Overview

• Full name: Cheryl Schille Wyant
• Also known as: Cherie Larson; Cheryl may also use the surname Larson
• Date of birth: May 21, 1964
• Age at disappearance: 14, according to the reconstructed late-May timeline; some official records list a May 1 date, when she would have been 13
• Disappearance date: May 1978; California authorities list May 1, while The Charley Project lists May 28
• Last known location: San Bernardino County, California, according to the California Department of Justice
• City: Exact last-seen city not established
• County: San Bernardino County, California
• Other relevant location: Corbett, Multnomah County, Oregon
• Case classification: Endangered missing person
• Current status: Unsolved; remains publicly listed as missing
• Investigating agency: Rohnert Park Police Department, Sonoma County, California
• Police case number: 9525566
• NCMEC case number: 1154334

Main circumstances: Cheryl reportedly left a children’s home in Oregon, later entered a residential or crisis-care facility in San Bernardino County, and subsequently left that facility. Accounts indicate she was involved in a traffic accident, was taken to a hospital, and left the hospital before disappearing. The precise sequence and dates of these events have not been fully established in publicly accessible records.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Cheryl Schille Wyant: The Unsolved 1978 Disappearance of a 14-Year-Old Girl in California

In 1978, 14-year-old Cheryl Schille Wyant, also known as Cherie Larson, disappeared after a series of events that took her from a children’s home in Oregon to Southern California. According to published missing-person records, Cheryl left a residential facility, was later involved in a traffic accident, received hospital care, and subsequently vanished.

Nearly five decades later, her whereabouts remain unknown. Her disappearance is documented by the California Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and The Charley Project.

One of the most troubling aspects of Cheryl’s case is the uncertainty surrounding her final movements. Public sources disagree about the exact date and location of her last confirmed sighting, leaving important questions about the circumstances of her disappearance unanswered.

Case Summary

• Full name: Cheryl Schille Wyant
• Also known as: Cherie Larson; Cheryl may also use the surname Larson
• Date of birth: May 21, 1964
• Age at disappearance: 14, according to the reconstructed late-May timeline; some official records list a May 1 date, when she would have been 13
• Disappearance date: May 1978; California authorities list May 1, while The Charley Project lists May 28
• Last known location: San Bernardino County, California, according to the California Department of Justice
• City: Exact last-seen city not established
• County: San Bernardino County, California
• Other relevant location: Corbett, Multnomah County, Oregon
• Case classification: Endangered missing person
• Current status: Unsolved; remains publicly listed as missing
• Investigating agency: Rohnert Park Police Department, Sonoma County, California
• Police case number: 9525566
• NCMEC case number: 1154334

Main circumstances: Cheryl reportedly left a children’s home in Oregon, later entered a residential or crisis-care facility in San Bernardino County, and subsequently left that facility. Accounts indicate she was involved in a traffic accident, was taken to a hospital, and left the hospital before disappearing. The precise sequence and dates of these events have not been fully established in publicly accessible records.

Sources: California Department of Justice, The Charley Project, and NCMEC.

Cheryl Wyant’s Background Before Her Disappearance

Cheryl Schille Wyant was born on May 21, 1964. Her missing-person records describe her as a white female with brown hair and brown eyes, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds when she disappeared.

She was known by the nickname Cherie, and some records identify her as Cherie Larson. These alternative names are significant because older records, witnesses, or people who knew her in 1978 may remember her under a different surname.

According to The Charley Project, Cheryl lived at a children’s home in Corbett, Oregon, a community east of Portland. The circumstances that led to her placement there are not explained in the publicly available case summary.

In May 1978, Cheryl was approaching her fourteenth birthday. She was a minor living in a supervised residential setting when the events leading to her disappearance began.

The Charley Project reports that she left the children’s home approximately one week after turning fourteen, placing that event near May 28, 1978.

Her subsequent movements brought her to San Bernardino County in Southern California, hundreds of miles from the Oregon facility.

Source: The Charley Project – Cheryl Schille Wyant.

