Louis Mackerley disappeared from his neighborhood in Allentown, Pennsylvania on June 7, 1984. He was 7 years old. Mackerley came home from school and told his babysitter that he was going to walk two doors from his family's house in the 300 block of Chew Street to play with friends during the afternoon. Witnesses observed Mackerley walking between Fourth Street and Gordon Street about a block from his second-floor apartment home in the 360 block of Chew Street, but what happened to him afterwards is unclear. The owner of Marco's Doggie Shop, a local hot dog stand, stated that Mackerley came in at 4:00 p.m. and spent approximately 45 minutes browsing around the store. Mackerley told the shop owner that he was in the store to avoid some teenaged boys who were chasing him. Another witness claimed to have seen Mackerley talking to an unidentified man and woman in a park near Jordan Creek, approximately one block from his residence, at approximately 4:30 p.m.
In January of 1984, Mackerley told his parents, his school's nurse, and a psychologist that he had been molested by a couple named Frank and Elizabeth. His accounts of the alleged incident differed; once he said he had been molested on the railroad tracks near Jordan Street and the Lehigh River and other times he said Frank and Elizabeth had driven him to an apartment in Allentown and molested him there before taking him back to his own neighborhood. There may have been more than one incident. Mackerley says the couple threatened to hurt him if he told anybody about what they had done. The Allentown police were notified but could not find enough evidence to warrant an investigation, as Mackerley could not provide any last names or addresses in his accounts. It is not known whether molestation(s), if they actually happened, have anything to do with Mackerley's disappearance six months later.
Mackerley is described as friendly and talkative but a loner and a timid child who was afraid to sleep alone. He had a short attention span and had trouble writing and paying attention in school. Because of this, he was due to enter a class for learning-disabled students in the fall of 1984. Mackerley was born near Stanhope, New Jersey and moved to the Allentown area in June of 1983, a year before his disappearance. His case remains unsolved; he is believed to have been abducted by a non-family member. His parents believe he may be alive and not remember who he is. His case was re-opened in 2004, twenty years after his disappearance.
Thanks to Charley Project for the in depth summary of circumstances surrounding Louis's disappearance.
