# Eight young girls were mysteriously abducted in the 1980s in chilling spree that rocked the Midwest… now there’s new hope thanks to DNA breakthrough

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/eight-young-girls-were-mysteriously-abducted-in-the-1980s-in-chilling-spree-that-rocked-the-midwest-now-theres-new-hope-thanks-to-dna-breakthrough/
- Published: 2026-10-23T01:02:47+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:37:36+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16230119/Eight-young-girls-mysteriously-abducted-new-hope-DNA-breakthrough.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- New DNA testing has revived Debbie Smith’s 1983 murder investigation.
- Investigators are taking another look at Robert Buell.
- The testing could help clarify links to other Ohio killings.

## Summary

New DNA testing has renewed hopes of solving the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Debbie Smith, who vanished from a carnival in Massillon, Ohio. The case may also shed light on other killings of young girls in northeast Ohio during the early 1980s, though investigators have not established that all the crimes were connected.

Smith was missing for nine days before her remains were found near the Tuscarawas River, about 15 miles from home. Investigators are again examining Robert Buell, who was executed in 2002 for the 1982 murder of 11-year-old Krista Harrison and was later linked by DNA to the 1981 killing of 12-year-old Tina Harmon. The article does not specify what the latest DNA testing found.

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