Remembering Charlotte…

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(Updated May 1, 2025)

Today, I’m remembering Charlotte Kinsey. I will never forget these 13-year-old girls named Charlotte and Cinda, though I never met them.

In the last few days, memories of old photos I saw long ago have drifted back to me. The images keep coming like a camera flashing each time a picture is captured.

Today, I dragged the box from underneath my bed, which holds old articles I’ve written for newspapers. I began sifting through them and found the article I sought.

Then I fixed a cup of coffee, sat down, and did a Google search to see if any new information had emerged since I’d last checked. But there was nothing.

Anatomy Of A Tragedy: Charlotte Is Missing:

My article was titled: Anatomy Of A Tragedy: Charlotte Is Missing.

It was a detailed account of the day a young girl named Charlotte and her friend Cinda went missing from the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. The article was gathered through known facts, interviews with her family, and my research.

It was Saturday, September 26, 1981.

The Interview With The Kinsey Family:

The interview was three years after the abduction, and there were still no clues as to their whereabouts. The case was cold.

I contacted Charlotte’s family and arranged an interview at their home.

From the information I garnered from Charlotte’s family, I knew what Charlotte, who had turned 13 just 16 days before, had done that day. I knew what she ate for breakfast, what she wore, and who she spoke with on the phone before she left with Cinda.

What Happened That Day:

Charlotte called her grandmother and asked when they could buy paint, choose curtains, and find a new bedspread for her bedroom. The plan was to redecorate her room.

Charlotte was unsure what color paint she wanted to use in her room. She thought she might use a soft lilac shade of purple, but perhaps one wall should be darker than the rest.

Her grandmother told her she thought they should paint the room a lighter color first and see how it looked. The following day, Sunday, she would take her to the store to look at curtains and bedspreads.

Charlotte also made plans for her cousin to come over that evening to watch movies with her. They discussed making popcorn for a snack.

Then, she talked to her friend Cinda on the phone about going to the fair that day. Charlotte had already gone to the fair the day before with another friend, but she agreed to go again with Cinda.

Charlotte changed her clothing several times before she left, as girls often do when going out. She settled on a burgundy V-necked t-shirt with a white stripe on the border, blue jeans, and blue and white Nikes.

Charlotte placed a comb in her back pocket and put on two rings and a necklace.

Around Noon On Saturday, September 26, 1981:

Around noon, Cinda and her older brother came to pick Charlotte up to go to the Oklahoma State Fair.

Charlotte’s mother said she had a strange feeling, an intuition, just before her daughter walked out the door. She said, “I wish you wouldn’t go.”

But Charlotte was already settling into the car. Her mother watched as Cinda’s brother drove them out of sight. It was to be the last time she saw her daughter.

Charlotte called home to say she and Cinda had gotten jobs unloading stuffed animals for the carnival. The man they were seen with claimed to be a carnival worker. He had approached numerous other visitors at the fair that day.

Cinda Leann Pallett was last seen with Charlotte June Kinsey on September 26, 1981, at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.

Royal Russell Long’s Criminal History:

In August 1985, he confirmed to police that he was at the Oklahoma State Fair on the day the girls were kidnapped. Several eyewitnesses recognised him as the man approaching other children with the same job offer, unloading toys.

Royal Russell Long was a convicted kidnapper, suspected serial killer, and serial rapist.

Long is also a possible suspect in the disappearances of some young women and girls in Wyoming and Oklahoma. There are also several other cases throughout Colorado and Missouri where he is a suspect.

Long was tied by authorities to several disappearances and deaths in the Wyoming and Oklahoma areas during the 1970s and 1980s, some of which involved carnivals or similar events.

Forensic Testing:

Using forensic testing, hairs discovered in the trunk of Long’s car were examined and identified as belonging to Cinda. Investigators believe that a lock of blonde hair they found at Long’s Wyoming home may have been Charlotte’s.

Long was tried for the kidnappings of Charlotte and Cinda. However, the charges against Long were dropped in December 1985. The presiding judge disregarded the testimony of Long’s daughter and a large portion of the physical evidence.

He was sent back to another state to serve his time for the kidnapping of two other girls.

Other Crimes Long Is Suspected Of Committing:

Long worked as a carny and part-time long-haul truck driver at local fairs and carnivals beginning in 1981.

He had a history of sexual violence towards young women, and Long’s daughter claimed that he had molested her for years. She also said she witnessed him trying to lure other girls with puppies or stuffed animals.

Stuffed animals were found in his car when he was arrested in New Mexico.

Carlene Brown:

On July 4, 1974, 19-year-old Carlene Brown was last seen in Rawlins, Wyoming. She had gone to the fairgrounds to watch a rodeo with her friend Christine Ann Gross, also 19.

