A 4-Year-Old Vanished From Her Home in 1986; Her Alleged Killer Was Just Found

Thomas McDowell was arrested after state and local investigators conducted 125 new interviews

A portrait shot of Jessica Gutierrez
Lexington County Sheriff's Department

A North Carolina man was accused Thursday of kidnapping and killing a 4-year-old girl who vanished from her South Carolina home 35 years ago, authorities said.

Thomas McDowell, 61, faces charges of murder, kidnapping and first-degree burglary in the 1986 disappearance of Jessica Gutierrez, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

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McDowell was arrested after state and local investigators conducted 125 new interviews and reviewed thousands of pages of case files, the department said. 

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