Missing Since: 2001-06-03 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Erin was last seen late on June 3, 2001 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She asked her parents if she could spent the night with a friend, Brit McCune, She had gone to McCune’s house earlier that day, at at 8:45 p.m., to accompany her to the movie theater, but she wasn’t home at the time. They had known each other for about a year. McCune later said she didn’t know Erin was coming over that night. Erin’s parents had agreed to let her go to McCune’s house, and a neighbor, Curtis Padgett, gave her a ride to the residence in the 1500 block of Second Avenue Southeast. A photo of Padgett is posted with this case summary. Erin took a blanket with her to sit on in the car, because Padgett’s car seats were dirty and torn. He stated when they arrived, McCune still wasn’t home, but a dark-colored two-door early 1990s model Chevrolet Impala or Cavalier with dark tinted rear windows pulled up the curb of the house. It was driving the wrong way on the one-way street. Erin spoke to the occupants for a short time, then got into the backseat of the car, saying she would get a ride with them. She took the blanket along with her. She has never been heard from again. The Chevrolet was unfamiliar to Erin’s friends and family, but Padgett said she seemed to know its occupants. Police classified her case as a runaway, but Erin’s family believes she may have been taken against her will and may be in danger. She didn’t take her day planner which had her friends’ and relatives’ phone numbers in it, or her purse or makeup case, or any other personal belongings. None of her friends have heard from her since she disappeared, which is very uncharacteristic of her, and her family doesn’t think there was anything at home that she was upset enough about to make her leave. She may have been seen in the spring of 2002 at a Hawkeye Convenience Store on First Avenue and 17th Street in Cedar Rapids, sitting in the backseat of a brown Pontiac Grand Am with Illinois license plates. The witness knew Erin well and was sure the girl in the vehicle was her. He tried to follow the car, but lost it in traffic and didn’t get its license plate number. Police, when called, were unable to locate Erin or the vehicle. In March 2023, Padgett was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Dennis First, a 64-year-old Cedar Rapids man who was found beaten and stabbed to death in May 2007. The two men had been friends and lived in the same apartment complex. Padgett was convicted of murder in 2024 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Authorities haven’t said whether they think he was involved in Erin’s disappearance as well. Erin has relatives in Nevada but none of them have heard from her. She lived full-time with her father, stepmother and three siblings when she disappeared, but also spent a lot of time at her mother’s home. She was a freshman at Metro High School and she didn’t like school, and her attendance was spotty. Her case remains unsolved. Many agencies still classify her as a runaway. Investigating Agency Cedar Rapids Police Department 319-286-5400 319-286-5491 Source Information The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children America’s Most Wanted Help Find a Child — Bring Erin Home The Des Moines Register CBS 2 Iowa KCRG 2 The Cedar Rapids Gazette Updated 9 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated June 9, 2025; two pictures added, details of disappearance updated.