Hannah Marie Zaccaglini

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Siskiyou County Sheriffs Department (CA)

Missing From:

McCloud, CA

Summary:

Hannah Zaccaglini, 15, was last seen around 10 p.m. on June 4, 1997, leaving a friend's home in McCloud, California, to walk about a block to her family's home. She never arrived. Initially treated as a runaway, her disappearance is now investigated as a homicide. Two McCloud-area men were arrested in November 2012, but the charges were dismissed in May 2013 for insufficient evidence. Her remains have not been found and the case remains open.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Hannah Marie Zaccaglini was 15 years old in June 1997 and lived with her family on Minnesota Avenue in McCloud, a small former lumber town at the foot of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County. She was a cheerleader at McCloud High School and hoped to become a model. Her parents had recently divorced, and she had just broken up with her boyfriend, whose family was preparing to move away. On the evening of Wednesday, June 4, 1997, Hannah was at a friend's home on East Minnesota Avenue, a block or two from her own. She left to walk home at about 10:00 p.m. (the Polly Klaas Foundation gives 10:30 p.m.) and never arrived. She was reported missing to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office on June 5, 1997. She was wearing a lime green and white checkered shirt with daisy-shaped buttons, blue jeans and black canvas Vans deck shoes, and possibly a gray sweatshirt; her naturally brown hair had recently been dyed black. Investigators initially treated Hannah as a possible runaway. Her family insisted that was out of character: she had not argued with them, and she left nearly all of her belongings behind, including her clothing, purse, money, hairbrush, overnight bag and bass guitar. Her mother has said she felt the early investigation was not thorough. The sheriff's office later confirmed that Hannah was last seen walking in the vicinity of the home of Ed Henline Sr. on East Minnesota Avenue, in the company of Mr. Henline. Four months earlier, in February 1997, 27-year-old Karin Knechtel Mero had disappeared from the same house, where she had been living with Henline's son. Search warrants were served at the residence, statements were taken, cadaver dogs were used and the FBI's Redding office assisted, but no trace of Hannah was found. Despite searches of the area her body has never been located. In November 2012, after the sheriff's Major Crimes Unit spent months pursuing new leads and witnesses, deputies arrested Edward Ray Henline Sr., 57, of McCloud, on November 15, on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy. Two days later, on November 17, his son Edward Henline Jr., 35, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and accessory. District Attorney Kirk Andrus declined to file charges against Henline Jr., who was released from custody in December 2012 while the case was referred back to the sheriff's office for further investigation. On May 9, 2013, the day before a scheduled preliminary hearing, the district attorney dismissed the murder charge against Henline Sr., stating that although there had been probable cause for the arrest, the evidence was insufficient to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Authorities said the case could be refiled if additional evidence emerged. Both men were released and neither has been convicted of any offense connected with Hannah's disappearance. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate Hannah's disappearance as a homicide and considers it linked to the disappearance of Karin Mero. In November 2017 the sheriff's office publicly appealed again for information in both cases, and in February 2019 detectives said the cases remained active and that a reward of $2,500, possibly rising to $5,000, was available for information leading to a conviction. Hannah is listed with NamUs and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which has produced age-progressed images of how she might look today. She remains missing under suspicious circumstances.

Additional Details:

Anyone with information is asked to call the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office 24-hour dispatch center at (530) 841-2900 or the Major Crimes Unit at (530) 842-8300; anonymous tips are accepted. A reward of $2,500 (possibly increasing to $5,000) was announced in 2019 for information leading to a conviction in Hannah's or Karin Mero's case. The FBI's Redding office (530-223-6473) has assisted. NCMEC case 833807.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 23, 2026