Newly unsealed affidavits could help solve the disappearance of two Maryland girls 40 years ago. Sisters Katherine and Sheila Lyon remain missing to this day, and although bones have been discovered in Virginia, investigators have not yet determined if they are of the siblings who were 10 and 12 when they were apparently abducted.

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The girls were last spotted eating pizza at Wheaton Plaza mall in Maryland on March 25, 1975. The affidavits, which were just filed by investigators then, said that suspect Lloyd Welch, now 58 and in a Delaware prison for other child sexual assault convictions, left the mall in a car with the two girls on the day they were last seen.

Welch said his male cousin, Thomas Welch, who was 10 and half years old then, left with them on the same vehicle. He also stated that he saw the following day his uncle, Richard Welch, now 69, sexually abusing the Lyon sisters.

He claimed that after leaving the mall, he was dropped off at home, while the two girls remained in the car with his uncle and younger cousin. The next day, he went to Richard's house and saw his uncle sexually abusing the sister. He said that he left the house and never saw them again after that day.

But according to the affidavits, he also told a Wheaton Plaza security guard a week after the incident that he saw the two girls leave with a man on a vehicle. He said the same thing to detectives, but a polygraph test showed he was not telling the truth.

Another group of detectives found the affidavits in 2013, which provided new leads to the investigators. In 2014, Lloyd and Richard Welch were named persons of interest in the case. In January 2015, the forensic dig yielded bones in a land owned by Richard.

Despite the 40 years that had lapsed, detectives are determined to solve the case of the missing Lyon sisters, said Montgomery Police Chief Tom Manger, who believes that some family members of the Welches have more information that could help solve the case.

TagsMaryland, missing children, Lloyd Welch, child molester