41 year old Kathleen Pehringer was last seen in Riverton, Wyoming on April 17, 1989. She disappeared from home while her fourteen year old daughter was at school.
Background
At the time of her disappearance, Kathleen Pehringer was living with her teenage daughter on 1st Street in Riverton, Wyoming, across from Ash Grove Elementary School.
She had been taking classes at Central Wyoming College and worked part time at the Hilltop bar.
Disappearance
On the morning of April 17, 1989, Kathleen Pehringer was last seen by her daughter, Kelly, at her home on 1st Street in Riverton, Wyoming.
When fourteen year old Kelly arrived home from school that day her mother was gone. Kathleen’s vehicle was parked in front of the house, but her purse and glasses were gone.
There was no note explaining where she went or when she would be expected back. Loved ones days this is extremely uncharacteristic of her.
“She always left a note,” Kelly said. “It was the first sign something was wrong.”
Later that evening Kathleen was reported missing to the Riverton Police Department after she failed to return home.
Investigation
Authorities believe Kathleen left home with someone she knew, since there were no signs of a struggle. They also believe she only intended to be gone a short time since she did not leave a note.
In 1998 Kathleen was legally declared deceased and her case was reclassified as a homicide.
In 2012, the Riverton Police handed Kathleen’s case over to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, where it remains open.
Donald Kenneth Pack Jr
Inside of a recently cleaned ashtray inside Kathleen’s home investigators found two cigarette butts; one was the brand Kathleen smoked, and the other is believed to be from Donald Kenneth Park Jr, a man she was familiar with.
According to a diary found after her disappearance, Kathleen had been dating Pack, a friend of her ex-boyfriend. According to Kelly, he had been coming over to visit her mom with the excuse of buying her computer.
On the afternoon of her disappearance, Pack stopped by the house looking for Kathleen, saying he had been over that morning and she wasn’t home then either. He asked if he could come inside to use the telephone.
Kelly hesitantly let him in, and watched as he dialed a number and quickly hung up without leaving a message.
Kelly told the Cowboy State Daily that she doesn’t know if the Riverton Police ever interviewed Pack at the time of her mother’s disappearance.
Pack had been paroled a October of 1984, after serving a twelve year sentence for aggravated rape and kidnapping.
Pack’s parole was revoked about a year after Kathleen went missing due to a weapons charge. In 2018 he was he was sentenced to eight to twelve years in prison after authorities were able to tie him to two unsolved rapes via DNA evidence.
Pack admitted to those two rapes, but has maintained his innocence in Kathleen’s case. Authorities believe he was the serial rapist who terrorized the Jackson, Wyoming area in the 1970s.
Pack has never officially been named a suspect in Kathleen’s case, though he remains a person of interest.
Whereabouts
The location of Kathleen Pehringer, as well as the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, remains unknown. Her case is classified as endangered missing and remains unsolved.
Investigators believe Kathleen was the victim of a homicide.
Appearance
White female born on November 2, 1947. Kathleen has light brown hair, brown eyes, stands 5’0-5’2 tall, and weighs 110-130 pounds.
She wears eyeglasses and her ears are pierced.
Clothing & Accessories:
When Kathleen’s daughter left for school in the morning her mother was wearing a robe.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Kathleen Pehringer please contact the Riverton Police Department at (307) 856-4891, or Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at (307) 777-7181.
Case number 2012-0271/R10-088.