The Disappearance in May 1978

Leaving the Oregon Children’s Home

The Charley Project states that Cheryl ran away from the children’s home in Corbett, Oregon, approximately one week after her May 21 birthday.

It is not publicly established how Cheryl traveled from Oregon to California, whether she traveled alone, or whether anyone assisted her.

These missing details are particularly important because Cheryl was only fourteen years old.

Cheryl’s Reported Arrival in San Bernardino County

After leaving Oregon, Cheryl was reportedly sighted in San Bernardino County, California.

According to The Charley Project, she was placed in a crisis center or children’s home in the county.

The name of the facility, her admission date, and the circumstances surrounding her placement have not been established in the sources reviewed.

At some point, Cheryl walked out of the facility.

The public case account does not establish whether staff immediately reported her departure, whether authorities searched for her, or whether she had contact with anyone after leaving.

The Traffic Accident and Hospital Visit

One of the most significant reported events in Cheryl’s disappearance occurred after she left the California residential facility.

The Charley Project states that Cheryl was reportedly involved in a traffic accident and taken to a hospital.

She subsequently left the hospital and was never heard from again.

The publicly available summary does not identify the hospital, the exact accident location, the severity of any injuries, or the date she left medical care.

It also does not establish whether Cheryl was formally discharged or departed under other circumstances.

Those distinctions matter because the hospital encounter may represent one of the last documented opportunities to establish her movements.

Source: The Charley Project.

Conflicting Last-Seen Dates and Locations

An important complication in Cheryl’s case is the disagreement between publicly available records.

The California Department of Justice lists May 1, 1978, as her last-seen date and identifies San Bernardino County as the location.

The Charley Project, however, lists May 28, 1978, as her missing-since date and identifies Corbett, Oregon, while describing her subsequent presence in California.

These accounts cannot be reconciled into one exact chronology without additional records. In particular, the official May 1 date precedes Cheryl’s fourteenth birthday and the late-May departure described by The Charley Project.

For that reason, neither date should be presented as the independently established date of her final hospital departure.

Sources: California Department of Justice and The Charley Project.

Investigation History and Available Evidence

Missing-Person Report Filed in 1995

Although Cheryl disappeared in 1978, The Charley Project states that she was reported missing in Rohnert Park, California, in 1995.

That represents an approximately seventeen-year interval between the reported disappearance and the missing-person report identified in the published case history.

The available account does not explain why the report was filed in 1995, whether earlier reports existed in other jurisdictions, or what investigative activity occurred during the intervening years.

Rohnert Park Police Department is the agency identified in the California Department of Justice record.

Its official case reference is 9525566.

Sources: The Charley Project and California Department of Justice.

Physical Description and Clothing

The Charley Project records the following physical characteristics:

• Brown hair and brown eyes
• Approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall
• Approximately 120 pounds
• Possible clothing consisting of a red T-shirt with capped sleeves and bell-bottom jeans

The clothing description is explicitly uncertain. It should not be treated as a confirmed description of what Cheryl wore when she left the hospital.

The California Department of Justice also indicates that dental X-rays are available.

Dental records can be important in identifying unidentified remains, although no publicly confirmed identification involving Cheryl was located.

Source: California Department of Justice.

Age-Progression Image

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has published an age-progressed image depicting how Cheryl might have appeared at approximately 49 years old.

The California Department of Justice also displays the age progression.

Such images are intended to help the public recognize individuals whose appearances may have changed substantially since their disappearance.

An age-progression image is an investigative and awareness resource, not proof that the missing person survived to the depicted age.

Source: NCMEC Missing Child Poster.

Searches, Witnesses, and Forensic Evidence

The publicly available sources reviewed do not provide a detailed account of searches conducted immediately after Cheryl disappeared.

They also do not identify a publicly confirmed suspect, named person of interest, or witness who definitively established her whereabouts after the reported hospital departure.

No publicly verified announcement was located concerning a DNA identification, investigative genetic genealogy breakthrough, recovered remains, arrest, or prosecution connected to her disappearance.

