Center for Missing Children Reopens 35-Year-Old Fayetteville Case

The children were supposed to be brought to what was once the old Broadway Theater, but what really happened to them remains a mystery. Now, investigators hope you can help solve the crime.

"They loved to be children. They loved to play. They loved to ride bikes. They liked to go to the movies," says John McDougal, who was remembering his two nephews Alan and Terry Westerfield.

"I've come to the conclusion that those children are dead," McDougal said.

However, the National Center for Missing Children has not given up hope. Using pictures of the boys when they disappeared, the center created computer-enhanced images of what the brothers would look like today, almost 35 years later.

"My whole family was completely devastated by that, and to be completely honest with you, none of us have ever gotten over it," McDougal said.

McDougal is the missing boys only living relative in this area. Year after year and lead after lead, there are still no answers.

"Of course they interviewed neighbors in the neighborhood. There was leads anywhere from Mississippi to Arizona after it hit the paper," says Lt. Bruce Moore with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department.

According to police reports, the boys' stepfather dropped them off at Fayetteville's popular Broadway Theater. When the boys vanished, authorities were not sure if the brothers ever made it to the theater. Some employees interviewed said they saw the boys, others said they did not.

"Some of the people who were working at the theater at the time insisted they never showed up, because the mother was always real strict about when the movie was over, 'Don't go outside, and you wait inside, and I'll step inside and get you," Moore said.

Police are holding out hope that someone knows what happened. They hope time has convinced that person to come forward with what he or she knows.

"I just wish that we could bring a closure, some way some how, because I firmly believe that there's somebody out there that knows something about these children," McDougal said. "I just wish that they would come forward."

If you have any information on this case you can call Lt. Bruce Moore with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office at(910) 323-1500.