When a New York woman embarks upon a short walk in her own neighborhood, she’s abducted by an unfathomably cruel killer. Investigators pursue answers in a case that has haunted them for years in this episode of Last Seen Alive .
Carol Ryan was abducted from Syracuse, NY and cruelly murdered on September 1, 1996. She was a 42-year-old mother who had a close bond with her only child, a son.
Carol was abducted from East Syracuse while walking home from an evening out. Several hours later, a fisherman found her near the shores of the Janesville Reservoir. She was gravely injured and died at the hospital despite lifesaving efforts.
Carol’s case is unique among homicides due to her killer’s extreme cruelty and use of an explosive device to inflict severe internal injuries.
Sources used to research this episode:
Carol Ryan’s Cold Case: Horrific Syracuse Murder Remains Unsolved 26 Years Later (Katrina Tulloch / syracuse.com)
Police Shine Light on 20-Year-Old Cold Case (Ellen Abbott / WRVO)
Democrat and Chronicle–Tuesday, September 3, 1996 Edition
News Journal–Thursday, September 19, 1996 Edition
‘Just Help My Family’: $10K Reward Offered to Help Solve Brutal 1996 Jamesville Murder (Samantha House / syracuse.com)
Possible Break in 26-Year-Old Jamesville Cold Case (Matthew Saffer / CNY Central)
A Possible Suspect in a 27-Year-Old Cold Case (Christie Casciano and Dave Longley / LocalSyr.com)
Violent Victimization Committed by Strangers, 1993-2010 (Erika Harrell, Ph.D. / US Dept. of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics)
If you have any information on the murder of Carol Ryan, please contact the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office tipline at 315-435-3051.