Key facts
- Name: Heather Danielle Teague
- Born: April 25, 1972
- Age at disappearance: 23
- Last seen: August 26, 1995
- Location: Newburgh Beach, Ohio River, Spottsville, Kentucky (Henderson/Webster County area)
- Height / build: 5’2″, 90–100 lbs, brown hair, green eyes; fallen arches, circular red birthmark on right buttock, scoliosis; last seen in a red plaid bathing suit
- Status: Still missing — classified as Endangered Missing, foul play suspected; $10,000 reward
- Investigating agency: Kentucky State Police
Watched through a telescope
On the afternoon of Saturday, August 26, 1995, twenty-three-year-old Heather Teague spread her towel on Newburgh Beach, a stretch of sand along the Ohio River in Kentucky, and lay down to sunbathe.
Across the river, in Indiana, a man was idly watching the Kentucky shoreline through his telescope — people-watching, the way you do on a slow Saturday. What he saw made him put the telescope down and call the police.
A man had come out of the woods behind the beach. He walked up behind Heather’s chair. He was holding what the witness believed was a gun. He grabbed Heather by the hair, yanked her off the chair, and dragged her into the trees.
It was broad daylight. There was a witness. And Heather Teague was never seen again.
Who Heather was
Heather Danielle Teague was born April 25, 1972, and raised in Kentucky by her mother, Sarah, with two younger siblings. At Webster County High School in Dixon she ran track, played basketball, made the honor roll — and was crowned homecoming queen. In 1989 she was runner-up in the Webster County Junior Miss pageant. Classmates remembered her as funny, smart, and beautiful.
She started at Western Kentucky University in the fall of 1990 on an academic scholarship, and left after the spring 1993 semester, just short of her senior year — she and her mother had decided it was time for some positive changes. Two years later, she went to the beach on a Saturday afternoon and didn’t come home.
The suspect who killed himself — and the mother who wouldn’t stop
Police found part of Heather’s red plaid bathing suit near the abduction site that day, and her blue towel. A local farmer who’d been videotaping crop vandalism that day had inadvertently captured Heather’s car on tape — and a red Ford Bronco parked nearby.
Investigators zeroed in on Marty Dill, the Bronco’s owner. When Kentucky State Police went to question him, Dill took his own life. Police essentially considered the case closed: the suspect was dead.
Heather’s mother, Sarah Teague, never accepted that. Over the decades she became one of the most tenacious family advocates in American missing-persons history — and one of the most adversarial toward the very agency investigating her daughter’s case.
In 2007, Sarah had Heather declared legally dead — not because she’d given up, but because it was the only way to pry the FBI’s investigation file loose. Beginning in the early 2000s, she filed open-records request after open-records request for the Kentucky State Police file; KSP denied them, citing the “ongoing investigation.” In 2017, a Franklin Circuit Court judge ruled KSP had improperly withheld records, ordered them released, and awarded attorney fees and penalties.
Then came the DNA fight. In 2022, Sarah started an online petition demanding DNA testing: Heather’s bathing suit bottom and her blue towel — found at the scene in 1995 — had never been tested. In December 2022, KSP sent three items to a Florida lab: the bathing suit bottom, the blue towel, and a towel found inside Marty Dill’s Bronco. The results were not made public.
In August 2025, Kentucky State Police exhumed Marty Dill’s remains to obtain DNA for direct comparison with any genetic material from Heather’s clothing. As of early 2026, detailed results had not been publicly released; officials said only that the investigation remains open. Separately, in September 2025, bones found in Henderson County woods during a family-connected private search were collected for analysis — not confirmed to be Heather’s. Earlier that August, bone fragments found behind Cagey’s General Store in Henderson County were determined to be deer.
In January 2024, an anonymous donor put up a $10,000 reward for information resolving the case. In 2012, KSP had put Heather’s case on decks of playing cards distributed in state prisons.
Theories: what might have happened
Abduction and murder by Marty Dill. The official theory: Dill took Heather from the beach and killed her, then killed himself when police closed in. Supporting it: the Bronco at the scene, the suicide upon questioning, the absence of any other suspect. Undercutting certainty: Sarah Teague has publicly questioned whether investigators developed tunnel vision — pointing to discrepancies between the eyewitness description and Dill’s appearance, and fighting for years over the transparency of the evidence. The 2025 exhumation suggests investigators themselves want harder proof.
Abduction by someone else. Sarah’s position, in essence: that the rush to close the case around Dill may have missed the real offender. The telescope witness’s description is the key — and descriptions under stress, at distance, through a lens, are fallible. Without public DNA results, this can’t be ruled out.
Have information?
A $10,000 reward is offered for information leading to a resolution. Contact the Kentucky State Police at (270) 826-3312. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- April 25, 1972 — Heather Danielle Teague is born.
- August 26, 1995 — Abducted from Newburgh Beach in daylight; witnessed through a telescope from across the river.
- 1995 — Bathing suit fragment and blue towel recovered; Marty Dill kills himself when KSP comes to question him.
- 2007 — Sarah Teague has Heather declared legally dead to obtain the FBI file.
- 2012 — Heather’s case placed on prison playing-card decks.
- 2017 — Judge orders KSP to release withheld records.
- December 2022 — KSP sends evidence to a Florida lab for DNA testing.
- January 2024 — Anonymous $10,000 reward posted.
- August 2025 — Marty Dill exhumed for DNA comparison; deer bones found near Cagey’s ruled out.
- September 2025 — Bones found in Henderson County woods; not confirmed as Heather’s.
- Today — Still missing. Investigation open.
FAQ
Is Heather Teague still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Heather Teague has been missing for 31 years. The Kentucky State Police say the investigation remains open.
Was Heather Teague ever found?
No. Her body has never been found and no arrests have ever been made.
How old would Heather Teague be today?
Heather was born April 25, 1972 — she turned 54 in April 2026.
Who was Marty Dill?
The only named suspect in the case. His red Ford Bronco was videotaped near the abduction site on the day Heather vanished. When Kentucky State Police went to question him, he took his own life. In August 2025, his remains were exhumed for DNA comparison with evidence from the scene.
What did the telescope witness see?
A man coming out of the woods behind Newburgh Beach, approaching the sunbathing Heather with what appeared to be a gun, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her into the trees — in broad daylight.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Contact the Kentucky State Police at (270) 826-3312. A $10,000 reward is available.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Kentucky State Police (Post 16, Henderson); Franklin Circuit Court records (2017 open-records ruling).
- News: WEHT/Eyewitness News (Henderson — “Evidence in Heather Teague disappearance sent to independent lab,” 2025); The Gleaner; 14News.
- Reference: The Charley Project — Heather Teague; The Doe Network; Stories of the Unsolved — “The Abduction of Heather Teague” (2024).
- Media: MURDERED: Heather Teague (The Murder Diaries, Nov 2025); The Abduction of Heather Teague (podcast, May 2026); MISSING: Heather Teague (2022); whereisheatherteague.blogspot.com (family site).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.