Hand-Sketched Barn May Hold Answers To Decades-Old Pawhuska Mystery, Authorities Investigate BTK Connection

A hand-drawn sketch of a barn could be the key to solving a missing persons' case out of Pawhuska from 1976, authorities said on Thursday.

The sheriff's office said Dennis Rader's sketch could help them in a missing persons case from Pawhuska in 1976, where they've named him, better known as the BTK killer, as a prime suspect.

The sheriff's office is asking for help in identifying the barn. Undersheriff Gary Upton said they're looking for similar barns along the Kansas-Oklahoma state line. Barns that are off the beaten path and have a silo attached or a grain elevator.  

The Osage County sheriff recently named Dennis Rader as a suspect in the case and thinks there could be even more victims than the 10 he confessed to as the BTK killer. 

Related: Dennis Rader Known As 'BTK' Considered Suspect In Pawhuska Woman's Disappearance, OCSO Says

Upton said the sheriff is hoping someone might recognize the barn and will lead them to answers on what happened to Cynthia Kinney. 

"Pawhuska, 1976. She was a cheerleader that was filling in and working at the laundromat in Pawhuska and came up missing in the middle of the day," Upton said. 

Upton said the sheriff's office has been flooded with tips, and they are working hard to go through them. 

He said this is all painful for Cynthia's family, and with Rader being 78, they want to get answers before he dies. 

"They've lived this long not knowing where their daughter is at, and if we can get these answers before Dennis dies or before Cynthia's parents die, it would be nice bit of closure for them," he said. 

If you recognize the barn or have any information, you're asked to call the Osage County Sheriff's Office at 918-287-3131.