Case File 2194DFCA
Cynthia Ann Vanderheiden
Missing since November 14, 1998 from Linden, San Joaquin County, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance
Cynthia Vanderheiden was last seen on November 14, 1998, in Clements. Cynthia and her mother went shopping at Target in Lodi on Friday, November 13, searching for a birthday gift for Cynthia's niece. Vanderheiden had drinks with a friend in Lodi later that afternoon, then headed home for Clements. In Clements, she stopped at the Old Corner Bar, where her mother occasionally worked as a bartender. At about 21.30, she and an acquaintance went to the Linden Inn -- a bar her parents owned -- about 11 miles away. The acquaintance drove and they left Vanderheiden's car at the Old Corner Bar.
The couple left Linden sometime between 02.00 and 02:30. The acquaintance told sheriff's deputies Vanderheiden picked up her car at the Old Corner Bar and he followed her to her parents' home a short distance away. Her friend watched long enough to see Cyndi pull safely into the driveway. He waited until she turned off her car lights, then left.
Cynthia's vehicle, a 1997 gold Chevrolet Cavalier, and belongings were recovered at Glenview Cemetery on Mackeville Road in Clements, at 15.00 on November 14, by Cynthia's father. Before long, the Vanderheidens learned that Cyndi never made it to her job off Arch Road in Stockton.
Friends and family members later told him they'd seen the Cavalier parked there as early as 05:30 that morning.
The vehicle was left with both doors unlocked, and Cynthia's black purse and cellular telephone were in the car. The keys, with an emblem of Disney's Tigger on the ring, were gone.
Vanderheiden had worked for the past two months at Ameriserve in Stockton, where she had been a good employee who was well-liked by her associates. She is described as outgoing and stubborn, with a fun-loving nature. The former Calaveras High School cheerleader and Lodi High School graduate was never seen again.
Loren Herzog and Wesley Howard Shermantine Jr. were charged with Vanderheiden's abduction and murder in 1999. Herzog and Shermantine met Vanderheiden at the Linden, California karaoke bar the day she was last seen. The two men had graduated from Linden High School and still lived in the area, and knew Cynthia's sister. Shermantine was an avid hunter who knew all about surviving in California's wilderness. Four months after Cyndi disappeared, Shermantine and Herzog were arrested and charged with her murder, along with several other deaths. Scientists matched Cynthia's DNA to blood found in Shermantine's Toyota Cressida car, discovered when his car was repossessed. In the midst of the trial, Shermantine asked for $20,000 — to be given to his two sons — in exchange for information on where Cyndi's body was buried. The Vanderheidens wanted no part of it, and despite a bounty hunter offering to pay the money, no deal was made.
Shermantine was found guilty in Vanderheiden's case and was sentenced to death in 2001. He was also found guilty in the 1985 disappearance and presumed murder of Chevelle Wheeler in California. Despite his previous request for money, at the sentencing Shermantine proclaimed his innocence and said Herzog had committed the crimes.
Herzog was found guilty of three murders in 2001. Then, in August 2004, an appeals court threw out Herzog's convictions, saying investigators had coerced him while questioning him. He ultimately pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Vanderheiden's death, as well as being an accessory in three other deaths. Herzog is serving a 14-year sentence.
Sheriff's investigators combed through every possible record on where Shermantine and Herzog had been, including citations and hunting permits, then searched those areas extensively.
Investigators searched hillsides and riverbeds, as well as mineshafts, based on accounts Herzog gave them of exploring mines with Shermantine when they were children.
Cynthia Vanderheiden has never been located.
Investigators San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
209-937-8377
Agency Case Number: 98-24654
NCIC Number: M-170157011 Source Information: Modesto Bee, The (CA) - November 24, 1998
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
National Center for Missing Adults
CA DOJ
Charley Project