Stacie Elisabeth Madison
Stacie, circa 1988; Age-progression to age 50 (circa 2020); Stacie's car
- Missing Since 03/20/1988
- Missing From Carrollton, Texas
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race White
- Date of Birth 06/17/1970 (54)
- Age 17 years old
- Height and Weight 5'6, 120 - 160 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A long-sleeved white sweatshirt with a pink and orange logo on the front, white cotton pants and white sneakers.
- Associated Vehicle(s) Green and gold 1967 Mustang convertible (accounted for)
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Stacie's ears are double-pierced. She has two or three white discolorations on the back of her neck. Some agencies spell her name "Staci."
Details of Disappearance
Stacie and her friend, Susan Smalley, planned to spend the night of March 19, 1988 at the Susan family residence in Carrollton, Texas. It has been established that the girls were at the house at approximately 12:00 a.m. on March 20, as Susan called a friend from their home at that time.
Susan and Stacie departed together afterwards. They were traveling in Stacie's 1967 Mustang convertible. The car had been painted green and gold, the colors of Newman Smith High School, where the girls were seniors at the time. A photo of the car before it was painted is posted with this case summary. Stacie worked for a local allergist and she planned to attend college. She took the SAT test the morning before her disappearance.
Two young women matching the descriptions of Susan and Stacie attempted to purchase beer at a local 7-11 convenience store in the early morning hours of March 20. They were refused service due to their ages. Susan and Stacie were seen at to the Steak and Ale in Carrollton afterward; Susan was there employed as a hostess.
One of her co-workers told investigators that Susan spent approximately five minutes inside the restaurant speaking to a friend, then departed. Stacie stayed inside the vehicle while Susan was in the establishment. This was the last confirmed sighting of the girls.
Susan's mother called authorities when she noticed that neither of the girls was in the family's home later in the morning. Stacie's convertible was located later in a strip mall parking lot in Dallas, Texas on Forest Lane and Webb Chapel Road. The vehicle was locked and appeared to be undisturbed; Stacie's portable stereo was placed on the back seat.
Stacie's boyfriend, Kevin R. Elrod, is considered a possible suspect in the females' disappearances. He was allegedly abusive to her, and she had been trying to end the relationship before her disappearance.
Elrod began dating another woman shortly after Stacie vanished, and told her he'd killed Stacie and Susan and buried them in a cemetery outside of Carrollton. The woman went to the police with the story and they located and searched the cemetery indicated, but found no evidence of a crime. Elrod didn't deny making the confession, but he recanted it immediately and later passed a polygraph about the case. He later moved out of state and changed his name.
Susan and Stacie's loved ones never believed they ran away. They described both of them as responsible teenagers who got excellent grades and were always good at keeping their families notified of their whereabouts. Foul play is suspected in the girls' disappearances. Their cases remain unsolved.
The author Shawn Sutherland published a book about the case, called This Night Wounds Time, in 2009.
Investigating Agency
- Carrollton Police Department 214-466-3324
Source Information
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Child Protection Education of America
- NamUs
- Texas Department of Public Safety
- Carrollton Police Department
- ID-Wanted
- California Attorney General's Office
- The Dallas Morning News
- This Night Wounds Time
- Unsolved in the News
- WFAA 8
- The Logan County News-Democrat and Leader
Updated 10 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated September 23, 2021; picture added, age-progression updated.