Much time had passed since Catherine Sjoberg was last seen on the night of her high school prom. Celebrating at the post-prom dance, it seemed that nothing could go wrong for the 17-year-old student.
Little did she know, however, that a simple and heated argument with her boyfriend would be the last time anyone would ever see her.
Her disappearance, which happened almost forty years ago, remains unresolved to this day and is widely suspected as a result of foul play.
It’s an unfortunate reminder of all the dangers teenagers can face in such seemingly safe environments. To this day, Cathy Sjoberg’s case serves as an indication of just how quickly things can take a turn for the worse in life.
Inside the case
On the night of June 5, 1974, Cathy’s future was looking bright. She had an upcoming graduation ceremony to attend, where she was due to serve as maid of honor, and two family weddings in her near future.
Instead, she became one of the thousands of people that vanish without a trace to this day. That night, Cathy attended prom at the Concord House with her boyfriend.
A quarrel between them ended with Cathy going outside alone in the early morning hours to gather her thoughts – and presumably have been the last time anyone physically saw her.
Her mother did not initially suspect anything was amiss when Cathy didn’t return home that night; she was due to be spending it at a friend’s house anyways.
Sadly, now all we can do is remember her short story and hope for justice for those left behind whose lives were changed forever by such senseless acts of disappearance.
Cathy had always been the regular type when it came to socializing with family and friends; indeed, she was widely looked upon as an unruffled and contented teenager by her mother.
However, in 1974 she suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving those close to her intensely worried and befuddled.
Six years later, the despair of Cathy’s disappearance seemed to find a matching parallel when two teenagers were reported missing after leaving a wedding reception at Concord House’s parking lot.
Upon discovery of their corpses in a rural area around a month later, there appeared to be considerable similarities between their cases and Cathy’s case that led some people to suspect that the same person may have been responsible for all three tragedies.
Murderer
In 2009, law enforcement in Jefferson County was presented with the chance to solve a heinous crime from 1980 – the double homicide of a newlywed couple that occurred near Concord House.
Without much to go on at first, authorities began to look at Edward “Wayne” Edwards, whose criminal past stretched back to 1955 and who had spent time on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Fortunately for investigators, DNA evidence connected him with the murders, and he was given two life sentences without parole in 2010.
While Cathy’s disappearance still remains unresolved, Edwards’ arrest finally provided some closure to a case that had remained unsolved for half a century.
