Lonene "Lonnie" Rogers was 29 years old, a deaf mother of two, when she disappeared from her Hayfield Township, Pennsylvania home in January 1981. It took 44 years, and her daughter's relentless advocacy, before the truth came out.
Lonene was last seen at her job on January 6, 1981. Her husband, Clinton "Bud" Rogers, reported her missing, claiming he last saw her around 12:45 a.m. on January 7 after an argument, and that she must have left on her own. Her family never believed it — those who knew Lonene said she would never have willingly left without her children. There was no activity on her Social Security number, and no contact from her, for over four decades.
Alison Duiker was five years old when her father woke her in the middle of the night to say her mother was gone. Alison spent years pushing Pennsylvania State Police for answers, funded a billboard near Meadville with her mother's photo, and advocated for "Lonnie's Law," proposed legislation that would let families of the missing view police case files after 20 years — something Pennsylvania courts had repeatedly denied her family.
In late 2025, Clinton Rogers confessed to police that he had killed Lonene during an argument, and told investigators how and why. He now faces charges of criminal homicide and aggravated assault. As of early 2026, his defense has filed a motion arguing there isn't enough evidence beyond his own confession to proceed, delaying the case's next steps in court.
Alison, now a special education teacher, has said her mother's case being solved doesn't end her advocacy — it frees her to focus more fully on Lonnie's Law, so other families don't have to fight as hard as she did just to see their own case files.