WEST SENECA, N.Y. — Wednesday marks 39 years since a young woman disappeared in West Seneca.
Leichia Reilly's body was never found, and no one's been charged in connection with her disappearance. Now, police want to bring the cold case back into spotlight to encourage people to come forward with information.
Leichia Reilly, 21, disappeared during a night out at the Pierce Arrow Restaurant in West Seneca.
"We have a decent timeline of when she was there, when she left, and then essentially after that, there is no sighting of her after that," said West Seneca Police Capt. James Unger.
Reilly was last seen in the early morning hours on this date in 1985. On Wednesday, West Seneca Police posted a plea on Facebook for anyone who knows anything to come forward.
"We do get tips sporadically throughout every year, and we do follow up on them. Unfortunately, to this point nothing has panned out," said Capt. James Unger.
Police never found her body, and no one's been charged.
"Not having a body makes it very difficult for prosecution, and secondly, and maybe even more importantly, is that there could be potential evidence that would be on or near her body which could link us to a suspect," said Capt. James Unger.
West Seneca Police told 2 On Your Side that witnesses saw Reilly leaving the club with someone who remains a person of interest and was employed by the New York State Police back then. They say this person, who still lives here, was interviewed by police in 1985, but was never charged.
But, police do say they have physical evidence related to the case.
"We have been in contact with, you know, state labs, federal labs, trying to see if what we have in evidence could potentially be used with the new technology. And at this point, there hasn't been a breakthrough for what we have. But we're hoping that in the near future, that there will be," said Capt. James Unger.
Police would not reveal what that evidence is.
2 On Your Side talked with one of Reilly's family members who told us that they are still pushing to make this a more active investigation.
"I certainly hope that, you know, even though Leichia's parents have passed, she still has living relatives, and we just hope that we can give the family some sort of closure of this case," said Capt. James Unger.
You can call the West Seneca Police Department's anonymous tipline at 716-675-8423 to report information about the case.