1 September 2023
PAWHUSKA, OK. (KSNW) — A potential break in a missing person’s case out of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, splashed the name of a serial killer onto the headlines.
At the heart of that story is Cynthia “Cindi” Dawn Kinney, last seen at a laundromat on June 23, 1976.
To keep her memory at the center of the recent interest, her parents shared with KSN about the joy their daughter brought and why they fear they may never know what happened to her.
“She was just beautiful,” said Don Kinney, Cindi’s father.
His love is matched with an equal amount of misery.
“I just can’t understand. It’s just so heavy for me,” said Don.
Don and his wife, Markie, live with the unknown of what happened to their 16-year-old daughter, Cindi.
“We went 50- years thinking every time somebody had something, well, I hope this sheriff does,” said Don. “I hope he has good intentions.”
Hope brought with each new lead is followed by a crash of disappointment.
“Now, if this is really legitimate, we’ve had maybe eight or 10,” said Don.
A cycle of sadness is also felt by friends who have followed the case for decades.
“For the longest time, they came up with one wild goose chase after another, but they couldn’t not pursue it either,” said Charmaine Kendrick, a friend of Cindi’s.
She says each search serves as evidence of how much people love Cindi.
“My brother, who was a really dear friend of hers, and a lot of others that were out walking in the woods, you know how they do fingertip to fingertip, walking and kicking leaves and rocks and all this stuff for weeks on end,” said Kendrick.
Just over 47 years later, every dead-end lead still permeates pain through Pawhuska.
“It still happens everywhere, but this isn’t everywhere, this isn’t everywhere, and it shouldn’t have happened,” said Kendrick.
There’s a conscious effort to keep the sorrow from dimming Cindi’s light.
“It seemed like everyone just loved her to pieces; she was good, she was kind, she was artistic,” said Kendrick.
“Eventually, she started dating, and I had to keep my eye on her,” Don said with a wink and a laugh.
Don and Markie no longer expect to learn what happened to their daughter.
“We’re not going to put any hope anymore,” said Don.
“I don’t want any part of that. I don’t think my mind can take it.”
Decades without answers will never stop a father from searching.
“There is somebody that knows, somebody knows, that’s alive right now, what happened to her,” said Don.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Osage County Sheriff’s Office at 918-287-3131.