Blairsville, Pennsylvania, is a borough in Indiana County in the western part of the state. It was founded in 1818 and named after prominent landowner John Blair. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it became a coal mining and railroad industry center. Historically, coal mining played a significant role in Blairsville's economy. However, like many coal towns, it has faced economic challenges due to changes in the coal industry. Blairsville is known for its historical sites and outdoor recreational opportunities. The town has preserved many historic buildings, including the Blairsville Armory, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Overall, Blairsville offers a mix of history, outdoor recreation, and small-town charm in the picturesque landscape of western Pennsylvania.

Blairsville has a lower violent crime rate than the US average, with 18.2 reported violent crimes per 100k people compared to 22.7 across the entire country. So woohoo for that. We only get a few towns with a decent violent crime rate. Even with this better stat, we are navigating advocacy in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, this week.

Alicia Bernice Markovich was born to John and Marcy Markovich on February 20th, 1972. Marcy and John married very young; Marcy was only 13 when she married a slightly older John. She was just 14 years old when Alicia was born. Obviously, at the age of 14, Marcy’s parents had to help out quite a bit. Marcy and John would be married for ten years before calling it quits. Alicia was well-loved. She was involved in Girl Scouts and sports. As she grew older, she became a track star in high school. Her friends had nothing but amazing things to say about her. She loved cats and was super sarcastic, always joking around with someone. One thing that each of her friends said was that Alicia would always stick up for the underdogs. Anyone who gets picked on or bullied she would be the first person to stand up for them.

Alicia lived with her mom in Windbur, Pennsylvania, during the week and spent every other weekend with her father in Blairsville. These towns are about 45 minutes apart. It's not terribly far but a bit of distance. Alicia was 15 years old and in high school on Sunday, April 26th, 1987; this day, this teenage girl was trying to get out of going to her dad's house. It is not reported why she didnt go over there earlier in the weekend, but apparently, there was a fundraiser for either her school or the track team that Sunday, but her parents said no, and she needed to go to her dad's. Alicia tried to get one of her friends to go with her since it would be a day trip, but the friend couldn't.

Another issue occurred at this time: Alicia’s mom and dad were about to head back to court just three days later because Marcy, Alicia’s mom, wanted an increase in child support. John said he couldn't afford it, which is why they were headed to court. Marcy told Alicia before she left that if her dad mentioned anything about court or child support, she needed to tell him that it was an adult matter and he shouldn't be speaking to her about that.

John picked up Alicia around 930-10 that Sunday morning and made the drive home. After this point, we only have John’s accounts for the next few hours. He stated that he and Alicia got into an argument about her grades, her friends, and even the child support situation. Now his mom said her grades were more than fine; they were As and Bs, and she doesn’t understand why he would be upset about the grades. Maybe he expected straight a’s, but John said after their fight, while he was doing dishes, Alicia stormed out of the house, and as she did this, he yelled for her to be home by 8. John figured she would be headed to a friend's house or even to downtown Blairsville. Alicia had quite a few friends in this town even though she didnt go to school there or live there full time. John used to live in this trailer park, and every time Alicia visited, she would play with the neighborhood kids and become quite close to a few of them. While all of this is happening, Marcy calls John’s house to confirm that he will bring her home early because Alicia has school the next day. She said she called a few times throughout the day; however, no one picked up. Alicia didnt arrive back at her dad's house by 8, and at 9, with no word from her, John started driving around town looking for his daughter. He said he stopped by the trailer park and spoke with some of her friends, who said they hadnt seen her. He said he kept driving around downtown and still couldn't find her, so he headed back to his house.

By 1130ish that night, there was no sign of John bringing Alicia home, so Marcy went to bed. She trusted John as a dad and figured he might be driving their daughter straight to school or something. She had no reason for concern. At 1 am, she got a call that changed everything. John called and said, “She’s gone.”

The parents figured they would give her the night and assumed she would be with one of her friends, but when she didnt go to school and didnt come home that next morning, John reported her missing while Marcy started passing out flyers and looking around town for her. Alicia had never done anything like this, but police listed her as a runaway anyway, as they often do. Her mom would tell authorities that her daughter didnt have the street smarts to make it on her own, and she did not believe for one second that her daughter was a runaway. Once police started looking into her disappearance, they found out no one had seen Alicia that day, and even though they never said John was a suspect, they started to question what he was telling them.