This does not establish that investigators lack additional information. Police may possess records or evidence that have never been publicly released.

It means only that these developments could not be verified from the accessible sources reviewed.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

Cheryl’s disappearance raises several questions, but the available evidence does not establish what happened to her after she left the hospital.

Did Cheryl Continue Traveling?

One possibility is that Cheryl left the hospital voluntarily and continued traveling.

Her earlier departure from residential facilities makes this a question worth investigating, but it does not establish that she intended to disappear permanently.

There is no publicly verified account of Cheryl establishing a new identity, settling elsewhere, or making confirmed contact with acquaintances after her disappearance.

Could Cheryl Have Encountered Someone Who Harmed Her?

Because Cheryl was a minor traveling without a clearly documented support network, the possibility that she encountered a dangerous individual cannot be excluded.

However, no reliable public source reviewed identifies a specific perpetrator, criminal act, or motive.

There is no publicly confirmed evidence establishing that Cheryl was murdered. Her case must therefore continue to be described as a missing-person investigation rather than a confirmed homicide.

What Happened at the Hospital?

The hospital encounter remains one of the most important unanswered aspects of Cheryl’s case.

Questions include whether admission or discharge records survive, whether the accident was investigated, whether anyone accompanied Cheryl, and whether hospital employees documented her departure.

These are potential avenues for clarification, not claims that such evidence currently exists or remains accessible.

Why Was the Missing-Person Report Filed in 1995?

The reported seventeen-year gap between Cheryl’s disappearance and the 1995 Rohnert Park missing-person report also remains unexplained.

It is unknown from the reviewed public sources who filed that report, what prompted it, or whether other agencies had previously documented her disappearance.

Answering those questions could help establish a more reliable chronology.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

Case Status as of October 18, 2026

Cheryl Schille Wyant remains listed as missing in the California Department of Justice database and on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s website.

The Charley Project also continues to describe her disappearance as unsolved.

The Charley Project identifies June 20, 2018, as its last substantive profile update. That revision included corrections to the date and location of disappearance, additions to the clothing description, and updates to the circumstances.

That historical database revision should not be mistaken for a new investigative breakthrough.

No publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located as of October 18, 2026. In particular, the reviewed sources did not establish a recent arrest, recovery of remains, DNA identification, new official suspect announcement, or resolution of the case.

Sources: California Department of Justice, NCMEC, and The Charley Project.

National Missing-Person Records

Cheryl’s NCMEC poster remains publicly available under case number 1154334.

It also identifies NCIC number M892034172, which is a separate law enforcement database reference.

A secondary case listing attributes NamUs missing-person number MP4607 to Cheryl. That number is supported by historical NamUs references, although the current official NamUs record was not independently retrieved during this review.

The distinction matters: these identifiers refer to different record systems and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Sources: NCMEC and CaseTrace.

Conclusion: Remembering Cheryl Schille Wyant

Cheryl Schille Wyant was a fourteen-year-old girl whose disappearance in 1978 left a trail of incomplete records and unanswered questions across multiple states.

What began with her departure from an Oregon children’s home reportedly continued through a California residential facility, a traffic accident, and a hospital visit. Afterward, her whereabouts became unknown.

The surviving public records do not explain what happened next.

Nearly five decades later, the circumstances of Cheryl’s disappearance remain unresolved. Her case illustrates the importance of preserving historical records, clarifying conflicting timelines, and maintaining public awareness of missing children whose cases have remained open for generations.

Anyone who remembers Cheryl, knew her as Cherie Larson, worked at a relevant residential facility or hospital in 1978, or possesses credible information about her movements is encouraged to contact investigators.

Information can be reported to the Rohnert Park Police Department at (707) 584-2600, the number published by NCMEC, or through NCMEC’s national reporting line at 1-800-843-5678.

Even information that seems minor may help investigators establish a clearer account of Cheryl’s final known movements.

Event Timeline

The following timeline separates documented dates from events for which an exact date has not been established. The conflicting 1978 disappearance dates are retained as separate source-reported entries.