TIME’S UP

Ex-Idaho Governor Candidate Charged With Killing 12-Year-Old Girl Who Disappeared in 1984

Local police chief Mark Jones said this week’s arrest of the failed politician was “36 years in the making.”

An Idaho man who twice launched failed bids to become the state’s governor has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews, who disappeared in 1984. Steven Pankey, who is now 69, was arrested in Idaho on Monday, NBC News reports. Matthews vanished from her home in Colorado in December 1984 on the night after she had performed in a Christmas concert. What happened to her remained a mystery until her remains were found by chance in July 2019 when oil and gas crews were working on a pipeline. Local police chief Mark Jones said this week’s arrest was “36 years in the making.” Pankey was reportedly aware that he was a person of interest—he told the Twin Falls, Idaho, Times-News newspaper last week that he was being framed.