Thursday, February 20, 1986 began as just another day. 13 year old Theresa Ann Woods readied herself for the school day ahead unaware of what fate was to befall her. By 5:30pm the town of Oak Hill, West Virginia would be turned upside down and the whereabouts of the shy, 13 year old girl would be a mystery.
Theresa was born April 6, 1972 to Betty and Donald “Hank” Woods of Powellton, West Virginia. For all intents and purposes she was just like any other teenager. Theresa excelled academically, loved playing the saxophone and was a member of the school band.
Her parents divorced and Theresa’s mother, Betty married Rick Holcomb. The pair moved to Oak Hill from Powellton with Theresa to be closer to their work at B & B Convalescent. They moved into a small home next door to their employers Billie and Robert Skaggs. Theresa struck up a friendship with their daughter, Angel (who was several years older) and the pair became inseparable.
It is here that we find ourselves on the morning of February 20, 1986. Betty Holcomb dropped Theresa and Angel off at school and proceeded to work. Theresa was adorned in a lavender shirt, a blue jean jacket, blue jeans and gray suede boots with a fur lining. It was noted that Theresa did not want to go to school that morning.
Every day when school let out Angel Skaggs would take the bus over to Collins Middle School to meet Theresa and together they would make the trek down Jones Avenue to Main Street and finally to the office of B & B Convalescent. This was not the case on February 20th, on this day, Theresa would make the less than a mile (.8 mile) walk alone. If she continued at a steady pace, it should have only taken her around 20 minutes to get from Collins Middle School to the B & B Offices.
About .2 miles from Collins Middle School was a 7-11 Gas Station located at 529 Jones Avenue (presently a Citgo, pictured below). It is here that we have our last confirmed sighting of Theresa. About 3pm she was witnessed leaning against a pole in the parking lot. What happened after that is still a mystery.
At 4:30pm when Theresa had failed to arrive Betty Holcomb began to get worried. Rick was away on a run with the ambulance and Betty used the telephone to call the family back in Powellton. Donald Woods closed his store in Kimberly and immediately came down to Oak Hill to begin re-tracing his daughters steps. Her family, as well combed the streets in search of the young girl. At 5:30pm, Betty called the West Virginia State Police to report Theresa missing. Initially, like in so many other cases, the police believed her to be a runaway but her family knew better than that. Theresa was no runaway. Something was terribly wrong.
For months after the disappearance flyers peppered the town of Oak Hill and everywhere you went there was a picture of the young girls face. The family searched tirelessly but it was as though Theresa had just vanished. Donald Woods even set up a reward fund for any information regarding Theresa’s disappearance. Though the outlook was grim, the family still held out hope that Theresa would return home.
There was an unconfirmed report made that Theresa had been spotted as far as Main Street on the day she disappeared. According to the report, Theresa had gotten into a blue car. Was this the last time Theresa Woods had been seen? Who was driving the blue car and finally Where were they going?
At last, on June 5, 1986, in the shallow waters of Laurel Creek, two fishermen stumbled upon the skeletonized remains of Theresa Woods. Though confirmation would take several days, several items belonging to Theresa as well as tufts of red hair found at the scene led investigators to believe they had found the missing girl.
Though the cause of death has been withheld, investigators have enough evidence to rule Theresa’s death a homicide.
It has been 36 years this year since the murder of Theresa Ann Woods. Her father has since passed on never knowing what fate befell his only daughter. Never knowing who committed such a heinous act against an innocent young girl.
If you or anyone you know has any information regarding the murder of Theresa Ann Woods please contact Crime Stoppers at (304) 255- STOP. Or visit www.crimestopperswv.com to submit a tip anonymously.
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Here are some interesting things to note regarding Theresa’s disappearance:
Theresa was described by her father as a scaredy cat. Not only would she not have gotten into a vehicle with a person she was unfamiliar with, she would not have been out at dark alone either.
Theresa and her mother, Betty, were very close.
For several weeks leading up to her disappearance, Theresa had notably been very upset. The final weekend she spent at her father’s in Powellton, he claimed that she had been crying and upset. Theresa would not tell him what was wrong.
Theresa did not want to live in Oak Hill. She had asked if she could go live with her father and return to her old school. Theresa’s mother, Betty, urged her to finish out the school year at Collins and had made arrangements for she and Theresa to return to Powellton at the end of the year.
Theresa was said to have had a crush on a boy, Allan at school. The pair were supposed to go on a “date” to the movies with his parents the upcoming weekend. Rick had appeared to be upset about this date. Betty and Rick insisted on meeting the boy before Theresa went on the date.
References:
Books:
“West Virginia Unsolved Murders” by George and Melody Bragg. The Tragic Murder of Teresa Woods. Pages 56-59. 1992.
“West Virginia Cold Case Homicides” by George Bragg. Innocence Lost: The Tragic Murder of Teresa Woods. Page 100 2007.
Newspapers:
The Fayette Tribune
The Raleigh Register
The Beckley Post Herald
The Charleston Gazette
Special Thank Yous:
Several Reliable Anonymous Sources