MUS-2026-0054
Archive card
MUS-2026-0054
Homicide
- Incident
- 1995
- Indexed
- Oct 3, 2026, by MuseUnsolved
- Agency
- Steubenville Police Department
- Location
- Steubenville OH
Public record. Index entry.
Index entry. Case details compiled from public reporting; our researchers have not verified this file yet.
Summary
What happened, as the record shows.
Barbara Ann Barnes, 13, was abducted while walking to school in Steubenville, Ohio on December 7, 1995. Her body was found two months later in a shallow grave in a dry creek bed near Clinton, Pennsylvania. She had been raped and strangled. The FBI assisted the Steubenville Police Department and posted a $90,000 reward. Journalists have named an uncle and a local ex-con as persons of interest; both were never charged and must be presumed innocent. No one has ever been charged, and the case is considered a cold case.
Timeline
What the record establishes.
- 1995
Barbara Barnes, 13, is abducted walking to school in Steubenville on December 7.
- 1996
Her body is found in a shallow grave near Clinton, Pennsylvania, two months later.
- 2024
Reporting confirms no one was ever charged and the case is considered cold.
Key people
The people in the file.
13, of Steubenville, Ohio. Abducted walking to school December 7, 1995.
Contact details change over time; confirm the current assignee before publishing.
Investigating agency
Where tips go.
This case is with the Steubenville Police Department. If you know something, say something to them. For public-record leads for our researchers, use the tip line on any open file.
Coverage
Coverage and further reading.
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