Family of Cassie Sheetz still looking for closure 16 months after her disappearance

Published: Jul. 26, 2022 at 5:30 PM EDT

ELKINS, W. Va. (WHSV) - It’s been nearly a year and a half since the disappearance of Cassie Sheetz, a West Virginia hiker who went missing near Spruce Knob in Pendleton County in March of 2021. Her family is still looking for closure.

Monday would’ve been Sheetz’s 26th birthday.

“This time 26 years ago I was holding my baby in my arms, and now I can’t even talk to her,” said Arlene Howard, Cassie’s mother.

In late December, hunters discovered skeletal remains deep in the Monongahela National Forest that West Virginia State Police believed to be Sheetz based on items near the scene.

However, seven months later the state medical examiner’s office has yet to confirm the identity of the remains and the investigation into Sheetz’s disappearance is at a standstill.

“We’re still at a standstill. We still don’t know anything. No one will tell us anything,” Howard said. “They say it’s an ongoing investigation but they’re not investigating anything. They’re just waiting for the forensic anthropologist.”

West Virginia State Police say it is not uncommon for DNA tests to take this long and it could be up to a year before the remains are identified. WVSP had no further updates on the investigation.

“I don’t know if we’re praying that they come back and say it’s not her and then we’re right back to the same thing that we were before or if we’re praying that it’s her and we can finally lay her to rest,” said Howard.

Howard said that for Cassie’s family the lack of closure in the case has made it difficult to move forward.

“There’s no body, no nothing so we can’t have a funeral, we can’t say our final goodbyes. We’re just stuck,” she said.

For Cassie’s family, some days are better than others but with Cassie’s birthday on Monday, the past few days have been hard. Howard said she ultimately does believe the remains found in December are her daughter’s.

“I know in my heart that it’s her, but trying to get my heart and my head to say the same thing isn’t working so our best bet is just to pray and hope to keep some type of hope there,” she said.

Howard said she does have plans to try to help others in her daughter’s honor in the future. She plans to work with another woman to start a foundation in the fall to help those with missing family members who have struggled with substance abuse.

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