The Disappearance of Suzanne Lyall

In March of 1998, a college student got off the bus near her dorms. And she was never seen again. 

Suzanne Lyall was born on April 6^th, 1978 in Saratoga Springs, New York. She was the youngest child of Doug and Mary Lyall. The Lyalls lived in the small town of Ballston Spa, where Suzanne, Suzie to her friends and family, was the darling of the family. 

Suzie was a quiet, introspective girl. She always wrote everything down. She had notebooks upon notebooks of poetry that she enjoyed writing. Her family likes to share the story of the time Suzie came running out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, hair still full of shampoo. She had an idea for a poem, and needed to write it down right away. 

Suzie was also very skilled with computers. She loved building computers, and learned to do so, and to code her own programs from a very young age. While in high school, Suzie’s classmates found her quiet, and maybe a little awkward. But Suzie had an entire social circle online. She was part of a computer club, and often talked with her friends via emails, and internet forums. She even met her boyfriend, Richard Condon, through the club. He was the computer club’s president. 

In 1996, Suzie had graduated from high school, and began attending the State University of New York, or SUNY, at Oneonta, majoring in computer sciences. She soon transferred to SUNY Albany, partially to be closer to her family, and to Richard, and partially because she didn’t feel that the program at Oneonta was challenging enough. 

Richard was thrilled to have Suzie close to him again. When they’d met, Richard had immediately been smitten with Suzie. However, it took Suzie a little while to warm up to him. But Richard was persistent, and he eventually won her over. Richard had disliked the distance while Suzie was at Oneonta, but now, with Suzie living in the dorms in Albany, she was only 10 minutes away. 

While in school, Suzie worked two part-time jobs to help supplement her income. She had one job at a computer company in Troy, while the other was in the Crossgates Mall, in Westmere, at a store called Babbage’s.

Due to her busy schedule, Suzie kept in touch with friends and family daily via email. She especially made sure to keep in touch with her parents, and Richard, emailing them and calling them daily. Mary Lyall recalled speaking to Suzie on March 1^st, 1998 on the phone. Suzie mentioned she couldn’t wait to get paid, as she was low on cash. When her mother offered to lend her money, she declined politely. As was Suzie’s way. 

Suzie had an upcoming midterm that was giving her anxiety. On March 2^nd, 1998, Suzie took that exam, and then attended her other classes until 4:00 PM. Next, she went to work at Babbage’s, where she informed her manger that she thought she’d done alright on her midterm. 

Suzie worked at Babbage’s until around 9:00 PM, at which point the store closed. At around 9:20 PM, she boarded a Capital District Transportation Authority bus, and headed back to campus. The driver confirmed that he had seen Suzie board the bus, but could not confirm where she had disembarked. All he could say was that she was not on the bus when he reached the end of the route. 

A classmate of Suzie’s later came forward and stated that she’d seen Suzie disembark the bus around 9:45 PM at the busstop closest to her dormitory. She’d been wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, a long, black trench coat, and was carrying a black tote bag. After this, Suzie was never seen again. 

The next morning, Richard called Doug and Mary. He asked them if they’d heard from Suzie. He’d been calling her dorm room all night, and had yet to hear from her. This was unusual, as Suzie usually called or emailed as soon as she would arrive home from work. Richard’s only conclusion was that Suzie had never made it to her dorm room the night before. 

Doug and Mary contacted the SUNY Albany campus police to report her missing. The response they received was lacklustre. Doug and Mary were told that it wasn’t unusual for a college student to stay out all night, and she’d be back soon. At the insistance of Suzie’s parents, campus police got in touch with Suzie’s dorm’s RA. The RA went to Suzie’s dorm room, and assessed the situation. The room was perfectly intact. There were no signs of a struggle, and nothing was out of place. 

One officer tried to catch Suzie at her next class of that day. But Suzie was not in attendance. In speaking with her dorm’s suitemates, they indicated that there was no way Suzie could have come back without alerting them. Suzie had a large keychain with dangly, jingly bits and fobs on it. Had she returned, at any time, her suitemates would have heard her keys jingling. 

Growing more concerned about their daughter, Doug and Mary came up with a plan of action. Doug drove up to SUNY Albany to help look for his daughter, while Mary remained home, waiting by the phone in case Suzie called. 

Doug was welcomed by police, who informed him that they had people out looking for Suzie. Doug began walking around campus, asking anyone and everyone if they’d seen his daughter. 

Mary knew that Suzie had approximately $120 in her bank account. Suzie had told her so the previous day. Mary knew that if Suzie needed access to the money, her bank records would reflect this. Mary called Suzie’s bank, and asked if there had been any activity on her accounts. 

Suzie’s bank records indicated that the card had been used to make two withdrawals on March 2^nd. Both withdrawals had been for $20, which was Suzie’s habit. She never took out any more or any less when she withdrew money from her account. 

One of the withdrawals had been made in the morning near the SUNY Albany campus’s Collins Circle bus stop. The other withdrawal had been made at the mall in the afternoon, right around the time Suzie arrived to work. This relieved Mary a little bit – these actions fit Suzie’s patterns of behaviour. But then, something odd happened. 

