It was December 15, 1995, a Friday in Bristolville, Ohio, the kind of day where the cold pressed in from every angle, creeping through the cracks of old farmhouse windows. The Markley family was starting their day just like they had countless times before. John Markley, 36, a truck driver with a quiet demeanor but strong work ethic, was already up and moving. His wife, Shelly, just 31, bustled about the kitchen. She was the center of their home—a stay-at-home mom, managing the chaos of five kids who ranged in age from eight to fifteen. The kids hurried out the door, heading for school, leaving behind the usual clatter of breakfast dishes and morning routines.
For John and Shelly, that morning seemed as ordinary as ever. But what happened later was anything but.
By mid-afternoon, the Markley children returned home from school, expecting to see their mother as they always did. Shelly rarely left the house when the kids were at school, and if she had to step out, she always left a note—“ran to the store, be back soon”—scribbled in her neat handwriting. But there was no note. Instead, the door was unlocked, a slight chill hung in the air, and the house was strangely still.
The first thing they noticed was the coffee pot, still on and nearly boiling dry. It had clearly been left running far longer than it should have. John’s wristwatch, which he never took off, sat abandoned on a shelf above the stove. For a man who was meticulous about his habits, the watch sitting there was jarring. In the kitchen, Shelly’s cigarette case and lighter rested untouched on the counter. She was a pack-a-day smoker, someone who rarely went anywhere without her Marlboros.
Upstairs, things were even more unsettling. The gun cabinet, always locked, was standing wide open, and papers were strewn across their parents’ bedroom, like someone had been searching through important documents in a hurry. The couple’s bed was unmade, their clothes for an upcoming event still laid out neatly, untouched.
And in the garage? More strangeness. John’s 1978 Corvette, his pride and joy, always kept hidden beneath tarps, sat fully exposed. The tarps had vanished, along with the couple’s checkbook. It wasn’t just that things were out of place—it was that everything felt wrong, as if the Markleys had been pulled from their lives without warning.
The Markley children, confused and frightened, gathered what little they could understand. They headed to their aunt and uncle’s house, just down the road, hoping that maybe their parents would be back by the time they returned. But deep down, they must have known something was terribly wrong.
It was the start of a mystery that would linger for decades—a mystery where every small detail, every abandoned object, seemed to be telling a story. But it was a story no one could fully grasp.
The Investigation
The following morning, John’s sister Linda reported the couple missing. Police descended on the Markley residence, scouring the house and property for clues. Inside, the scene was bizarre: the gun cabinet, which John always kept locked, was open, and papers were scattered around the master bedroom as if someone had been searching for something. Their red and silver Chevrolet pickup truck had vanished along with them.
Investigators began piecing together the Markleys’ last known movements. At 10:36 a.m. on the day of their disappearance, Shelly cashed a $1,000 check at a Bank One drive-thru in nearby Bloomfield. The bank teller recalled seeing the couple in their truck, with John driving and Shelly seated beside him. But there was something off—a third person, a man, sat next to Shelly. The teller couldn’t remember his face or describe him. He remained a mystery.
Days later, the Markleys’ truck was found abandoned in a hardware store parking lot, covered in mud, 10 miles from their home. Inside the truck, their cellphone lay untouched, and the missing tarps from the Corvette were folded neatly in the truck bed. It was clear the truck had been driven off-road, but no one knew where or why.
Rumors swirled in the small community. John had been grappling with loss: Bonnie, his twin sister, had succumbed to cancer just two days before. Investigators initially theorized that the couple had run off, overcome by grief. But as days turned into weeks, that theory dissolved under the weight of too many inconsistencies. The Markleys would never abandon their children without a word. Something darker had taken hold.
Then, a strange twist: Steven Durst, a former employee of John’s, made a startling claim. Durst contacted the Markley family, asserting that he was holding John and Shelly captive and demanded a ransom of $10,000 for their safe return. It seemed like the break everyone was hoping for, and police quickly set up a sting operation to catch Durst when he came to collect the money. But when Durst arrived at the gas station expecting a bag of cash, police were waiting. He was arrested, and any hope of a resolution crumbled.
Though Durst was convicted of extortion in 1996 and sentenced to four to ten years in prison, his involvement in the Markleys’ disappearance was far from clear. He claimed innocence, insisting that he was not the one who had made the ransom calls, but the suspicion around him only deepened when he failed a polygraph test. Durst’s answers about his involvement in the Markleys’ disappearance were marked as deceptive, particularly when asked if he had seen them after they went missing.
Despite the failed polygraph and his conviction for extortion, authorities could never definitively link Durst to the couple’s disappearance. Some investigators believed that Durst was merely an opportunist, trying to exploit a tragic situation for financial gain. However, others weren’t so sure. Chief Investigator Jane Timko later asserted, “I truly believe that Steven Durst knows what happened to them and he just won’t say.” For many, Durst remains the most viable suspect—his motives clouded by greed, his connection to John too close to ignore.
As months passed, law enforcement’s focus shifted from ransom demands to foul play. A deep dive into Durst’s history revealed tension between him and John. Durst had previously worked for John and claimed that the Markleys owed him money—an alleged debt of $1,000 that seemed small in comparison to his audacious ransom demand, but it hinted at unresolved conflict. Still, without concrete evidence tying him directly to the couple’s disappearance, authorities had no choice but to keep him on the sidelines of the investigation.
The case grew colder. Divers searched nearby lakes and quarries, helicopters scanned the rural landscape, and dozens of search parties combed the surrounding areas for any trace of the couple. But no new clues emerged. The Markleys’ fate was as muddied as the truck they left behind—locked, abandoned, and filled with small fragments of a life that had been suddenly, inexplicably interrupted. The last solid lead investigators had was Steven Durst, yet no matter how deeply they probed, Durst refused to crack.
Where Are The Markleys?
As the months stretched on, the case went cold. The police searched lakes, rivers, and quarries, hoping to find bodies, but every lead turned up nothing. John and Shelly Markley were eventually declared dead, but their bodies were never found. Theories ranged from extortion gone wrong to involvement with criminal enterprises. Some believed John’s grief over Bonnie’s death may have played a role, while others suspected foul play due to his past extortion charges.
Years later, a glimmer of hope emerged when investigators searched the property of Milton Kurtzman, a man with a criminal past who had been arrested for an unrelated crime. The authorities hinted that the search might uncover evidence related to a cold case from the 1990s, though they refused to confirm if it was the Markleys’. Still, the search turned up no new clues.
To this day, the mystery of John and Shelly Markley haunts their family. Their children, forced to grow up far too soon, live with the void left by their parents’ disappearance. Stacey, the eldest, reflected on how the tragedy shaped them: “We were made to grow up fast,” she said. Meanwhile, little Johnny, only eight when his parents vanished, had one simple wish for Christmas that year: “All I want for Christmas is Mom and Dad.”
But that wish, like so many others in this case, remains unanswered. Theories continue to circulate, whispers of what might have happened, but no resolution has come. For now, John and Shelly Markley remain missing—a family torn apart, a community left wondering, and a case that refuses to give up its secrets.
Deep Lore 