Sister begs for information, police offer reward in 19-year-old's mysterious cold case disappearance

Decades after 19-year-old college student Tammy Mahoney mysteriously vanished in upstate New York, her sister is begging anyone with information about the case to come forward and finally bring peace to their family.

Mahoney was last seen on May 8, 1981, hitchhiking in Oneida, New York, according to the FBI. Oneida is about 30 miles east of Syracuse.

"There was never a day or a minute that we have not thought about Tammy," Mahoney's sister, Marlene Laccesaglia, said at a news conference on Thursday. "Our family has always had an empty space in our hearts. And our greatest wish has always been that space to be replaced with the truth and Tammy can at last be laid to rest."

Laccesaglia said closure is especially important now that their 85-year-old mother's health is declining.

Their mother "says a prayer for [Tammy] every day," Laccesaglia said. She said her greatest wish is to find answers for their mother and bring her the peace she's wanted for so many decades.

"As we approach 38 years ... the FBI and our law enforcement partners have never stopped searching," James Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Albany field office, said at the Thursday news conference. "There are individuals who have information."

Recent events have led to possible new information in the case, Hendricks said, and the FBI is now offering a reward, hoping it will motivate someone who knows what happened to come forward. Hendricks did not elaborate on those recent events.

The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to Mahoney's body, or the arrest of those responsible for her disappearance and death, said Hendriks. The Oneida Indian Nation is also offering its own $20,000 reward to match the FBI reward, Oneida Indian Nation police chief Gary Henderson said.

Anyone with information can call the FBI at (315) 731-1781.