.
But where did she go from there?
LEXINGTON, KY.
Lexington, Kentucky, is known as the horse capital of the world. Here you’ll find famous racetracks such as the Kentucky Horse Park, The Red Mile, and Keeneland.
Lexington is also home to the University of Kentucky.
The entire area of Lexington, including outlying neighborhoods, has a population of over 700,000 people.
Geographically, it sits in the north-central part of the state, about an hour south of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Interstate 75 runs North and South through the city, and Interstate 64 runs east and west, bringing two major United States highways right through the center of the city.
Specifically, Lydia lived in the neighborhood subdivision of Cardinal Valley. This was a 1950s neighborhood of ranch-style homes, sidewalks, and street lights. This was generally a safe area.
Lydia lived here along with her mother, Sherry, and brother Justin. She had family and friends all nearby, within walking distance.
Cardinal Valley is located to the northwest of the downtown area of Lexington, but within Lexington City Limits. Reports vary as to where exactly Lydia was. Some missing person files have her last known location to be near the corner of Picadilly Street and Rugby Road within Cardinal Valley; however, we know that she made it home because she called her cousin.
Was she seen at Picadilly and Rugby before or after she called her cousin?
It’s a pretty populated area, and it was a Sunday afternoon, but there were no additional sightings of Lydia. Either no one noticed the teen walking away from her home, or she left her home in another way- perhaps picked up in a car.
The crime rate in Kentucky, specifically Lexington, has grown each year since 2000. Data pre-2000 is a little harder to decipher. What was Lexington like in 1997?
ACTIVE SERIAL KILLERS.
Interestingly, there is some discussion on active serial killers that may have been active during 1997, possibly in Kentucky.
Samuel Little was born in 1940 and essentially began committing crimes at a young age. This was a man who was arrested over 100 times but always seemed to get himself released or acquitted, or received very short prison sentences.
In 1961, he was arrested and sentenced to 3 years. He was released in 1964.
In 1982, he was arrested again for murder, but a grand jury failed to indict him. Later that year, he was charged with murder in Florida but was acquitted after going to trial.
In 1984, he was arrested in California and spent 3 years in prison. He was released in 1987 and would remain a free man until 2012, when he was arrested for murder in Louisville, KY.
Samuel Little confessed to murdering 93 women between 1970–2005, and the FBI was able to confirm 60 of those. This is the largest number of victims for any serial killer in United States history.
Samuel was free in 1997 when Lydia went missing. He also had ties to Kentucky and confessed to murdering young women in Kentucky.
It was said that he targeted/preferred prostitutes and homeless women, however.
Of all the active serial killers during 1997, Samuel Little has the most ties to Kentucky.
But there was also:
Robert Eugene Brashers
Andre Crawford
Joseph Duncan
Terry Blair
James Bradley
And even a few others.
Could Samuel Little have been in the area and spotted Lydia?