A woman has claimed to be Cherrie Mahan, an eight-year-old girl who went missing in 1985.
Cherrie was last seen on February 22, 1985, after disembarking from a school bus about 100 yards from her home in Pennsylvania, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
This past May, the unidentified woman made the bold claim in a Facebook group, reported CBS affiliate KDKA-TV and USA Today.
However, Janice McKinney, Cherrie's mother, swiftly dismissed the assertion and reported it to the Pennsylvania State Police.
"I talked to the police, they are investigating," McKinney wrote in the Facebook group, according to USA Today. "This is very hard on me so please be aware I see everything."
The woman responsible for the post has since been banned from the group, as stated by moderator Brock Organ on May 30.
"If it was really her, she could present herself at any police office and arrange for a DNA test without reaching out to people online and making aggressive claims," Organ noted. "That is what a reasonable person would do."
Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Bertha Cazy informed the Butler Eagle that authorities "have not made contact” with the woman due to insufficient information from her post.
McKinney expressed her skepticism in a statement to the Eagle, saying: “I truly believe she thought in her mind that she was Cherrie. It did not look anything like Cherrie at all.”
This is not the first time such claims have emerged. Over the past 40 years, three other women have also claimed to be Cherrie, only to be proven otherwise, KDKA-TV reported.
The search for Cherrie Mahan continues, with a $5,000 reward still available for information leading to an arrest.
This isn't the first story in recent times that people have come forward claiming to be a missing person, as Julia Wandelt claimed to be Madeleine McCann last year.
During an appearance on the Dr. Phil show, Julia revealed that her journey began when she started questioning her identity, suspecting her mother might not be her biological parent.
Julia's story took a twist when DNA test results confirmed her Polish heritage and it was evident that she was not the missing British girl.
Months after the event, Julia opened up about her motives and the backlash she faced after the story went viral.
Speaking to the BBC, Julia said: "I never meant to hurt anyone – including [the] McCanns. I really wanted to know who I am."
Julia recalled her traumatic experiences as a child, as she had previously revealed that she was sexually abused at a young age and that she had taken to therapy and her memory had started to resurface.
