Freaky Friday Files: What happened to the Fandel's?

ashey9111
Aug 8
4 min read

DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG POST DISCUSSES MISSING CHILDREN. READER'S DISCRETION ADVISED!

Hello! For this week's edition of Freaky Friday Files, I wanted to take a look at the case of the Fandel's children. The case where 13-year-old Scott and 8-year-old Amy Fandel went missing from their cabin in Alaska in 1978. It's a bit of a weird one and I hope one day the family is able to get closure.

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What happened to the Fandel's?

On the 4th of September, 1978, two children - Amy and Scott Fandel went missing from their family cabin in Sterling, Alaska. The next morning, their mum and aunt discovered that they were gone, but there was a pot of boiling pasta on the stove and some tomatoes left out on the counter. Scott and Amy lived with their mum, Margaret Fandel, as their parents had recently separated and their father went to live in Arizona. People described them as a happy family.

What happened in the hours leading up to Amy and Scott's disappearance?

On the Monday evening, Amy, Scott, their mum Margaret, and their Aunt Cathy went out to a place called Good Time Charlie's - a bar/restaurant that allowed children in the dining area if accompanied.
At 10 pm, Amy and Scott were dropped off at home, and then Margaret and Cathy went back to the bar to socialise.
Amy and Scott went over to the neighbours' house - The Lupton's, and they stayed there until around 11:45 pm as the Lupton's said it was time for them to go. This is the last time anyone saw Amy and Scott.
Between 2 and 3 am, Margaret and Cathy returned home and found the cabin completely dark. Margaret thought this was odd, as her kids were afraid of the dark. They also found that a pot of pasta was boiling on the stove, and some tomatoes were left out. Apparently, Scott liked to make something to eat before bed. However, it wasn't until the next day they reported the kids missing.
Some people have said that Margaret and Cathy didn't check the bedrooms and assumed the kids stayed at the neighbours'. WTF?

Finally, the kids are reported missing the next day. When the kids were meant to be ready for school, they weren't there. A call was made to the Lupton's to see if Amy and Scott had spent the night, but the neighbours said they hadn't. Finally, at 5:14 pm, a call was made to the Alaska State Troopers, and a search was conducted. So many hours went into searching the area that the cabin was - a very thick forest, but ultimately, they found nothing. One investigator found a handful of spent bullet casings near the cabin but they were unable to determine if these bullets were related to the missing children or if they were leftover from a target practice - a common activity in this area. They used aircraft, people on foot, and lots of dogs, but they still found nothing.

The children's father Roger, also flew back from Arizona to help with the search and was questioned extensively, but it was determined that he wasn't involved.

Theories!

According to Margaret's brother, Terry Schonfelder, he was very suspicious of Roger (the dad), even though he had been cleared by authorities. Terry said, "I still think Roger knows more than he's saying," - but the police never found anything.
There were two carnival workers who had stayed at the cabin before with Margaret's permission - these two were seen driving a black car near the house that night. When questioned by authorities, they said they were in the area but didn't stop by. No further information came of this.
Were Amy and Scott abducted by a stranger that overheard they were going to be home alone?
A friend of Margaret's took the children and k*lled them.
The children just ran away.
Margaret kidnapped the children herself.

I also have so many questions about this case. Why were these two children left alone at such a young age? Why would you not check the bedrooms straight away if the cabin looked odd? Why did it take until 5:14 pm the next day to call authorities and report them missing? Did the mum have something to do with it? Why would they leave the food cooking on the stove, did they get super spooked by something or someone?? If it were someone they knew who took them, wouldn't they turn the food off? Were the neighbours questioned more? Why would they not ask the neighbours to babysit? If Scott started to boil the water around 12 am, wouldn't it have evaporated by 3 am if it was still on the stove? It feels like someone is lying.

Apparently, in 1980, the family cabin burnt down - but it's not clear if Margaret was still living there at the time or what caused the fire.

It's been over 45 years since Scott and Amy went missing and there are still no answers. I hope that one day, there will be.

Stay safe,

Ash

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