I do want to explain where John’s house was and the challenges Alicia would have faced walking somewhere. John lived on Dunn Avenue in Blairsville which is in a small neighborhood north of the town. Only this neighborhood is on that side because Route 22, a major highway, cuts through the town, separating this neighborhood and the rest of the city. If Alicia had walked away that day, she would have had to cross that highway, and there were not any overpasses or ways to get across it that were close by. So she would have literally had to walk or run across this highway that was pretty busy, even back in the 80s. This was the middle of the day. I think if someone had seen her crossing this busy highway, they would have remembered her. No one has come forward saying they saw her cross that highway.

One year after Alicia had gone missing, something strange happened. John’s vehicle was found a few miles away on fire. John states it was stolen that night somewhere between 1 am and 6 am; the car was found at 7 in the morning. The people who stole this car were never found. It is believed that this car was never searched by police after Alicia’s disappearance. So I am slightly torn about this; one year is a long time to keep the vehicle, and I am just waiting for police to show up with a search warrant for it. However, the neighborhood John lived in isn't really known for being one where cars get stolen. There is only one way into this neighborhood and one way out, so it wouldn't make the most sense for a car thief to steal one from there, but criminals have done crazier things. By year three, with no sign of this teen, police said they were looking at this as a homicide. They did not find any evidence that Alicia intended to run away, and the fact that she didnt take anything with her that day and has never touched her bank account shows this wasn't a planned event. In 1990, both parents gave their insights about what they think happened to their daughter. John says she could have been abducted and sold into human trafficking, while Marcy has her suspicion set on John. Some of Alicia’s friends who lived in the trailer park said John never spoke to them that night Alicia went missing. Never asked them if they had seen his daughter, so did he really search for her that night? Did he check with her friends, and why didnt he answer the phone all day when Marcy was trying to call him? He states he was at the house, so why didnt he pick up the phone? So many questions swirling in my brain right now. This case gets weirder because, in October of 2000, John stated he received a letter in the mail indicating information about what happened to Alicia. This letter came from Bedford, New Hampshire

“What gave me the idea to contact you is when I saw by chance an old missing persons flyer posted on the side of a mailbox in the Philadelphia post office about three weeks ago. The second time I saw it was like everything else faded to gray nothing seemed real for a long time I thought it had all been forever buried. I had spent the last thirteen years erasing and boarding up the name Alicia Markovich in my mind, and by seeing that opened up the floodgates, so to say, to a limitless sea of remorse, guilt, anxiety, inner sadness, and depression. It then detailed how Alicia had died and where to find her remains. It said John would need to dig for her remains along the Conemaugh River, which is just south of Blairsville. State police took cadaver dogs to this location to search for Alicia. However, they would turn up empty-handed.

Police would say that even though they eventually say this letter is a hoax based on other letters that were sent to different families of missing persons, there are details from the letter that are accurate to Alicia’s disappearance.

Alicia’s DNA would eventually be put into the John and Jane Doe database, and unfortunately, she has not been matched with any of the remains on file. In the years since authorities have released information, Alicia’s childhood friends have started an awareness campaign by purchasing a billboard near where she was last seen on Route 22. They have also started a Facebook page and continue to hang flyers around Blairsville. They also state that someone has been ripping down these flyers. I have heard of this happening in quite a few cases, and I just don't understand it. Unless you are the person responsible for this crime, why would anyone do that? Even though Alicia has been missing for 37 years, many people still love her and want justice for her.

If you have any information on what happened to Alicia Markovich, please contact Pennsylvania State Police at 724-832-3288 or 724-357-1978. Alicia was described as a white female, 5 foot 2 inches tall, 120 pounds. She had brown hair and blue eyes and was 15 years old when she went missing. She was wearing a white crop top with three stripes of red, yellow, and blue jeans and white sneakers.

Sources:

Pennsylvania : Alicia Markovich

Rhode Island : Roy Weber

Oregon : Wendy Dehoop