Their car was later discovered abandoned, more than 200 miles to the north.

In October 1983, nine years after she had vanished, Christy’s remains were discovered near Sinclair, Wyoming. She had died from two significant blows to the head.

Carlene was not at the site and has not been seen or heard from since.

Deborah Rae Meyer:

On August 4, 1974, Deborah Rae Meyer, age 14, was last seen leaving a relative’s home in Rawlins, Wyoming.

She had intended to walk to a nearby movie theatre, but never made it. Deborah is believed to have been kidnapped and killed. She has never been found.

Jayleen Dawn Banker:

On August 23, 1974, 10-year-old Jayleen Dawn Banker became separated from friends while watching a rodeo in Rawlins.

On April 24, 1975, eight months after going missing, Jayleen’s partially dressed body was discovered in a field. She died from a blow to the head. Her death was determined to be a homicide.

Jayleen was identified through dental charts and a ring found with her bones.

Carolyn Eaton:

Carolyn Eaton, age 17, ran away from home in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, on December 25, 1981. She is thought to have hitched a ride to Arizona.

Eaton was discovered murdered on February 14, 1982, by an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer. Her cause of death is believed to be asphyxia.

She was last seen alive with an unidentified older man on February 4, 1982. They were spotted at the Monte Carlo Truck Stop in Ash Fork, Arizona, in the early morning of February 3, 1982. Long bore a strong resemblance to the description of an unidentified man last seen with Eaton.

Despite initial efforts to identify her and solve her murder, the investigation into Eaton’s murder became a cold case. Numerous efforts were made to determine her identity, including forensic facial reconstructions of her face.

On February 22, 2021, Eaton’s identification was confirmed by investigators via genetic genealogy.

Sharon Baldeagle:

On September 18, 1984, 12-year-old Sharon Baldeagle ran away from her hometown of Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Her 12-year-old friend Sandi Brokenleg was with her.

Long picked the pair up and drove to his residence in Evansville, Wyoming. He held the girls at gunpoint before subjecting them to severe physical and sexual abuse.

Sandi Brokenleg managed to escape. When authorities arrived at Long’s home, neither he nor Sharon was found.

One week later, Long was apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He claimed he left Sharon in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Long was given two life sentences after entering a guilty plea to two counts of kidnapping with the intent to engage in indecent acts with a juvenile.

Sharon Baldeagle has never been found.

What I Saw In Charlotte’s Bedroom:

I asked the family if I could spend time in her room. They allowed me to do that and closed the door behind them. I took note of the things Charlotte chose to surround herself with.

One drawer of Charlotte’s dresser was filled with notes and letters. Baseball caps hung from the window. A shelf in one corner held a small TV and a stereo. “I Am Loved” buttons were scattered in a Ziggy cup.

When I turned to look at the opposite wall, I saw a Ziggy poster that read, “Wake me when it’s over.” The nearly transparent curtain showed softball trophies facing the street outside. I took in every detail.

Cheerleading honors hung from a Raggedy Ann bulletin board. There was a “Jesus loves Charlotte” sign. I found a Tootsie Roll piggy bank filled with coins in her dresser. A card read: “Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.”

The Family Gathered:

Several generations of the family gathered at the Kinsey home that day. They told me various stories they remembered about Charlotte.

Her mother said she sat at the end of Charlotte’s bed every night and listened to her say her nightly prayer. She said she would hand her daughter the brown bear she slept with and tuck the covers around her. “Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Say your prayers. And don’t forget your God blesses.”

I included all these things in my article because nothing seemed too small to leave out. A young girl who had just become a teenager never came home to her family, and neither did Cinda Pallett.

Her cousin did not come over to watch movies and eat popcorn, as planned.

Charlotte’s grandmother did not take her to the store to choose paint for her bedroom the following day. The family later redecorated her room, hoping for her eventual return.

They had to wait 24 hours before filing a missing persons report. First, they had to convince the police that the two girls hadn’t run away. It was four days before the case got any real publicity. 

What Began As Any Ordinary Day:

What had begun as an ordinary day turned into a nightmare that has never ended. Many years have now passed. Charlotte Kinsey and Cinda Pallett are more than case numbers in a cold case file.

I’ll never forget standing in Charlotte’s bedroom that long-ago day, imagining the walls painted lavender.

I can’t erase that day from my mind and don’t want to. The memories come back to visit me occasionally, making her more than another missing kid on a poster in a police station.

Charlotte and Cinda should have had a future—they should have grown up, married, and had children. Instead, they evaporated into thin air.

Now dead, Royal Russell Long is still the main suspect in their disappearance and a suspect in other disappearances. I suppose what happened to all those girls died with him.