While Mary was on the phone with the bank, the bank official stated that Suzie’s card was being used at that moment at an ATM. However, the way the technology was set up at the time, they wouldn’t be able to tell where the card had been used until the next day, when the vendor turned in the receipts. 

Mary waited patiently, and the next day, the bank official told Mary that the card had been used around 4:00 PM, on March 3^rd, 1998, at a Stewart’s Shops convenience store in Albany. The store was about 3 miles away from the SUNY Albany campus. 

As the investigation was underway, police searched over 300 acres around the Collins Circle bus stop, and looked into 270 leads. Discovering the use of Suzie’s card seemed like the lead that would break the case wide open. 

Police went to the Stewart’s Shops ATM, looking for clues. They discovered that the store had one security camera. However, it was pointed towards the area surrounding the cash register. The camera didn’t point towards the ATM at all. There was no way to know if it was Suzie, or someone else who had used the card at the ATM. 

The cashier who was on duty at the time the card was used did not recognize Suzie. However, they did give a description of a man who could have used the card at that time. The man was since known as The Nike Man, as he wore a Nike baseball cap. This man was then determined to be a possible witness, or potential person of interest. 

Richard reassured police that he found it unlikely that a stranger would use the card. Only he and Suzie knew the PIN, he told them, and she would never hand it out to anyone. 

As police began looking into The Nike Man, they also wondered if Suzie’s disappearance could somehow be related to the disappearance of Keren Wilson, a student at SUNY Albany who had disappeared 13 years prior, in March of 1985. Suzie looked a lot like Karen, and the two even lived in the same dorm on campus. However, no connections could be found between the two cases. Karen’s disappearance remains unsolved. 

Police also looked into the possibility that a rapist who had violated his parole and fled the area around the time Suzie disappeared could be involved. He was interviewed after he was apprehended, and police excluded him. 

Two months after Suzie disappeared, her Babbage’s name tag was found in a parking lot on campus. The parking lot was in the opposite direction that Suzie would have taken had she haded towards the dorms after getting off the bus. 

One theory postis that the badge could have fallen out of her back, and been pushed the edge of the parking lot from regular vehicle and foot traffic, being buried in the March snow. Another theory posits that the name tag could have been placed there after Suzie disappeared, either to throw investigators off the trail, or to cover the potentially abductor’s tracks. 

It has never been confirmed just how the badge managed to get there, and no forensic evidence was recovered from it. 

As the case began to grow cold, tensions between Richard’s family and Suzie’s family began to run high. Other than his initial interview with police, Richard was not cooperative. He hired an attorney right away, and refused to take a polygraph test. However, that didn’t stop Richard and his family put up a billboard asking for information from the public about Suzie’s disappearance. 

The billboard had a photo of Suzie, as well as a composite sketch, given to police by the Stewart’s Shops cashier, of The Nike Man. 

About a year after the billboard went up, the man was identified. Police have never released the man’s name, but did state that he had worked at SUNY Albany, ahd had a previous conviction for rape. All in all, the man was interviewed six times, but they ended up letting him go, stating that he was not involved in Suzie’s disappearance. The resons for this remain unknown. 

Police have never ruled Richard out as a suspect in Suzie’s disappearance, despite his alibi. The night of her disappearance, he was playing video games with a friend. He presented himself as a concerned, loving boyfriend. 

Mary Lyall had another impression of Richard. Mary recalled that Suzie had wanted to leave Richard on a few occasions. Suzie referred to him as possessive and controlling. But every time she would end things, she would lose her resolve in the face of if his extreme emotions, and she would stay with him. 

Mary was convinced that Suzie had wanted to leave Richard before she disappeared. Richard didn’t quite see things the same way. He was sure that they were going to get married. He even told police that Suzie had been his fiancée, something Suzie would have absolutely told her family had it been true. 

While some of his actions remain suspicious, there has never been any evidence to indicate that Richard was ever involved in Suzie’s disapperance. 

Over the years, the Lyalls have never been idle in the search for their daughter. They criticized the SUNY  Albany campus police for their response to Suzie’s disappearance, and began lobbying for changes in New York law to address the shortcomings. 

In 1999, they passed “Suzanne’s Law”, also known as the Campus Safety Act, which required colleges and universities in the state to have detailed plans in the course of investigation for violent felonies, and missing persons cases that occurred on campus. The Act also stated that they promptly had to report these to the state police. 

In 2008, a federal law, named The Suzanne Lyall Campus Safety Act, was enacted throughout the United States. This law detailed the requirement for colleges and universities to have policies in place that clearly defined the role of campus, local, and state policing agencies in investigations of violent crime, or disappearances on campus. 

Doug Lyall passed away, never learning what happend to his daughter. Mary continues to search for answers. 

The disappearance of Suzie Lyall remains unsolved. If you have any information about this case, please contact the New York State Police at 519-783-3211, or 899-940-4150, or contact the SUNY Albany State Police at 518-442-3131. 

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Sources:

The Disappearance of Suzanne Lyall – Billi Fitzsimons – Mamamia
Suzanne Lyall – Chilling Crimes
Crime Junkie podcast episode: MISSING: Suzanne Lyall
Disappearance of Suzanne Lyall Wikipedia page