By Sienna Snider- True Crime writer for Today Fort Smith
Three decades have passed since Lori vanished under mysterious circumstances, leaving her family and community searching for answers.
On September 1, 1995, 24-year-old Lori Murchison and her boyfriend, Jerry Cogan, were arrested during a traffic stop. Cogan was taken into custody on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, while Lori was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication, according to a September 2005 Times Record report.
The following morning, Lori was released from jail. She planned to pick up her paycheck and return to bail out Cogan. Lori was last seen at the Continental Motel in Fort Smith, where she went to get a key to her room between 2 and 4 p.m., according to an April 2005 Times Record report.
However, she never collected her paycheck from the Oaks Lodge Nursing Home, where she worked, nor did she return to bail out Cogan.
Lori was reported missing on September 5, 1995. Her mother, Nancy Murchison, recounted her last conversation with Lori on September 2. Lori mentioned she and Cogan were moving out and had found a room at the motel, promising to pick up her 4-year-old daughter,
Brittney, the next day. Since Lori’s disappearance, her case has passed through the hands of various detectives, with each lead yielding no conclusive results.
Around 2003, emerging details suggested Lori had overdosed and that someone had disposed of her body. Lockhart and his team.
Authorities identified a credible suspect, a man incarcerated in Oklahoma state prison for an unrelated offense. Despite having enough evidence to charge him with disposing of a corpse, the statute of limitations had expired.
Lori Murchison’s disappearance continues to haunt Fort Smith.
Anyone with information on her case is urged to contact the Fort Smith Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at (479) 709-5116 or email missingpersons@fortsmithpd.org.
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